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European Digital Library
by Subbiah Arunachalam 14 Dec '06

14 Dec '06

Friends: Europe is making big strides in setting up the new European Digital Library. I am looking forward to the day when we in India can proudly announce such achievements. And I look forward to men like Prof. N Balakrishan of IISc and the head of the Million Books Digital library Project in India to lead the way. Progressive corporates like Informatics India can also pitch in. Arun ------------- >From Peter Suber's blog Progress on The European Library Bigger European Digital Library? Tell me more! Euractiv, December 11, 2006. (Thanks to ResourceShelf.) Excerpt: More than six million books, documents and other culturally significant works should become available online in the new European Digital Library during the next five years, thanks to the information society technologies (IST) programme TEL-ME-MOR.... With the project due to complete its objectives by the end of January 2007, TEL-ME-MOR [http://www.telmemor.net/] is well on the way to achieving its objectives. Content from eight out of the ten newly included national libraries has already been integrated into the European Digital Library.... Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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Urban vs rural India
by Subbiah Arunachalam 14 Dec '06

14 Dec '06

>From Hindustan Times India leaves Bharat behind Chetan Chauhan New Delhi, December 13, 2006 There is a startling contrast in the pace of infrastructure development between rural and urban India. The cities are experiencing swift development changes while in rural areas things remain static. The India Infrastructure Report 2006, to be released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday, shows the disconnect between the two Indias. In the four sectors telecommunications, power, roads and transport and water and sanitation studied by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), the quality and quantity of service has been found to be substantially lower than in cities. The report has urged policy-makers to provide incentives to the private sector to involve itself in rural areas. Telecommunications High monthly rentals (between Rs 90-150) and poor service quality has restricted rural teledensity to 1.67 per cent as compared to 25.90 per cent in urban India. Of the ten states studied, only Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal have more than one public call office in a village. The reason is that those in villages are not willing to spend money on private connections. This explains why the national per capital annual telecommunication expenditure is only Rs 2.9. The story in West Bengal is different. The Grameen Sanchar Society has provided wireless phones through its rural vendors with an assurance of quality service. A fixed percentage of revenue goes to the government and the rest to the Society. Power Punjab tops the NCAER list with 99.87 per cent power connectivity in village homes compared to just 17.82 per cent in Orissa. Punjab's monthly expenditure on power is also the highest at Rs 219 while Tamil Nadu with a high power connection penetration rate spends Rs 39 per home. This could be because Punjab has many more metered connections than Tamil Nadu, the report said. The report is critical of power subsidy in the rural sector, which has prohibited the private sector from taking over distribution networks. Water and sanitation Most villages get water but the report has raised doubts over the quality and sustainability of the supply. For example, 2,17,000 villages have water quality problems. Excess fluoride, arsenic, nitrate, iron and salinity are causing health hazards. Sanitation is no better with only Kerala and Punjab fount to be satisfactory performers. The report reveals that the villagers who spend on water get better quality and example of this is Kerala. There piped water connectivity is 100 per cent per capita as the per capita monthly expenditure on drinking water is Rs 22, highest in the country. Roads and transport Only 55 per cent of villages are connected by roads. "The lack of roads means that 20-30 per cent of the agricultural, horticultural and forest produce gets wasted because it cannot be transported to marketing and processing units," the report said. Email Chetan Chauhan: cchauhan(a)hindustantimes.com ___________________________________________________________ Win tickets to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany with Yahoo! Messenger. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/fifaworldcup_uk/

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FW: Why IITs have fallen in global rankings
by shalini 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

