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Fwd: Journal Publishing and Author Self-Archiving
by Subbiah Arunachalam 25 Aug '05

25 Aug '05

--- Stevan Harnad <harnad(a)ECS.SOTON.AC.UK> wrote: > Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:25:44 +0100 > From: Stevan Harnad <harnad(a)ECS.SOTON.AC.UK> > Subject: Journal Publishing and Author > Self-Archiving > To: > AMERICAN-SCIENTIST-OPEN-ACCESS-FORUM(a)LISTSERVER.SIGMAXI.ORG > > Journal Publishing and Author Self-Archiving: > Peaceful Co-Existence and Fruitful Collaboration > > A (shorter) UK-only version was co-signed by: > > Tim Berners-Lee (UK, Southampton & US, MIT) > Dave De Roure (UK, Southampton) > Stevan Harnad (UK, Southampton & Canada, > UQaM) > Derek Law (UK, Strathclyde) > Peter Murray-Rust (UK, Cambridge) > Charles Oppenheim (UK, Loughborough) > Nigel Shadbolt (UK, Southampton) > Yorick Wilks (UK, Sheffield) > > http://openaccess.eprints.org/index.php?/archives/18-guid.html > > This longer version is also signed by: > > Subbiah Arunachalam (India, MSRF) > Helene Bosc (France, INRA, ret.) > Fred Friend (UK, University College, London) > Andrew Odlyzko (US, University of Minnesota) > Peter Suber (US, Earlham) > > Please also see the version with hyperlinks: > > http://openaccess.eprints.org/index.php?/archives/20-guid.html > > SUMMARY: The UK Research Funding Councils (RCUK) > have proposed > that all RCUK fundees should self-archive on the > web, free for > all, their own final drafts of journal articles > reporting their > RCUK-funded research, in order to maximise their > usage and > impact. ALPSP (a learned publishers' > association) now seeks > to delay and block the RCUK proposal, auguring > that it will > ruin journals. All objective evidence from the > past decade and > a half of self-archiving, however, shows that > self-archiving > can and does co-exist peacefully with journals > while greatly > enhancing both author/article and journal > impact, to the benefit > of both. Journal publishers should not be trying > to delay and > block self-archiving policy; they should be > collaborating with > the research community on ways to share its vast > benefits. > > > This is a public reply, co-signed by the above, to > the August 5, > 2005, public letter by Sally Morris, Executive > Director of ALPSP > (Association of Learned and Professional Society > Publishers) to > Professor Ian Diamond, Chair, RCUK (Research > Councils UK), concerning > the RCUK proposal to mandate the web self-archiving > of authors' > final drafts of all journal articles resulting from > RCUK-funded > research, making them freely accessible to all > researchers worldwide > who cannot afford access to the official journal > version, in order > to maximise the usage and impact of the RCUK-funded > research findings. > > It is extremely important that the arguments and > objective evidence > for or against the optimality of research > self-archiving policy be > aired and discussed openly, as they have been for > several years > now, all over the world, so that policy decisions > are not influenced > by one-sided arguments from special interests that > can readily be > shown to be invalid. Every single one of the points > made by the > ALPSP below is incorrect -- incorrect from the > standpoint of both > objective evidence and careful logical analysis. We > accordingly > provide a point by point rebuttal here, along with a > plea for an > end to publishers' efforts to block or delay > self-archiving policy > -- a policy that is undeniably beneficial to > research and researchers, > as well as to their institutions and the public that > funds them. > Publishers should collaborate with the research > community to share > the benefits of maximising research access and > impact. > > (Please note that this is not the first time the > ALPSP's points > have been made, and rebutted; but whereas the > rebuttals take very > careful, detailed account of the points made by > ALPSP, the ALPSP > unfortunately just keeps repeating its points > without taking any > account of the detailed replies. By way of > illustration, the prior > ALPSP critique of the RCUK proposal (April 19) was > followed on July > 1 by a point-by-point rebuttal. The reader who > compares the two > cannot fail to notice certain recurrent themes that > ALPSP keeps > ignoring in their present critique. In particular, 3 > of the 5 > examples that ALPSP cites below as evidence of the > negative effects > of self-archiving on journals turn out to have > nothing at all to > do with self-archiving, exactly as pointed out in > the earlier > rebuttal. The other 2 examples turn out to be > positive evidence for > the potential of sharing the benefits through > cooperation and > collaboration between the research and publishing > community, rather > than grounds for denying research and researchers > those benefits > through opposition.) > > The RCUK draft proposal is at: > http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/access/statement.pdf > > All quotes below are from: > > ALPSP response to RCUK's proposed position > statement > on access to research outputs > http://www.alpsp.org/news/rcuk/default.htm > > which was addressed to: Professor Ian Diamond, > Research Councils > UK Secretariat on 5th August, 2005: > > > ALPSP: "Although the mission of our publisher > members is to > > disseminate and maximise access to research > information" > > The principle of maximising access to research > information is indeed > the very essence of the issue at hand. The reader of > the following > statements and counter-statements should accordingly > bear this > principle in mind while weighing them: Unlike the > authors of books > or of magazine and newspaper articles, the authors > of research > journal articles are not writing in order to sell > their words, but > in order to share their findings, so other > researchers can use and > build upon them, in order to advance research > progress, to the > benefit of the public that funded the research. This > usage and > application is called research impact. Research > impact is a measure > of research progress and productivity: the influence > that the > findings have had on the further course of research > and its > applications; the difference it has made that a > given piece of > research has been conducted at all, rather than > being left unfunded > and undone. Research impact is the reason the public > funds the > research and the reason researchers conduct the > research and report > the results. Research that makes no impact may as > well not have > been conducted at all. One of the primary indicators > -- but by no > means the only one -- of research impact is the > number of resulting > pieces of research by others that make use of a > finding, by citing > it. Citation counts are accordingly quantitative > measures of research > impact. (The reader is reminded, at this early point > in our critique, > that it is impossible for a piece of research to be > read, used, > applied and cited by any researcher who cannot > access it. Research > access is a necessary (though not a sufficient) > condition for > research impact.) > > Owing to this central importance of impact in the > research growth > and progress cycle, the authors of research are > rewarded not by > income from the sales of their texts, like normal > authors, but by > 'impact income' based on how much their research > findings are used, > applied, cited and built upon. Impact is what helps > pay the author's > salary, what brings further RCUK grant income, and > what brings RAE > (Research Assessment Exercise) income to the > author's institution. > And the reason the public pays taxes for the RCUK > and RAE to use > to fund research in the first place is so that that > research can > benefit the public -- not so that it can generate > sales income for > publishers. There is nothing wrong with research > also generating > sales income for publishers. But there is definitely > something wrong > if publishers try to prevent researchers from > maximising the impact > of their research, by maximising access to it. For > whatever limits > research access limits research progress; to repeat: > access is a > necessary condition for impact. > > Hence, for researchers and their institutions, the > need to 'maximise > access to research information' is not just a pious > promotional > slogan: Whatever denies access to their research > output is denying > the public the research impact and progress it paid > for and denying > researchers and their institutions the impact income > they worked > for. Journals provide access to all individuals and > institutions > that can afford to subscribe to them, and that is > fine. But what > about all the other would-be users -- those > researchers world-wide > whose institutions happen to be unable to afford to > subscribe to > the journal in which a research finding happens to > be published? > There are 24,000 research journals and most > institutions can afford > access only to a small fraction of them. Across all > fields tested > so far (including physics, mathematics, biology, > economics, > business/management, sociology, education, > psychology, and philosophy), > articles that have been self-archived freely on the > web, thereby > maximising access, have been shown to have 50%-250+% > greater citation > impact than articles that have not been > self-archived. Is it > reasonable to expect researchers and their > institutions and funders > to continue to renounce that vast impact potential > in an online age > that has made this impact-loss no longer necessary? > Can asking > researchers to keep on losing that impact be > seriously described > as 'maximising access to research information'? Now > let us see on > what grounds researchers are being asked to renounce > this impact: > > > ALPSP: "we find ourselves unable to support RCUK's > proposed > > position paper on the means of achieving this. We > continue to > > stress all the points we made in our previous > response, dated 19 > > April, and are insufficiently reassured by RCUK's > reply. We are > > convinced that RCUK's proposed policy will > inevitably lead to the > > destruction of journals." > > If it were indeed true that the RCUK's policy will > inevitably lead > to the destruction of journals, then this > contingency would definitely > be worthy of further time and thought. > > But there is in fact no objective evidence > whatseover in support > of this dire prophecy. All evidence (footnote 1) > from 15 years of > self-archiving (in some fields having reached 100% > self-archiving > long ago) is exactly the opposite: that > self-archiving and journal > publication can and do continue to co-exist > peacefully, with > institutions continuing to subscribe to the journals > they can afford, > and researchers at the institutions that can afford > them continuing > to use them; the only change is that the author's > own self-archived > final drafts (as well as earlier pre-refereeing > preprints) are now > accessible to all those researchers whose > institutions could not > afford the official journal version (as well as to > any who may wish > to consult the pre-refereeing preprints). In other > words, the > self-archived author's drafts, pre- and > post-refereeing, are > supplements to the official journal version, not > substitutes for > it. > > In the absence of any objective evidence at all to > the effect that > self-archiving reduces subscriptions, let alone > destroys journals, > and in the face of 15 years' worth of evidence to > the contrary, > ALPSP simply amplifies the rhetoric, elevating pure > speculation to > a putative justification for continuing to delay and > oppose a policy > that is already long overdue and a practice that has > already been > amply demonstrated to deliver something of immense > benefit to > research, researchers, their institutions and > funders: dramatically > enhanced impact. All this, ALPSP recommends, is to > be put on hold > because some publishers have the 'conviction' that > self-archiving > will destroy journals. > > > ALPSP: "A policy of mandated self-archiving of > research articles > > in freely accessible repositories, when combined > with the ready > > retrievability of those articles through search > engines (such as > > Google Scholar) and interoperability (facilitated > by standards > > such as OAI-PMH), will accelerate the move to a > disastrous > > scenario." > > The objective evidence from 15 years of continuous > self-archiving > by physicists (even longer by computer scientists) > has in fact > tested this grim hypothesis; and this cumulative > evidence affords > not the slightest hint of any move to a 'disastrous > scenario.' > Throughout the past decade and a half, final drafts > of hundreds of > thousands of articles have been made freely > accessible and readily > retrievable by their authors (in some fields > approaching 100% of > the research published). And these have indeed been > extensively > accessed and retrieved and used and applied and > cited by researchers > in those disciplines, exactly as their authors > intended (and far > more extensively than articles for which the > authors' drafts had > not been made freely accessible). Yet when asked, > both of the large > physics learned societies (the Institute of Physics > Publishing in > the UK and the American Physical Society) responded > very explicitly > that they could identify no loss of subscriptions to > their journals > as a result of this critical mass of self-archived > and readily > retrievable physics articles (footnote 1). The > ALPSP's doomsday > conviction does not gain in plausibility by merely > being repeated, > ever louder. > > Google Scholar and OAI-PMH do indeed make the > self-archived supplements > more accessible to their would-be users, but that is > the point: The > purpose of self-archiving is to maximise access to > research > information. (Some publishers may still be in the > habit of reckoning > that research is well-served by access-denial, but > the providers > of that research -- the researchers themselves, and > their funders > -- can perhaps be forgiven for reckoning, and > acting, otherwise.) > > > ALPSP: "Librarians will increasingly find that > 'good enough' > > versions of a significant proportion of articles > in journals are > > freely available; in a situation where they lack > the funds to > > purchase all the content their users want > [emphasis added] it is > > inconceivable that they would not seek to save > money by cancelling > > subscriptions to those journals. As a result, > those journals will > > die." > > First, please note the implicit premise here: Where > research > institutions 'lack the funds to purchase all the > content their > researchers want,' the users (researchers) should do > without that > content, and the providers (researchers) should do > without the usage > and impact, rather than just giving it to one > another, as the RCUK > proposes. And why? Because researchers giving their > own research > to researchers who cannot afford the journal version > will make the > journals die. > > Second, RCUK-funded researchers publish in thousands > of journals > all over the world -- the UK, Europe and North > America. Their > publications, though important, represent the output > of only a small > fraction of the world's research population. Neither > research topics > nor research journals have national boundaries. > Hence it is unlikely > that a 'significant proportion' of the articles in > any particular > journal will become freely available purely as a > consequence of the > RCUK policy. > > Third, journals die and are born every year, since > the advent of > journals. Their birth may be because of a new niche, > and their > demise might be because of the loss or saturation of > an old niche, > or because the new niche was an illusion. Scholarly > fashions, > emphases and growth regions also change. This is > ordinary intellectual > evolution plus market economics. > > Fourth (and most important), as we have already > noted, physics > journals already do contain a 'significant > proportion' of articles > that have been self-archived in the physics > repository, arXiv -- > yet librarians have not cancelled subscriptions > (footnote 1) despite > a decade and a half's opportunity to do so, and the > journals continue > to survive and thrive. So whereas ALPSP may find it > subjectively > 'inconceivable,' the objective fact is that > self-carving is not > generating cancellations, even where it is most > advanced and has > been going on the longest. > > Research libraries -- none of which can afford to > subscribe to all > journals, because they have only finite journals > budgets -- have > always tried to maximise their purchasing power, > cancelling journals > they think their users need less, and subscribing to > journals they > think their users need more. As objective > indicators, some may use > (1) usage statistics (paper and online) and (2) > citation impact > factors, but the final decision is almost always > made on the basis > of (3) surveys of their own users' recommendations > (footnote 2). > Self-archiving does not change this one bit, because > self-archiving > is not done on a per-journal basis but on a > per-article basis. And > it is done anarchically, distributed across authors, > institutions > and disciplines. An RCUK mandate for all RCUK-funded > researchers > to self-archive all their articles will have no net > differential > effect on any particular journal one way or the > other. Nor will > RCUK-mandated self-archiving exhaust the contents of > any particular > journal. So librarians' money-saving and > budget-balancing > subscription/cancellation efforts may proceed apace. > Journals will > continue to be born and to die, as they always did, > but with no > differential influence from self-archiving. > > But let us fast-forward this speculation: The RCUK > self-archiving > mandate itself is unlikely to result in any > individual journal's > author-archived supplements rising to anywhere near > 100%, but if > the RCUK model is followed (as is quite likely) by > other nations > around the world, we may indeed eventually reach > 100% self-archiving > for all articles in all journals. That would > certainly be optimal > for research, researchers, their institutions, their > funders, and > the tax-paying public that funds the funders. Would > it be disastrous > for journals? A certain amount of pressure would > certainly be taken > off librarians' endless struggle to balance their > finite journal > budgets: The yearly journal selection process would > no longer be a > struggle for basic survival (as all researchers > would have online > access to at least the author-self-archived > supplements), but market > competition would continue among > publisher-added-values, which > include (1) the paper edition and (2) the official, > value-added, > online edition (functionally enriched with XML > mark-up, citation > links, publisher's PDF, etc.). The market for those > added values > would continue to determine what was subscribed to > and what was > cancelled, pretty much as it does now, but in a > stabler way, without > the mounting panic and desperation that struggling > with balancing > researchers' basic inelastic survival needs has been > carrying with > it for years now (the 'serials crisis'). > > If, on the other hand, the day were ever to come > when there was no > longer a market for the paper edition, and no longer > a market for > some of the online added-values, then surely the > market can be > trusted to readjust to that new supply/demand > optimum, with publishers > continuing to sell whatever added values there is > still a demand > for. One sure added-value, for example, is peer > review. Although > journals don't actually perform the peer review > (researchers do it > for them, for free), they do administer it, with > qualified expert > editors selecting the referees, adjudicating the > referee reports, > and ensuring that authors revise as required. It is > conceivable > that one day that peer review service will be sold > as a separate > service to authors and their insitutions, with the > journal-name > just a tag that certifies the outcome, instead of > being bundled > into a product that is sold to users and their > institutions. But > that is just a matter of speculation right now, when > there is still > a healthy demand for both the paper and online > editions. Publishing > will co-evolve naturally with the evolution of the > online medium > itself. But what cannot be allowed to happen now is > for researchers' > impact (and the public's investment and stake in it) > to be held > hostage to the status quo, under the pretext of > forestalling a > doomsday scenario that has no evidence to support it > and all evidence > to date contradicting it. > > > ALPSP: "The consequences of the destruction of > journals' viability > > are very serious. Not only will it become > impossible to support > > the whole process of quality control, including > (but not limited > > to) peer review" > > Notice that the doomsday scenario has simply been > taken for granted > here, despite the absence of any actual evidence for > it, and despite > all the existing evidence to the contrary. Because > it is being > intoned so shrilly and with such 'conviction', it is > to be taken > at face value, and we are simply to begin our > reckoning with accepting > it as an unchallenged premise: but that premise is > without any > objective foundation whatsoever. > > As ALPSP mentions peer review, however, is this not > the point to > remind ourselves that among the many > (unquestionable) values that > the publisher does add, peer-review is a rather > anomalous one, being > an unpaid service that researchers themselves are > rendering to the > publisher gratis (just as they give their articles > gratis, without > seeking any payment)? > > As noted above, peer review and the certification of > its outcome > could in principle be sold as a separate service to > the author-institution, > instead of being bundled with a product to the > subscriber-institution; > hence it is not true that it would be 'impossible to > support' peer > review even if journals' subscription base were to > collapse entirely. > But as there is no evidence of any tendency toward a > collapse of > the subscription base, this is all just hypothetical > speculation > at this point. > > > ALPSP: "but in addition, the research community > will lose all the > > other value and prestige which is added, for both > author and > > reader, through inclusion in a highly rated > journal with a clearly > > understood audience and rich online > functionality." > > Wherever authors and readers value either the paper > edition or the > rich online functionality -- both provided only by > the publisher > -- they will continue to subscribe to the journal as > long as they > can afford it, either personally or through their > institutional > library. As noted above, this clearly continues to > be the case for > the physics journals that are the most advanced in > testing the > waters of self-archiving. Publishers who add > sufficient value create > a product that the market will pay for (by the > definition of supply, > demand and sufficient-value). However, surely the > interests of > research and the public that funds it are not > best-served if those > researchers (potential users) who happen to be > unable to afford the > particular journal in which the functionally > enriched, value-added > version is published are denied access to the basic > research finding > itself. Even more important and pertinent to the > RCUK proposal: The > fundee's and funder's research should not be denied > the impact > potential from all those researchers who cannot > afford access. > > Researchers have always given away all their > findings (to their > publishers as well as to all requesters of reprints) > so that other > researchers could further advance the research by > using, applying > and building upon their findings. Access-denial has > always limited > the progress, productivity and impact of science and > scholarship. > Now the online age has at last made it possible to > put an end to > this needless access-denial and resultant > impact-loss; the RCUK is > simply the first to propose systematically applying > the natural, > optimal, and inevitable remedy to all research > output. > > Whatever publisher-added value is truly value > continues to be of > value when it co-exists with author self-archiving. > Articles continue > to appear in journals, and the enriched > functionality of the official > value-added online edition (as well as the paper > edition) are still > there to be purchased. It is just that those who > could not afford > them previously will no longer be deprived of access > to the research > findings themselves > > > ALPSP: "This in turn will deprive learned > societies of an important > > income stream, without which many will be unable > to support their > > other activities -- such as meetings, bursaries, > research funding, > > public education and patient information -- which > are of huge > > benefit both to their research communities and to > the general > > public." > > (Notice, first, that this is all still predicated on > the truth of > the doomsday conviction -- 'that self-archiving will > inevitably > destroy journals' -- which is contradicted by all > existing evidence.) > > But insofar as learned-societies 'other activieties' > are concerned, > there is a very simple, straight-forward way to put > the proposition > at issue: Does anyone imagine that -- if a > trade-off, either/or > choice point were ever actually reached -- > researchers would knowingly > and willingly choose to continue subsidising learned > societies' > admirable good works -- meetings, bursaries, > research funding, > public education and patient information -- at the > cost of their > own lost research impact? > > The ALPSP doomsday 'conviction', however, has no > basis in evidence, > hence there no either/or choice needs to be made. > All indications > to date are that learned societies will continue to > publish journals > -- adding value and successfully selling that > added-value -- in > peaceful co-existence with RCUK-mandated > self-archiving. But entirely > apart from that, ALPSP certainly has no grounds for > asking researchers > to renounce maximising their own research impact for > the sake of > financing learned societies' good works (like > meetings, bursaries > and public education) -- good works that could > finance themselves > in alternative ways that were not parasitic on > research progress, > if circumstances were ever to demand it > > The ALPSP letter began by stating that the mission > of ALPSP publisher > members is to 'disseminate and maximise access to > research information'. > Some of the journal-publishing learned societies do > indeed affirm > that this is their mission; yet by their restrictive > publishing > practices they actively contradict it, and defend > the resulting > inescapable contradiction by pleading a disaster > scenario (very > like the one ALPSP repeatedly invokes) in the name > of protecting > the publishing profits that support all of the > society's other > activities. Yet this is not the attitude of > forward-thinking, > member-oriented societies that understand properly > what researchers > in their fields need and know how to deliver it. > Here is a quote > from Dr Elizabeth Marincola, Executive Director of > the American > Society for Cell Biology, a sizeable but not huge > society (10,000 > members; many US scientific and medical societies > have over 100,000 > members): > > "I think the more dependent societies are on > their publications, > the farther away they are from the real needs of > their > members. If they were really doing good work and > their > members were aware of this, then they wouldn't > be so fearful'' > When my colleagues come to me and say they > couldn't possibly > think of putting their publishing revenues at > risk, I think > 'why haven't you been diversifying your revenue > sources all > along and why haven't you been diversifying your > products > all along?' The ASCB offers a diverse range of > products so > that if publications were at risk financially, > we wouldn't > lose our membership base because there are lots > of other > reasons why people are members." (Footnote 3) > > This perfectly encapsulates why we should not be too > credulous about > the dire warnings emanating from learned societies > to the effect > that self-archiving will damage research and its > dissemination. The > dissemination of research findings should, as > avowed, be a high-priority > service for societies -- a direct end in itself, not > just a trade > activity to generate profit so as to subsidise other > activities, > at the expense of research itself. > > > ALPSP: "The damaging effects will not be limited > to UK-published > > journals and UK societies; UK research authors > publish their work > > in the most appropriate journals, irrespective of > the journals' > > country of origin." > > The thrust of the above statement is rather unclear: > The RCUK-mandated > self-archiving itself will indeed be distributed > across all journals, > worldwide. Hence, if it had indeed been 'damaging', > that damage > would likewise be distributed (and diluted) across > all journals, > not concentrated on any particular journal. So what > is the point > being made here? > > But in fact there is no evidence at all that > self-archiving is > damaging to journals, rather than co-existing > peacefully with them; > and a great deal of evidence that it is extremely > beneficial to > research, researchers, their institutions and their > funders. > > > ALPSP: "We absolutely reject unsupported > assertions that > > self-archiving in publicly accessible repositories > does not and > > will not damage journals. Indeed, we are > accumulating a growing > > body of evidence that the opposite is the case > [emphasis added], > > even at this early stage" > > We shall now examine whose assertions need to be > absolutely rejected > as unsupported, and whether there is indeed 'a > growing body of > evidence that the opposite is the case'. > > What follows is the ALPSP's 5 pieces of putative > evidence in support > of their expressed 'conviction' that self-archiving > will damage > journals. Please follow carefully, as the first two > pieces of > evidence [1]-[2] -- concerning usage and citation > statistics -- > will turn out to be positive evidence rather than > negative evidence, > and the last three pieces of evidence [3]-[5] -- > concerning journals > that make all of their own articles free online -- > turn out to have > nothing whatsoever to do with author self-archiving: > > > ALPSP: "For example: [1] Increasingly, librarians > are making use > > of COUNTER-compliant (and therefore comparable) > usage statistics > > to guide their decisions to renew or cancel > journals. The Institute > > of Physics Publishing is therefore concerned to > see that article > > downloads from its site are significantly lower > for those journals > > whose content is substantially replicated in the > ArXiV repository > > than for those which are not." > > How does example [1] show that 'the opposite is the > case'? As has > already been reported above, the Institute of > Physics Publishing > (UK) and the American Physical Society have both > stated publicly > that they can identify no loss of subscriptions as a > result of > nearly 15 years of self-archiving by physicists! > (Moreover, publishers > and institutional repositories can and will easily > work out a > collaborative system of pooled usage statistics, all > credited to > the publisher's official version; so that is no > principled obstacle > either.) > > The easiest thing in the world for Institutional > Repositories (IRs) > to provide to publishers (along with the link from > the self-archived > supplement in the IR to the official journal version > on the publisher's > website -- something that is already dictated by > good scholarly > practice) is the IR download statistics for the > self-archived version > of each article. These can be pooled with the > download statistics > for the official journal version and all of it > (rightly) credited > to the article itself. Another bonus that the > self-archived supplements > already provide is enhanced citation impact -- of > which it is not > only the article, the author, the institution and > the funder who > are the co-beneficiaries, but also the journal and > the publisher, > in the form of an enhanced journal impact factor > (average citation > count). It has also been demonstrated recently that > download impact > and citation impact are correlated, downloads in the > first six > months after publication being predictive of > citations after 2 > years. > > All these statistics and benefits are there to be > shared between > publishers, librarians and research institutions in > a cooperative, > collaborative atmosphere that welcomes the benefits > of self-archiving > to research and that works to establish a system > that shares them > among the interested parties. Collaboration on the > sharing of the > benefits of self-archiving is what learned societies > should be > setting up meetings to do -- rather than just trying > to delay and > oppose what is so obviously a substantial and > certain benefit to > research, researchers, their institutions and > funders, as well as > a considerable potential benefit to journals, > publishers and > libraries. If publishers take an adversarial stance > on self-archiving, > all they do is deny themselves of its potential > benefits (out of > the groundless but self-sustaining 'conviction' that > self-archiving > can inevitably bring them only disaster). Its > benefits to research > are demonstrated and incontestable, hence will > incontestably prevail. > (ALPSP's efforts to delay the optimal and inevitable > will not redound > to learned societies' historic credit; the sooner > they drop their > filibustering and turn to constructive cooperation > and collaboration, > the better for all parties concerned.) > > > ALPSP: "[2] Citation statistics and the resultant > impact factors > > are of enormous importance to authors and their > institutions; > > they also influence librarians' > renewal/cancellation decisions. > > Both the Institute of Physics and the London > Mathematical Society > > are therefore troubled to note an increasing > tendency for authors > > to cite only the repository version of an article, > without > > mentioning the journal in which it was later > published." > > Librarians' decisions about which journals to renew > or cancel take > into account a variety of comparative measures, > citation statistics > being one of them (footnote 2). Self-archiving has > now been analysed > extensively and shown to increase journal article > citations > substantially in field after field; so journals > carrying self-archived > articles will have higher impact factors, and will > hence perform > better under this measure in competing for their > share of libraries' > serials budgets. This refutes example [2]. > > As to the proper citation of the official journal > version: This is > merely a question of proper scholarly practice, > which is evolving > and will of course adapt naturally to the new > medium; a momentary > lag in scholarly rigour is certainly no argument > against the practice > of self-archiving or its benefits to research and > researchers. > Moreover, publishers and institutional repositories > can and will > easily work out a collaborative system of pooled > citation and > reference statistics -- all credited to the official > published > version. So that is no principled obstacle either. > This is all just > a matter of adapting scholarly practices naturally > to the new medium > (and is likewise inevitable). It borders on the > absurd to cite > something whose solution is so simple and obvious as > serious grounds > for preventing research impact from being maximised > by universal > self-archiving! > > > ALPSP: "[3] Evidence is also growing that free > availability of > > content has a very rapid negative effect on > subscriptions. Oxford > > University Press made the contents of Nucleic > Acids Research > > freely available online six months after > publication; subscription > > loss was much greater than in related journals > where the content > > was free after a year. The journal became fully > Open Access this > > year, but offered a substantial reduction in the > publication > > charge to those whose libraries maintained a print > subscription; > > however, the drop in subscriptions has been far > more marked than > > was anticipated." > > This is a non-sequitur, having nothing to do with > self-archiving, > one way or the other (as was already pointed out in > the prior > rebuttal of APLSP's April critique of the RCUK > proposal): This > example refers to an entire journal's contents -- > the official > value-added versions, all being made freely > accessible, all at once, > by the publisher -- not to the anarchic, > article-by-article > self-archiving of the author's final draft by the > author, which is > what the RCUK is mandating. This example in fact > reinforces what > was noted earlier: that RCUK-mandated self-archiving > does not single > out any individual journal (as OU Press did above > with one of its > own) and drive its self-archived content to 100%. > Self-archiving > is distributed randomly across all journals. Since > journals compete > (somewhat) with one another for their share of each > institution's > finite journal acquisitions budget, it is > conceivable that if one > journal gives away 100% of its official, value-added > contents online > and the others don't, that journal might be making > itself more > vulnerable to differential cancellation (though not > necessarily: > there are reported examples of the exact opposite > effect too, with > the free online version increasing not only > visibility, usage and > citations, but thereby also increasing > subscriptions, serving as > an advertisement for the journal). But this is in > any case no > evidence for cancellation-inducing effects of > self-archiving, which > involves only the author's final drafts and is not > focussed on any > one journal but randomly distributed across all > journals, leaving > them to continue to compete for subscriptions > amongst themselves, > on the basis of their relative merits, exactly as > they did before. > > > ALPSP: "[4] The BMJ Publishing Group has noted a > similar effect; > > the journals that have been made freely available > online on > > publication have suffered greatly increased > subscription attrition, > > and access controls have had to be imposed to > ensure the survival > > of these titles." > > Exactly the same reply as above: The risks of making > 100% of one > journal's official, value-added contents free online > while all other > journals are not doing likewise has nothing > whatosever to do with > anarchic self-archiving, by authors, of the final > drafts of their > own articles, distributed randomly across journals. > > > ALPSP: "[5] In the USA, the Institute for > Operations Research and > > the Management Sciences found that two of its > journals had, without > > its knowledge, been made freely available on the > Web. For one > > of these, an established journal, they noted a > subscriptions > > decline which was more than twice as steep as the > average for > > their other established journals; for the other, a > new journal > > where subscriptions would normally have been > growing, they declined > > significantly. While the unauthorised free > versions have now been > > removed, it is too early to tell whether the > damage is permanent." > > Exactly the same artifact as in the prior two cases. > (The trouble > with self-generated Doomsday Scenarios is that they > tend to assume > such a grip on the imagination that their > propounders cannot > distinguish objective evidence from the > 'corroboration' that comes > from merely begging the question or changing the > subject!) > > In all three examples, whole journals were made > freely available, > all at once, in their entirety, along with all the > added value and > rich online functionality that a journal provides. > This is not at > all the same as authors self-archiving only their > own final drafts > (which are simply their basic research reports), and > doing so on a > single-article (rather than a whole-journal) basis. > Yet the latter > is all that the RCUK proposes to mandate. Hence > examples [3]-[5] > are really a misleading conflation of two altogether > different > matters, creating the illusion of support for what > is in fact an > untenable conclusion on which they actually have no > bearing one way > or the other. > > [Moreover -- even though it has nothing at all to do > with what the > RCUK is mandating --if one does elect to look at > evidence from > whole-journal open access then there are many more > examples of > journals that have benefited from being made freely > available: > Molecular Biology of the Cell's subscriptions, for > example, have > grown steadily after free access was provided by its > publisher, The > American Society for Cell Biology (footnote 3). That > journal also > enjoys a high impact factor and healthy submissions > by authors, > encouraged by the increased exposure their articles > receive. The > same has happened for journals published by other > societies (footnote > 4).] > > > ALPSP: "In addition, it is increasingly clear that > this is exactly > > how researchers are already using search engines > such as Scirus > > and Google Scholar: Greg R. Notess, Reference > Librarian, Montana > > State University, in a recent article in > Information Today (Vol > > 29, No 4) writes 