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

excemption from NET SET exams for Librarians
by Chitra P Rao 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

We have to view this requirement in its totality. More librarians work in Insttiutes and Organisations who have not had any teaching experience nor do they aspire to become teachers without the experience. Hence while the NET SET requirement for teaching positions are relevant for doing PHD's for those who are working on their own or as part of a group should also be given the opportunity of doing a PHD without the NET SET requirement in all universities. Only some do not have that as a primary requirement. For a person with 15-20 years work ex and who wants to do PHD it is indeed very difficult to appear for the NET SET exams. hence while reconsidering the NET SET exams this aspect may be given some consideration. As a large number of Librarians are non teachers also. Thank you. Sr Librarian and Head LIS NITIE Mumbai 400 087 ph: 28573371 extn 337

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UGC NET/ SLET for LIS professionals.
by rajesh bhardwaj 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

From:- Rajesh Kumar Bhardwaj http://www.rajweb.info Dear All Professionals, I am very thankful and agree with all those who support the NET compulsion and strongly recommend that NET should remain eligibility criteria for Lecturer / Assistant Librarian / College Librarians because the wheel of educational reforms can not go back in 20th century. I have done NET in first attempt but still waiting for appropriate status and feel that NET should remain on top. Please send your response by filling the questionnaire available at http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review.doc further details are available at (http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review%20_mungekar.pdf) with kind regards, RKB From:- Rajesh Kumar Bhardwaj http://www.rajweb.info http://www.rajweb.info Dear All Professionals, I am very thankful and agree with all those who support the NET compulsion and strongly recommend that NET should remain eligibility criteria for Lecturer / Assistant Librarian / College Librarians because the wheel of educational reforms can not go back in 20 th century. I have done NET in first attempt but still waiting for appropriate status and feel that NET should remain on top. Please send your response by filling the questionnaire available at http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review.doc http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review.doc further details are available at ( http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review%20_mungekar.pdf http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review%20_mungekar.pdf ) with kind regards, RKB

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indianjournals.com
by Chandrima Roy 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

Dear All, We would like to introduce Indianjournals.com in this forum, which is an effort of <http://www.indianjournals.com/other_sites/de/index.htm> DIVAN ENTERPRISES to provide single platform to Indian Journals and highlight Indian contributions internationally. Indianjournals.com is a year old venture that presently hosts 34 Indian Publications from 28 different societies covering 8 subjects so far. We are continuously increasing the number of Indian Publications and invite the Societies to come up with their journals to get the same hosted on the common platform. We also seek your preferences in adding journals to this platform. Full-text articles of many journals are available free on the website. We are also providing online subscriptions to the paid journals available and offering exclusive Package Deals too! For more information, please log on to our website: http://www.indianjournals.com <http://www.indianjournals.com/> or contact us for further details and queries. Thanks & Regards Greesh Kr. Behal (General Manager) indianjournals.com B-9, Basement, "A" Block Local Shopping Complex Naraina Vihar, Ring Road New Delhi - 110028 Mob. +91-9350230872 Website : http://www.indianjournals.com <http://www.indianjournals.com/> Email: gbehal(a)indianjournals.com  [A] Dear All, We would like to introduce Indianjournals.com in this forum, which is an effort of http://www.indianjournals.com/other_sites/de/index.htm DIVAN ENTERPRISES to provide single platform to Indian Journals and highlight Indian contributions internationally. Indianjournals.com is a year old venture that presently hosts 34 Indian Publications from 28 different societies covering 8 subjects so far. We are continuously increasing the number of Indian Publications and invite the Societies to come up with their journals to get the same hosted on the common platform. We also seek your preferences in adding journals to this platform. Full-text articles of many journals are available free on the website. We are also providing online subscriptions to the paid journals available and offering exclusive Package Deals too! For more information, please log on to our website: http://www.indianjournals.com/ http://www.indianjournals.com or contact us for further details and queries. Thanks & Regards Greesh Kr. Behal (General Manager) indianjournals.com B-9, Basement, “A” Block Local Shopping Complex Naraina Vihar , Ring Road New Delhi – 110028 Mob. +91-9350230872 Website : http://www.indianjournals.com/ http://www.indianjournals.com Email: mailto:gbehal@indianjournals.com gbehal(a)indianjournals.com � �

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M.Phil and Ph.D Issue ............
by yekanath kamble 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

Dear all, Of course i have not cleared any of these exams.I feel exemption for NET/SLET is not required. Based on the previous poor perform in academics the UGC has made this system which can inculcate the high standards in higher education system in india.Yes, there is no need to underestimate the candidates who posses M.Phil/PhD degrees in exceptional cases. As i observed in seven years experience in most of the sectors there is no frankly good treatment for library professionals as equal grades as employee in there respective parent organization?. So, couple of months back i noticed a mail from maharastra regarding this in this forum. As all of us know there are several universities in india offering distance education from Certificate course to Ph.d level in Library info. sc. do's any body will expect efficient practical knowledge in them about the profession?. Will there be any value for talented candidates? What will be the fate of profession status then?. Let it be there M.Phil and Ph.D after clearing this sort of NET/SLET (Agni Pariksha) only. If such exams are made mandatory. I feel there is respect for deserved candidates in all branched of knowledge. with regards. YEKANATH N KAMBLE ASST.LIBRARIAN R V COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,MYSORE ROAD, BANGALORE-59 (INDIA) PH.91-80-28600351/28604705/28600184 FAX : 91 - 80 - 2860 0337 MOBILE.9448585358 --------------------------------- Celebrate Earth Day everyday! Discover 10 things you can do to help slow climate change. Yahoo! Earth Day Dear all, Of course i have not cleared any of these exams.I feel exemption for NET/SLET is not required. Based on the previous poor perform in academics the UGC has made this system which can inculcate the high standards in higher education system in india.Yes, there is no need to underestimate the candidates who posses M.Phil/PhD degrees in exceptional cases. As i observed in seven years experience in most of the sectors there is no frankly good treatment for library professionals as equal grades as employee in there respective parent organization?. So, couple of months back i noticed a mail from maharastra regarding this in this forum. As all of us know there are several universities in india offering distance education from Certificate course to Ph.d level in Library info. sc. do's any body will expect efficient practical knowledge in them about the profession?. Will there be any value for talented candidates? What will be the fate of profession status then?. Let it be there M.Phil and Ph.D after clearing this sort of NET/SLET (Agni Pariksha) only. If such exams are made mandatory. I feel there is respect for deserved candidates in all branched of knowledge. with regards. YEKANATH N KAMBLE ASST.LIBRARIAN R V COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,MYSORE ROAD, BANGALORE-59 (INDIA) PH.91-80-28600351/28604705/28600184 FAX : 91 - 80 - 2860 0337 MOBILE.9448585358 Celebrate Earth Day everyday! Discover 10 things you can do to help slow climate change. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/earthday/*http://earth.yahoo.com Yahoo! Earth Day

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[LIS-Forum] Librarians' Duties: - BLOGS, WIKIs, WEBCASTS / PODCASTS, IM, RSS and WEB
by Sukhdev Singh 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

What would be the duties of Next Generation Librarians? Definitely it would include the following: --Distribution of content via digital tools such as blogs and wikis for the library system website. --Develop and deliver library instruction through podcasts and multimedia webcasts. --Promote community via new technologies within the library and virtually via IM and other emerging communication mechanisms. --Enhance Library's web presence with current content and methods for distribution such as RSS. --Investigate and implement new technologies that may enhance the Library System's web presence. Well, if you need some evidence to belief what I am talking about then visit the Wayne State University Library System requirements < http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/candrlnews/caropps/february2006/NextGener… > I can add some more to above: --Establishing and maintaining Open Access Institutional Repositories. --Facilitating Open Access Publishing. SO, ARE YOU READY TEACHERS / STUDENT LIBRARIANS? I keep my hands dirty and tab on these technologies at my Blog at http://sukhdev.blogspot.com --Sukhdev Singh

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Re: RE: [LIS-Forum] "Re: NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students"
by Vijay Raghav Tiwari 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