Something to ponder on.. While India is getting euphoric about positioning itself as the knowledge capital..some cold facts and bold opinions about what ails Indian Academia..and why we are falling behind. _____ Slip Sliding Away Why IITs have fallen in global rankings Pankaj Jalote The writer is Microsoft chair professor at IIT Delhi. IITs have been slipping in the global university rankings for the last few years. In our euphoria about India's progress, such reports are mentioned in passing and then promptly forgotten. IITs have made a name for themselves largely on the success of its graduates, and less on the strength of its R&D output. And most global ranking of universities are predominantly based on R&D. The performance of IITs (and other such institutions in India) is likely to continue dropping globally. This is not to say that they are static - indeed the R&D output from IITs is increasing, but relative to others it is slipping. Interestingly, the relative decline is not because established R&D centres in the US and Europe are becoming bigger, but because newer entrants from China, Korea and Singapore are doing much better. The central reason for the decline of IITs in relative ranking is the archaic academic governance structures that exist in Indian institutes. Autonomy of these institutes is a myth. Consider these facts: the director of institutes is appointed not by a selection committee of experts but by the ministry; pay scales of faculty and grades are decided by government; starting a new course in an IIT could even require permission of Parliament; and there is regular interference in the administration and set-up of these institutes such as reservation of seats without proper consultation. These are a reminder that though in daily affairs the autonomy is there, there is little autonomy in making structural changes or bringing about any significant changes. A fallout of tight government control is the archaic system of fixed increment-based salary scales with no regular performance evaluation. This means that faculty members get a regular increment in their salaries, regardless of their performance. There are no regular or yearly appraisals, on which salary increments are decided. This system is guaranteed to lead to mediocrity and lack of competitiveness. This is the bane of academic governance, giving absolutely no elbow room to promote excellence or reward performance. No private company in India would think of this - all of them have performance appraisals, on which increments and promotions are decided. In academics, however, career paths are still largely decided on patronage from government. The only means of recognition are publishing in international journals and conferences. Contrast this with the situation in China. About 15 years ago, the Chinese brought about changes in its academic governance structure. The salary of a professor in top university consists of three parts - one given by government which follows the usual scales; another given by the university allowing better institutes to compensate better; and a third based on performance of the faculty member in project and R&D work. The result of this structural change is there for all to see. The contribution of Chinese scientists to premier journals and conferences has been steadily increasing, and is now a threat to western dominance. The situation is the same in Korea and Singapore. Universities in Singapore moved some 15 years ago to a model where the compensation of a faculty had three components - one basic, one based on market forces where a faculty member in demand got more pay, and a third based on performance. The US has been following performance-based evaluation for years - the yearly increment of a faculty member depends on his performance. Pakistan seems to have recently started a somewhat less sophisticated scheme to reward its researchers for every international paper they publish. The impact of this is an increased number of paper submissions from Pakistan. Earlier, much of Europe followed a fixed scale salary model. But most countries have now either migrated to, or are moving towards, an appraisal-based compensation system. Australia and the UK follow it, Germany and Italy are moving towards it. As expected, many faculty members are not happy about it. They are threatened by more transparency, but there is also a realisation that even developed countries cannot expect to do well using old models of governance. It is clear that unless transparency about the output of individual researchers as well as that of institutes is not brought about, along with incentives and compensation based on an appraisal of the quality and quantity of output, India will continue breeding mediocrity and complacency. However, appraisal without suitable autonomy is even worse - institutes will then become the playground of power brokers from outside the system. IITs have suitable structures to potentially implement such schemes and lead the way, if they get the right leadership and necessary autonomy. Unfortunately, the leadership of these institutes, being a beneficiary of political patronage, is unwilling to take any bold moves. They have tended to play safe and keep the ministry happy, rather than bring about innovation and controversial changes. So, changes are undoubtedly needed, without which Indian institutions will continue to slide. But it is doubtful whether any movement along this direction will be undertaken. That is why I believe that IITs will continue slipping in global rankings, despite having the potential to improve. __._,_.