'At this point, my main use of > both [Scirus and > > Google Scholar] is for finding free Web versions > of otherwise > > inaccessible published articles.'" > > This is merely a repetition of ALPSP's earlier point > about OAI and > Google Scholar. Reply: Yes, these wonderful new > resources do increase > access to the self-archived supplements: but that's > the point! To > maximise research access, usage and impact. > > Other search engines that retrieve free access > articles (such as > citebase, citeseer and OAIster) likewise serve the > research community > by enabling any unsubscribed researchers to find and > access drafts > of articles they could not otherwise use because > they are accessible > only by subscription. ISI's Web of Knowledge and > Elsevier's Scopus, > both paid services, find the authors' free versions > as well as the > journals' subscription-only versions, which > researchers can then > use whenever they or their institutions can afford > subscription, > license, or pay-per-view access; Elsevier's Scirus, > a free service, > likewise retrieves both, as does Google itself (if > at least the > reference metadata are made web-accessible). All > these services do > indeed help to maximise access, usage and impact, > all to the benefit > of the impact of that small proportion of current > research that > happens to be spontaneously self-archived already > (15%). The RCUK > mandate will increase this benefit systematically to > that remaining > 85% of UK research output that is still only > accessible today to > those who can afford the official journal version. > > > ALPSP: "'I found a number of full-text articles > via Google Scholar > > that are PDFs downloaded from a publisher site and > then posted > > on another site, free to all.'" > > This point, on the other hand, is not about author > self-archiving, > but about pirating and bootleg of the publisher's > official version. > RCUK is not mandating or condoning anything like > that: The policy > pertains only to authors' own final drafts, > self-archived by them > -- not to the published version poached by 3rd party > consumers, > which is called theft. (Hence this point is > irrelevant.) > > > ALPSP: "'Both Scirus and Scholar were also useful > for finding > > author-hosted article copies, preprints, e-prints, > and other > > permutations of the same article.'" > > Exactly as one would hope they would be, if one > hopes to 'maximise > access to research'. > > > ALPSP: "In the light of this growing evidence of > serious and > > irreversible damage, each publisher must have the > right to establish > > the best way of expanding access to its journal > content that is > > compatible with continuing viability." > > So far no evidence whatsoever of 'serious and > irreversible damage' > (or indeed of any damage) caused by author > self-archiving has been > presented by ALPSP. (This is unsurprising, because > in reality no > such evidence exists, and all existing evidence is > to the contrary.) > > Of course publishers can and should do whatever they > wish in order > to expand access to their journal content and remain > viable. But > they certainly have no right to prevent researchers, > their institutions > and their funders from likewise doing whatever they > can and wish > in order to expand the access to, and the impact of, > their own > research findings -- nor to expect them to agree to > keep waiting > passively to see whether their publishers will one > day maximise > their access and impact for them. > > 100% self-archiving is already known to be both > doable and to enhance > research impact substantially; self-archiving has > also been co-existing > peacefully with journals for over a decade and a > half (including > in those fields where 100% self-archiving has > already been reached) > ; 100% self-archiving overall is already well > overdue, and years' > worth of research impact have already been > needlessly lost waiting > for it. ALPSP has given no grounds whatsoever for > continuing this > delay for one moment longer. It has merely aired a > doomsday scenario > of its own imagination and then adduced 'evidence' > in its support > that is obviously irrelevant and defeasible.What is > certain is that > research impact cannot be held hostage to > publishers' anxieties, > simply on the grounds of their subjective intensity. > > > ALPSP: "This is not best achieved by mandating the > earliest > > possible self-archiving, and thus forcing the > adoption of untried > > and uncosted publishing practices." > > Self-archiving in October 2005 is not 'the earliest > possible > self-archiving' It is self-archiving that is already > at least a > decade overdue. And it has nothing to do with > untried and uncosted > publishing practices: Self-archiving is not a > publishing practice > at all; it is a researcher practice. And it has been > tried and > tested -- with great success and great benefits for > research progress > -- for over 15 years now. What is needed today is > more self-archiving > -- 100% -- not more delay. > > Or does the 'earliest possible' here refer not to > when the RCUK > self-archiving mandate is at last implemented, but > how early the > published article should be self-archived? If so, > the answer from > the point of view of research impact and progress is > unambiguous: > The final draft should be self-archived and made > accessible to all > potential users immediately upon acceptance for > publication (prefinal > preprint drafts even earlier, if the author wishes). > No research > usage or progress should be held back arbitrarily > for 3, 6, 12 or > more months, for any reason whatsoever. > > It cannot be stressed enough just how crucial it is > for RCUK to > resist any pressure to impose or allow any sort of > access-denial > period, of any length, during which unpaid access to > research > findings would be embargoed -- findings that the > RCUK has paid for, > with public money, so that they can be immediately > reported, used, > applied and built upon, for the benefit of the > public that paid for > it, not so that they can be embargoed, for the > benefit of assuaging > publishers' subjective fears about 'disaster > scenarios' for which > there does not exist a shred of objective evidence. > Any delay that > is allowed amounts to an embargo on research > productivity and > progress, at the expense of the interests of the > tax-paying public. > That is exactly what happened recently to the US > National Institutes > of Health's public access policy, setting US > research access and > impact back several years. > > Fortunately, there is a simple compromise that will > completely > immunise the RCUK mandate from any possibility of > being rendered > ineffectual in this way: > > What all RCUK-funded researchers should be > required to self-archive > in their own Institutional Repositories (IRs) > immediately upon > acceptance for publication are: > > (1) each article's metadata > (author name, date, article title, journal name, > etc.). > > plus > > (2) each article's final draft (full-text) > > That fulfills the RCUK requirement. The > access-setting, however, > can then be given two options: > > (OA) Open Access > (both the metadata and the full-text are made > freely accessible to everyone webwide) > > or (IA) Institutional Access > (the metadata are freely accessible webwide but > the full-text is > made accessible only to the fundee's > institution, its employees, > and its funders, such as the RCUK and RAE, for > record-keeping, > grant-fulfillment and performance-assessment > purposes). > > The RCUK fundee is strongly encouraged (but not > required) to set > access to OA immediately. > > As 90% of journals have already given article > self-archiving their > official green light, 90% of articles can have their > access set to > OA immediately. For the remaining 10%, the author > can set access > to IA initially, but of course each article's > metadata (author, > title, journal, etc.) will immediately be openly > accessible webwide > to all would-be users, just as the metadata of the > OA 90% are. > That's enough data so that would-be users can > immediately email the > author for an 'eprint' (the author's final draft) if > they cannot > afford to access the journal version. The author can > keep emailing > eprints to each would-be user until either the > remaining 10% of > journals update their policy or the author tires of > doing all those > needless keystrokes and sets articleaccess to OA. In > the meanwhile, > however, 100% of RCUK-funded research will be > immediately accessible > webwide, 90% of it directly, and 10% of it with > author mediation, > maximising its access and impact. Nature can take > care of the rest > at its leisure. > > > ALPSP: "It is clearly unrealistic to consult > adequately with all > > those likely to be affected over the summer > holiday period, and > > we therefore urge you to extend the consultation > period and to > > defer, for at least 12 months, the introduction of > any mandate > > for authors to self-archive. In the meantime, we > would like to > > take up RCUK's expressed willingness to engage > with both publishers > > and learned societies, beginning with a meeting in > early September > > with representatives of ALPSP; we propose one of > the following > > dates: 5th September, 6th September, 7th > September, 8th September > > We look forward to a reply at your earliest > convenience. Yours > > sincerely Sally Morris, Chief Executive" > > The consultation has been going on since long before > 'the summer > holiday period' and there has already been far more > delay and far > more research impact needlessly lost than anyone can > possibly > justify. Some members of the publishing community > are quite leisurely > about continuing to prolong this needless loss of > research impact > and progress in order to continue debating, but the > research community > itself is not (as indicated, for example, by the > ill-fated demand > for open access -- by a deadline of September 1, > 2001 -- on the > part of the 34,000 researchers who signed the PloS > petition). > > RCUK should go ahead and implement its > immediate-self-archiving > mandate, with no further delay or deferral, and then > meet with ALPSP > and other interested parties to discuss and plan how > the UK > Institutional Repositories can collaborate with > journals and their > publishers in pooling download and citation > statistics, and in other > other ways of sharing the benefits of maximising UK > research access > and impact. Any further pertinent matters and > developments can be > discussed as well -- but not at the cost of further > delaying what > is indisputably the optimal and inevitable (and long > overdue) outcome > for research, researchers, their institutions, and > their funders > -- and for the public, which funds the research on > the understanding > that its use and applications are meant to be > maximised to benefit > the public's interests, not minimised to protect > other parties' > from imaginary threats to their interests. > > (A shorter UK version of this critique -- > http://openaccess.eprints.org/index.php?/archives/18-guid.html > -- > has been co-signed by the following UK senior > researchers [in > boldface] and sent as hard copy to the recipients of > the ALPSP > statement. The present longer analysis has also been > co-signed by > some prominent international supporters of the RCUK > initiative.) > > Tim Berners-Lee (UK, Southampton & US, MIT) > Dave De Roure (UK, Southampton) > Stevan Harnad (UK, Southampton & Canada, UQaM) > Derek Law (UK, Strathclyde) > Peter Murray-Rust (UK, Cambridge) > Charles Oppenheim (UK, Loughborough) > Nigel Shadbolt (UK, Southampton) > Yorick Wilks (UK, Sheffield) > > Subbiah Arunachalam (India, MSRF) > Helene Bosc (France, INRA, ret.) > Fred Friend (UK, University College, London) > Andrew Odlyzko (US, University of Minnesota) > Peter Suber (US, Earlham) > > References > > 1. Swan, A (2004). Re: Open Access vs. NIH Back > Access and Nature's > Back-Sliding. American Scientist Open Access Forum: > 3 February 2005. > > 2. Personal communication from a UK University > Library Director: > 'I know of no HE library where librarians make > cancellation or > subscription decisions. Typically they say to the > department/faculty > 'We have to save X,000" from your share of the > serials budget: what > do you want to cut?'. These are seen as academic > --not metrics-driven > -- judgements, and no librarian makes those academic > judgements, > as they are indefensible in Senate' [S]uch decisions > are almost > always wholly subjective, not objective, and have > nothing to do > with the existence or otherwise of repositories.' > > 3. The society lady: an interview with Elizabeth > Marincola. Open > Access Now: 6 October 2003 > > 4. Walker, T (2002) Two societies show how to profit > by providing > free access. Learned Publishing 15: 279-284. > > Copies of ALPSP open letter were also sent to: > The Lord Sainsbury > of Turville Parliamentary Under Secretary of > State for Science > and Innovation Department of Trade and Industry, > Professor Sir > Keith O'Nions Director General of Research > Councils Office of > Science and Technology Dr. Astrid Wissenburg > RCUK Secretariat, > Professor Colin Blakemore Medical Research > Council, Frances > Marsden Arts and Humanities Research Council, > Professor Julia > Goodfellow Biotechnology and Biological Research > Council, > Professor Richard Wade Particle Physics & > Astronomy Research > Council, Professor Alan Thorpe Natural > Environment Research > Council, Professor John O'Reilly Engineering and > Physical > Sciences Research Council, Professor John Wood > Council for the > Central Laboratory of the Research Councils, > Andrea Powell Chair > of ALPSP Council, (Director of Publishing, CAB > International) > ___________________________________________________________ Does your mail provider give you FREE antivirus protection? Get Yahoo! Mail http://uk.mail.yahoo.com