Dear Aman I think merit never think in this direction. If one can give five years for getting a Ph.D., six months for NET. Any one who is a sincere in his/her subject can finish the NET just within next six months time. I feel that one who does not have any backing to get a job this gives a good standing amoung others, thats all. regards vrt On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 Aman Jha wrote : >Dear friends, > >I have different opinion. First of all I would like to say that getting PhD degree is a dream of a person. This must be regarded as the highest degree with respect. > >How can you underestimate those who have done only M.Phil/PhD and have no NET/SLET qualification? Do you want to say that you do MLIS and qualify NET/SLET for the Assistant Librarian? Thats it? You don't need to do M.Phil and PhD? Why don't then people recommend UGC to scrap M.Phil and PhD if it is not considered as merits of a candidate? Why do you consider meritorious to only those who have cleared NET/SLET? Achieving Higher qualifications depends on individual to individual. There are numerous examples of scholares who do not possess any M.Phil/PhD/Net/Slet and have proved to be subject expert and possess very good research skills. They have also taught as visiting professors in good universities. > >I think NET/SLET is an imposed qualification on Librarian. Just think about how many years do you need to spend in getting BLIS, MLIS and M.Phil/PhD after achieving excellence in Academics. Do you think that an engineer who has done Associateship from NISCAIR should again qualify NET/SLET just to prove his candidature whether he is meritorious or not? I do not think NET/SLET should be compulsory for those who have done M.Phil/PhD. > > >Rgds, >Aman Jha >Librarian >Confederation of Indian Industry >Plot No 249-F, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV >Sector 18, Gurgaon - 122015 (Haryana) >Tel: 0124-5014060-67 >aman.jha(a)ciionline.org >http://www.ciionline.org > > > > >-----Original Message----- > From: lis-forum-bounces(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >[mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in]On Behalf Of Vijay Raghav >Tiwari >Sent: Tuesday, 25 April 2006 9:50 >To: Susmita Chakraborty >Cc: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest...NET relief >mooted for MPhil, PhD students" > > > > >Dear All/Susmita > >I agree with you that NET should remain an eligibility criteria for Assistant Librarian/ College Librarians as it shows a nation wide acceptance. The merit must be honoured. I have done both but still I feel that NET should remain on top as it gives you an equal status as a professional. It subsides the difference of the different universities from where we had passed our M.L.I.Sc., hence I feel that it gives an equal status. Hope that other professinals will agree with me. >regards >vrt > > >On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 Susmita Chakraborty wrote : > >Dear All, > > > > > >Please refer to LIS Forum email message titled "NET relief mooted for > >MPhil, PhD students". I would like to share my personal observations > >in this regard. > > > >Firstly, let see who are qualifying UGC-NET/ SLET for Lecturership in > >Library and Information Science (LIS). The Meritorious or Talented or > >Hard-working LIS professionals are mostly qualifying these competitive > >examinations. > > > >On the other hand, let we see who are getting admission into MPHIL/ > >PHD programmes in LIS. Only few full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses are > >available in India as compared to total number of MLIS/AIS/ADIS passed > >outs. These full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses select student on the basis > >of Merit or NET/SLET. But they belong to only a few percent (about > >10%) of total MPHIL passed outs in India. Rest 90% percent students > >are getting admission into MPHIL courses on the basis of ability to > >pay hefty course fee (varies from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 36,000/-). So, > >these 90% MPHIL/ PHD students are not that much Meritorious/ Talented/ > >Hard-working as compared to UGC NET/ SLET qualified LIS professionals, > >but they have financial capacity to pay the hefty course fee. There is > >also no consistency or transparency in the admission process of PhD > >programmes except for the NET/SLET qualified LIS professionals. > > > >So, if we propose to exempt of UGC NET/ SLET clause from the > >eligibility criteria of college librarians/ university assistant > >librarians/ documentation officers/ lecturers, probably we will > >discourage Meritorious or Talented or Hard-working persons to come > >into LIS profession. Instead, Library Associations, Forums can > >collectively pressurize UGC to produce sufficient numbers of UGC NET/ > >SLET qualified candidates, or to hold GRE type examination for > >admission into MPHIL and PhD programmes. Also, Library Associations > >and University departments can introduce NET/SLET coaching classes to > >address the shortage of qualified manpower and for the greater > >benefits of the society. > > > >Hope, the apex organizations, like, UGC, AICTE, MCI, should set the > >eligibility criteria on the basis of above-mentioned facts, and not > >bypassing the above-mentioned facts. > > > >With regards > > > >S. Chakraborty > >Kolkata > > > >_______________________________________________ > >LIS-Forum mailing list > >LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > >http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > >Dr. Vijay Raghav Tiwari > >Librarian > >Harish Chandra Research Institute > >(Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India) Chhatnag Road,Jhunsi,Allahabad -211 019. > >Phone.91-532-2668302(O), 0532-2274325 (O), 0532-2274064 (R) <vrtiwari(a)mri.ernet.in> > > >DISCLAIMER:The information in this message may be privileged. If you have received it by mistake please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete the message from your system. Any unauthorised use or dissemination of this message in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Any information in this message that does not relate to official business shall be understood to be neither given nor endorsed by the Confederation of Indian Industry. > Dr. Vijay Raghav Tiwari Librarian Harish Chandra Research Institute (Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India) Chhatnag Road,Jhunsi,Allahabad -211 019. Phone.91-532-2668302(O), 0532-2274325 (O), 0532-2274064 (R) <vrtiwari(a)mri.ernet.in> Dear Aman I think merit never think in this direction. If one can give five years for getting a Ph.D., six months for NET. Any one who is a sincere in his/her subject can finish the NET just within next six months time. I feel that one who does not have any backing to get a job this gives a good standing amoung others, thats all. regards vrt On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 Aman Jha wrote : >Dear friends, > >I have different opinion. First of all I would like to say that getting PhD degree is a dream of a person. This must be regarded as the highest degree with respect. > >How can you underestimate those who have done only M.Phil/PhD and have no NET/SLET qualification? Do you want to say that you do MLIS and qualify NET/SLET for the Assistant Librarian? Thats it? You don't need to do M.Phil and PhD? Why don't then people recommend UGC to scrap M.Phil and PhD if it is not considered as merits of a candidate? Why do you consider meritorious to only those who have cleared NET/SLET? Achieving Higher qualifications depends on individual to individual. There are numerous examples of scholares who do not possess any M.Phil/PhD/Net/Slet and have proved to be subject expert and possess very good research skills. They have also taught as visiting professors in good universities. > >I think NET/SLET is an imposed qualification on Librarian. Just think about how many years do you need to spend in getting BLIS, MLIS and M.Phil/PhD after achieving excellence in Academics. Do you think that an engineer who has done Associateship from NISCAIR should again qualify NET/SLET just to prove his candidature whether he is meritorious or not? I do not think NET/SLET should be compulsory for those who have done M.Phil/PhD. > > >Rgds, >Aman Jha >Librarian >Confederation of Indian Industry >Plot No 249-F, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV >Sector 18, Gurgaon - 122015 (Haryana) >Tel: 0124-5014060-67 >aman.jha(a)ciionline.org >http://www.ciionline.org > > > > >-----Original Message----- > From: lis-forum-bounces(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >[mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in]On Behalf Of Vijay Raghav >Tiwari >Sent: Tuesday, 25 April 2006 9:50 >To: Susmita Chakraborty >Cc: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest...NET relief >mooted for MPhil, PhD students" > > > > >Dear All/Susmita > >I agree with you that NET should remain an eligibility criteria for Assistant Librarian/ College Librarians as it shows a nation wide acceptance. The merit must be honoured. I have done both but still I feel that NET should remain on top as it gives you an equal status as a professional. It subsides the difference of the different universities from where we had passed our M.L.I.Sc., hence I feel that it gives an equal status. Hope that other professinals will agree with me. >regards >vrt > > >On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 Susmita Chakraborty wrote : > >Dear All, > > > > > >Please refer to LIS Forum email message titled "NET relief mooted for > >MPhil, PhD students". I would like to share my personal observations > >in this regard. > > > >Firstly, let see who are qualifying UGC-NET/ SLET for Lecturership in > >Library and Information Science (LIS). The Meritorious or Talented or > >Hard-working LIS professionals are mostly qualifying these competitive > >examinations. > > > >On the other hand, let we see who are getting admission into MPHIL/ > >PHD programmes in LIS. Only few full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses are > >available in India as compared to total number of MLIS/AIS/ADIS passed > >outs. These full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses select student on the basis > >of Merit or NET/SLET. But they belong to only a few percent (about > >10%) of total MPHIL passed outs in India. Rest 90% percent students > >are getting admission into MPHIL courses on the basis of ability to > >pay hefty course fee (varies from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 36,000/-). So, > >these 90% MPHIL/ PHD students are not that much Meritorious/ Talented/ > >Hard-working as compared to UGC NET/ SLET qualified LIS professionals, > >but they have financial capacity to pay the hefty course fee. There is > >also no consistency or transparency in the admission process of PhD > >programmes except for the NET/SLET qualified LIS professionals. > > > >So, if we propose to exempt of UGC NET/ SLET clause from the > >eligibility criteria of college librarians/ university assistant > >librarians/ documentation officers/ lecturers, probably we will > >discourage Meritorious or Talented or Hard-working persons to come > >into LIS profession. Instead, Library Associations, Forums can > >collectively pressurize UGC to produce sufficient numbers of UGC NET/ > >SLET qualified candidates, or to hold GRE type examination for > >admission into MPHIL and PhD programmes. Also, Library Associations > >and University departments can introduce NET/SLET coaching classes to > >address the shortage of qualified manpower and for the greater > >benefits of the society. > > > >Hope, the apex organizations, like, UGC, AICTE, MCI, should set the > >eligibility criteria on the basis of above-mentioned facts, and not > >bypassing the above-mentioned facts. > > > >With regards > > > >S. Chakraborty > >Kolkata > > > >_______________________________________________ > >LIS-Forum mailing list > >LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > >http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > >Dr. Vijay Raghav Tiwari > >Librarian > >Harish Chandra Research Institute > >(Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India) Chhatnag Road,Jhunsi,Allahabad -211 019. > >Phone.91-532-2668302(O), 0532-2274325 (O), 0532-2274064 (R) <vrtiwari(a)mri.ernet.in> > > >DISCLAIMER:The information in this message may be privileged. If you have received it by mistake please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete the message from your system. Any unauthorised use or dissemination of this message in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Any information in this message that does not relate to official business shall be understood to be neither given nor endorsed by the Confederation of Indian Industry. > Dr. Vijay Raghav Tiwari Librarian Harish Chandra Research Institute (Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India) Chhatnag Road,Jhunsi,Allahabad -211 019. Phone.91-532-2668302(O), 0532-2274325 (O), 0532-2274064 (R) <vrtiwari(a)mri.ernet.in> 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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Re: [LIS-Forum] Damning indictment of LIS profession
by K.Sankaraiah 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

----- Original Message ----- From: "K.Sankaraiah" <sankariahk(a)dataone.in> Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] Damning indictment of LIS profession > Dear Moderator, > I would be most grateful for posting the following mail. > Let me begin by thanking all the professional colleagues for their > comments on the subject. I'm most happy to see Dr Vyasamurthy also > picked up the Hindu article and providing a link to it, felt that some of > the librarians need to be sensitised to the concept of service. > I hope to be permitted to sum up the whole little debate. The comments > varied from a) some users are rude and selfish, try to pull their weight > around b) library is a temple and so access should not be restricted c) we > have not heard the other side of the story and so should not rush to judge > and d) every one should observe rules. In fact d) seems to be the dominant > factor. One cannot the dispute the validity of these claims; but equally > we cannot dispute the suppremacy of service for our profession, as also > for many otherprofessions. How can we forget the basic tenets of > librarianship as enunciated by the greatest library thinker of all times > viz books are for use; every book its reader; every reader his book and > save the time of the reader. Can we afford to take a confrontationist > stand of "them and we" and cry for eye for an eye and tooth for the tooth. > We talk of library marketing today like any commercial enterprize. We > say library user is a customer. Most of the librarians in the West say, by > calling the library user a customer, we have promoted them to a higher > position. > Customers come in all shapes and sizes. There are awkward customers and > difficult customers. But is it not a fact that as long as we are behind > the 'counter' ie the Lakshman Rekha, we cannot think of' tit for tat'. > Even when we know that a particular customer is in the wrong, we cannot > afford to vent our spleen on him or her. In this context, Gandhiji is > often quoted. 'We are in business because of the customer' and not the > other way round. > Yes, there are rules. But rule are there to prevent misuse or abuse and > not to prevent genuine use or user. > I'm very distressed to see my friend, Prof Lakshman Rao saying that rules > have to be followed. He says he was not allowed entry to Bibliotheca > National. But I'm sure he would not have been asked to prove his > bonafides. The library staff there, must have explained the restrictions > in a most polite way. I had a similar experiance. First time I could not > get in to the British Museum Library in London. But the staff there did > every thing possible to enable me to have access to it. They advised me > to get a letter from the British Council, which I did. I could see they > were inspired by the ideals of service. Mr Lakshman Rao is a respected > teacher and trainer of librarians and has been in the field for a long > time and if a teacher takes the stand that he has taken, we need not be > surprised by the attitude of some of us. > In the present case of Ranjit Lal, to me it appears, he wanted to consult > the documents in the National Museum Library. I visited its website which > looks very impressive, claims a stock of two lakh documents. The name of > the librarian (?) given there is one Ms Pratibha Parashar. She might not > have been the staff to attending Ranjit Lal. In the interests of our > profession, could some one in Delhi please find out what had happened. > As I said in my first mail, because of isolated instances like this, the > whole profession is blamed. By and large, librarians are good and > service-minded. Society is changing fast, much faster than any one can > imagine. We have come a long away from preservation to active > dissemination of information ( proactive is the word most appropriate, I > think) and I hope we have long ceased to be policing our possessions. > Social forces like competition are driving us to provide quality service > to our users. Technology is helping us today in ways undreamt of > previously to help us in this noble mission of ours, which ultimately > contributes to personal, individual and national development. > I'm grateful to LIS-FORUM for opportunities to share our views in matters > concerning our profession. You are doing a wonderful service !! Thank > you. > Sankaraiah, K > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "K.Sankaraiah" <sankariahk(a)dataone.in> > To: <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> > Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 7:28 AM > Subject: [LIS-Forum] Damning indictment of LIS profession > > >> Dear Moderator, >> Grateful for publishing the following in lis-forum. >> >> I wish to draw the attention of our professional colleagues to an article >> under the Musings, entitled "What are your bonafides?", by Mr Ranjit Lal >> in the Magazine section of the Hindu of 9 April, 2006. I think all of us >> should read this and ponder over the implications. I'm sure many of us >> must have already done so. >> The gist of the article is the author, obviously not a member, >> approached the librarian of the National Museum library in Delhi for help >> and the librarian promptly asked him to prove his bonafides. Ranjit Lal >> contributes articles to the Hindu and probably does so to many other >> renowned newspapers and journals. In any case he told the librarian that >> he uses the Teen Murthi library and the British Council Library in Delhi >> and he is working on a book for which he needs help. According to the >> article, this did not cut ice with the librarian. >> >> This article, I believe, is a damning indictment of the unhelpful and >> bureaucratic attitude of the librarian of one of the premier institutions >> of the country. It should rouse the collective conscience of the LIS >> profession and force us to think if in today's competitive world we can >> afford to have this kind of unhelpful attitude. Even otherwise, isn't >> service to the user at the centre of our profession ?. The aurthor >> rightly says the public pays for librarian's salary, allowances and the >> innumerable cups of tea, justifiable and just righteous indignation!!. >> >> How do we change this attitude?. I was under the impression that things >> have changed and we all swear by service. All the works of SRR >> emphasise this aspect. Because of instaces like this,( I hope they are >> isolated) the whole profession gets the stick. And this is why society >> does not give us the status that an intellectual profession like ours >> deserves. >> >> We need to do something here. >> >> Sankaraiah, K >> Immediate past President of the Madras Library Association (MALA) >> > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >> _______________________________________________ >> LIS-Forum mailing list >> LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >> http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum >> > > >