___ . <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=11710407/grpspId=1705946590/msgI d=153/stime=1166010801/nc1=3848479/nc2=4025375/nc3=3> __,_._,___  Something to ponder on.. While India is getting euphoric about positioning itself as the knowledge capital….some cold facts and bold opinions about what ails Indian Academia….and why we are falling behind… � � Slip Sliding Away Why IITs have fallen in global rankings Pankaj Jalote The writer is Microsoft chair professor at IIT Delhi . IITs have been slipping in the global university rankings for the last few years. In our euphoria about India 's progress, such reports are mentioned in passing and then promptly forgotten. IITs have made a name for themselves largely on the success of its graduates, and less on the strength of its R&D output. And most global ranking of universities are predominantly based on R&D. The performance of IITs (and other such institutions in India ) is likely to continue dropping globally. This is not to say that they are static — indeed the R&D output from IITs is increasing, but relative to others it is slipping. Interestingly, the relative decline is not because established R&D centres in the US and Europe are becoming bigger, but because newer entrants from China , Korea and Singapore are doing much better. The central reason for the decline of IITs in relative ranking is the archaic academic governance structures that exist in Indian institutes. Autonomy of these institutes is a myth. Consider these facts: the director of institutes is appointed not by a selection committee of experts but by the ministry; pay scales of faculty and grades are decided by government; starting a new course in an IIT could even require permission of Parliament; and there is regular interference in the administration and set-up of these institutes such as reservation of seats without proper consultation. These are a reminder that though in daily affairs the autonomy is there, there is little autonomy in making structural changes or bringing about any significant changes. A fallout of tight government control is the archaic system of fixed increment-based salary scales with no regular performance evaluation. This means that faculty members get a regular increment in their salaries, regardless of their performance. There are no regular or yearly appraisals, on which salary increments are decided. This system is guaranteed to lead to mediocrity and lack of competitiveness. This is the bane of academic governance, giving absolutely no elbow room to pr omote excellence or reward performance. No private company in India would think of this — all of them have performance appraisals, on which increments and promotions are decided. In academics, however, career paths are still largely decided on patronage from government. The only means of recognition are publishing in international journals and conferences. Contrast this with the situation in China . About 15 years ago, the Chinese brought about changes in its academic governance structure. The salary of a professor in top university consists of three parts — one given by government which follows the usual scales; another given by the university allowing better institutes to compensate better; and a third based on performance of the faculty member in project and R&D work. The result of this structural change is there for all to see. The contribution of Chinese scientists to premier journals and conferences has been steadily increasing, and is now a threat to western dominance. The situation is the same in Korea and Singapore . Universities in Singapore moved some 15 years ago to a model where the compensation of a faculty had three components — one basic, one based on market forces where a faculty member in demand got more pay, and a third based on performance. The US has been following performance- based evaluation for years — the yearly increment of a faculty member depends on his performance. Pakistan seems to have recently started a somewhat less sophisticated scheme to reward its researchers for every international paper they publish. The impact of this is an increased number of paper submissions from Pakistan . Earlier, much of Europe followed a fixed scale salary model. But most countries have now either migrated to, or are moving towards, an appraisal-based compensation system. Australia and the UK follow it, Germany and Italy are moving towards it. As expected, many faculty members are not happy about it. They are threatened by more transparency, but there is also a realisation that even developed countries cannot expect to do well using old models of governance. It is clear that unless transparency about the output of individual researchers as well as that of institutes is not brought about, along with incentives and compensation based on an appraisal of the quality and quantity of output, India will continue breeding mediocrity and complacency. However, appraisal without suitable autonomy is even worse — institutes will then become the playground of power brokers from outside the system. IITs have suitable structures to potentially implement such schemes and lead the way, if they get the right leadership and necessary autonomy. Unfortunately, the leadership of these institutes, being a beneficiary of political patronage, is unwilling to take any bold moves. They have tended to play safe and keep the ministry happy, rather than bring about innovation and controversial changes. So, changes are undoubtedly needed, without which Indian institutions will continue to slide. But it is doubtful whether any movement along this direction will be undertaken. That is why I believe that IITs will continue slipping in global rankings, despite having the potential to improve. __._,_.___ . http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=11710407/grpspId=1705946590/msgI… __,_._,___

