- LIS-Forum - ncsi.iisc.ernet.in

Re: [LIS-Forum] Regarding SOUL 2.0 V/s Open Source Software
by Aashish Savant 24 Mar '09

24 Mar '09

I don't think that the debate is around SOUL 2.0 V/S OSS but the larger issue of selection of a Library software solution which is; 1. Technologically and functionally superior 2. Compliant to International Software and Library Standards 3. Has lowest/ Most economical TCO including OS/ Database/ Installation/ Training/ customisation/ Technical Support 4. has demonstrated ability to accomodate and upgrade to evolving Technical and Domain specific standards In case the selection veers to an OSS solution, an important parameter in the selection will be the Service provider, if any. The criteria for selection would primarily be: 1. Experience in the Library Domain. 2. Commitment/ Stakes in the Library Business domain 3. Business Ideology/ Soundness of Revenue model to ascertain continued service support for the product 4. Technical competence in the product support as reflected in the product development/ enhancement contributions and Client referrals Also to understand that not all OSS solutions are better than properiatary solutions but the better OSS solutions will typically attract a large product community following. A large and vibrant product community will also ensure longievity of product life cycle and better technical and functional compliance. The debate on western origin V/S Indian developed s/w products is essentially superflous since a logical extension of this rather Protectionist argument would send us back to the Stone Ages. Reinventing the wheel for the sake of dogmatic patriotism would be a waste of trained resources. A more pragmatic approach would be to participate in a progressive project like KOHA and Localise the necessary features and develop newer ones. We have already made a begining by setting up portal www.kohaindia.org and are committed to devoting technical and functional resources for the same. This would be a contributory project and quite a few senior Librarians and FOSS developers have expressed willingness to work on the same. Adoption of newer technologies and Adherence to international standards is not a luxury but a necessity of the Indian Libraries. Incase the Indian educational and research institutes need to achieve their DUE international standing, Libraries and in turn Library professionals need to embrace the technological change. -- Aashish Savant Director, RDG Microelectronics Pvt Ltd. 203, Blue Rose Industrial Estate, Western Express Highway, Borivli (E), Mumbai 400066. Tel: +91 22 - 65279584/ 6571 9584 email: aashishs(a)rdg.co.in aashish.savant(a)gmail.com -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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PPTs of National Seminar & Research Conference
by Ajay Kamble 24 Mar '09

24 Mar '09

Dear All, Please find PPTs of National Seminar & Research Conference on "Library : a Temple of Learning & Knowledge House" held at Guru Nanak Institute of management Studies , Matunga Mumbai at www.mlsc.co.nr (A direct link is given on Homepage) <http://www.mlsc.co.nr> This PPT's were sent by Kuljeet G. Kahlon, Librarian, GNIMS. -- Ajay M. Kamble Librarian Annasaheb Vartak Arts, Commerce, Science College, Vasai Road (W), Dist. Thane - 401202 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Open Access Information
by Sambhu Nath Halder 24 Mar '09

24 Mar '09

Dear Professionals, I want to highlight the webpage of the University of Auckland that contains "Open Access Information". It is a rich site gathering open access directories, which is very much helpful to LIS community. Link is given below for your reference: http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/instruct/il/openaccess.htm Regards, Sambhu Nath Halder Incharge, Library ============================ Narula Institute of Technology 81, Nilgunj Road; Kolkata-109 Moblie No.: +91 9733964714 ============================ New Email names for you! Get the Email name you've always wanted on the new @ymail and @rocketmail. Hurry before someone else does! http://mail.promotions.yahoo.com/newdomains/aa/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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temporary trainees for JRD tata Memorial Library
by ksc＠library.iisc.ernet.in 24 Mar '09

24 Mar '09

There are few vacancies of temporary trainees at JRD Tata Memorial Library. Those who are desirous of joining may submit their application providing their Curriculum Vitae on or before 31 march 2009 Qualification(essential): MLibSc: I class; BSc or BA:I class Send your applications to Chudamani Deputy Librarian JRD Tata Memorial Library IISc, Bangalore 560012

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Vacancy Of Library Assistant In NCSM
by mukesh jha 24 Mar '09

24 Mar '09

*National Science Centre (NSC*) (National Council of Science Museums – NCSM) Gate No.1, Pragati Maidan, Bhairon Marg, New Delhi – 01 Application are invited for the following posts : *Library Assistant ‘A’ : 01 post (OBC*), Pay Band : PB-1 Rs.5200-20200 Grade Pay Rs.2800, Qualification : Bachelor’s Degree in Library and Information Science, or Diploma in Librarianship after graduation in Science. One year relevant experience after Degree/ Diploma. *Age : 30* years as on 01/03/09. Relaxation as per rules. *Application Fee* : Rs.25/- in the form of DD in favour of National Science Centre, Payable at Delhi. *How to Apply* : Application in the prescribed format alongwith the attested copies of the testimonials should reach on the above address by 06/04/2009. Application form and other details may be obtained in person or by sending a self addressed envelope of size 25cms x 10 cms duly stamped for Rs.10/- super scribing on the the top :Application form for the post of …………….” before 04/04/09. Application form and other details can also be obtained from the website www.nscdelhi.org -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Prescribed qualifications for the post of Librarain as per AICTE norms
by Hi This is Muthu (ಮುತ್ತುರಾಜ.ಎಸ್ ) 9844110722 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Dear all, I just wanted to know, what is the prescribed qualifications for the post of Librarian in an engineering colleges, which are affiliated to AICTE? Recently Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) had called for 9 posts of Librarian in government engineering colleges in Karnataka State. In that, it had mentioned that NET/SLET is must for the post of Librarian and Physical educational personnel in an engineering colleges. Whereas for the post of lecturers in non-engineering disciplines like English, geology, Chemistry, maths etc. are exempted from NET/SLET, if they have Mphil or PhD degree. My question is Why the same criteria is not applied for the post of Librarian? Is it violation of AICTE norms? Can any one go to the court of law for verdict? What can we do for this? Kindly provide us the necessary details regarding qualifications as per AICTE norms for the post of librarian. Thank you, Prakash M Asst.Librarian Army Institute of Fashion & Design Dooravani Nagar, Old Madras Road Bengaluru. 560 016 Ph:+91 (080) 2561 7559 Mobile: 98457 92358 Email:prakashmh@gmail.com <Email%3Aprakashmh(a)gmail.com> -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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questions for LIS professionals for interview purpose
by ashok upadhyay 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Interview Questions for LIS Professtionals 1. Introduce Yourself 2. What are your strengths & weakness 3. Why did you decide to enter the field of library and information science? OR What motivated you to seek a library degree? 4. Why did you decide to apply for this position? 5. Discuss some of your achievement regarding this field. 6. What kind of work environment do you prefer? 7. How are you qualified for this job? OR What qualifications do you have that make you think you will be a success at this job? 8. Do you have some extraordinary qualities that distinguish you from others? 9. The person in this position needs to be innovative and proactive. Can you describe some things you have done to demonstrate these qualities? 10. How would you rate your communication skills and what have you done to improve them? 11. What experience do you have dealing with academic scholars? 12. What is your experience with automated systems and with computers in general? 13. Tell us about yourself and your ambition. 14. Tell us about some of your contribution to improve our field. 15. What do you think a reference librarian's duties should be? 16. Tell us about your subject background and about your coursework outside of library science. 17. Do you have the skills necessary to create and maintain our WWW home pages? 18. Do you plan to continue your education? 19. Starting with your last job, would you tell me about some of your achievements that were recognized by your superiors? 20. What are some things you would like to avoid in a job? Why? 21. What does success mean to you? How do you judge it? 22. What types of things make you angry? How do you react? 23. In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our department? 24. Why do you think this library should hire you? 25. Describe your experience in creating documents, proposals, research findings, or any other form of written copy. 26. Mention some popular reference materials. 27. What does librarianship means? 28. Mention some popular online databases with their subject coverage. 29. Briefly discuss about Melvil Dewey. 30. Mention some popular journals in our field. 31. Abbreviate ISBN and ISSN. Describe their role in this information era. 32. What do you mean by "Bibliography”? How will you arrange a bibliography? 33. Discuss the library movement in your country. 34. Which is more important ' Bibliography or Abstract ' for controlling information explosion? 35. Briefly discuss about Library Association in your country? 36. Which is the world's oldest Library Association? 37. What is library science? 38. Which is the largest library in the world? 39. What are the major classifications of the DDC? 40. What are the twenty major classes of Library of Congress? 41. What are the major Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) classes? 42. What are the ten major classes of Universal Decimal Classification? 43. Which is the largest library in your country (both in collection and structure)? 44. Briefly discuss history of library education in your country. 45. Which resource do you prefer - electronic or print, and why? 46. Discuss some major problems of library automation in your country. 47. Which classification scheme would you prefer and why? 48. What do you mean by National Bibliography? Is there any national bibliography published in your country? 49. What do you mean by classification? 50. Mention five popular National Library in the world. 51. Briefly Discuss about IFLA, it's role to promote librarianship around the world. 52. What does information literacy means? 53. What does OPAC means? 54. Discuss briefly the role of OCLC, its functions. 55. How reference services differ from information service? 56. Discuss the benefits of library automation. 57. Why classification is necessary? 58. Which is the largest academic library in your country? 59. Why Public library is called the People's University? 60. Discuss the various types of library that exist in a civil society. 61. Why networking and resource sharing of a library is necessary? 62. Mention two modern information services. -- Ashok Kumar Upadhyay Research Scholar, Department of Library Information Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002 (M) 91+9412545849, 9368015073 E-MAIL: ashoka143(a)gmail.com Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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PROGRAMME OF IASLIC and BLA
by Pijushkanti Panigrahi 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