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Support for a Village Library
by prafulla tv 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

Dear All, We are delighted to report that Gundrampally Library and Information Centre (GLIC) was inaugurated on April 14, 2006 by Shri Chukka Ramaiah, eminent educationist. OPLib acknowledges with grateful thanks the donation of Rs.1000 made by Prof N. Laxman Rao, Dept of Library & Information Science, Osmania University towards the purchase of books for GLIC. New Initiative We are happy to inform you that a village library is being started in Kolamasanapalli Village (Palamaner Mandal, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh) shortly. This project is being supported by the Organisation for the Protection of Libraries (OPLib), a library advocacy group based in Hyderabad as part of its 100 Village/School Libraries programme. This is the third library that is being started by OPLib (Registered under the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001 vide no.1502 of 2005)and it would be nurtured by Dr Murali Prasad, Librarian, Bhoj Reddy College of Engineering, Hyderabad and Mr Sreenivas of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad. OPLib appeals to all library lovers to donate generously, either in cash or kind, for the establishment of Kolamasanapalli Village Library. Your donations would be utilized for the purchase of books, newspapers, magazines, steel book racks, office furniture, computer, etc. Address for communication: Dr A Kishore Honorary President Organization for the Protection of Libraries c/o Parma Reddi Building, 9-1-34/30/16/A, Bapu Nagar, Langar House, Hyderabad 500 008 Email: saikishoresvu(a)yahoo.co.in Mobile 92474 28778 Cheques/DDs to be drawn in favour of Organization for the Protection of Libraries (OPLib) and payable at Hyderabad. Thank you very much in advance for your kind support and cooperation to our School/Village Libraries Project. Sincerely T.V. Prafulla Chandra Senior Editor NISC Email: tallurivpc(a)yahoo.com OPLibempowering the masses through better library services at the grassroots level. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge. --Thomas Carlyle __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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NET Relief not fair
by mouni＠nitt.edu 25 Apr '06

25 Apr '06

Dear members, This has reference to LIS Forum message on NET Relief mooted for M.Phil and Ph.D holders. Since I am one among the candidates cleared the UGC NET/SLET, I would like to bring the followings to all members of the LIS forum. Proposing expemtion of UGC NET/SLET for appoinment as Lecturer/A.L or Librarian as the case may be is unfair as thousands of UGC NET/SLET passed hands are awaiting for their chances or working in self support institutes along with others. Particularly, in Tamil Nadu there are more than 100 hands with UGC NET/SLET awaiting for advertisement but no adds are coming. Few institutions are unable to appoint suitable hands as there are stays. Every year more than 2500 candidates pass the UGC NET/SLET. The UGC's website is the crystal clear evident for this. Now a days M.Phil and Ph.D degrees can also be completed through distance mode and part-time respectively. Any one who has passed the M.L.I.S can get addmitted in to these degrees. Spot admission, admission on the door steps and admission through private study centres are done now a days. Not less than 5000 candates per year complete M.Phil degree through distance mode. It is surprising to note that the candidates who are capable of obtaining M.Phil and Ph.D degrees are unable to clear the UGC NET/SLET but want exmption from this. No doubt that only meritorious candates are clearing the UGC NET/SLET. As suggested by Mr. S. Chakraborty, Kolkata and Anup Kumar Das, New Delhi, the professional associations can work for producing more NET/SLET passed candidates besides requesting the apex body to produce more numbers of the NET/SLET qualifieds instead of exemption. I strongly support the suggestions offered by Mr. S.Chakraborty and Anup Kumar Das. P. Mounissamy Tamil Nadu Message: 2 Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:34:00 +0100 (BST) From: "Prof. N. Laxman Rao." <naglaxman(a)yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest...NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students" To: Puna Das <puna_05(a)yahoo.co.in>, lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <20060424133400.90748.qmail(a)web60419.mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" helo i donot know to wht extent the message is true. but i am associated with net and maharashtra slet. the numbers are very very minimal. maharashta is less than 10. from where these 100s are coming. ? at least i know as an expert at many places, very minimal numbers are coming. any way the report is based on not numbers but due to some other reasons. we are trying to interpret, why cannot our people read the original document available at www.ugc.ac.in laxman rao Puna Das <puna_05(a)yahoo.co.in> wrote: Dear All, Please refer to e-mail message titled "[LIS-FORUM] NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students" at LIS Forum dated 21/04/06. I don't know much about south India, but in North India for every single post advertised, there is more than 100 NET/ SLET qualified applicants. Only one person will get the job and rest people will be left behind. The job market is not expanding enough in this sector where the persons will get permanent jobs with a proper UGC scale. So, there is no rationale to exempt NET/SLET clause for College Librarian/ Univ Asst. Librarian/ Lecturer post. Hope, UGC/ AICTE first give opportunities to NET/SLET qualified un-employed LIS professionals, then think of exemptions of non-qualified professionals. Thanking you With regards Anup Kumar Das New Delhi __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://yahoo.shaadi.com _______________________________________________ LIS-Forum mailing list LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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Review of National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by UGC and UGC-CSIR
by Puna Das 25 Apr '06

25 Apr '06

UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION NET BUREAU University of Delhi, South Campus Benito Juarez Marg, New Delhi 110 021 Subject: Review of National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by UGC and UGC-CSIR (http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review%20_mungekar.pdf) The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has constituted a NET Review Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. Bhalchandra Mungekar, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, to consider its utility, effectiveness and continuity. The Committee has decided to elicit the views of a cross-section of the society regarding utility, effectiveness and continuity of UGC-NET. It is requested to get the required information by sending the questionnaire to all concerned. The duly completed questionnaire (http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review.doc) enclosed alongwith, may be sent to the Joint Secretary, NET Bureau, at the above-mentioned address within thirty days from the date of issue of the covering letter (Last Date: 09/05/2006). Thank you very much for your overwhelming responses and comments on "UGC NET and SLET in LIS". Hope All LIS Forum Members participate in the above-mentioned Survey and give their valuable comments/ suggestions to the UGC for the further modification of UGC NET. With Regards Anup Kumar Das New Delhi --------------------------------- Jiyo cricket on Yahoo! India cricket Yahoo! Messenger Mobile Stay in touch with your buddies all the time. UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION NET BUREAU University of Delhi , South Campus Benito Juarez Marg, New Delhi 110 021 Subject: Review of National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by UGC and UGC-CSIR (http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review%20_mungekar.pdf) The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has constituted a NET Review Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. Bhalchandra Mungekar, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, to consider its utility, effectiveness and continuity. The Committee has decided to elicit the views of a cross-section of the society regarding utility, effectiveness and continuity of UGC-NET. It is requested to get the required information by sending the questionnaire to all concerned. The duly completed questionnaire (http://www.ugc.ac.in/inside/net_review.doc) enclosed alongwith, may be sent to the Joint Secretary, NET Bureau, at the above-mentioned address within thirty days from the date of issue of the covering letter (Last Date: 09/05/2006). Thank you very much for your overwhelming responses and comments on "UGC NET and SLET in LIS". Hope All LIS Forum Members participate in the above-mentioned Survey and give their valuable comments/ suggestions to the UGC for the further modification of UGC NET. With Regards Anup Kumar Das New Delhi Jiyo cricket on http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/mailcricket/*http://in.sports.yahoo.com/cric… Yahoo! India cricket http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/mailmobilemessenger/*http://in.mobile.yahoo.… Yahoo! Messenger Mobile Stay in touch with your buddies all the time.

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RE: [LIS-Forum] "Re: NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students"
by Aman Jha 25 Apr '06

25 Apr '06

Dear friends, I have different opinion. First of all I would like to say that getting PhD degree is a dream of a person. This must be regarded as the highest degree with respect. How can you underestimate those who have done only M.Phil/PhD and have no NET/SLET qualification? Do you want to say that you do MLIS and qualify NET/SLET for the Assistant Librarian? Thats it? You don't need to do M.Phil and PhD? Why don't then people recommend UGC to scrap M.Phil and PhD if it is not considered as merits of a candidate? Why do you consider meritorious to only those who have cleared NET/SLET? Achieving Higher qualifications depends on individual to individual. There are numerous examples of scholares who do not possess any M.Phil/PhD/Net/Slet and have proved to be subject expert and possess very good research skills. They have also taught as visiting professors in good universities. I think NET/SLET is an imposed qualification on Librarian. Just think about how many years do you need to spend in getting BLIS, MLIS and M.Phil/PhD after achieving excellence in Academics. Do you think that an engineer who has done Associateship from NISCAIR should again qualify NET/SLET just to prove his candidature whether he is meritorious or not? I do not think NET/SLET should be compulsory for those who have done M.Phil/PhD. Rgds, Aman Jha Librarian Confederation of Indian Industry Plot No 249-F, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV Sector 18, Gurgaon - 122015 (Haryana) Tel: 0124-5014060-67 aman.jha(a)ciionline.org http://www.ciionline.org -----Original Message----- From: lis-forum-bounces(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in [mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in]On Behalf Of Vijay Raghav Tiwari Sent: Tuesday, 25 April 2006 9:50 To: Susmita Chakraborty Cc: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest...NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students" Dear All/Susmita I agree with you that NET should remain an eligibility criteria for Assistant Librarian/ College Librarians as it shows a nation wide acceptance. The merit must be honoured. I have done both but still I feel that NET should remain on top as it gives you an equal status as a professional. It subsides the difference of the different universities from where we had passed our M.L.I.Sc., hence I feel that it gives an equal status. Hope that other professinals will agree with me. regards vrt On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 Susmita Chakraborty wrote : >Dear All, > > >Please refer to LIS Forum email message titled "NET relief mooted for >MPhil, PhD students". I would like to share my personal observations >in this regard. > >Firstly, let see who are qualifying UGC-NET/ SLET for Lecturership in >Library and Information Science (LIS). The Meritorious or Talented or >Hard-working LIS professionals are mostly qualifying these competitive >examinations. > >On the other hand, let we see who are getting admission into MPHIL/ >PHD programmes in LIS. Only few full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses are >available in India as compared to total number of MLIS/AIS/ADIS passed >outs. These full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses select student on the basis >of Merit or NET/SLET. But they belong to only a few percent (about >10%) of total MPHIL passed outs in India. Rest 90% percent students >are getting admission into MPHIL courses on the basis of ability to >pay hefty course fee (varies from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 36,000/-). So, >these 90% MPHIL/ PHD students are not that much Meritorious/ Talented/ >Hard-working as compared to UGC NET/ SLET qualified LIS professionals, >but they have financial capacity to pay the hefty course fee. There is >also no consistency or transparency in the admission process of PhD >programmes except for the NET/SLET qualified LIS professionals. > >So, if we propose to exempt of UGC NET/ SLET clause from the >eligibility criteria of college librarians/ university assistant >librarians/ documentation officers/ lecturers, probably we will >discourage Meritorious or Talented or Hard-working persons to come >into LIS profession. Instead, Library Associations, Forums can >collectively pressurize UGC to produce sufficient numbers of UGC NET/ >SLET qualified candidates, or to hold GRE type examination for >admission into MPHIL and PhD programmes. Also, Library Associations >and University departments can introduce NET/SLET coaching classes to >address the shortage of qualified manpower and for the greater >benefits of the society. > >Hope, the apex organizations, like, UGC, AICTE, MCI, should set the >eligibility criteria on the basis of above-mentioned facts, and not >bypassing the above-mentioned facts. > >With regards > >S. Chakraborty >Kolkata > >_______________________________________________ >LIS-Forum mailing list >LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum Dr. Vijay Raghav Tiwari Librarian Harish Chandra Research Institute (Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India) Chhatnag Road,Jhunsi,Allahabad -211 019. Phone.91-532-2668302(O), 0532-2274325 (O), 0532-2274064 (R) <vrtiwari(a)mri.ernet.in> DISCLAIMER:The information in this message may be privileged. If you have received it by mistake please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete the message from your system. Any unauthorised use or dissemination of this message in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Any information in this message that does not relate to official business shall be understood to be neither given nor endorsed by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

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Competition to Google Scholar?
by Saiful Amin 25 Apr '06

25 Apr '06

Dear Professionals, Looks like we have a competition to Google Scholar from Microsoft! It looks impressive in the display of information, while supporting standards like RSS and OpenURL. Go to http://academic.live.com to see it yourself. Microsoft Announces Windows Live Academic Search New research tool delivers enhanced search capabilities to the academic community. REDMOND, Wash. — April 11, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the beta release of its Windows Live™ Academic Search service in seven countries. The new search service is designed to help students, researchers and university faculty conduct research across a spectrum of academic journals. The program is a cooperative effort between Windows Live Search, industry association CrossRef and more than 10 leading publishers. The initial beta release will target the subjects of computer science, electrical engineering and physics, and the company is working with multiple organizations to bring new subjects online in the near future. Windows Live Academic Search will offer peer-reviewed content from leading scholarly societies such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and leading publishers Elsevier and John Wiley & Sons Inc. Windows Live Academic Search can be found at http://academic.live.com and will provide English-language results in select global markets. Read the full story: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/apr06/04-11WLAcademicSearchPR… Regards, Saiful -- Saiful Amin Information Specialist Edutech India 2/2, Union Street Off Infantry Road Bangalore 560001, India Tel: +91 80 4112 3437 M: +91 93438 26438 Fax: +91 80 4151 7801 www.edutechindia.com "Enhancing knowledge and skills for success, lifelong."