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Retrospective Conversion
by Rajendra Thaty 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

Dear all,I am the University Librarian of Sambalpur University. We want to put the cataloging data of all our books (about 1,20,000 in number)  into computerised database. I know many of you have already done this. May I know the best and quickest method for this? As it requires human involvement for jobs like preparation of input sheets, data entry and data verification etc, I request to please share with me your experiences. Also I would be interested to know cost implications per book for each of these jobs.Please treat it as urgent. Can I have your feedback within a couple of days please?Thanks   Rajendra Kumar Thaty Librarian Prof B Behera Cntral Library Samabalpur University Jyoti Vihar, Burla, Sambalpur, Orissa PIN 768019 Telephone# 0663-2430548 (O) 98610-47084 (Mob) I am the University Librarian of Sambalpur University. We want to put the cataloging data of all our books (about 1,20,000 in number) into computerised database. I know many of you have already done this. May I know the best and quickest method for this? As it requires human involvement for jobs like preparation of input sheets, data entry and data verification etc, I request to please share with me your experiences. Also I would be interested to know cost implications per book for each of these jobs. Please treat it as urgent. Can I have your feedback within a couple of days please? Thanks Rajendra Kumar Thaty Librarian Prof B Behera Cntral Library Samabalpur University Jyoti Vihar, Burla, Sambalpur, Orissa PIN 768019 Telephone# 0663-2430548 (O) 98610-47084 (Mob) http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigclick.cgi/www.rediff.com/signa… http://adworks.rediff.com/cgi-bin/AdWorks/sigimpress.cgi/www.rediff.com/sig…

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Call for Papers
by monawwer eqbal 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

VIDHIGYA The Journal of Legal Awareness is being published regularly by Integrated School of Law, Ghaziabad. The Journal welcomes and encourages original unpulished research based papers, articles, legal expressions, legal perception, global views & comments on various legal issues, book reviews and case laws. The Journal covers almost all the subjects relating to the study of law. Written material sent post/e-mail should include authors full name, designation, complete postal address, phone no. and fax no. Important Dates: December 31, 2006 Deadline for paper submission January 15, 2007 Completion of First Review January 25, 2007 Completion of Final Review February 15, 2007 Publication Authors intending to submit papers are encouraged to contact: Monawwer Eqbal Assistant Editor Delhi Hapur Bypass (NH-24), Dasna Rly. Crossing, Ghaziabad 201009 (U.P.) India Tel.- 91-120-2768951 Fax No.-91-120-2768952 E-mail:irc@gmail.com vidhigya(a)inmantec.edu Web: www.inmantec.edu --------------------------------- Find out what India is talking about on - Yahoo! Answers India Send FREE SMS to your friend's mobile from Yahoo! Messenger Version 8. Get it NOW VIDHIGYA The Journal of Legal Awareness is being published regularly by Integrated School of Law, Ghaziabad. The Journal welcomes and encourages original unpulished research based papers, articles, legal expressions, legal perception, global views & comments on various legal issues, book reviews and case laws. The Journal covers almost all the subjects relating to the study of law. Written material sent post/e-mail should include authors full name, designation, complete postal address, phone no. and fax no. Important Dates: December 31, 2006 Deadline for paper submission January 15, 2007 Completion of First Review January 25, 2007 Completion of Final Review February 15, 2007 Publication Authors intending to submit papers are encouraged to contact: Monawwer Eqbal Assistant Editor Delhi Hapur Bypass (NH-24), Dasna Rly. Crossing, Ghaziabad 201009 (U.P.) India Tel.- 91-120-2768951 Fax No.-91-120-2768952 E-mail:irc@gmail.com mailto:vidhigya@inmantec.edu vidhigya(a)inmantec.edu Web: www.inmantec.edu Find out what India is talking about on - http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/yanswers/*http://in.answers.yahoo.com/ Yahoo! Answers India Send FREE SMS to your friend's mobile from Yahoo! Messenger Version 8. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/messengertagline/*http://in.messenger.yahoo.… Get it NOW

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Microsoft supports open access
by Mailing List Manager 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 02:45:02 +0530 (IST) From: arun(a)mssrf.res.in Friends: Here is an excerpt from a conversation between freelance technology journalist Richard Poynder and Prof. Tony Hey, Corporate vice president for technical computing at Microsoft. Prof. Hey explains why Microsoft supports open access. For the full text of the interview, please visit: http://poynder.blogspot.com/2006/12/conversation-with-microsofts-tony-hey.h… Regards. Arun -------

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An OA consultant in each university!
by Subbiah Arunachalam 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