PROGRAMME OF IASLIC and BLA Dr. Barun Mukherji, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and former Librarian & Teacher of Library and Information Science will deliver IASLIC’s XVth Annual Ranganathan Memorial Lecture, 2008 on Books, Libraries And Culture at the Seminar Room, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme-VII-M, Kankurgachi, Kolkata 700 054 on Thursday March 26, 2009 at 6.00 P..M. Bengal Library Association (BLA) will release a book ‘Bangla Pustak Bargikaran’ (Classification of Bengali Books) edited by Sri Ramkrishna Saha, President, Bengal Library Association at the Seminar Room, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme-VII-M, Kankurgachi, Kolkata 700 054 on Thursday March 26, 2009 . Prof. Pabitra Sarkar, Vice-President, Paschimbanga Bangla Academy and former Vice-Chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata will release the book and preside over the function. All are cordially invited to participate in the programme. ============ ========= ========= ========= ==== Dr Pijushkanti Panigrahi, Professor, Dept of Lib and Inf Science, 3rd Floor Asutosh Building, University of Calcutta, 87/1 College Street,Kolkata - 700 073, West Bengal, India, email : panigrahipk@ yahoo.com, (M) : +91 94342 43522. Joint Secretary, IASLIC, Convenor, Education Division, IASLIC; Associate Editor, IASLIC Bulletin, IASLIC, Kolkata-54 Dr Pijushkanti Panigrahi, Professor, Dept of Lib and Inf Science, 3rd Floor Asutosh Building, University of Calcutta, 87/1 College Street,Kolkata - 700 073, West Bengal, India, email : panigrahipk(a)yahoo.com, (M) : +91 94342 43522. Joint Secretary, IASLIC, Convenor, Education Division, IASLIC; Associate Editor, IASLIC Bulletin, IASLIC, Kolkata-54 Get rid of Add-Ons in your email ID get yourname(a)ymail.com. Sign up now! http://in.promos.yahoo.com/address -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Re: [LIS-Forum] Regarding SOUL 2.0 V/s Open Source Software
by savitra sirohi 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Dr. Gupta, I agree that librarians should not be programmers. Have you considered open source AND professional IT support? I don't think there is any need to go backward in terms of software. It is possible to get the quality, innovation, no vendor lock-in, cost benefits of open source with the service quality and security that commercial software vendors offer. For instance we offer a shared hosted Koha instance starting at just Rs. 7,500 per year. This price includes hosting, hardware & software AMC, librarian helpdesk, technology helpdesk, nightly backup etc. I will be very happy to work with you or anybody else on this list to help automate libraries around the country at affordable prices. Thanks, Savitra Sirohi Nucsoft OSS Labs http://www.osslabs.biz > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Dr Pawan Kumar Gupta <pawan.jp(a)gmail.com> > Date: 2009/3/22 > Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] Regarding SOUL 2.0 V/s Open Source Software > To: forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > Cc: pku(a)nic.in, "Dr. Jagdish Arora" <jarora(a)inflibnet.ac.in> > > > Dear Upadhyay and other friends, > > I share the views expressed (by Upadhyay and a few others thinking in line > with him). > > This is not the job of a librarian to simply move in to the area of > programmer. If we are not supposed to be electrician, a sweeper, an > engineers, or a doctor; where is the problem if we are not a programmer. > > We should be able to understand the language of the programmer like other > professions, we should be able to express our needs effectively and hire the > services of programmers. > > It would be better if we devote our selves in understanding lib & inf sc > better, as compared to using our major part of the time in understanding > code of open source software. We should use available helpful > semi-commercial (like SOUL, hardly a cost in comparison to other commercial > software), or if we wish to and can afford commercial software like LIBSYS > and so on rather than start understanding the code for OSS. > > "If they could have used even CDS/ISIS or an MS ACCESS database for data > entry at least 60% work could have been over in terms of automation." is a > perfect view. i have devoted some time in counselling in IGNOU programmes > etc. And with regular interactions with LIS personnel, especially in > Rajasthan, I am of the firm view that given the manpower and infrastructure, > and keeping in view the finances available with majority of college and > public libraries they should go with something like WINISIS for generating > their catalogue and afford effective searching for their patrons. Now with > SOUL, not a costly software, and regular support from INFLIBNET (already the > improved free replacement with SOUL 2 available), small and medium sized > libraries should go for such products. > > We need to automate all libraies with the means available at our disposal. > People in the profession having a better understanding should devote to > "migration, data conversion or enterprise integrating those softwares > solutions" used by various libraries. > > Nicely written Mr Upadhyay, needs to be applauded. > With best wishes. > > 2009/3/16 Upadhyay P K <pku(a)nic.in> > > Dear professionals, >> >> My view regarding open source solution vs proprietary are as follows. >> >> 1. There are ceratin myths about open source softwares. It is a good topic >> of discussion and academic study and reserch. But the moment we try to >> implement, problems arise out. Of course in any new implementation/change, >> there are problems. People are the most important component in any solution >> , open source or closed source. >> >> 2. Total cost of ownership(TCO) is high in case of open source solution. If >> you consider the Software installation, server setup, training, AMC, >> hosting, security, follow-up, customization the cost will be high. In >> relation to the total implementation, cost of software is negligible. We >> should not be worry about the open or closed softwares, our motive should be >> Proper Information Systems Solution. The management and parent organization >> never stop if a good proposal with time bound implementation is put for >> financial approval. Government of India has allocated Rs 23000 crore for >> eGovernance during 11th Plan . Many of the organizations are not able to >> spend their ICT bugdet or sometime spend anyhow. >> >> 3. In India we are fighting for the softwares and codes developed by >> Western Countries- both Open Source tools, OS, Systems Softwares and >> majority of the open source softwares( for example Windows, Linux, .NET, >> JAVA, IIS, Apache, etc). They are developing and launching these projects, >> and in developping countries including India we are not able to decide which >> software are to be used. Althogh we should appreciate the efforts of >> NEWGENLIB team from India and many Open Technology Centres have been >> started. >> >> 4. Only people are talking in fashion of open source, freedom of owning , >> because it seems free but it's not if you talk of total solution. It has >> become a fashion to talk of RFID, SmartCard, Web 2.0, Social Networking, >> MARC, UNICODE, Mobile OPAC, Digital Libraries, etc, even if there is no >> basic infrastructure like latest hardware, networking infrastructure, web >> hosting , data entry plan, etc. >> >> 5. Earlier also there were almost free software like CDS/ISIS from UNESCO, >> DELPLUS from DELNET(with only Rs 7500 or so), SOUL for college university >> from INFLIBNET (with Rs 50000), but libraries did not utilize the >> opportunity. Majority of libraries does not have capability to understand >> simple codes of HTML and changing their logo in the software. Actually LIS >> professionals are not supposed to be programmers. They should be information >> systems manager. >> >> 6. Unless somebody takes responsibility of support or stamps the product, >> it is not advisable to use the open source softwares . It may be security >> problem. >> >> 7. I have experience of regularly interacting with many big organizations >> and libraries throughout India that are struggling in selecting the LMS >> softwares since many years. They have not yet started Data Entry of books. >> If they could have used even CDS/ISIS or an MS ACCESS database for data >> entry at least 60% work could have been over in terms of automation. >> >> 8 Some libraries I have seen, are not able to publish their OPAC on >> Internet and maintaning database on local LAN machine. They have used many >> open source softwares of LMS, Digital Library, Repository learnt in >> different forums and training programmes. But when question comes of >> migration, data conversion or enterprise integrating those softwares >> solutions, they need huge money and running here and there. >> >> 9. There are around 5 lakh libraries in the country including schools, >> hardly 10% of these may be automated using Library Management Softwares. We >> have to make them automated using open source or closed at the earliest. >> Here all the stakeholders are required to join and contribute. Only talking >> of open or closed will not be sufficient. >> >> 10. My point in discussing these issues is not to discard the open source >> softwares, but more of providing the right kind Information Systems solution >> in totality for Indian libraries. Of course there is open revolution >> throghout world . >> >> with regards >> >> P K Upadhyay >> NIC , Delhi >> -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Online M.L.I.S. degree
by DINESH SIDDAIAH 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Dear Friends, Online M.L.I.S. degree Rutgers - School of Communication, Information and Libray Studies offers M.L.I.S. degree through online learning. Those who are interested can enjoy the flexibility and convenience of managing coursework from home or from work. All course work for the online program is conducted entirely online.Online classes have the same content as on-campus courses and are taught by the same combination of faculty and adjunct instructors as on-campus program. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/master-of-library-and-information-science/comp… Thanking You, Dinesh -- Dr. Dinesh K. S. MLISc., Ph.D. Selection Grade Librarian, Nagarjuna College of Engineering & Technology, Devanahalli, Bengaluru - 562 110. Ph: +91-9845102382, Email: dinesh.ncet(a)gmail.com Blog: ksdinesh.blogspot.com, Official Blog: libraryofncet.blogspot.com -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Job Titles for Library and Information Science Professionals
by DINESH SIDDAIAH 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Dear Friends Job Titles for Library and Information Science Professionals There are more than thousand job titles for LIS professionals throughout the world from Academic Information Coordinator to Zoo Librarian. If you want to know the complete designations in LIS log on to http://www.michellemach.com/jobtitles/realjobs.html Thanking You, Dinesh -- Dr. Dinesh K. S. MLISc., Ph.D. Selection Grade Librarian, Nagarjuna College of Engineering & Technology, Devanahalli, Bengaluru - 562 110. Ph: +91-9845102382, Email: dinesh.ncet(a)gmail.com Blog: ksdinesh.blogspot.com, Official Blog: libraryofncet.blogspot.com -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Call for papers : Date Extended
by Ajay Kamble 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Thakur College of Engineering & Technology Shyamnarayan Thakur Marg, Thakur Village, Kandivali (E), Mumbai 400101, Tel: 67308131 2 DAYS NATIONAL LEVEL SYMPOSIUM ON "Lirarianship in 21st Century: Challenges & Prospectus" on April 8th - 9th , 2009 By Central Library & TCET-ISTE Chapter Last Date of Paper submission extended to 25th March 2009. For Brochure & Format of paper kindly go through this link http://www.tcetmumbai.in/Central%20Library.htm -- Ajay M. Kamble Librarian Annasaheb Vartak Arts, Commerce, Science College, Vasai Road (W), Dist. Thane - 401202 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Open Source Software
by N.S. Harinarayana 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