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Re: [LIS-Forum] "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest...NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students"
by Vijay Raghav Tiwari 25 Apr '06

25 Apr '06

Dear All/Susmita I agree with you that NET should remain an eligibility criteria for Assistant Librarian/ College Librarians as it shows a nation wide acceptance. The merit must be honoured. I have done both but still I feel that NET should remain on top as it gives you an equal status as a professional. It subsides the difference of the different universities from where we had passed our M.L.I.Sc., hence I feel that it gives an equal status. Hope that other professinals will agree with me. regards vrt On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 Susmita Chakraborty wrote : >Dear All, > > >Please refer to LIS Forum email message titled "NET relief mooted for >MPhil, PhD students". I would like to share my personal observations >in this regard. > >Firstly, let see who are qualifying UGC-NET/ SLET for Lecturership in >Library and Information Science (LIS). The Meritorious or Talented or >Hard-working LIS professionals are mostly qualifying these competitive >examinations. > >On the other hand, let we see who are getting admission into MPHIL/ >PHD programmes in LIS. Only few full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses are >available in India as compared to total number of MLIS/AIS/ADIS passed >outs. These full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses select student on the basis >of Merit or NET/SLET. But they belong to only a few percent (about >10%) of total MPHIL passed outs in India. Rest 90% percent students >are getting admission into MPHIL courses on the basis of ability to >pay hefty course fee (varies from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 36,000/-). So, >these 90% MPHIL/ PHD students are not that much Meritorious/ Talented/ >Hard-working as compared to UGC NET/ SLET qualified LIS professionals, >but they have financial capacity to pay the hefty course fee. There is >also no consistency or transparency in the admission process of PhD >programmes except for the NET/SLET qualified LIS professionals. > >So, if we propose to exempt of UGC NET/ SLET clause from the >eligibility criteria of college librarians/ university assistant >librarians/ documentation officers/ lecturers, probably we will >discourage Meritorious or Talented or Hard-working persons to come >into LIS profession. Instead, Library Associations, Forums can >collectively pressurize UGC to produce sufficient numbers of UGC NET/ >SLET qualified candidates, or to hold GRE type examination for >admission into MPHIL and PhD programmes. Also, Library Associations >and University departments can introduce NET/SLET coaching classes to >address the shortage of qualified manpower and for the greater >benefits of the society. > >Hope, the apex organizations, like, UGC, AICTE, MCI, should set the >eligibility criteria on the basis of above-mentioned facts, and not >bypassing the above-mentioned facts. > >With regards > >S. Chakraborty >Kolkata > >_______________________________________________ >LIS-Forum mailing list >LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum Dr. Vijay Raghav Tiwari Librarian Harish Chandra Research Institute (Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India) Chhatnag Road,Jhunsi,Allahabad -211 019. Phone.91-532-2668302(O), 0532-2274325 (O), 0532-2274064 (R) <vrtiwari(a)mri.ernet.in> Dear All/Susmita I agree with you that NET should remain an eligibility criteria for Assistant Librarian/ College Librarians as it shows a nation wide acceptance. The merit must be honoured. I have done both but still I feel that NET should remain on top as it gives you an equal status as a professional. It subsides the difference of the different universities from where we had passed our M.L.I.Sc., hence I feel that it gives an equal status. Hope that other professinals will agree with me. regards vrt On Mon, 24 Apr 2006 Susmita Chakraborty wrote : >Dear All, > > >Please refer to LIS Forum email message titled "NET relief mooted for >MPhil, PhD students". I would like to share my personal observations >in this regard. > >Firstly, let see who are qualifying UGC-NET/ SLET for Lecturership in >Library and Information Science (LIS). The Meritorious or Talented or >Hard-working LIS professionals are mostly qualifying these competitive >examinations. > >On the other hand, let we see who are getting admission into MPHIL/ >PHD programmes in LIS. Only few full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses are >available in India as compared to total number of MLIS/AIS/ADIS passed >outs. These full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses select student on the basis >of Merit or NET/SLET. But they belong to only a few percent (about >10%) of total MPHIL passed outs in India. Rest 90% percent students >are getting admission into MPHIL courses on the basis of ability to >pay hefty course fee (varies from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 36,000/-). So, >these 90% MPHIL/ PHD students are not that much Meritorious/ Talented/ >Hard-working as compared to UGC NET/ SLET qualified LIS professionals, >but they have financial capacity to pay the hefty course fee. There is >also no consistency or transparency in the admission process of PhD >programmes except for the NET/SLET qualified LIS professionals. > >So, if we propose to exempt of UGC NET/ SLET clause from the >eligibility criteria of college librarians/ university assistant >librarians/ documentation officers/ lecturers, probably we will >discourage Meritorious or Talented or Hard-working persons to come >into LIS profession. Instead, Library Associations, Forums can >collectively pressurize UGC to produce sufficient numbers of UGC NET/ >SLET qualified candidates, or to hold GRE type examination for >admission into MPHIL and PhD programmes. Also, Library Associations >and University departments can introduce NET/SLET coaching classes to >address the shortage of qualified manpower and for the greater >benefits of the society. > >Hope, the apex organizations, like, UGC, AICTE, MCI, should set the >eligibility criteria on the basis of above-mentioned facts, and not >bypassing the above-mentioned facts. > >With regards > >S. Chakraborty >Kolkata > >_______________________________________________ >LIS-Forum mailing list >LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum Dr. Vijay Raghav Tiwari Librarian Harish Chandra Research Institute (Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India) Chhatnag Road,Jhunsi,Allahabad -211 019. Phone.91-532-2668302(O), 0532-2274325 (O), 0532-2274064 (R) <vrtiwari(a)mri.ernet.in> 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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Fwd: SciDev.Net Weekly Update: 18 - 24 April 2006
by Prof. N. Laxman Rao. 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