Friends: Here is an interesting development at MIT, Cambridge. Arun ---------------- MIT's new Scholarly Publishing Consultant MIT has hired a Scholarly Publishing Consultant to advise faculty about their OA options. (Thanks to ResourceShelf.) From the announcement on the MIT Libraries News blog: The MIT Libraries now have a half-time position supporting MIT faculty and researchers who have questions about their options and rights in the world of scholarly publishing, which has evolved dramatically with the advent of the digital age. This position has been made possible with support from the Provosts office. In what ways would a faculty member make use of this new position? For example: * To ask about what rights you have over your own work, and how you can ensure that you have the rights in the future to do what you want with your work; * To ask questions about standard publisher copyright transfer agreements, including the use of MITs amendment to such agreements; * To gain feedback about options and rights related to archiving your work on the web, whether via a faculty home page, Dspace, or a discipline-based archive, or another means; * To discuss the options for publishing an article so that it will be openly available, without permission or subscription barriers, whether in a new open access journal or a long-standing journal; or * To ask about open access publication options, and funder or government policies in relation to those options. If you would like to discuss any of these issues, please contact Ellen Finnie Duranceau, who moved into the new position in mid September.... Peter Suber: Another great idea from MIT. Until OA is as familiar as email, every university should have something like this. ___________________________________________________________ All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

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UNESCO PRIZE for Best Perfomance in Assignments
by Shivendra Singh 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

UNESCO PRIZE for Best Perfomance in Assignments: International Workshop on Greenstone Digital Library Software http://greenstonesupport.iimk.ac.in/Program_CD/winners.htm -- Shiv E-mail: shiv.mail(a)gmail.com http://eirs.blogspot.com/ UNESCO PRIZE for Best Perfomance in Assignments: International Workshop on Greenstone Digital Library Software http://greenstonesupport.iimk.ac.in/Program_CD/winners.htm http://greenstonesupport.iimk.ac.in/Program_CD/winners.htm -- Shiv E-mail: mailto:shiv.mail@gmail.com shiv.mail(a)gmail.com http://eirs.blogspot.com/ http://eirs.blogspot.com/

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New Group - Open Access and Digital Libraries
by Sukhdev Singh 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

Friends, I am back from an International Conference on Digital Libraries, 5-8 Dec. 2006 organised by TERI at New Delhi (ICDL 2006). In one of the session there was comment that nothing is being done for "Open Access" movement in India. I feel this is incorrect. Lot of things are being done but by very few people. Yes, now we need to involve more and more people in this movement - both LIS professional as well educators, researchers and policy makers. The first step I can think of is forming a discussion group. I know there are other groups as well - but these are mostly oriented towards LIS professionals. We never know what our target users feel about issues that may dear to us. So a Group called "Open Access and Digital Libraries" is been created with the following URL. If you are interested in Open Access, you are welcome to join it. I would suggest to join it through its Web Interface: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oadl If for some reason you prefer to join it by sending email, send a blank email to the following: oadl-subscribe(a)yahoogroups.com Thanks, Sukhdev Singh. NIC.

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2006 best 2.0 applications
by sandeep bhavsar 13 Dec '06

13 Dec '06

Respected All The 2006 award-winning web2.0 applications are worth a browse.. http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0/# Best Regards Sandeep Bhavsar Librarian Dr.V.N.Bedekar Institute of Management Studies Thane(W). 40601 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ email : sandeep.bhavsar(a)gmail.com Mob : 09870484626 elibrary : http://www.vpmthane.org/im/elib/main.htm @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ --------------------------------- Now you can scan emails quickly with a reading pane. Get the new Yahoo! Mail. Respected All The 2006 award-winning web2.0 applications are worth a browse.. http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0/# Best Regards Sandeep Bhavsar Librarian Dr.V.N.Bedekar Institute of Management Studies Thane(W). 40601 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ email : sandeep.bhavsar(a)gmail.com Mob : 09870484626 elibrary : http://www.vpmthane.org/im/elib/main.htm @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Now you can http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/uk/taglines/default/nowyoucan/reading_pane/*htt… scan emails quickly with a reading pane . Get the new http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/uk/taglines/default/nowyoucan/reading_pane/*htt… Yahoo! Mail .

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