I would like to dive into the discussion with my observations as a teacher and a professional assisting, in a small way, the librarians in my city in their automation projects: * For a teacher like me, open source software is a boon. It is difficult for library schools to purchase commercial software. Even if they are purchased, their maintenance and updation would be difficult as they involve financial commitment from the schools. For this reason some library schools delayed the introduction of practical sessions on library automation systems in their syllabus. Experience show that commercial vendors were not very supportive for library schools in offering their software at nominal cost/free of cost. Though some software were available on demo version for library schools, their installation required some other supportive software (RDBMS) which were expensive. As a result library schools were not in favourable position to use those software too. With the emergence of open source software, library schools now have options to include the software training in their curriculum. They can also now stay updated by using the latest version of the integrated library system. * As rightly pointed out by many, Indian libraries have the options for free software (software for a very nominal cost) since late eighties. For instance, CDS/ISIS has become quite popular among Indian libraries. CDS/ISIS has a success story among many Indian libraries. Its success is not just because it is freely available. There are many other factors for its success. The most important reason that I believe for its success is that as CDS/ISIS is developed by a reputed international organization and promoted by a well-known national organization, it has been accepted by professional fraternity with much confidence. I feel that any open software to succeed, there should be a strong and reliable support from a well-known institution. It is not a bad idea to come out with a model where an institution of high stature in India officially adopts/promotes one or more open source software depending upon their merit. * As days go by, I am sure there will be a number of options open for librarians even for choosing of open source software is concerned. Forums like this should be used to exchange not only the success stories but more importantly the failure stories as well. A more articulate professional may come out their results in the form of article(s) in professional journals/conferences. This helps the profession in general. -- N.S. Harinarayana Department of Library and Information Science University of Mysore, Manasagangotri Mysore 570 006 Off. Ph: (0821) 2419393 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Urgent : Cannon of Abstracting
by manoj kumar pant 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Dear professionals, Could anyone one send me the information regarding "Ranganathan's Cannon of Abstracting" I would be gratful ------------------------------------ Manoj Kumar Pant (BSc., MLISc., CCNA) Lecturer, Deptt. of Library & Information Science Amrapali Institute, Shiksha Nagar, Haldwani, Nainital, Uttaranchal-263139. Ph. No.-09012226260(Mob.) 919219918942(Home), 238201(Office) e-mail - " manojpant2(a)rediffmail.com ". " manojpant2(a)yahoo.co.in ". ------------------------------------------ "Don't walk ahead of me - I can't follow you, don't walk behind me I can't lead you, Walk along with me and be my friend." ------------------------------------------ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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More Information about Koha Workshops in Mysore (9-10 Apr) & Mumbai (17-18 Apr)
by savitra sirohi 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