info(a)scidev.net wrote: Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:56:24 +0100 (BST) From: info(a)scidev.net To: naglaxman(a)yahoo.com Subject: SciDev.Net Weekly Update: 18 - 24 April 2006 THE ITEMS BELOW HAVE BEEN POSTED ON http://www.scidev.net OVER THE PAST WEEK. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF OUR WEBSITE? http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=172752018949 Complete the online survey to help improve the SciDev.Net website and enter a free prize draw for the new BBC book Planet Earth. ======================================== EDITORIALS ======================================== Iran's nuclear standoff: we need a peaceful solution http://www.scidev.net/Editorials/index.cfm?fuseaction=readEditorials&itemid… Any effort to eliminate Iran's nuclear research facilities by force would be both a catastrophe for the region and a major setback for the 'science for development' debate. ======================================== NEWS ======================================== Bird flu update: 24 April 2006 http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2795&langua… A roundup of the latest news on the spread of the bird flu virus and the threat to human health. Protein map raises hopes for schistosomiasis drugs http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2787&langua… Scientists have identified the proteins essential to a parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis, paving the way for new drugs and vaccines. Brazil and Kenya push for neglected-disease research http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2788&langua… Brazil and Kenya will call for an international fund for research on 'neglected diseases' at a WHO meeting next month. China to build 30 new science and technology parks http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2789&langua… China will build 30 new science and technology parks by 2010 with the aim of encouraging the commercial development of university research. Desertification is 'economic not environmental' issue http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2791&langua… An international conference has heard calls for nations to refocus their efforts to combat the growing problem of desertification. Warning over drug for patients with TB and HIV http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2792&langua… A therapy that the WHO recommends for people with both HIV and TB could increase the spread of drug-resistant TB, say researchers. Botanical gardens not just 'pretty places' http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2790&langua… A report released today urges more support for botanical gardens because of the contributions they make to sustainable development. Top Chinese academic under fire from 'science police' http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2793&langua… A controversial Chinese website dedicated to exposing academic fraud has accused a university vice-president of faking data. A long way to go on bird flu research, say scientists http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2794&langua… Bird flu researchers call for more work on the virus, from drug resistance to studying the mutations that help it jump from one species to another. ======================================== FEATURES ======================================== Making Tamiflu cheap enough for the poor http://www.scidev.net/Features/index.cfm?fuseaction=readFeatures&itemid=513… As production of flu drug Tamiflu gears up, big questions remain over how affordable and effective it will be, reports Martin Enserink. (Source: Science) ======================================== OPINIONS ======================================== How can Iraq's scientists be protected? http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=491… Researchers respond to the recent call by UNESCO for countries to work together to protect Iraq's academics from a 'campaign of violence'. Science loses in Sri Lanka's debate on standard time http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=490… Sri Lankan science writer Nalaka Gunawardene is desperately seeking a cheap cloning kit to mass-produce public intellectuals in his country. ======================================== LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ======================================== Traditional medicine must be documented http://www.scidev.net/editorletters/index.cfm?fuseaction=readeditorletter&i… Ayo Onatola argues that before traditional medicine can be protected it must be documented and verified, and its practitioners brought into mainstream medicine. ======================================== EVENTS ======================================== International Conference on Mathematics and Natural Sciences http://www.scidev.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=readevents&itemid=900&lan… Location: Bandung, Indonesia Date: 29 - 30 November 2006 International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture for Food and Nutritional Security http://www.scidev.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=readevents&itemid=901&lan… Location: New Delhi, India Date: 25 - 27 May 2006 International Conference on University, Industry and Government Linkages http://www.scidev.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=readevents&itemid=902&lan… Location: Singapore Date: 16 - 18 May 2007 International Symposium on Immunobiologicals and Human Health http://www.scidev.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=readevents&itemid=899&lan… Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Date: 2 - 4 May 2006 ======================================== JOBS ======================================== Health programme coordinator http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=586&language… Organisation: Save the Children UK Location: Kigali, Rwanda Associate professional officers http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=592&language… Organisation: Center for International Forestry Research Location: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Lusaka, Zambia Head of information technology services http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=588&language… Organisation: The International Rice Research Institute Location: Philippines Research fellow/senior research fellow http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=593&language… Organisation: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Location: New Delhi, India Journalism advisor for HIV/AIDS reporting http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=587&language… Organisation: Internews Network Location: Nairobi, Kenya Science communications officer http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=590&language… Organisation: International Council for Science (ICSU) Location: Paris, France Health Advisor http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=585&language… Organisation: Concern Worldwide UK Location: Lao Development Communication Professional http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=589&language… Organisation: World Fisheries Trust Location: Brazil ======================================== GRANTS ======================================== Global Fund for Women http://www.scidev.net/grants/index.cfm?fuseaction=readgrants&itemid=293&lan… Organisation: Global Fund for Women Closing date: 31 May 2007 Training Fellowships for Women Scientists in Sub-Saharan Africa http://www.scidev.net/grants/index.cfm?fuseaction=readgrants&itemid=285&lan… Organisation: The Third World Organization for Women in Science Closing date: 30 May 2006 Professional Fellowships http://www.scidev.net/grants/index.cfm?fuseaction=readgrants&itemid=287&lan… Organisation: Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan Closing date: 30 April 2006 PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowships http://www.scidev.net/grants/index.cfm?fuseaction=readgrants&itemid=291&lan… Organisation: The United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU/IAS) Closing date: 12 May 2006 ======================================== ANNOUNCEMENTS ======================================== 'Expose Urban Solutions' photo contest http://www.scidev.net/announcements/index.cfm?fuseaction=readannouncement&i… Organisation: International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Closing date: 25 April 2006 SciDev.Net's email alert is available in English, French, Spanish or Chinese, and in html or plain text formats. If you would like to update your details, or unregister from SciDev.Net, please go to http://www.scidev.net/register Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com info(a)scidev.net wrote: Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:56:24 +0100 (BST) From: info(a)scidev.net To: naglaxman(a)yahoo.com Subject: SciDev.Net Weekly Update: 18 - 24 April 2006 THE ITEMS BELOW HAVE BEEN POSTED ON http://www.scidev.net OVER THE PAST WEEK. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF OUR WEBSITE? http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=172752018949 Complete the online survey to help improve the SciDev.Net website and enter a free prize draw for the new BBC book Planet Earth. ======================================== EDITORIALS ======================================== Iran's nuclear standoff: we need a peaceful solution http://www.scidev.net/Editorials/index.cfm?fuseaction=readEditorials&itemid… Any effort to eliminate Iran's nuclear research facilities by force would be both a catastrophe for the region and a major setback for the 'science for development' debate. ======================================== NEWS ======================================== Bird flu update: 24 April 2006 http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2795&langua… A roundup of the latest news on the spread of the bird flu virus and the threat to human health. Protein map raises hopes for schistosomiasis drugs http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2787&langua… Scientists have identified the proteins essential to a parasitic worm that causes schistosomiasis, paving the way for new drugs and vaccines. Brazil and Kenya push for neglected-disease research http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2788&langua… Brazil and Kenya will call for an international fund for research on 'neglected diseases' at a WHO meeting next month. China to build 30 new science and technology parks http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2789&langua… China will build 30 new science and technology parks by 2010 with the aim of encouraging the commercial development of university research. Desertification is 'economic not environmental' issue http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2791&langua… An international conference has heard calls for nations to refocus their efforts to combat the growing problem of desertification. Warning over drug for patients with TB and HIV http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2792&langua… A therapy that the WHO recommends for people with both HIV and TB could increase the spread of drug-resistant TB, say researchers. Botanical gardens not just 'pretty places' http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2790&langua… A report released today urges more support for botanical gardens because of the contributions they make to sustainable development. Top Chinese academic under fire from 'science police' http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2793&langua… A controversial Chinese website dedicated to exposing academic fraud has accused a university vice-president of faking data. A long way to go on bird flu research, say scientists http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=2794&langua… Bird flu researchers call for more work on the virus, from drug resistance to studying the mutations that help it jump from one species to another. ======================================== FEATURES ======================================== Making Tamiflu cheap enough for the poor http://www.scidev.net/Features/index.cfm?fuseaction=readFeatures&itemid=513… As production of flu drug Tamiflu gears up, big questions remain over how affordable and effective it will be, reports Martin Enserink. (Source: Science) ======================================== OPINIONS ======================================== How can Iraq's scientists be protected? http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=491… Researchers respond to the recent call by UNESCO for countries to work together to protect Iraq's academics from a 'campaign of violence'. Science loses in Sri Lanka's debate on standard time http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=490… Sri Lankan science writer Nalaka Gunawardene is desperately seeking a cheap cloning kit to mass-produce public intellectuals in his country. ======================================== LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ======================================== Traditional medicine must be documented http://www.scidev.net/editorletters/index.cfm?fuseaction=readeditorletter&i… Ayo Onatola argues that before traditional medicine can be protected it must be documented and verified, and its practitioners brought into mainstream medicine. ======================================== EVENTS ======================================== International Conference on Mathematics and Natural Sciences http://www.scidev.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=readevents&itemid=900&lan… Location: Bandung, Indonesia Date: 29 - 30 November 2006 International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture for Food and Nutritional Security http://www.scidev.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=readevents&itemid=901&lan… Location: New Delhi, India Date: 25 - 27 May 2006 International Conference on University, Industry and Government Linkages http://www.scidev.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=readevents&itemid=902&lan… Location: Singapore Date: 16 - 18 May 2007 International Symposium on Immunobiologicals and Human Health http://www.scidev.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=readevents&itemid=899&lan… Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Date: 2 - 4 May 2006 ======================================== JOBS ======================================== Health programme coordinator http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=586&language… Organisation: Save the Children UK Location: Kigali, Rwanda Associate professional officers http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=592&language… Organisation: Center for International Forestry Research Location: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Lusaka, Zambia Head of information technology services http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=588&language… Organisation: The International Rice Research Institute Location: Philippines Research fellow/senior research fellow http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=593&language… Organisation: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Location: New Delhi, India Journalism advisor for HIV/AIDS reporting http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=587&language… Organisation: Internews Network Location: Nairobi, Kenya Science communications officer http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=590&language… Organisation: International Council for Science (ICSU) Location: Paris, France Health Advisor http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=585&language… Organisation: Concern Worldwide UK Location: Lao Development Communication Professional http://www.scidev.net/jobs/index.cfm?fuseaction=readjob&itemid=589&language… Organisation: World Fisheries Trust Location: Brazil ======================================== GRANTS ======================================== Global Fund for Women http://www.scidev.net/grants/index.cfm?fuseaction=readgrants&itemid=293&lan… Organisation: Global Fund for Women Closing date: 31 May 2007 Training Fellowships for Women Scientists in Sub-Saharan Africa http://www.scidev.net/grants/index.cfm?fuseaction=readgrants&itemid=285&lan… Organisation: The Third World Organization for Women in Science Closing date: 30 May 2006 Professional Fellowships http://www.scidev.net/grants/index.cfm?fuseaction=readgrants&itemid=287&lan… Organisation: Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan Closing date: 30 April 2006 PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowships http://www.scidev.net/grants/index.cfm?fuseaction=readgrants&itemid=291&lan… Organisation: The United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU/IAS) Closing date: 12 May 2006 ======================================== ANNOUNCEMENTS ======================================== 'Expose Urban Solutions' photo contest http://www.scidev.net/announcements/index.cfm?fuseaction=readannouncement&i… Organisation: International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Closing date: 25 April 2006 SciDev.Net's email alert is available in English, French, Spanish or Chinese, and in html or plain text formats. If you would like to update your details, or unregister from SciDev.Net, please go to http://www.scidev.net/register Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

1 0

"Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest...NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students"
by Puna Das 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Dear All, Please refer to e-mail message titled "[LIS-FORUM] NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students" at LIS Forum dated 21/04/06. I don't know much about south India, but in North India for every single post advertised, there is more than 100 NET/ SLET qualified applicants. Only one person will get the job and rest people will be left behind. The job market is not expanding enough in this sector where the persons will get permanent jobs with a proper UGC scale. So, there is no rationale to exempt NET/SLET clause for College Librarian/ Univ Asst. Librarian/ Lecturer post. Hope, UGC/ AICTE first give opportunities to NET/SLET qualified un-employed LIS professionals, then think of exemptions of non-qualified professionals. Thanking you With regards Anup Kumar Das New Delhi __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://yahoo.shaadi.com

2 1

Workshop on DL - Manuals and Presentations
by SUNIL M.V. 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Dear Professional Friends, SDM-IMD (SDM Institute for Management Development) in collaboration with MyLISA (Mysore Librarians and Information Scientists Association) has organized a workshop on Digital Libraries from April 6-8, 2006. We are happy to inform you that 38 Library and Information professional from Karnataka and neighbouring states participated in the workshop held at SDM-IMD. As we are receiving request for the workshop materials, especially the instructional manual of DSpace, we have placed the workshop report, presentation slides and instructional manuals on our website www.sdmimd.net/workshop . We request you to visit the website for any materials concerned to the said workshop. We will appreciate your feedback on the same. With regards, Sunil MV Librarian SDM Institute for Management Development No. 1, Chamundi Hill Road Siddartha Nagar, Mysore Phone : 0821 - 2420490/491 2429722/161 Fax: 0821-2425557 --------------------------------- Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone calls to 30+ countries for just 2¢/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Dear Professional Friends, SDM-IMD (SDM Institute for Management Development) in collaboration with MyLISA (Mysore Librarians and Information Scientists Association) has organized a workshop on Digital Libraries from April 6-8, 2006. We are happy to inform you that 38 Library and Information professional from Karnataka and neighbouring states participated in the workshop held at SDM-IMD. As we are receiving request for the workshop materials, especially the instructional manual of DSpace, we have placed the workshop report, presentation slides and instructional manuals on our website http://www.sdmimd.net/workshop www.sdmimd.net/workshop . We request you to visit the website for any materials concerned to the said workshop. We will appreciate your feedback on the same. With regards, Sunil MV Librarian SDM Institute for Management Development No. 1, Chamundi Hill Road Siddartha Nagar, Mysore Phone : 0821 - 2420490/491 2429722/161 Fax: 0821-2425557 Love cheap thrills? Enjoy PC-to-Phone http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/postman9/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/ev… calls to 30+ countries for just 2¢/min with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice.

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Two Books that address Digital Divide in India very exhaustively, freely available online
by Puna Das 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Two Books that address Digital Divide in India very exhaustively, freely available online: 1] "Taking ICT to Every Indian Village: Opportunities and challenges" Written by Atanu Garai and B. Shadrach Published by: OneWorld South Asia, New Delhi URL: http://www.digitalopportunity.org/filemanager/download/916/takingICTvillage… 2] "A Developing Connection: Bridging the Policy Gap between the Information Society and Sustainable Development" Edited by Terri Willard and Maja Andjelkovic Published by: the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Manitoba, Canada URL: http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2005/networks_dev_connection.pdf URL: http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=740 _______________________________________________________ Anup Kumar Das/ Swapan Kumar Patra/ Bidyarthi Dutta Information and Communication Society of India New Delhi _______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://yahoo.shaadi.com

1 0

Save the Internet (fwd)
by Mailing List Manager 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:37:29 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun(a)mssrf.res.in> >From Andy Carvin Coalition to Launch "Save the Internet" Campaign for Network Neutrality This Monday, a coalition of Internet activists from across the political spectrum will officially launch the Save the Internet Campaign to fight telecom companies that are trying to create a multi-tiered Internet, where lower-income customers have less access to content and bandwidth than higher-paying customers. Quoting their new website: Congress is pushing a law that would abandon Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. Network neutrality prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work the best - based on who pays them the most. Your local library shouldn't have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer. Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online. This isn't just speculation - we've already seen what happens elsewhere when the Internet's gatekeepers get too much control. Last year, Canada's version of AT&T - Telus- blocked their Internet customers from visiting a Web site sympathetic to workers with whom Telus was negotiating. And Shaw, a major Canadian cable TV company, charges an extra $10 a month to subscribers who dare to use a competing Internet telephone service. Congress thinks they can sell out and the public will never know. The SavetheInternet.Com Coalition is proving them wrong. Founding coalition members: Professor Lawrence Lessig - Stanford Professor Timothy Wu - Columbia Free Press - Coalition Coordinator Gun Owners of America Craig Newmark - Craigslist.com Founder Professor Glenn Reynolds - aka blogger Instapundit MoveOn.org Civic Action Consumers Union American Library Association Consumer Federation of America Public Knowledge Common Cause U.S. PIRG Center for Digital Democracy Association of Research Libraries The Service Roundtable - small business network Afro-Netizen Loyola University Chicago, Department of Communications Educause New Organizing Institute Covenant College Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project Association for Community Networking Amazing Kids CCTV Center for Media and Democracy Alliance for Community Media Professor Susan Crawford Center for Creative Voices in Media Community Technology Centers FreeNetworks.org Media Access Project Media Alliance The Agonist NYC Wireless AcornActive Media Foundation Californians Against Waste Chicago Media Action CUWiN National Video Resources Illinois Community Technology Coalition Ohio Community Computing Network Peacefire Quicksilver Communications To get involved, visit the website and let Congress know how you feel about the issue. -andy