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Mysore University Students Association Formation
by harinarayana＠lisc.uni-mysore.ac.in 25 Aug '05

25 Aug '05

In a recently held meeting of the faculty members and students of MLISc and MIM, Mysore University Library and Information Science Students Association (MULISSA) for the year 2005-06 was formed. The following are the office bearers for the current batch: President Prof. Shalini R. Urs, Chairperson, Dept of Library and Information Science, University of Mysore, Mysore Faculty Advisor Dr. N.S. Harinarayana,Dept of Library and Information Science, University of Mysore, Mysore Secretary Sri. Surendra C.S, 3rd Semester MLISc Joint Secretary Sri. Sunil Kumar, 3rd Semester MLISc Treasurer Kum. Smitha A P, 1st Semester MLISc Members Kum. Rekha H R, 3rd Semester MLISc Kum. Chaitra M, 3rd Semester MIM Sri. Siddalingaswamy B 1st Semester MLISc Sri. Nagashayana M V 1st Semester MLISc The inauguration of the MULISSA has been organized on the Friday, August 26, 2005 at 4 PM at the Department of Library and Information Science. Prof. H.S. Umesh, Principal, Saradavilas Teachers College, University of Mysore, Mysore has kindly agreed to inaugurate the association's activities for the current year. All are cardially invited. N.S.Harinarayana Faculty Advisor

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InfoVision 2005
by venky 25 Aug '05

25 Aug '05

The count down for dating with InfoVision 2005 - www.infovision2005.org -- has begun. This is the first ever global Summit in India for practicing Information Professionals of different hues from the different segments - libraries, industry, and the academia. It is a good opportunity for the LIS Professionals to listen to and interact with people from other information professions. Information handling is inescapably dominated by IT today and going to be more so in the converging digital world. The event like InfoVision Summit is the right kind of opportunity to understand the information world from many different perspectives. Join at InfoVision to expand your horizon of Information World. PS: Academic organizations are given concessional rate of registration. Dr. S. Venkadesan JRD Tata Memorial Library Indian Institute of Science Bangalore-560012 The count down for dating with InfoVision 2005 http://www.infovision2005.org/ www.infovision2005.org -- has begun. This is the first ever global Summit in India for practicing Information Professionals of different hues from the different segments - libraries, industry, and the academia. It is a good opportunity for the LIS Professionals to listen to and interact with people from other information professions. Information handling is inescapably dominated by IT today and going to be more so in the converging digital world. The event like InfoVision Summit is the right kind of opportunity to understand the information world from many different perspectives. Join at InfoVision to expand your horizon of Information World. PS: Academic organizations are given concessional rate of registration. Dr. S. Venkadesan JRD Tata Memorial Library Indian Institute of Science Bangalore-560012

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Candidates for network management (fwd)
by I.R.N.Goudar 25 Aug '05

25 Aug '05

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:39:55 +0530 (IST) From: Dr.Dinah Geethalathai <dinah(a)css.nal.res.in> To: goudar(a)css.nal.res.in Subject: candidates for network management Dear Sir, Consequent to our telephonic conversation this morning I am sending my requirements for a suitable candidate to work with me as Project Assistant in the area of Network Security/Network Management. Qualifications : B.E. (Computer Science) or B.E. (Electronics & Communication) with knowledge of Networking Salary : Rs.6000/- p.m. With warm regards, C. DINAH GEETHALATHAI Head, Computer Support Services National Aerospace Laboratories Bangalore - 560017 Tel: 080-25086015

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InfoWatch Jul-Aug 2005
by M.R Lalitha 25 Aug '05

25 Aug '05

Dear LIS-Forum member, The July-August 2005 combined issue of InfoWatch is now online, bringing you the details of new Internet sites related to Science and Engineering. You can access the complete issue on the NCSI Web server at the URL : http://www.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/infowatch/iw.php You will also find earlier issues of InfoWatch here. For your convenience, the table of contents is given below. If you wish to be on the mailing list of InfoWatch to receive the complete issue by e-mail, let us know. Also mention your format preference - html or text. Regards -Lalitha M.R (lalitha(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ InfoWatch Tracking Networked Scientific Information Sources and Services (An electronic update service brought to you by NCSI) Jul-Aug 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In This Issue: 1. BioCyc - A collection of pathway/genome databases 2. Corrosion Doctors' Web site [Educational information modules in corrosion science and engineering] 3. ElectronicsInfoline - Free electronics schematics from around the world 4. Encyclopedia of Life classification (EOL) [Proteome database, analysis and visualization tools, genomics and sequence analysis] 5. Encyclopedia of sustainable development 6. Freewares in chemistry from Advanced Chemistry Development Lab 7. Gene Map Annotator and Pathway Profiler - GenMAPP [A tool for bioinformatics community] 8. i-mass.com - International Mass spcetrometry web resource 9. itmWEB - information technology management WEB 10. KurzweilAI.Net [A source for artificial intelligence research based on man-machine merger] 11. Legacy Archive for Microwave Background Data Analysis (LAMBDA) - NASA's data center for Cosmic Microwave Background research 12. MEMS and nanotechnology clearinghouse - A information resource for the MEMS and Nanotechnology development community 13. OpenCores.org - Free open source IP codes and chip design 14. OSdata.com - Server Operating System technical comparison 15. Pauling File- Basic database for crystal structures 16. Pioneering EE patents 17. Plate motion calculator [Program to calculate the tectonic plate motion at any location on Earth] 18. ResearchChannel - A consortium of research universities and corporate research divisions 19. Reshaping scholarly communication [Alternatives for cost effective publishing] 20. WindowsNetworking.com - World of windows networking ------------------------------------------------------------------------ About InfoWatch : InfoWatch is a monthly electronic newsletter, brought out by the National Centre for Science Information (NCSI) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560 012, INDIA. Information in the newsletter is collected and verified by NCSI staff.The newsletter aims to raise awareness of new sources of information on the Internet, particularly those which are relevant for higher education and research. Some items may be of relevance only to the IISc community.Resources reported here have been taken from various discussion lists and other network tools and no special claims are made for accuracy or originality. Most of the sources cited in the newsletter were checked at the time of publication, however it is possible that some of the resources are no longer available. We welcome comments about the newsletter and suggestions for resources to be featured. Please e-mail your comments to Infowatch editors: Ms. K. Thulasi (thulasi(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in) & Ms. M. R. Lalitha (lalitha(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in) ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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apprentice-training programme in Special Library at bangalore
by Mailing List Manager 25 Aug '05