All, More information on these workshops can be found here: http://www.osslabs.biz/koha_library_management_system/workshop.html Those who need accommodation at Mysore, kindly contact Dr. Nikam. We are unable to offer accommodation at Mumbai. I also request those who have registered or are planning to register to fill this form: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cFJnR0JMMEF4cHpwT0MyWUxQTm9… Thanks, Savitra Sirohi Nucsoft OSS Labs http://www.osslabs.biz -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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PROGRAMME OF IASLIC and BLA
by Mailing List Admin 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:34:46 +0530 (IST) From: Pijushkanti Panigrahi <panigrahipk(a)yahoo.com> PROGRAMME OF IASLIC and BLA Dr. Barun Mukherji, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and former Librarian & Teacher of Library and Information Science will deliver IASLIC's� XVth Annual Ranganathan Memorial Lecture, 2008 on Books, Libraries And Culture at the Seminar Room, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme-VII-M, Kankurgachi, Kolkata 700 054 on Thursday March 26, 2009 at 6.00 P..M. Bengal Library Association (BLA) will release a book 'Bangla Pustak Bargikaran' (Classification of Bengali Books) edited by Sri Ramkrishna Saha, President, Bengal Library Association at the Seminar Room, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme-VII-M, Kankurgachi, Kolkata 700 054 on Thursday� March 26, 2009 . Prof. Pabitra Sarkar, Vice-President, Paschimbanga Bangla Academy and former Vice-Chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata will release the book and preside over the function. All are cordially invited to participate in the programme. Dr Pijushkanti Panigrahi, Professor, Dept of Lib and Inf Science, 3rd Floor Asutosh Building, University of Calcutta, 87/1 College Street,Kolkata - 700 073, West Bengal, India, email : panigrahipk(a)yahoo.com, (M) : +91 94342 43522. Joint Secretary, IASLIC, Convenor, Education Division, IASLIC; Associate Editor, IASLIC Bulletin, IASLIC, Kolkata-54

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Fw: MIT Adopts World's 70th Green Open Access Self-Archiving Mandate
by Mailing List Admin 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:50:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Subbiah Arunachalam <subbiah_a(a)yahoo.com> Passed by Unanimous of the Faculty, March 18, 2009 The Faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is committed to disseminating the fruits of its research and scholarship as widely as possible. In keeping with that commitment, the Faculty adopts the following policy: Each Faculty member grants to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology nonexclusive permission to make available his or her scholarly articles and to exercise the copyright in those articles for the purpose of open dissemination. In legal terms, each Faculty member grants to MIT a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license to exercise any and all rights under copyright relating to each of his or her scholarly articles, in any medium, provided that the articles are not sold for a profit, and to authorize others to do the same. The policy will apply to all scholarly articles written while the person is a member of the Faculty except for any articles completed before the adoption of this policy and any articles for which the Faculty member entered into an incompatible licensing or assignment agreement before the adoption of this policy. The Provost or Provost's designate will waive application of the policy for a particular article upon written notification by the author, who informs MIT of the reason. To assist the Institute in distributing the scholarly articles, as of the date of publication, each Faculty member will make available an electronic copy of his or her final version of the article at no charge to a designated representative of the Provost's Office in appropriate formats (such as PDF) specified by the Provost's Office. The Provost's Office will make the scholarly article available to the public in an open- access repository. The Office of the Provost, in consultation with the Faculty Committee on the Library System will be responsible for interpreting this policy, resolving disputes concerning its interpretation and application, and recommending changes to the Faculty. The policy is to take effect immediately; it will be reviewed after five years by the Faculty Policy Committee, with a report presented to the Faculty. The Faculty calls upon the Faculty Committee on the Library System to develop and monitor a plan for a service or mechanism that would render compliance with the policy as convenient for the faculty as possible.

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Fwd: Regarding SOUL 2.0 V/s Open Source Software
by Dr Pawan Kumar Gupta 22 Mar '09