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Celebrating Libraries
by Mailing List Manager 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2006 23:32:41 +0530 From: Bhojaraju G <bhojaraju.g(a)gmail.com> Forwarded Message From: "Portal Administrator" <Electronic_Library(a)nlb.gov.sg> Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2006 21:21:17 +0800 Did a book from the library give you the idea for your first business venture? Or did a collection of music inspire you to learn an instrument? Did attending a library programme enhance your understanding of a subject? Perhaps a librarian provided invaluable advice that led you to discover new insights. *How has the library transformed YOUR life?* Share your story of how the library has made a positive difference in your life and stand to win attractive prizes, including an iPod Nano, a 3G mobile phone and hotel stays. What's more, your story could be among the selected stories to be published into a book. To submit your story, visit http://www.nlb.gov.sg/celebratinglibraries or any participating library* to pick up an entry form. Closing date for entries is 30 April 2006. Bhojaraju G Lead - Knowledge Management *********************************************************************************************************** KM Cyberary: http://www.bhojarajug.freeservers.com/cyberary.html KM-Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KM-Forum/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhojarajug Skype Me: bhojarajug

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IGNOU accredited (NIKHIL EYEROOR)
by Lata Suresh 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Dear Mr. Nikhil, As far as we understand, IGNOU courses are recognised, as this University has been set up by Act of the Parliament of India. Further information can be obtained from sred(a)ignou.ac.in. This information was given to me by Dr. P.K. Gupta, Deputy Librarian , Rajasthan University. regards Lata Suresh Librarian Institute of Health Management Research 1, Prabhu Dayal Marg, Sanganer Airport Jaipur 302033, RAJASTHAN, INDIA Tel : 91-0141-2791431-34 Fax: 91-0141-2792138 Email : lata(a)iihmr.org Message: 1 Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 10:38:08 +0530 From: "NIKHIL EYEROOR" <eyeroor(a)gmail.com> Subject: [LIS-Forum] IGNOU accredited To: LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <412ff7420604172208q18df823ak89aced0811e91cba(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Dear friends, In the web based free content encyclopedia Wikipedia, I came across an information that IGNOU is an unaccredited University. Please see the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi_National_Open_University. As a person planning to peruse research in IGNOU, I would like to know the credibility of the information. -- NIKHIL EYEROOR LIBRARIAN, P.A.AZIZ COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY KARAKULAM , TRIVANDRUM, PIN: 695 564 MOB: 09447515691

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"Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest...NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students"
by Susmita Chakraborty 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Dear All, Please refer to LIS Forum email message titled "NET relief mooted for MPhil, PhD students". I would like to share my personal observations in this regard. Firstly, let see who are qualifying UGC-NET/ SLET for Lecturership in Library and Information Science (LIS). The Meritorious or Talented or Hard-working LIS professionals are mostly qualifying these competitive examinations. On the other hand, let we see who are getting admission into MPHIL/ PHD programmes in LIS. Only few full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses are available in India as compared to total number of MLIS/AIS/ADIS passed outs. These full-time MPHIL/ PHD courses select student on the basis of Merit or NET/SLET. But they belong to only a few percent (about 10%) of total MPHIL passed outs in India. Rest 90% percent students are getting admission into MPHIL courses on the basis of ability to pay hefty course fee (varies from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 36,000/-). So, these 90% MPHIL/ PHD students are not that much Meritorious/ Talented/ Hard-working as compared to UGC NET/ SLET qualified LIS professionals, but they have financial capacity to pay the hefty course fee. There is also no consistency or transparency in the admission process of PhD programmes except for the NET/SLET qualified LIS professionals. So, if we propose to exempt of UGC NET/ SLET clause from the eligibility criteria of college librarians/ university assistant librarians/ documentation officers/ lecturers, probably we will discourage Meritorious or Talented or Hard-working persons to come into LIS profession. Instead, Library Associations, Forums can collectively pressurize UGC to produce sufficient numbers of UGC NET/ SLET qualified candidates, or to hold GRE type examination for admission into MPHIL and PhD programmes. Also, Library Associations and University departments can introduce NET/SLET coaching classes to address the shortage of qualified manpower and for the greater benefits of the society. Hope, the apex organizations, like, UGC, AICTE, MCI, should set the eligibility criteria on the basis of above-mentioned facts, and not bypassing the above-mentioned facts. With regards S. Chakraborty Kolkata

1 0

Worldwide open access to journals predicted
by Subbiah Arunachalam 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Friends: Here is something which sounds like fun, but who knows it could turn out to be true! Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ----------------------------------- From Peter Suber's blog Budapest 2.0 Richard Feinman has written a press release from the future on how OA might evolve in the next 2.5 years. Excerpt: December 1, 2008. Budapest. The quiet frozen surface of the river stands as counterpoint to the heated discussions in the Duna (Danube) Hotel where representatives of governments, libraries, universities and major publishing houses are trying to hammer out guidelines for the implementation of a Universal Open Access Protocol (UOAP)....Scheduled for 2009, UOAP would make the contents of all scholarly publications free without subscription. The UOAP operation is to be funded by a consortium of government agencies, private foundations and commercial sources and follows a period of ad hoc funding and substantial confusion in the world of scientific journals, a situation which dates to the event now known in the publishing world as Nature Day of which the conference is the first anniversary. On Nature Day, December 1, 2007, 100 university librarians (with backing of their respective faculties) handed an ultimatum to Nature publishing, one of the larger publishers of scientific technical journals. This rather strange manifesto proclaimed that the profit that Nature gained from providing journals to university libraries was excessive and rather than pay the price asked by Nature, the librarians offered to pay one fifth of the price for the print version and required that Nature be open access, that is, available on line without subscription. The libraries agreed to support the open access version at a further reduced price for five years even though it would be available to everybody in the world. If Nature did not agree, the libraries threatened to cancel their subscriptions. "It seems strange telling a manufacturer how much profit they can make but really this is what a consumer does every time they choose one of several competing products" said Kuan-Teh Jeang of the NIH and editor of Retrovirology, a journal that has been open access since 2003....In the end, an undisclosed compromise was settled on. Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), was next. "They claimed to be not-for-profit" said Richard Feinman, editor of Nutrition & Metabolism, "but their journal operation was a big money-maker and the funds were used for other activities which, however worthwhile, were not what we intended to pay for when our libraries subscribed to the journal. I told them they should change their name to the American Association for the Advancement of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAAAAS)." ...[A]uthors and editors were quite enthusiastic. "Well, transparency was the key," said Barbara Starfield of Johns Hopkins, editor of International Journal for Equity in Health. "Once the faculty members recognized the burden being placed on the libraries and how unscrupulous the publishers were, in combination with the obvious benefits of wide circulation and controlling your own copyrights, everything fell into place." Faced with guaranteed income at a lower price or a difficult battle with customers, most publishers instituted the open access movement. Quite remarkably this was done, in some cases, literally, overnight since publishers already had the tools for online publication. It was only necessary to remove the gateway. The pressure was, in fact, great - once battle lines were drawn, authors and reviewers (who are not normally paid by publishers) jumped to side with the libraries. The new contracts provided great savings for the libraries but everyone realized that they had agreed to pay for the world's technical journals, and that a global solution had to be found. In essence, it was recognized that much money flows into publishing and it only had to be redirected. This lead to today's meeting in Budapest. The meeting today, like Nature Day itself is also the anniversary of the 2001 meeting in Budapest of the Open Society Institute (OSI) which might be said to have initiated the Open Access movement. Friends: Here is something which sounds like fun, but who knows it could turn out to be true! Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ----------------------------------- From Peter Suber's blog Budapest 2.0 Richard Feinman has written a https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/2956.html press release from the future on how OA might evolve in the next 2.5 years. Excerpt: December 1, 2008. Budapest. The quiet frozen surface of the river stands as counterpoint to the heated discussions in the Duna (Danube) Hotel where representatives of governments, libraries, universities and major publishing houses are trying to hammer out guidelines for the implementation of a Universal Open Access Protocol (UOAP)....Scheduled for 2009, UOAP would make the contents of all scholarly publications free without subscription. The UOAP operation is to be funded by a consortium of government agencies, private foundations and commercial sources and follows a period of ad hoc funding and substantial confusion in the world of scientific journals, a situation which dates to the event now known in the publishing world as Nature Day of which the conference is the first anniversary. On Nature Day, December 1, 2007, 100 university librarians (with backing of their respective faculties) handed an ultimatum to Nature publishing, one of the larger publishers of scientific technical journals. This rather strange manifesto proclaimed that the profit that Nature gained from providing journals to university libraries was excessive and rather than pay the price asked by Nature, the librarians offered to pay one fifth of the price for the print version and required that Nature be open access, that is, available on line without subscription. The libraries agreed to support the open access version at a further reduced price for five years even though it would be available to everybody in the world. If Nature did not agree, the libraries threatened to cancel their subscriptions. "It seems strange telling a manufacturer how much profit they can make but really this is what a consumer does every time they choose one of several competing products" said Kuan-Teh Jeang of the NIH and editor of Retrovirology, a journal that has been open access since 2003....In the end, an undisclosed compromise was settled on. Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), was next. "They claimed to be not-for-profit" said Richard Feinman, editor of Nutrition & Metabolism, "but their journal operation was a big money-maker and the funds were used for other activities which, however worthwhile, were not what we intended to pay for when our libraries subscribed to the journal. I told them they should change their name to the American Association for the Advancement of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAAAAS)." ...[A]uthors and editors were quite enthusiastic. "Well, transparency was the key," said Barbara Starfield of Johns Hopkins, editor of International Journal for Equity in Health. "Once the faculty members recognized the burden being placed on the libraries and how unscrupulous the publishers were, in combination with the obvious benefits of wide circulation and controlling your own copyrights, everything fell into place." Faced with guaranteed income at a lower price or a difficult battle with customers, most publishers instituted the open access movement. Quite remarkably this was done, in some cases, literally, overnight since publishers already had the tools for online publication. It was only necessary to remove the gateway. The pressure was, in fact, great - once battle lines were drawn, authors and reviewers (who are not normally paid by publishers) jumped to side with the libraries. The new contracts provided great savings for the libraries but everyone realized that they had agreed to pay for the world's technical journals, and that a global solution had to be found. In essence, it was recognized that much money flows into publishing and it only had to be redirected. This lead to today's meeting in Budapest. The meeting today, like Nature Day itself is also the anniversary of the 2001 meeting in Budapest of the Open Society Institute (OSI) which might be said to have initiated the Open Access movement.