25 Aug '05

Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 05:31:46 -0700 (PDT) From: alex arun <antony_alex2k(a)yahoo.com> Dear Friends, There is an apprentice-training programme in Special Library at bangalore. Those who interested please go through following message Alex Christ College Greetings from DVK Central Library, Bangalore! Let me introduce my institution and myself. I am Fr. John Neelankavil, working as the librarian here in Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram Central Library, Bangalore. We have a library with around 45,000 Square Feet area with almost all the modern facilities. We have a plan to start training cum apprenticeship programme to the graduates and postgraduates of Library and Information Science. The calculated duration will be of one year and we will able to support the students with an attractive stipend. For more details:E-Mail: dvklibrary(a)yahoo.com Yours truly, Fr. John Neelankavil, CMI Library Director

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Google starts online talk service
by ++ Mukesh Anand ++ 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Google starts online talk service Google, the world's most used search engine, is set to take on online voice and instant messaging service providers such as Skype, Microsoft and Yahoo. The firm has released a free service called Google Talk, which lets e-mail account holders talk to each other via a PC, microphone and speakers. Google Talk will be based on open software, meaning the firm will allow its technology to be integrated into other websites and applications. A trial version of Google Talk can be found at: http://www.google.com/talk/ ++ Mukesh ++ Google starts online talk service Google, the world's most used search engine, is set to take on online voice and instant messaging service providers such as Skype, Microsoft and Yahoo. The firm has released a free service called Google Talk, which lets e-mail account holders talk to each other via a PC, microphone and speakers. Google Talk will be based on open software, meaning the firm will allow its technology to be integrated into other websites and applications. A trial version of Google Talk can be found at: http://www.google.com/talk/ ++ Mukesh ++

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Google's new search tool
by Mailing List Manager 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 11:41:19 +0300 From: Jayadev P Hiremath <jayadevph(a)gmail.com> San Francisco, reuters: Google Inc, on Monday, unveiled a new computer and Web search tool using self-updating navigation and personal information software that puts it in more direct competition with Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL. The creator of the world's most popular Web search system said it was branching out beyond pure search to help users manage e-mail, instant messages, news headlines and music. Google Desktop 2, as the new search software is known, helps users locate information stored on their own hard disk, on office network drives they may use and on the Web.

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request for an article
by Mailing List Manager 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 23:23:23 -0700 (PDT) From: vijaya kumara <vijayakumar71(a)yahoo.co.in> Dear Professionals One of our research scholar urgently needs the folowing review article, if any one of you find the same, kindly provide us or let me know where we can get it. Amylolytic enzymes: molecular aspects of their properties. 2001 Mar;20(1):7-32. Review. PMID: 11508823 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Authors :Horvathova V, Janecek S, Sturdik E. With warm regards Dr. Vijayakumar M Vijayakumar M, HOD - Library, MVJ College of Engineering (an ISO Certified Institution) Channasandra, Bangalore - 560 067, Karnataka, India Tel:+91-80-28452324 Ext. 234 library(a)mvjeducation.com or coolvg(a)gmail.com --------------------------------- Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page --0-829267109-1124519003=:36915 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; name="NCSI-Attachment-Warning.txt" Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="NCSI-Attachment-Warning.txt" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable This is a message from the MailScanner E-Mail Virus Protection Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The original e-mail message contained potentially dangerous content, which has been removed for your safety. The content is dangerous as it is often used to spread viruses or to gain personal or confidential information from you, such as passwords or credit card numbers. If you wish to receive a copy of the original email, please e-mail helpdesk and include the whole of this message in your request. Alternatively, you can call them, with the contents of this message to hand when you call. At Sat Aug 20 12:35:41 2005 the content filters said: MailScanner: Found a script in HTML message Note to Help Desk: Look on the NCSI MailScanner in /var/spool/MailScanner/q= uarantine/20050820 (message j7K75YZV022790). --=20 Postmaster MailScanner thanks transtec Computers for their support --0-829267109-1124519003=:36915--

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IATLIS ^V Motiwale LIS Teacher Award 2005- call for nominations
by Mailing List Manager 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 10:33:43 +0100 (BST) From: Prof. N. Laxman Rao. <naglaxman(a)yahoo.com> Nominations are invited form the teachers of Library & Information Science for the award of IATLIS � Motiwale Best LIS Teacher Award 2005. Executive Council Members of IATLIS are not eligible for being nominated for the award. The nominee should have at least 10 years of teaching experience at the post-graduate level and should be presently in service. A person can receive the award only once and one person can nominate only one LIS Teacher at a time. The nominations have to be accompanied by Bio-Data, list of publications, details of professional activities, achievements / contribution to LIS Profession including contribution to the IATLIS. An Award Committee will consider the nominations. The award will not be given in case majority of the Committee Members feel that the nominations are not worth considering. Nomination in quadruplicate with all the required documents should reach Dr. S. Sudarshan Rao, Dept. of Library and Information Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad-500 007 on or before 17th October, 2005. Prof.N.LAXMAN RAO, Dept.of Library & Information Science, Osmania University, HYDERABAD- 500 007 (INDIA) President, Indian Association of Teachers in Library and Information Science (IATLIS). Ph:+91-40-27171565 (res): +91-40- 27682290 (off) 9246547599 (Mobile) e:mail-- naglaxman(a)yahoo.com OR naglaxman(a)indiatimes.com ---------------------------------

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"KM Cyberary" - a gateway to Knowledge Resources by Bhojaraju
by Mailing List Manager 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:13:11 +0530 From: Bhojaraju G <bhojaraju.g(a)gmail.com> *Apologies for Cross-Postings* Dear Colleagues, ** This is to seek your feedback on my work which i started 2 years back. Its an accumulation of e-resources on KM & other subjects. This give links to various useful e-resources on Knowledge Management, Librarianship, Philosophy, Health, Technology, ITES/BPO/ ITIL, Call Centers, Business Information etc. *"KM Cyberary" - a gateway to Knowledge Resources by Bhojaraju* URL : http://www.bhojarajug.freeservers.com/cyberary.html Blog : http://www.digitaldivide.net/blog/bhojarajug I hope this may be of some help for your information searching. If possible try to add in your websites and also ask ur colleagues/friends to make use of this "KM Cyberary". Pl dont forget to put your feedback on the same under Guest Book of my site. Awaiting for your kind feedback. Pl let me know if need any changes on this. Thanks & Regards Bhojaraju G, Librarian � Knowledge Management, (Sharepoint Administrator) Homepage: http://www.bhojarajug.freeservers.com KM-Forum Moderator : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KM-Forum/ ************************************************************************************************ ICICI OneSource Ltd. 148 Bhaskara Plaza, RV Road, VV Puram, Bangalore-560004, INDIA. Cell:+91-944 836 9905 E-mail: Bhojaraju.G(a)gmail.com, bhojarajug(a)yahoo.com ************************************************************************************************

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For Conversion Rates
by shridhar Mayannavar 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Dear sir, I am working in Government Orgnaization as Assi. Librarian There is any source for "CONVERSION RATE FOR BOOKS AND JOURNALS" other than GOOD Office Committee.In the good office committe they not giving Conversion Rate list for Past months. If there is any sites which are providing past conversion rates, please send this information. thanking you, Shridhar. B.M. Dear sir, I am working in Government Orgnaization as Assi. Librarian There is any source for "CONVERSION RATE FOR BOOKS AND JOURNALS" other than GOOD Office Committee.In the good office committe they not giving Conversion Rate list for Past months. If there is any sites which are providing past conversion rates, please send this information. thanking you, Shridhar. B.M. 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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details about funding agency
by Mailing List Manager 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Date: 19 Aug 2005 07:15:25 -0000 From: bedarata dash <vedadash(a)rediffmail.com> sir, our engineering college is seven years old college and our library have a collection of 22,000no. of engineering books.But our library is not so developed for that reason i need some help that is there any funding agency where we can get any financial help that Ican make my library as E-Library.Please kindly suggest me something in this matter. Bedarata Dash Librarian SIET,Cuttack, Orissa vedadash(a)indiatimes.com

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Nothing great about Google
by kss 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

I wish to draw the attention of the forum members to the reply we have received from the Google team: "----Original Message----- From: help(a)google.com [mailto:help@google.com] Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 6:59 AM To: guhamba Subject: Re: [#31137165] Discrepancy in the no. of search results indicated and present for "www.reporter.org" Thank you for your note. Google provides only the 1000 most relevant search results for a query, even when there are more than 1000 matches. (Due to variations in our estimates of results, we may occasionally display slightly fewer than 1000.) We try to make your search experience so efficient that it's not necessary to scroll past the first ten listings. We understand that some individuals would like to see more than 1000 results, but this isn't common, and it would heavily tax our system to provide these results for everyone. Regards, The Google Team" >From the above reply, it is very clear that we can access only the first 1000 or less than 1000 hits in any Google search even though the number of hits indicated may be as high as 50,000+. If that be the case, if Yahoo indexing is better than Google, the first 1000 results of Yahoo would be better than that of Google. In other words, if we wish to carry out effective Internet search, we should carry out searches using couple of well known searches rather than Google only. K S Subba Rao Director Informatics International Projects Division Informatics India Ltd 337 Karuna Complex Sampige Road Malleshwaram Bangalore 560 003 India Tel: +91-80-23464878 Fax: +91-80-23344598 www.informindia.co.in

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Discussion on problems faced by the Govt. & Aided College Librarians - organised by SALIS
by Arunachalam Hariharan 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Dear friends, SALIS Tiruchi Chapter is organising a one day programme to discuss various issues/problems of Govt. & Aided College Librarians. You are invited to participate in the discussion. Details are given below: Topic ' Discussion on problems faced by the Govt. & Aided College Librarians' such as loss of book/stock verification, filling-up posts, etc Date 3.9.2005 Venue Bishop Heber College Library, Tiruchi17 Time 10.30 AM. Lunch: 1.00.PM. Registration: Free Co-ordinators: To participate in the programme, please contact Mr. Jesudas Manalan, Librarian, BHC & Secretary, SALIS Tiruchi Chapter (Res: 0431-2774924 ) or Mr S.Swaminathan (Cell: 9842993535). Or send E-mail to salis_info(a)yahoo.co.in All are welcome -------------------------------------------- A.Hariharan SALIS __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail for Mobile Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. http://mobile.yahoo.com/learn/mail