22 Mar '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dr Pawan Kumar Gupta <pawan.jp(a)gmail.com> Date: 2009/3/22 Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] Regarding SOUL 2.0 V/s Open Source Software To: forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Cc: pku(a)nic.in, "Dr. Jagdish Arora" <jarora(a)inflibnet.ac.in> Dear Upadhyay and other friends, I share the views expressed (by Upadhyay and a few others thinking in line with him). This is not the job of a librarian to simply move in to the area of programmer. If we are not supposed to be electrician, a sweeper, an engineers, or a doctor; where is the problem if we are not a programmer. We should be able to understand the language of the programmer like other professions, we should be able to express our needs effectively and hire the services of programmers. It would be better if we devote our selves in understanding lib & inf sc better, as compared to using our major part of the time in understanding code of open source software. We should use available helpful semi-commercial (like SOUL, hardly a cost in comparison to other commercial software), or if we wish to and can afford commercial software like LIBSYS and so on rather than start understanding the code for OSS. "If they could have used even CDS/ISIS or an MS ACCESS database for data entry at least 60% work could have been over in terms of automation." is a perfect view. i have devoted some time in counselling in IGNOU programmes etc. And with regular interactions with LIS personnel, especially in Rajasthan, I am of the firm view that given the manpower and infrastructure, and keeping in view the finances available with majority of college and public libraries they should go with something like WINISIS for generating their catalogue and afford effective searching for their patrons. Now with SOUL, not a costly software, and regular support from INFLIBNET (already the improved free replacement with SOUL 2 available), small and medium sized libraries should go for such products. We need to automate all libraies with the means available at our disposal. People in the profession having a better understanding should devote to "migration, data conversion or enterprise integrating those softwares solutions" used by various libraries. Nicely written Mr Upadhyay, needs to be applauded. With best wishes. 2009/3/16 Upadhyay P K <pku(a)nic.in> Dear professionals, > > My view regarding open source solution vs proprietary are as follows. > > 1. There are ceratin myths about open source softwares. It is a good topic > of discussion and academic study and reserch. But the moment we try to > implement, problems arise out. Of course in any new implementation/change, > there are problems. People are the most important component in any solution > , open source or closed source. > > 2. Total cost of ownership(TCO) is high in case of open source solution. If > you consider the Software installation, server setup, training, AMC, > hosting, security, follow-up, customization the cost will be high. In > relation to the total implementation, cost of software is negligible. We > should not be worry about the open or closed softwares, our motive should be > Proper Information Systems Solution. The management and parent organization > never stop if a good proposal with time bound implementation is put for > financial approval. Government of India has allocated Rs 23000 crore for > eGovernance during 11th Plan . Many of the organizations are not able to > spend their ICT bugdet or sometime spend anyhow. > > 3. In India we are fighting for the softwares and codes developed by > Western Countries- both Open Source tools, OS, Systems Softwares and > majority of the open source softwares( for example Windows, Linux, .NET, > JAVA, IIS, Apache, etc). They are developing and launching these projects, > and in developping countries including India we are not able to decide which > software are to be used. Althogh we should appreciate the efforts of > NEWGENLIB team from India and many Open Technology Centres have been > started. > > 4. Only people are talking in fashion of open source, freedom of owning , > because it seems free but it's not if you talk of total solution. It has > become a fashion to talk of RFID, SmartCard, Web 2.0, Social Networking, > MARC, UNICODE, Mobile OPAC, Digital Libraries, etc, even if there is no > basic infrastructure like latest hardware, networking infrastructure, web > hosting , data entry plan, etc. > > 5. Earlier also there were almost free software like CDS/ISIS from UNESCO, > DELPLUS from DELNET(with only Rs 7500 or so), SOUL for college university > from INFLIBNET (with Rs 50000), but libraries did not utilize the > opportunity. Majority of libraries does not have capability to understand > simple codes of HTML and changing their logo in the software. Actually LIS > professionals are not supposed to be programmers. They should be information > systems manager. > > 6. Unless somebody takes responsibility of support or stamps the product, > it is not advisable to use the open source softwares . It may be security > problem. > > 7. I have experience of regularly interacting with many big organizations > and libraries throughout India that are struggling in selecting the LMS > softwares since many years. They have not yet started Data Entry of books. > If they could have used even CDS/ISIS or an MS ACCESS database for data > entry at least 60% work could have been over in terms of automation. > > 8 Some libraries I have seen, are not able to publish their OPAC on > Internet and maintaning database on local LAN machine. They have used many > open source softwares of LMS, Digital Library, Repository learnt in > different forums and training programmes. But when question comes of > migration, data conversion or enterprise integrating those softwares > solutions, they need huge money and running here and there. > > 9. There are around 5 lakh libraries in the country including schools, > hardly 10% of these may be automated using Library Management Softwares. We > have to make them automated using open source or closed at the earliest. > Here all the stakeholders are required to join and contribute. Only talking > of open or closed will not be sufficient. > > 10. My point in discussing these issues is not to discard the open source > softwares, but more of providing the right kind Information Systems solution > in totality for Indian libraries. Of course there is open revolution > throghout world . > > with regards > > P K Upadhyay > NIC , Delhi > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay <psm_bu(a)india.com> > Date: Monday, March 16, 2009 10:18 am > Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] OpenSource Debate > To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > > > Dear all > > > > A good logical and time befitting debate started at last. I'm > > completely agreed with Mr. Singh and would like to add a few > > point in that .... > > > > 1. Close source commercial LMSs are non-transparent in the use > > and application of standards, whereas FLOSS based LMSs are very > > clear in this direction (take the example of Koha, right from > > the 1999 it is trying to follow and implement all the global > > internationally agreed upon standards e.g. EDIFACT, NCIP, Z39.50 > > etc.); > > 2. Close source commercial LMSs are still not compliant with Web > > 2.0 tools, techniques and philosophy. FLOSS based LMSs are quite > > accommodative in this regard, for example, Koha 3 is RSS > > compliant (it produce RSS feed for every search query issued by > > users), supports Tag submission by users to describe a resource, > > users can post their comments on a particular resource available > > in the library. In short it follows participative architecture > > or user-at-the centre stage model. Unfortunately no other LMSs > > is presently web 2.0-enableb; > > > > 3. Koha (2.x and 3.x) is web-centric in architecture; > > > > 4. Fully compatible with Unicode 5.1 and thereby ensures > > storing, processing and retrieval of Indic script based resource > > (see www.granthalaya.org for a live demo); > > > > 5. Koha 3 supports information mashup - in fact we are noe able > > to snatch cover page images from Amazon without scanning pages > > or writing a single line of code (see the site of Department of > > LIS, University of Burdwan @ > > http://burdwan01.kwc.kohalibrary.com/ - search digital library > > or LIS related terms). > > > > Hope to see a brave open world > > > > Dr. Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay > > Department of Library and Information Science > > University of Burdwan, > > Burdwan, Rajbati - 713104, WB > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Sukhdev Singh" <esukhdev(a)gmail.com> > > > To: "SatishDpnd@Adroit" <satish.dpnd(a)gmail.com> > > > Cc: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > > > Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] SOUL-NewGenLib-OpenSource Debate > > > Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:16:33 +0530 > > > > > > > > > Dear All, > > > > > > I don't think we should shy away from any debate. But unfortunately > > > LIS Community in India seems to be relatively shy of healthy > > debates.> > > > > > > If I am given a chance to implement a Library Automation > > System, I > > > would prefer a model in the following order: > > > > > > 1. Open Source Solution. For the freedom it provides in terms of > > > 'owning' the systems for long term use. I won't mind taking a paid > > > support service. > > > > > > 2. Free Software. For it won't burden my budgets and won't > > trouble me > > > with approvals of higher authorities. > > > > > > 3. Commercial Solution. I would be going for it if none is available > > > in Open Source domain. I will keep myself ready for migration > > to an > > > Open Source Solution. > > > > > > I still feel that efforts required for training and implementation > > > remains the same for all models of softwares. > > > > > > I would still like to hear more on KOHA Vs NewGenLib. I am impressed > > > with the Delhi Public Library's ( http://dpl.gov.in/ ) > > implementation> of KOHA, though I have no idea of inside story > > about it. I would like > > > to see NewGenLib's implementation available for public view. > > > > > > Thanks > > > > > > --Sukhdev Singh. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 7:51 PM, SatishDpnd@Adroit > > > <satish.dpnd(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > In response to LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 72, Issue 13 : Message > > 2 and earlier > > > > discussions on the topic > > > > > > > > > > > > Dear LIS professionals > > > > > > > > The debate on NewGenLib v/s SOUL is simply not necessary > > because I feel both > > > > are meant for different segments of LIS market. SOUL > > was developed by > > > > INFLIBNET years back under the aegis of UGC to support > > academic Library > > > > community which at that time was unable to invest in > > proprietary LMS. The > > > > initial College edition of SOUL was costing merely > > Rs.15,000/- (until > > > > recently) when proprietary standalone LMS was costing Rs.1 > > lac. There are > > > > more than 1600 SOUL installations in India. Just think > > of them ! What > > > > should they do ? Get free-upgrade of SOUL 2.0 (with > > moderate costs of > > > > installation) or go for NewGenLib/Koha which is free and > > open source. SOUL > > > > 2.0 has added many more facilities to its previous > > version. It's web-based, > > > > many International Standards have been adopted and it is SIP2/NCIP > > > > compatible too. Now think of those smaller libraries > > which have only couple > > > > of staff, what should they do ? Use readily available > > upgraded LMS or > > > > switch over to free, open source NewGenLib or Koha - for > > which neither they > > > > have expertise nor time to devote. > > > > > > > > All of us those who are adopting Open Source software know > > very well that > > > > it needs substantial staff-time-investment - may it be for > > data migration, > > > > customising each function to suit to one's needs or even > > fixing small > > > > problem of default currency. Open Source LMS is only a > > powerful engine, but > > > > whether one can make a racing car out of it or not depends > > upon availability > > > > of the workshop facilities, latest tools and machinery, > > research staff to > > > > support and designing team to take care of its > > dynamics. Therefore I would > > > > not blindly support Open Source just because it is almost > > free compared to > > > > proprietary LMS - but would strongly advocate use of SOUL > > 2.0 by those who > > > > would like to concentrate more on user-services than > > breaking their heads in > > > > customising Open Source LMS. > > > > > > > > SOUL 2.0 is a step towards upgrading efficiency of LIS > > community as a whole > > > > at very negligible input costs. Those who feel the > > SOUL 2.0 rates are high > > > > should enquire for rates for proprietary LMS in the > > market, and also how > > > > much would it cost to customise Open Source with facilities > > which are > > > > offered by SOUL 2.0. > > > > > > > > I have yet not come across any fully operational Open Source > > LMS in any of > > > > the large Libraries in India. Many open source > > agencies claim that each and > > > > every module/facility can be customised, e.g. Template > > designs, RSS Feeds, > > > > Blogs, Federated Search, scheduled auto e-mail generators, > > Customised> > Reports, MIS stats, Online Reservation facility, > > built-in SIP2/NCIP, > > > > Video-streaming facility through web-OPAC, importing records > > from web > > > > catalogues, exporting records in variety of formats, remote > > log-ins, Serials > > > > Management etc., but when it comes to practical > > implementation, it takes > > > > months together to mould them to match needs of the organisation. > > > > > > > > Therefore I will never ever criticise indigenous LMS like > > SOUL. It is/was > > > > developed for specific cause/purpose and not for competing > > with proprietary > > > > LMS or to discourage use of Open Source LMS. We all > > should recommend it to > > > > all those who are short of resources and do not have > > time/expertise to > > > > customise freely available open-source. > > > > > > > > Would certainly welcome your views > > > > > > > > Happy LMSing ! > > > > > > > > satish deshpande > > > > formerly Head British Council Library Ahmedabad > > > > > > > > Mentor, Nirma University Libraries; Adviser, KM&IC, National > > Institute of > > > > Design, Ahmedabad > > > > M : 098250 30460 > > > > email : satish.dpnd(a)gmail.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > In response to LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 72, Issue 13 : Message 2 > > > > > > > >> Message: 2 > > > >> Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 13:56:14 +0530 (IST) > > > >> From: "I.R.N.Goudar" <goudar(a)nal.res.in> > > > >> Subject: [LIS-Forum] SOUL-INFLIBNET-NEWGENLIB > > > >> To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > > > >> Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0903091302140.24277(a)css.nal.res.in> > > > >> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed > > > >> > > > >> Dear Professionals, > > > >> Herewith I have forwarded my response I sent through lis- > > forum soon after > > > >> the announcement of NewGenLib as open source software. My > > message answers > > > >> few questions raised by few LIS colleagues. Ther is no poin > > in discussing > > > >> the merits and demerits of SOUL, GRANTHALAYA, Maitreyee, > > Suchika, etc. > > > >> At this juncture of avilability of open source software, > > what should be > > > >> our (librarians) stand? What responsible institutions like > > INFLIBNET,> >> NISCAIR, DRTC, NIC, Keshavan Institute, etc > > should do? Government has > > > >> spent lot of money various agencies for the > > development of good library > > > >> automation system. Some of them were cooked half? > > Discontinued further > > > >> developments? some of them never saw the light of the day? > > Some of > > > >> them did not get good support after sale or implementation? > > While I have > > > >> full confidence in the capability and vision of present > > director of > > > >> INFLIBNET for developing SOUL as one of the good system, my > > basic question > > > >> is, at this juncture is it necessary still put efforts and spend > > > >> money on such developments, when so many open source > > softawre are > > > >> available? NEWGENLIB, apart from using open source > > flatform, uses only > > > >> open standards. It has stood test ofthe time. At national > > level we > > > >> should have customization, migration and support service > > > >> arrangements on any open system we adopt. MY LIS-FORUM > > MESSGE SENT ON > > > >> 11 JAN 2008, GIVES SOME SUGGESTIONS IN THIS MATTER (Copy > > enclosed below) > > > >> Goudar > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> ------------------------------------------------------------ > > -------------- > > > >> Dr. I.R.N. > > Goudar Tel: 91-80-25086081 > > > >> Sci F & Head, Information Centre > > for 91-80-25235315 > > > >> Aerospace Science and > > Technology Fax: 91-80-25268072 > > > >> National Aerospace > > Laboratories E-mail:goudar@css.nal.res.in<E-mail%3Agoudar(a)css.nal.res.in> > > > >> Airport Road, BANGALORE-560 017 India > > > >> http://www.icast.org.in/staff/goudar.html > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > > > >> -- > > > >> This message has been scanned for viruses and > > > >> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is > > > >> believed to be clean. > > > >> > > > >> _______________________________________________ > > > >> LIS-Forum mailing list > > > >> LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > > > >> http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > > > This message has been scanned for viruses and > > > > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is > > > > believed to be clean. > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > LIS-Forum mailing list > > > > LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > > > > http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > This message has been scanned for viruses and > > > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is > > > believed to be clean. > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > LIS-Forum mailing list > > > LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > > > http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > _______________________________________________ > > Search for products and services at: > > http://search.mail.com > > > > -- > > This message has been scanned for viruses and > > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is > > believed to be clean. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > LIS-Forum mailing list > > LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > > http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > -- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by *MailScanner* <http://www.mailscanner.info/>, and is > believed to be clean. > _______________________________________________ > LIS-Forum mailing list > LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > -- Dr Pawan Kumar Gupta Rajasthan University Library Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, Jaipur - 302 055 INDIA +91-141-2707866 -- Dr Pawan Kumar Gupta Rajasthan University Library Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, Jaipur - 302 055 INDIA +91-141-2707866 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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International Journal of Library and Information Science
by Ajay Kum Sharma 21 Mar '09