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Journal publishers bribing scientists subtly
by Subbiah Arunachalam 24 Apr '06

24 Apr '06

Friends: A very good proposal. Membership in the editorial boards of low quality journals should be given negative points in evaluation of a scientists for Fellowships, funds and promotion, says a distinguished American chemist. We certainly need to follow such a policy in India. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] From Peter Suber's blog A modest proposal to curb journal proliferation Chris Reed, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry (University of California, Riverside), offers the following modest proposal on CHMINF-L: Colleagues: In last week's interesting CHMINF-L discussion on Nature's proliferation of new journals, faculty habits, and the serials market, I saw no mention of an ongoing parallel onslaught by Bentham. In the past month, I have received no less that three invitations to join the editorial boards of new Bentham journals -- "Current this", "Frontiers of that" -- none in areas of my real expertise. The same old tactics are being used: exploiting a faculty weakness for seeing one's name in print, offering a career advance by having Editorial Board appointments on one's CV at promotion time, flattering authors with invitations to contribute papers in special issues, etc. All this effectively silences faculty from speaking out, or even caring about, the issues librarians understand so well. It is one of the reasons I am advocating that promotion policies at the University of California specify that appointments to the editorial boards of low quality, overpriced journals should count against promotion. The idea may not be so outrageous in five or ten years time. I have also recommended that the best way to change faculty habits is the pay them. Overpriced journals should be cancelled and some of the saved money given to Departments whose faculty agree not to submit to, referee for, accept editorial board appointments on journals they decide are too exploitive. Let me be a little provocative here. How far are librarians willing to go on this? Personally, I'd love to see faculty and librarians form a real partnership on this. (And its not the money driving me). PS. In case you are wondering, yes, I did hit the delete key on those Bentham invitations. Friends: A very good proposal. Membership in the editorial boards of low quality journals should be given negative points in evaluation of a scientists for Fellowships, funds and promotion, says a distinguished American chemist. We certainly need to follow such a policy in India. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] From Peter Suber's blog A modest proposal to curb journal proliferation http://www.chem.ucr.edu/faculty/reed/reed.html Chris Reed , Distinguished Professor of Chemistry ( http://ucr.edu/ University of California, Riverside ), offers the following https://listserv.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/wa-iub.exe?A2=ind0604&L=CHMINF-L&P=R10… modest proposal on CHMINF-L : Colleagues: In last week's interesting CHMINF-L discussion on Nature's proliferation of new journals, faculty habits, and the serials market, I saw no mention of an ongoing parallel onslaught by Bentham. In the past month, I have received no less that three invitations to join the editorial boards of new Bentham journals -- "Current this", "Frontiers of that" -- none in areas of my real expertise. The same old tactics are being used: exploiting a faculty weakness for seeing one's name in print, offering a career advance by having Editorial Board appointments on one's CV at promotion time, flattering authors with invitations to contribute papers in special issues, etc. All this effectively silences faculty from speaking out, or even caring about, the issues librarians understand so well. It is one of the reasons I am advocating that promotion policies at the University of California specify that appointments to the editorial boards of low quality, overpriced journals should count against promotion. The idea may not be so outrageous in five or ten years time. I have also recommended that the best way to change faculty habits is the pay them. Overpriced journals should be cancelled and some of the saved money given to Departments whose faculty agree not to submit to, referee for, accept editorial board appointments on journals they decide are too exploitive. Let me be a little provocative here. How far are librarians willing to go on this? Personally, I'd love to see faculty and librarians form a real partnership on this. (And its not the money driving me). PS. In case you are wondering, yes, I did hit the delete key on those Bentham invitations.

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What is access to knowledge (A2K)?
by Subbiah Arunachalam 23 Apr '06