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Report of the SALIS Vellore Chapter inauguration
by Arunachalam Hariharan 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Proceeding of the SALIS Inaugural Function at Vellore held on 7th August 2005 The meeting of the SALIS under the chairmanship of Mr.Hariharan, President, SALIS was organized at Millennium Plaza, Gandhi Nagar, Vellore at 10.30 am. Sunday 7th August 2005. The following members were present. Mr. A. Hariharan, S.E.R.C, Chennai Mr. V. Newton CMC, Vellore Mr. G.G. Sivakumar, R.M.K. Engineering College,Chennai Mrs. Vasantha Vivekanandan, CMC, Vellore Mr. R.G. Solomon, CMC, Vellore Ms. Regina Antony, CMC, Vellore Mr. P. Manuelraj, CMC, Vellore Mr. Karunai Raghavan, St. Peter's Engineering College, Avadi Mr. I. Azariah Jebakumar, CMC, Vellore Mr. Joyson Soundrarajan, CMC,Vellore Mr. Hemaanandan, TPGIT, Vellore Ms. D. Chithra, MK Jain College, Vaniyambadi Ms. A. Arockia Mary, DKM College, Vellore Ms. K. Jacqulin, DKM College, Vellore Ms. Aariefa Basheer, Islamiah Womens Arts and Science College, Vaniyambadi Mr. D.P. Dhinakaran, Priyadharshini Engr. College, Vaniyambadi Ms. P. Vijayalakshmi, Auxilium College, Vellore Ms. K. Kalaichelvi, VIT, Vellore Mrs. Rachel Charles, SLRTC Karigiri, Vellore Mr. R. Manikandan, College of Education, Katpadi Mrs. Esther Aaron, College of Nursing, CMC, Vellore Mr. A. Vijayakumar, RUHSA Library, CMC, Vellore Ms. Nirmala, RUHSA Library, CMC, Vellore Mr. L. Amarsanth, VIT, Vellore Mrs. Kalpana Parthiban, VIT, Vellore Mr. J. Varadharajalu, VIT, Vellore Mrs. Y. Meega Ebenezer, CMC, Vellore Mrs. Manimala Ravi, CMC, Vellore Mr. Damodaran. S, CHTC, CMC, Vellore Mr. D. Samuel Raja , CMC, Vellore Mrs. Jerylene Mary Vanathi, , College of Nursing, CMC, Vellore Mr. K. Nelson NIthiakumar, CMC, Vellore Mrs. Victoria Thomas, CMC, Vellore Mrs. J. Premila, CMC, Vellore Mr. K.P. Chakkaravarthy, CMC, Vellore Mr. A. Daniel Rajkumar, College of Nursing, CMC, Vellore Mr. S. Elumalai, VIT, Vellore Ms. V. Beulah Nirmaline, Kings Matriculation School, Kasam, Vellore Mr. D. Asadullah, Islamiah College, Ambur Mrs. Vimala Jayakaran, , College of Nursing, CMC, Vellore The Vice-President Mr. Sivakumar, welcomed the gathering Mr. Hariharan Chairman explained the objectives and the activities of the society. Then the thrust need of the society was explained to the members. Mr. Srikanth, President, Vellore Online Pvt. Ltd. gave a Power Point Presentation on the Impact of IT in Libraries Services. He explained various new Technology which can be introduce in the day-today routines of the library. Mr. Hariharan explained the regulations of the society and then there was a open discussion on the formation of the Vellore Chapter and its future activities. The members from Vellore Institute of Technology encouraged the members by promise to provide all Infra structure to conduct meeting/workshop. The members from Christian Medical College, Vellore were willing to co-ordinate the activities for updating the knowledge in I.T. for the improvement of library services in their own working places. Formation of Committee: The chairman requested Mr .V. Newton, Senior Librarian to be the Chair-Person of Vellore Chapter. After discussion with Mr. V. Newton and other Senior Professional Colleagues the following members were nominated as office bearers and committee members. Chairman: Mr. V. Newton, CMC Vellore Vice-Chairman: Mr. A. G. Hemaanandan, TPGIT, Vellore Mr. Dhinakaran D.P., Priyadharshini Engr. College, Vaniyambadi Mrs. Vijayalakshmi P. Auxilium College, Vellore. Secretary: Mr. Varatharajalu, VIT, Vellore Joint Secretary Mrs. Vasantha Vivekanandan, CMC Vellore Treasurer Mr. R. Manikantan, Govt. College of Education, Katpadi Joint Treasurer Mr. R. Gnanaraj Solomon, CMC Vellore Executive Committee Members: Mrs. Kalpana Parthiban, VIT, Vellore Mrs. Aarifa Basheer, Islamiah Womens Arts and Science College, Vaniyambadi Mr. Vijayakumar, RUHSA Library, Vellore Ms. Regina Anatony, CMC, Vellore Ms. Vimala Jeyakaran, College of Nursing, CMC Vellore Ms. Chitra D, MK Jain College, Vaniyambadi Ms. Rachel Charles, SLRTC Karigiri, Vellore Programme Action Group: Mr. Joyson Soundrarajan D. [Co-ordinator] CMC Vellore Mr. Manuelraj P.CMC Vellore Mr. Amarchanth, VIT, Vellore PRO: Mr. Senthil, Librarian, Ida Scudder School, Vellore Professional Advisors: Mr. A. Hariharan, Chairman, SALIS Mrs. K. Kalaichelvi, VIT Vellore Mr. V. Newton, the Co-ordinator and the Vice-President of SALIS, proposed the Vote of thanks. The meeting was concluded with a Fellowship Lunch. ____________________________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Innovative library in B'desh wins award
by Subbiah Arunachalam 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Friends: Hearty congratulations to our friends in B'desh for their innovative project and for the award they have won. Friends in C3net, one of you should win this awrd next year! Arun 8.16.05 Bangladeshi Organization Receives Award for Using Traditional Boats and River Networks to Deliver Access to Information Technology 2005 Access to Learning Award recognizes Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha's outreach to impoverished, remote communities OSLO-The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today presented its 2005 Access to Learning Award of US $1 million to Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a nongovernmental organization in Bangladesh, for its pioneering approach to bridging the digital divide and its commitment to providing free public access to computers and the Internet. Through the use of indigenous boats converted into mobile libraries, schools, and the Mobile Internet Educational Units on Boats program, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha provides educational services, access to technology, and computer training to poor communities in a Northern Bangladesh watershed. The boats, which anchor at remote villages, rely on generators or solar energy and mobile phones for Internet access. "All our program activities are concentrated in and around the rivers using a familiar vehicle for people to approach technology. Our boat libraries are crucial to the progress of the villages along the river basins," said Abul Hasanat Mohammed Rezwan, executive director of Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha and founder of the boat project. Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is dedicated to alleviating poverty among the poorest people in the Nandakuja-Atrai-Boral Watershed, serving 86,500 families and an area covering over 240 kilometers crossed by thousands of rivers, tributaries and streams. The Access to Learning Award will enable the organization to sustain its services and expand programs to meet an increasing demand. "Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is bringing technology to people most in need," said Martha Choe, director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Libraries Program. "This organization's perseverance and ingenuity is a testament to the value of and demand for public access computing throughout the world. Its efforts will have long-lasting impact for generations to come." Relying on skilled volunteers, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha educates men, women, and children on issues ranging from agricultural practices and to micro enterprise and literacy. Farmers learn about strategies for productive and sustainable farming and the ecological hazards of pesticides. Throughout the year, they are able to connect with educators via onboard e-mail and check current farm prices online to remain competitive in the local market. "Seeing a computer, let alone touching it, was beyond our wildest imagination," said Abdul Azad, a farmer who travels an hour to the docked boat library from the remote village of Kalinagar. Students who would otherwise be unable to attend school during the monsoon season continue their education through the year using the libraries' onboard field staff. With literacy rates in Bangladesh at only 42 percent, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is making a significant impact on educating young people, especially girls. In fact, over 70 percent of the program's beneficiaries are women. In a highly competitive job market coupled with pervasive poverty, student participants are eager to learn technological skills they hope will translate to a career later on. Although Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha manages to keep operational costs low, the program - which does not receive government funds - must continually seek outside funding to cover the costs and the increasing demands for the program. Over the next five years, the program hopes to double its capacity. The annual Access to Learning Award, now in its sixth year, recognizes the innovative efforts of libraries, organizations or library agencies outside the United States in providing no-cost public access to this technology. Last year's award was granted to China Evergreen Rural Library Service Center and Aarhus Public Libraries in Denmark. Past recipients include the Smart Cape Access Project of Cape Town, South Africa (2003), the BibloRed library network of Bogotá, Colombia (2002), the Proyecto Bibliotecas Guatemala (Probigua) and the Biblioteca del Congreso de la Nación Argentina (both in 2001) and the Helsinki City Library of Finland (2000). The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) administers the Access to Learning Award. An international advisory committee of librarians and information technology experts evaluated the applicants' efforts to make technology freely accessible to the public, train the public in using technology, educate staff on technology use and reach out to underserved communities. # # # The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (www.gatesfoundation.org) works to promote greater equity in four areas: global health, education, public libraries and support for at-risk families in Washington State and Oregon. The Seattle-based foundation joins local, national and international partners to ensure that advances in these areas reach those who need them most. The foundation is led by Bill Gates' father, William H. Gates, Sr., and Patty Stonesifer. The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to expand access to information, however recorded and preserved, as a public good. In partnership with other organizations, CLIR helps create services that expand the concept of "library," and supports the providers and preservers of information. Through projects, programs and publications, CLIR works to maintain and improve access to information for generations to come both in the United States and around the world. On the Internet: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: www.gatesfoundation.org Council on Library and Information Resources: www.clir.org Friends: Hearty congratulations to our friends in B'desh for their innovative project and for the award they have won. Friends in C3net, one of you should win this awrd next year! Arun 8.16.05 Bangladeshi Organization Receives Award for Using Traditional Boats and River Networks to Deliver Access to Information Technology 2005 Access to Learning Award recognizes Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangsthas outreach to impoverished, remote communities OSLOThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today presented its 2005 Access to Learning Award of US $1 million to Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a nongovernmental organization in Bangladesh, for its pioneering approach to bridging the digital divide and its commitment to providing free public access to computers and the Internet. Through the use of indigenous boats converted into mobile libraries, schools, and the Mobile Internet Educational Units on Boats program, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha provides educational services, access to technology, and computer training to poor communities in a Northern Bangladesh watershed. The boats, which anchor at remote villages, rely on generators or solar energy and mobile phones for Internet access. All our program activities are concentrated in and around the rivers using a familiar vehicle for people to approach technology. Our boat libraries are crucial to the progress of the villages along the river basins, said Abul Hasanat Mohammed Rezwan, executive director of Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha and founder of the boat project. Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is dedicated to alleviating poverty among the poorest people in the Nandakuja-Atrai-Boral Watershed, serving 86,500 families and an area covering over 240 kilometers crossed by thousands of rivers, tributaries and streams. The Access to Learning Award will enable the organization to sustain its services and expand programs to meet an increasing demand. Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is bringing technology to people most in need, said Martha Choe, director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations Global Libraries Program. This organizations perseverance and ingenuity is a testament to the value of and demand for public access computing throughout the world. Its efforts will have long-lasting impact for generations to come. Relying on skilled volunteers, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha educates men, women, and children on issues ranging from agricultural practices and to micro enterprise and literacy. Farmers learn about strategies for productive and sustainable farming and the ecological hazards of pesticides. Throughout the year, they are able to connect with educators via onboard e-mail and check current farm prices online to remain competitive in the local market. Seeing a computer, let alone touching it, was beyond our wildest imagination, said Abdul Azad, a farmer who travels an hour to the docked boat library from the remote village of Kalinagar. Students who would otherwise be unable to attend school during the monsoon season continue their education through the year using the libraries onboard field staff. With literacy rates in Bangladesh at only 42 percent, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is making a significant impact on educating young people, especially girls. In fact, over 70 percent of the programs beneficiaries are women. In a highly competitive job market coupled with pervasive poverty, student participants are eager to learn technological skills they hope will translate to a career later on. Although Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha manages to keep operational costs low, the program which does not receive government funds must continually seek outside funding to cover the costs and the increasing demands for the program. Over the next five years, the program hopes to double its capacity. The annual Access to Learning Award, now in its sixth year, recognizes the innovative efforts of libraries, organizations or library agencies outside the United States in providing no-cost public access to this technology. Last years award was granted to China Evergreen Rural Library Service Center and Aarhus Public Libraries in Denmark. Past recipients include the Smart Cape Access Project of Cape Town, South Africa (2003), the BibloRed library network of Bogotá, Colombia (2002), the Proyecto Bibliotecas Guatemala (Probigua) and the Biblioteca del Congreso de la Nación Argentina (both in 2001) and the Helsinki City Library of Finland (2000). The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) administers the Access to Learning Award. An international advisory committee of librarians and information technology experts evaluated the applicants efforts to make technology freely accessible to the public, train the public in using technology, educate staff on technology use and reach out to underserved communities. # # # The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ( http://www.gatesfoundation.org www.gatesfoundation.org ) works to promote greater equity in four areas: global health, education, public libraries and support for at-risk families in Washington State and Oregon. The Seattle-based foundation joins local, national and international partners to ensure that advances in these areas reach those who need them most. The foundation is led by Bill Gates' father, William H. Gates, Sr., and Patty Stonesifer. The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to expand access to information, however recorded and preserved, as a public good. In partnership with other organizations, CLIR helps create services that expand the concept of library, and supports the providers and preservers of information. Through projects, programs and publications, CLIR works to maintain and improve access to information for generations to come both in the United States and around the world. On the Internet: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: http://www.gatesfoundation.org www.gatesfoundation.org Council on Library and Information Resources: http://www.clir.org www.clir.org