21 Mar '09

Dear Colleague, The International Journal of Library and Information Science (IJLIS) is a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal published that will be monthly by Academic Journals (http://www.academicjournals.org/IJLIS) IJLIS is dedicated to increasing the depth of the subject across disciplines with the ultimate aim of expanding knowledge of the subject. Call for Papers IJLIS will cover all areas of the subject. The journal welcomes the submission of manuscripts that meet the general criteria of significance and scientific excellence, and will publish: · Original articles in basic and applied research · Case studies · Critical reviews, surveys, opinions, commentaries and essays We invite you to submit your manuscript(s) to IJLIS(a)acadjourn.org for publication in the Maiden Issue (April 2009). Our objective is to inform authors of the decision on their manuscript(s) within four weeks of submission. Following acceptance, a paper will normally be published in the next issue. Instruction for authors and other details are available on our website; http://www.academicjournals.org/IJLIS/Instruction.htm IJLIS is an Open Access Journal One key request of researchers across the world is unrestricted access to research publications. Open access gives a worldwide audience larger than that of any subscription-based journal and thus increases the visibility and impact of published works. It also enhances indexing, retrieval power and eliminates the need for permissions to reproduce and distribute content. IJLIS is fully committed to the Open Access Initiative and will provide free access to all articles as soon as they are published. One can contact: Emeje Cynthia Editorial Assistant International Journal of Library and Information Science (IJLIS) E-mail: IJLIS(a)acadjourn.org -- Thanks and regards. Ajay Kumar Sharma Assistant Librarian, Central Library, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, Birbhum - 731235, W.B. Email: ajaysharma.lib(a)visva-bharati.ac.in Web: http://www.geocities.com/ajaysharma_lib/ *********************************************************** 1. Join today Digital Library Discussion Forum http://drtc.isibang.ac.in/dlrg 2. Join today LIS-Forum mailing list http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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IPR-library
by chandra shekar 20 Mar '09

20 Mar '09

I will try let you know in brief, IPR is a part of Research and development in Industrial age. Most of R&D organizations having IPR as a department. Their major role is filing patents (getting license) in international and domestic market on current working and concerned projects. Patent is one of the most important source of information which can be defined as a formal description of an innovation. Accordingly patent documents are highly useful for R&D activities. Some times IPR dept itself can do all the process according to their requirements; their requirements can be based on sources/facilities which are available in R&D Library like Down loading patents Patents Clipping Service CD-ROM databases Patent Index to Chemical Abstract books Patent related journals / IPR Journals IPR Related books Controller General of Patents and Design Patent Gazettes Online IPR related database Access Conducting Literature Search Intellectual Property Rights Bulletins These are the minimum things one R&D Library should have to run IPR. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Just Published: "Open Educational Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace" by UNESCO Publishing
by Puna Das 20 Mar '09

20 Mar '09

Just Published "Open Educational Resources: Conversations in Cyberspace" Edited by Susan d'Antoni and Catriona Savage Education on the Move series Price: 12,00 € Paris: UNESCO Publishing, 2009. ISBN: 978-92-3-104085-6 Abstract Education systems today face two major challenges: expanding the reach of education and improving its quality. Traditional solutions will not suffice, especially in the context of today's knowledge-intensive societies. The Open Educational Resources movement offers one solution for extending the reach of education and expanding learning opportunities. The goal of the movement is to equalize access to knowledge worldwide through openly and freely available online high-quality content. UNESCO has contributed to building global awareness about Open Educational Resources, through facilitating an extended conversation in cyberspace. Over the course of two years, a large and diverse international community came together in a series of online discussion forums to discuss the concept of Open Educational Resources and its potential. In making the background papers and reports from those discussions available for the first time in print, this publication seeks to share even more widely the contributions made by so many. It is intended for all who may be intrigued by the Open Educational Resources movement – its promise and its progress. Table of Contents Foreword/ Nicholas Burnett Introduction/ Susan D’Antoni SECTION 1 - A FIRST FORUM: PRESENTING THE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) MOVEMENT 1. Open Educational Resources: an introductory note/ Sally Johnstone 2. Providing OER and related issues: an introductory note/ Anne Margulies, Richard Baraniuk, Candace Thille, David Wiley 3. Using OER and related issues: an introductory note/ Mohammed-Nabil Sabry, Peter Bateman, Pedro Aranzadi, Derrick Tate 4. Discussion highlights/ Paul Albright SECTION 2 - ONGOING DISCUSSION 5. A research agenda for OER: discussion highlights/ Kim Tucker and Peter Bateman 6. A 'Do-It-Yourself' resource for OER: discussion highlights/ Boris Vukovic 7. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and OER: Part I - An introductory note/ Boris Vukovic with Claude Martin Part 2 - Discussion highlights/ Boris Vukovic SECTION 3 - A SECOND FORUM: DISCUSSING THE OECD STUDY OF OER 8. Mapping producers and users/ Jan Hylén 9. Why individuals and institutions share and use OER/ Jan Hylén 10. Discussion highlights/ Alexa Joyce SECTION 4 - PRIORITIES FOR ACTION 11. Open Educational Resources: the way forward/ Susan D'Antoni More Info: http://publishing.unesco.org/details.aspx?Code_Livre=4671 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anup Kumar Das New Delhi, India http://anupkumardas.blogspot.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Sony e-book reader gets 500,000 books from Google
by DINESH SIDDAIAH 20 Mar '09

20 Mar '09

Dear Friends, Sony e-book reader gets 500,000 books from Google Google is making half a million books, unprotected by copyright, available for free on Sony Corp's electronic book-reading device. It's the first time Google has made its vast trove of scanned public-domain books available to an e-book device, and vaults the Sony Reader past Amazon.com Inc's Kindle as the device with the largest available library, at about 600,000 books. The books are already available as free downloads in the Portable Document Format (PDF), which works well on computer screens but not on e-book readers. Google will provide the books to the Sony Reader in the EPUB (electronic publication) format, which lets the lines flow differently to fit a smaller screen. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Sony-e-book-reader-gets-5L-books/rssart… Thanking You, Dinesh -- Dr. Dinesh K. S. MLISc., Ph.D. Selection Grade Librarian, Nagarjuna College of Engineering & Technology, Devanahalli, Bengaluru - 562 110. Ph: +91-9845102382, Email: dinesh.ncet(a)gmail.com Blog: ksdinesh.blogspot.com, Official Blog: libraryofncet.blogspot.com -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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FREE-Conf. on Scholarly Commun. & OA
by I.R.N.Goudar 19 Mar '09