23 Apr '06

Friday, April 21, 2006 What is Access to Knowledge? Jack M. Balkin The Yale Information Society Project Access to Knowledge Conference kicked off today. (You can learn more about the conference panels here and here.) I gave a speech on the first panel about framing access to knowledge, using insights from a year-long seminar that Yochai Benkler and I have been teaching on the issues. Here is the prepared text of my remarks: On behalf of the Information Society Project I want to express how happy we are to have you all here, and our pleasure at being a part of this wonderful movement that you, in the audience, have helped create. For the last year Yochai Benker and I have been running a research seminar at Yale with some very talented students on the theory and practice of access to knowledge, trying to understand the larger theoretical commitments behind the access to knowledge movement. This conference is the culmination of a long process of thought, study and reflection, which is part of the larger access to knowledge project here at the ISP. We hope that we can contribute in our own small way to what is already a rich and exciting conversation about the goals of access to knowledge. We are thrilled to be able to host what is truly an international event in an ongoing social movement that is unfolding before our very eyes. Today I want to make three points about the theory of access to knowledge. First, Access to Knowledge is a demand of justice. Second, Access to Knowledge is both an issue of economic development and an issue of individual participation and human liberty. Third, Access to Knowledge is about intellectual property, but it is also about far more than that. Access to Knowledge is a demand of Justice Access to Knowledge is a set of principles that emerge from a loose collection of different social movements. These social movements, in turn, are responding to changes in economy and society produced by new information technologies. Information and knowledge are embedded in goods like drugs that have value, and in social structures like education and science that produce value. Moreover, information, like capital, is not just a thing in itself but it's also a set of relationships between persons and groups. Some control it, others don't and law helps enforce that division of power and control. As the global economy develops, control over knowledge and information increasingly determines global wealth and power. Because not all countries participate in the global economy equally, not all of their citizens enjoy its benefits equally. Different societies prepare their members differently to participate in the information economy, and different countries have competitive advantages in producing information and controlling its distribution. Access to knowledge can be a confusing term because it actually refers to four different things. Here I borrow Yochai Benkler's typology: a.. 1. Human knowledge-- education, know-how, and the creation of human capital through learning new skills. b.. 2. Information-- like news, medical information, data, and weather reports. c.. 3. Knowledge-embedded goods-- goods where the inputs to production involve significant amounts of scientific and technical knowledge, often but not exclusively protected by intellectual property rights. Some key examples are drugs, electronic hardware, and computer software, but in contemporary economic life, information and intellectual property provide an increasingly important share of almost all valuable goods. d.. 4. Tools for the production of KEG's-- examples include scientific and research tools, materials and compounds for experimentation, computer programs and computer hardware. The goal of access to knowledge is to improve access to all four of these components of the knowledge economy: a.. 1. Access to human knowledge b.. 2. Access to information c.. 3. Access to KEG's d.. 4. Access to tools for producing KEG's Access to knowledge is a question of distributional justice, both within a society, say rich and poor, men and women, and across different societies, say countries in the North and the South. Given the long term trend in the world economy toward increasing the share of wealth going to these four components of the knowledge economy, what does justice require? I think we can make two claims: First, if you can produce the same or greater amounts of these four components and distribute them more widely and equitably both within countries and across national borders, justice demands this. Second, if you can spur additional innovation and information production in areas that existing market structures currently do not serve-- e.g., drugs for diseases in the third world, educational materials for persons in the poorest countries-- justice also demands this. Let me put it another way: Access to knowledge means that the right policies for information and knowledge production can increase both the total production of information and knowledge goods, and can distribute them in a more equitable fashion. The goal is first, promoting economic efficiency and development, and second, widespread distribution of those knowledge and informational goods necessary to human flourishing in our particular historical moment- the global networked information economy. I repeat: It's not just a trade off between equity and efficiency. We are not simply fighting about how to divide up a pie. Access to knowledge is about making a larger pie and distributing it more fairly. Or, at the risk of extending this pie metaphor well beyond its appropriate scope, access to knowledge means giving everyone the skills to make their own pies and share them widely with others. (And now all this talk of pies is starting to make me hungry.) This brings me to my third point. Access to Knowledge is both an issue of economic development and an issue of individual participation and human liberty. >From the arguments I've offered so far, which, I should mention, owe a considerable debt to the work of my friend and colleague Yochai Benkler, it sounds as if Access to Knowledge is just about economics and development. It isn't. I put it this way because some of the strongest arguments against A2K have been economic arguments that the current system is better for economic development and efficiency, and we have to sacrifice equality to promote development. What we've been trying to show in our seminar here at Yale is that this is just plain wrong. The best information policies, the best knowledge policies, the best development policies actually lower barriers to access to knowledge, they produce more information goods and they distribute them more widely. Our seminar has been trying to show how the best economic arguments are on our side. The crazy thing about the push toward global harmonization and IP maximalism is that it doesn't make economic sense. It benefits particular stakeholders, to be sure, and they often claim that making them wealthy makes everyone else better off. But it turns out it's not true. A more balanced set of IP policies actually produces greater wealth and distributes it more widely and fairly. But access to knowledge is about more than increasing GDP or promoting rapid development. For example, we might promote human development through producing lots of information goods for people and distributing them widely. On the other hand, we might promote human development by promoting decentralized access to information tools and by encouraging participation in the production of information goods by large numbers of people. Access to knowledge is about the second strategy- participation-- as much as the first. Or in economic terms, its about whether information production will be primarily centralized and proprietary or whether large parts of it should be decentralized and participatory. What we've been trying to show in our seminar here at Yale is that a vast range of information policies, ranging from free and open source software to universal service policies in telecom to networks of farmers sharing agricultural information aren't just about stuffing people's Christmas stockings with more information goods, but rather giving individual people tools to think with, build with, form communities with, and then watch these communities take off, enabling people to make their own knowledge and information goods either individually or through peer production models. You see, there is always more than one way to promote human flourishing using knowledge and information, and therefore you should usually adopt more than one strategy. You can make drugs cheaper or you can give people information about their health. Why not do both? You can reduce the costs of information embedded goods, or you can free up access to knowledge tools, increase literacy rates, and let people build things together and share their efforts. Again, why not do both? Is access to knowlege a human rights issue? Sure it is. Health, literacy, education, freedom of speech and participation in the knowledge economy all involve questions of human flourishing and all involve questions of human rights. So there is considerable overlap between the focus on development and the focus on human rights. But relying primarily on the rhetoric of human rights brings its own risks. I'll mention only two. First, people have started to argue that intellectual property is a universal human right so that people who resist increasing IP protections and making them equally stringent around the world are actually violating universal human rights. Second, much of good information policy requires governments to invest in information production-- scientific research, weather reports, agricultural information, health information, public libraries, educational materials-- and also to promote telecommunications infrastructures- cheap cell phones, universal access, telecenters and so on. A lot of good information policy comes from freeing up or encouraging the private sector to innovate, for example through government procurement policies, tax breaks, and IP reforms. Some of these policies and reforms aren't easy to squeeze into the rhetoric of human rights discourse, although, believe me, people have tried. (Is there a human right demanding that government spend more money on scientific research or that it provide network neturality policies in telecommunications? Maybe so, but human rights discourse might not be the best way to express one's goals in these particular situations.) That is why we have committed ourselves to talking about access to knowledge in multiple ways, as an issue of development, an issue of justice and an issue of human freedom and participation. It's a big topic, and there is no one single rhetoric that captures all of it. That brings me to my third point. Access to Knowledge is about Intellectual Property, but about far more than that. Much of the focus of access to knowledge, and much of what we are going to be talking about here, has been on intellectual property. There are good reasons for this. As you'll see in our discussions here, the international IP and trade regime has increasingly adopted policies that prevent the efficient and equitable flow of knowledge, information, and knowledge goods. However, if our goal is the promotion of human flourishing, economic development, and human freedom, Access to Knowledge must look beyond international trade and IP policy. First, no matter how restrictive IP laws may be, they may not be the major cause of human suffering and lack of access to knowledge around the world. Providing basic telecom access and rudimentary health care may be far more important in some countries. Using IP to deny people cultural freedom is bad enough, but broader censorship policies may be even worse. Second, we should always distinguish between law in the books and law in action. Sometimes the text of legal rules and treaties don't tell you how these laws are actually being enforced. Countries sign lots of treaties- like human rights treaties- that they don't actually enforce or only enforce selectively. Conversely, some treaties give countries opportunities to protect freedom- for example, exceptions and limitations provisions-- that they never use. Third, in some cases IP enforcement isn't the major stumbling block to economic development and human flourishing. For example, suppose a country wants to promote a local pharmaceutical industry. Its IP policies are important, but more important is their interaction with other policies like the presence or absence of research and development subsidies and tax breaks. Research and Development subsidies may be much more important than IP; and price controls may do as much harm as bad IP policies. A functioning public sphere, a free press, and government transparency- all goals of access to knowledge, by the way-- may be necessary to reduce government corruption and keep government policies from being skewed toward the short term interests of powerful stakeholders. Let me generalize this point: Universal telecom access and increased cell phone access, giving out free computers, providing public libraries and local telecenters, sharing agricultural information among farmers and educating women about their health and contraceptive options may be some of the most important things that a country can do to promote access to knowledge for a large proportion of its population. My point is that governments promote access to knowledge in many different ways besides IP laws-- through regulation and deregulation, through government procurement policies that encourage private actors to produce knowledge and information goods, and through the government's own provisioning of information, knowledge and education. That's why this conference contains panels on a wide variety of topics that go beyond current fights over the international IP regime-- panels about telecommunications, educational policy, and health policy. All of these policies serve the larger goals of A2K- the goals of justice, of development, and of participation in the forms and practices of knowledge by everyone on the planet. Friday, April 21, 2006 [A] What is Access to Knowledge? Jack M. Balkin The Yale Information Society Project http://research.yale.edu/isp/eventsa2k.html Access to Knowledge Conference kicked off today. (You can learn more about the conference panels http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme here and http://research.yale.edu/isp/a2k/wiki/index.php/Yale_A2K_Conference here .) I gave a speech on the first panel about framing access to knowledge, using insights from a year-long seminar that Yochai Benkler and I have been teaching on the issues. Here is the prepared text of my remarks: On behalf of the Information Society Project I want to express how happy we are to have you all here, and our pleasure at being a part of this wonderful movement that you, in the audience, have helped create. For the last year Yochai Benker and I have been running a research seminar at Yale with some very talented students on the theory and practice of access to knowledge, trying to understand the larger theoretical commitments behind the access to knowledge movement. This conference is the culmination of a long process of thought, study and reflection, which is part of the larger access to knowledge project here at the ISP. We hope that we can contribute in our own small way to what is already a rich and exciting conversation about the goals of access to knowledge. We are thrilled to be able to host what is truly an international event in an ongoing social movement that is unfolding before our very eyes. Today I want to make three points about the theory of access to knowledge. First, Access to Knowledge is a demand of justice. Second, Access to Knowledge is both an issue of economic development and an issue of individual participation and human liberty. Third, Access to Knowledge is about intellectual property, but it is also about far more than that. Access to Knowledge is a demand of Justice Access to Knowledge is a set of principles that emerge from a loose collection of different social movements. These social movements, in turn, are responding to changes in economy and society produced by new information technologies. Information and knowledge are embedded in goods like drugs that have value, and in social structures like education and science that produce value. Moreover, information, like capital, is not just a thing in itself but it's also a set of relationships between persons and groups. Some control it, others don't and law helps enforce that division of power and control. As the global economy develops, control over knowledge and information increasingly determines global wealth and power. Because not all countries participate in the global economy equally, not all of their citizens enjoy its benefits equally. Different societies prepare their members differently to participate in the information economy, and different countries have competitive advantages in producing information and controlling its distribution. Access to knowledge can be a confusing term because it actually refers to four different things. Here I borrow Yochai Benkler's typology: 1. Human knowledge-- education, know-how, and the creation of human capital through learning new skills. 2. Information-- like news, medical information, data, and weather reports. 3. Knowledge-embedded goods-- goods where the inputs to production involve significant amounts of scientific and technical knowledge, often but not exclusively protected by intellectual property rights. Some key examples are drugs, electronic hardware, and computer software, but in contemporary economic life, information and intellectual property provide an increasingly important share of almost all valuable goods. 4. Tools for the production of KEG's-- examples include scientific and research tools, materials and compounds for experimentation, computer programs and computer hardware. The goal of access to knowledge is to improve access to all four of these components of the knowledge economy: 1. Access to human knowledge 2. Access to information 3. Access to KEG's 4. Access to tools for producing KEG's Access to knowledge is a question of distributional justice, both within a society, say rich and poor, men and women, and across different societies, say countries in the North and the South. Given the long term trend in the world economy toward increasing the share of wealth going to these four components of the knowledge economy, what does justice require? I think we can make two claims: First, if you can produce the same or greater amounts of these four components and distribute them more widely and equitably both within countries and across national borders, justice demands this. Second, if you can spur additional innovation and information production in areas that existing market structures currently do not serve-- e.g., drugs for diseases in the third world, educational materials for persons in the poorest countries-- justice also demands this. Let me put it another way: Access to knowledge means that the right policies for information and knowledge production can increase both the total production of information and knowledge goods, and can distribute them in a more equitable fashion. The goal is first, promoting economic efficiency and development, and second, widespread distribution of those knowledge and informational goods necessary to human flourishing in our particular historical moment the global networked information economy. I repeat: It's not just a trade off between equity and efficiency. We are not simply fighting about how to divide up a pie. Access to knowledge is about making a larger pie and distributing it more fairly. Or, at the risk of extending this pie metaphor well beyond its appropriate scope, access to knowledge means giving everyone the skills to make their own pies and share them widely with others. (And now all this talk of pies is starting to make me hungry.) This brings me to my third point. Access to Knowledge is both an issue of economic development and an issue of individual participation and human liberty. >From the arguments I've offered so far, which, I should mention, owe a considerable debt to the work of my friend and colleague Yochai Benkler, it sounds as if Access to Knowledge is just about economics and development. It isn't. I put it this way because some of the strongest arguments against A2K have been economic arguments that the current system is better for economic development and efficiency, and we have to sacrifice equality to promote development. What we've been trying to show in our seminar here at Yale is that this is just plain wrong. The best information policies, the best knowledge policies, the best development policies actually lower barriers to access to knowledge, they produce more information goods and they distribute them more widely. Our seminar has been trying to show how the best economic arguments are on our side. The crazy thing about the push toward global harmonization and IP maximalism is that it doesn't make economic sense. It benefits particular stakeholders, to be sure, and they often claim that making them wealthy makes everyone else better off. But it turns out it's not true. A more balanced set of IP policies actually produces greater wealth and distributes it more widely and fairly. But access to knowledge is about more than increasing GDP or promoting rapid development. For example, we might promote human development through producing lots of information goods for people and distributing them widely. On the other hand, we might promote human development by promoting decentralized access to information tools and by encouraging participation in the production of information goods by large numbers of people. Access to knowledge is about the second strategy participation-- as much as the first. Or in economic terms, its about whether information production will be primarily centralized and proprietary or whether large parts of it should be decentralized and participatory. What we've been trying to show in our seminar here at Yale is that a vast range of information policies, ranging from free and open source software to universal service policies in telecom to networks of farmers sharing agricultural information aren't just about stuffing people's Christmas stockings with more information goods, but rather giving individual people tools to think with, build with, form communities with, and then watch these communities take off, enabling people to make their own knowledge and information goods either individually or through peer production models. You see, there is always more than one way to promote human flourishing using knowledge and information, and therefore you should usually adopt more than one strategy. You can make drugs cheaper or you can give people information about their health. Why not do both? You can reduce the costs of information embedded goods, or you can free up access to knowledge tools, increase literacy rates, and let people build things together and share their efforts. Again, why not do both? Is access to knowlege a human rights issue? Sure it is. Health, literacy, education, freedom of speech and participation in the knowledge economy all involve questions of human flourishing and all involve questions of human rights. So there is considerable overlap between the focus on development and the focus on human rights. But relying primarily on the rhetoric of human rights brings its own risks. I'll mention only two. First, people have started to argue that intellectual property is a universal human right so that people who resist increasing IP protections and making them equally stringent around the world are actually violating universal human rights. Second, much of good information policy requires governments to invest in information production-- scientific research, weather reports, agricultural information, health information, public libraries, educational materials-- and also to promote telecommunications infrastructures cheap cell phones, universal access, telecenters and so on. A lot of good information policy comes from freeing up or encouraging the private sector to innovate, for example through government procurement policies, tax breaks, and IP reforms. Some of these policies and reforms aren't easy to squeeze into the rhetoric of human rights discourse, although, believe me, people have tried. (Is there a human right demanding that government spend more money on scientific research or that it provide network neturality policies in telecommunications? Maybe so, but human rights discourse might not be the best way to express one's goals in these particular situations.) That is why we have committed ourselves to talking about access to knowledge in multiple ways, as an issue of development, an issue of justice and an issue of human freedom and participation. It's a big topic, and there is no one single rhetoric that captures all of it. That brings me to my third point. Access to Knowledge is about Intellectual Property, but about far more than that. Much of the focus of access to knowledge, and much of what we are going to be talking about here, has been on intellectual property. There are good reasons for this. As you'll see in our discussions here, the international IP and trade regime has increasingly adopted policies that prevent the efficient and equitable flow of knowledge, information, and knowledge goods. However, if our goal is the promotion of human flourishing, economic development, and human freedom, Access to Knowledge must look beyond international trade and IP policy. First, no matter how restrictive IP laws may be, they may not be the major cause of human suffering and lack of access to knowledge around the world. Providing basic telecom access and rudimentary health care may be far more important in some countries. Using IP to deny people cultural freedom is bad enough, but broader censorship policies may be even worse. Second, we should always distinguish between law in the books and law in action. Sometimes the text of legal rules and treaties don't tell you how these laws are actually being enforced. Countries sign lots of treaties like human rights treaties that they don't actually enforce or only enforce selectively. Conversely, some treaties give countries opportunities to protect freedom for example, exceptions and limitations provisions-- that they never use. Third, in some cases IP enforcement isn't the major stumbling block to economic development and human flourishing. For example, suppose a country wants to promote a local pharmaceutical industry. Its IP policies are important, but more important is their interaction with other policies like the presence or absence of research and development subsidies and tax breaks. Research and Development subsidies may be much more important than IP; and price controls may do as much harm as bad IP policies. A functioning public sphere, a free press, and government transparency all goals of access to knowledge, by the way-- may be necessary to reduce government corruption and keep government policies from being skewed toward the short term interests of powerful stakeholders. Let me generalize this point: Universal telecom access and increased cell phone access, giving out free computers, providing public libraries and local telecenters, sharing agricultural information among farmers and educating women about their health and contraceptive options may be some of the most important things that a country can do to promote access to knowledge for a large proportion of its population. My point is that governments promote access to knowledge in many different ways besides IP laws-- through regulation and deregulation, through government procurement policies that encourage private actors to produce knowledge and information goods, and through the government's own provisioning of information, knowledge and education. That's why this conference contains panels on a wide variety of topics that go beyond current fights over the international IP regime-- panels about telecommunications, educational policy, and health policy. All of these policies serve the larger goals of A2K the goals of justice, of development, and of participation in the forms and practices of knowledge by everyone on the planet.

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Smt. K.K.Lalithabai (Laltha Lenin) - A deidacated teacher
by Gopakumar Velayudhanpillai 22 Apr '06

22 Apr '06

Dear professionals, I came to the library profession 23 years back from Kerala Unviersity. I had the noble opportunity of being a student of Smt. K.K.Lalithabai, who had always shown dedication in her efforts to bring students to the subject areas which are new to them. Her approach to the subject always kindled curiosity among the students and were anxious to know more about it. Further when somebody gets a job in a university like situation they will forget about their social commitments. But my teacher was always in the fore front of socail activities and even now she is there. She had been awarded by various cultural forums for her literary works. We the students of Smt. Lalithabai are proud to say that we are her students. A team of great teachers lead by late Prof. K.A.Isaac, Sri.C.A.Augustine, Dr.C.V.Rajan Pillai and Smt. Lalthabai was there tp lead us into the profession. I wish my beloved teacher a great future during her retired life with activities commited to social cause. gopakumar.v Gopakumar.V Research Scholar Department of Library & Information Science Mangalore University Mangalagangotri gopakumar.v(a)rediffmail.com Dear professionals, I came to the library profession 23 years back from Kerala Unviersity. I had the noble opportunity of being a student of Smt. K.K.Lalithabai, who had always shown dedication in her efforts to bring students to the subject areas which are new to them. Her approach to the subject always kindled curiosity among the students and were anxious to know more about it. Further when somebody gets a job in a university like situation they will forget about their social commitments. But my teacher was always in the fore front of socail activities and even now she is there. She had been awarded by various cultural forums for her literary works. We the students of Smt. Lalithabai are proud to say that we are her students. A team of great teachers lead by late Prof. K.A.Isaac, Sri.C.A.Augustine, Dr.C.V.Rajan Pillai and Smt. Lalthabai was there tp lead us into the profession. I wish my beloved teacher a great future during her retired life with activities commited to social cause. gopakumar.v Gopakumar.V Research Scholar Department of Library & Information Science Mangalore University Mangalagangotri gopakumar.v(a)rediffmail.com 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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