19 Mar '09

Dear Professional Colleagues, DON'T MISS THIS GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO WORLD CLASS EXPERTS ON OA AND PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION. NAL in collaboration with IASc and CIS has organised compact one day conference on "Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons(Open Access)" on 26 March 2009 at NAL, Bangalore. Apart from Prof. Balaram Director, IISc a galaxy of academicians/scientists/editors/ information scientists like Prof. N. Mukunda, VP, IASc; Prof. Johm Willinsky, Stanford University; Prof Leslie Chan, Univ of Toronto; Dr. AR Uapdhya, Director, NAL; Dr. Sunil Abraham Director-Policy, CIS; Dr. DK Sahu, Medknow Publications; Prof Subbaiah Arunachalam; and Mr NV Sathyanarayana, MD, Informatics India will be delivering talks/ participating in Panel Discussion on " "Scholarly Communication and Openness: Emerging Trends". The registration is free and open to all. I request you to kindly inform about this event to your colleagues. Details are given below. Dr. I.R.N. Goudar ----------- One Day Open Conference( NO REGISTRATION FEE) on Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons(Open Access) 26th March, 2009: 9.30AM - 4.15PM Venue: S.R. Valluri Auditorium National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore-560017 --------------- ORGANIZERS: National Aerospace Laboratories (as part of its Golden Jubilee Celebrations) Indian Academy of Sciences Centre for Internet and Society PARTICIPANTS: Welcome to Policy makers, Academicians, Scientists, Editors, Publishers, Media persons, Librarians, etc. TOPICS COVERED: Scholarly Communication, Research Publication Issues, Copyrights of Publishing Authors, Publishers Attitude, Open Access (OA) Movement, OA Scenario in the World and India OA Declarations, OA Channels: OA Journals, Repositories, OA Policy: National and Institutional Level, OA Challenges: Economic, Societal Impact of OA on Science Communication INAUGURAL KEYNOTE: Prof. HS Mukunda, Vice President, Indian Academy of Sciences SPEAKERS: Prof. John Willinsky, Stanford University Prof. Leslie Chan, University of Toronto Dr D K Sahu, MedKnow Publications Dr. Sunil Abraham, Director, Centre for Internet and Society PANEL DISCUSSION: 2.45 - 4.15 pm "Scholarly Communication and Openness: Emerging Trends" Prof. P Balaram, Director, IISc & Editor, Curr. Sci. CHAIRMAN Prof. John Willinsky, Stanford University Panelist Prof. Leslie Chan, University of Toronto Panelist Dr. A.R. Upadhya, Director, NAL Panelist Mr. N.V. Sathyanarayana, MD,Informatics India Panelist Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam, Centre for Internet and Soc. Panelist BACKGROUND: Open Access to the scientific literature means the removal of barriers, including price barrier, for accessing scholarly work. In today's knowledge based society the advent of Internet and widespread and easy access to scientific information are facilitating research and innovation. Open Access is not only changing the nature of scholarly communication but even the way research is carried out. Indeed open access is the bedrock on which the emerging global research library initiative is being built. Scientists and scientific institutions in India - some of them to be precise - have moved up in the value chain in that they access information and disseminate their findings often through barrier-free electronic channels. Out of about 4500 open access journals (OAJ) world over, India accounts for 150 titles. The major Indian contributors for OAJ include Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, MedKnow Publications and NISCAIR. About 50 institutes have set up their institutional open access repositories including IISc, NAL, NIO, RRI, IIAP, IITs, etc. Prof. Samir Brahmachari, Director General of CSIR, came up with the Open Source Drug Discovery programme as an alternative to the traditional patent-driven model of drug research. Recently CSIR has adopted open access policy as recommended by its Group of Open Access Science Publications. Thus open access - both for accessing worldwide information and for making our own research more visible - is not new to India. But one must admit that considering the size of India's research and higher education enterprise what we have achieved so far is utterly inadequate to commensurate with our ambition to become a knowledge power. We have a long way to go. And the first step is to adopt open access nationwide. This one day conference on "Conference on Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons" is organized to take stock of the current developments in Open Access and to highlight the issues that would need to be addressed to enable a wider access to scientific knowledge and to enhance the visibility of research performed in India. PS: While spot registration is allowed, we request you to kindly register through e-mail along with name, designation, address, contact telephone and e-mail. We have not made any arrangements for accommodation. Conference Site: http://www.icast.org.in/events/OA-Conf.html For more information please contact: Dr.(Mrs) Poornima Narayana Deputy Head, ICAST National Aerospace Laboratories Airport Road, BANGALORE-560017 Tel:080-25086083 Fax:25260862 Email: poornima(a)nal.res.in -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. I.R.N. Goudar Tel: 91-80-25086081 Sci G & Head, Information Centre for 91-80-25235315 Aerospace Science and Technology Fax: 91-80-25268072 National Aerospace Laboratories E-mail:goudar@css.nal.res.in Airport Road, BANGALORE-560 017 India http://www.icast.org.in/staff/goudar.html -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Financial Crisis and libraries concerns
by Anil Kumar 19 Mar '09

19 Mar '09

Dear All The global financial crisis is moving towards emerging economies like India and one can see clear impact in the library sector. Rising dollar rates and (unfounded) price increase in journals and databases defy the logic of increased demand leads to decrease in prices. On a general note it is quite evident that all libraries have been faced with budget cuts, directly or indirectly. In India the same product today costs about 30-40 % higher than previous year. This is mainly because of the fact that US dollar prices (common currency we pay for foreign titles) has gone up from about Rs. 40 a dollar a year back to about Rs. 51 a dollar today. Add to this the greedy publishers have increased their prices in the range of 7-15%. Now even if we do not look at cut in budget and increase it by 10% as in the bygone days, one cannot subscribe to the same content as we did last year. The point is that where does all this lead to. We may soon have a time when even major libraries will not be able to afford to subscribe to content on a continous basis. With global crisis looming large at our doorsteps we need to work out alternatives in this direction and be prepared to face the worst case scenario. My hunch is that if all libraries and publishers put their head together we may come out with sensible solutions without harming each others survival. Survival may be a strong word but does not have a substitute, atleast for the publishers first. Globally one can see movements to contain the impact of future financial constraints. It is time that we in India, as librarians, get together and plan for the challenges. Maybe we should think of reduction in subscription but not reduction in access (through resource sharing). It is high time that we really looked at proper resource sharing and reducing costs so that we can maintain same or more access levels. Thanks H Anil Kumar Librarian Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Inauguration of School Library
by Library＠Arboretum.org.in 19 Mar '09

19 Mar '09

Dear All, The inaugural function of School Library in Government Primary School, Urban Colony, Bhongir would be held on Friday, March 20, 2009, 10 am. All are cordially invited. How to reach: >From Hyderabad/Secunderabad, catch any bus which goes to Yadagirigutta and get down at Bhongir Main District Bus Stand. Hire an auto. The auto fare would be about Rs.15. Please carry a water bottle and something to eat. Thanks Sincerely Prafulla mobile: 93962 51106 T.V. Prafulla Chandra Research Officer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dharma Vana Arboretum Administrative Office Plot 95/1, Phase 2 IDA Cherlapally Hyderabad 500 051 Andhra Pradesh India Mobile: 93962 51106 Phones Direct +91 40 2726 0930 +91 40 3911 4202 EPABX +91 40 2726 0801 Ext. 202 +91 40 2726 0802 Ext. 202 +91 40 3911 4200 Ext. 202 Fax +91 40 3911 4219 www.arboretum.org.in ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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