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Richard Gere--Contact details
by T.V. Prafulla Chandra 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>Dear All, I am looking for contact details (postal address, email ID, official website, phone and fax number) of Richard Gere, the well known American film hero. You may wish to wish to visit the website of Gere Foundation: www.gerefoundation.org Here's a profound quote from their homepage: All the suffering in the world arises out of wanting happiness for self. All happiness in the world arises out of wanting happiness for others. -- Shantidev<FontFamily><param>Times New Roman</param><smaller> <FontFamily><param>Arial</param><bigger>Thank you in advance for your help. Sincerely T.V. Prafulla Chandra Senior Editor <nofill> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NISC Export Services Pvt. Ltd. (an affiliate of NISC International, Inc. USA) S-1 Ballad Estates, St.Ann's School Road, Tarnaka, Hyderabad 500 017 Andhra Pradesh, India - Tel:+91 40 27001517 Tel/Fax:+91 40 27002538 WWW.NISC.COM A company in service to NISC worldwide. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Regading Conversion Rate
by PRASHANTA KUMAR 24 Aug '05

24 Aug '05

Dear Shridhar & all LIS Professionals, The RBI (Reserve Bank of India ) site is proving a conversion rate the terminology used as RBI REFERENCE RATE and also archives. The site address as below http://www.rbi.org.in/home.aspx , Thanks & Regards, Prashanta ********* IHBT, (CSIR), Govt. of India Library , Palampur, HP, Pin 176061 Mobile- 94181 84421 --------------------------------- Check out Yahoo! India Rakhi Special for Rakhi shopping, contests and lots more. http://in.promos.yahoo.com/rakhi/index.html Dear Shridhar & all LIS Professionals, The RBI (Reserve Bank of India ) site is proving a conversion rate the terminology used as RBI REFERENCE RATE and also archives. The site address as below http://www.rbi.org.in/home.aspx http://www.rbi.org.in/home.aspx , Thanks & Regards, Prashanta ********* IHBT, (CSIR), Govt. of India Library , Palampur, HP, Pin 176061 Mobile- 94181 84421 Check out Yahoo! India Rakhi Special for Rakhi shopping, contests and lots more. http://in.promos.yahoo.com/rakhi/index.html

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InfoVision-early bird closes on 25th August Register online - avail early bird offer
by Shalini R Urs 23 Aug '05

23 Aug '05

Attention all fellow information professionals! The early bird offer for InfoVision 2005 closes on 25th August. We have been receiving enquires in this regard- please register online before 25th 5.30 Pm to avail the early bird offer. Payments may be sent later. Do not miss the opportunity to listen to and interact with a galaxy of experts across the information domain including digital library and e publishing. International and national. Experts include: 1. Dr. R. A. Mashelkar, Director General, CSIR. 2. Prof. Ronald Larsen, Dean, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, USA, well known expert in digital libraries and cross lingual information retrieval 3. Prof. Jean Claude Guedon, University of Montreal, Open access advocate 4. Prof. Nick Moore, Acumen consulting, UK, author, UNESCO consultant and ICT and information Society expert 5. Prof. Andrew Large, McGill University, Canada- author of books on digital libraries and UNESCO consultant. 6. Prof. Ingeborg Soveberg, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, digital libraries and information retrieval expert 7. Dr. P. Anandan, MD, Microsoft Research India, Video motion analysis expert 8. Prof. Prabhuddha Ganguli, Advisor - Vision IPR 9. Dr. Eric Van De Velde, Director, Library Information Technology, CALTECH, USA, the Open URL expert 10. Dr. Sugata Mitra, NIIT, New Delhi, The E-Learning expert - well known for the his Hole in the Wall experiments Visit the website www.infovision2005.org -- Prof. Shalini Urs Coordinator- InfoVision 2005

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Re: [LIS-Forum] For Conversion Rates
by vijaya kumara 23 Aug '05

23 Aug '05

Hi Sridhar, You can use the following URL/ web pages to convert one currency to another Currency calculator: http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html Ten year currency converter: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchform.html Currency converter: http://www.x-rates.com/ The Universal Currency converter: http://www.xe.com/ucc/ 164 Currency Converter : http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic Regards Dr. Vijayakumar M \ \ | / / \ \ ~ ~ / / | @ @ | ---------------oooo------ (_)-------------oooo------------------ Vijayakumar M, HOD - Library, MVJ College of Engineering (an ISO Certified Institution) Channasandra, Bangalore - 560 067, Karnataka, India Tel:+91-80-28452324 Ext. 234 library(a)mvjeducation.com or coolvg(a)gmail.com --------------------------------- Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page Hi Sridhar, You can use the following URL/ web pages to convert one currency to another Currency calculator: http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html Ten year currency converter: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchform.html http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchform.html Currency converter: http://www.x-rates.com/ http://www.x-rates.com/ The Universal Currency converter: http://www.xe.com/ucc/ http://www.xe.com/ucc/ 164 Currency Converter : http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic Regards Dr. Vijayakumar M \ \ | / / \ \ ~ ~ / / | @ @ | ---------------oooo------ (_)-------------oooo------------------ Vijayakumar M, HOD - Library, MVJ College of Engineering (an ISO Certified Institution) Channasandra, Bangalore - 560 067, Karnataka, India Tel:+91-80-28452324 Ext. 234 mailto:library@mvjeducation.com library(a)mvjeducation.com or mailto:coolvg@gmail.com coolvg(a)gmail.com http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=34442/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page

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Information about Free library software
by meh jab 23 Aug '05

23 Aug '05

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Can anybody provide information or Websites related to free Library Software. Thanks in advance. Mehjabeen Khan (Librarian) Aishabai college of education Mumbai --------------------------------- Check out Yahoo! India Rakhi Special for Rakhi shopping, contests and lots more. http://in.promos.yahoo.com/rakhi/index.html Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Can anybody provide information or Websites related to free Library Software. Thanks in advance. Mehjabeen Khan (Librarian) Aishabai college of education Mumbai Check out Yahoo! India Rakhi Special for Rakhi shopping, contests and lots more. http://in.promos.yahoo.com/rakhi/index.html

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IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellows for 2006 - Announced
by Rajesh Chandrakar 23 Aug '05

23 Aug '05

I am affraid, no one from India. It seems that European and American Communities, not taking more from India. However, India list under Developing Countries. I have observations. Lets have a look: Compare with the selection of the IFLA Travel Grants, where only one from India but more than one from other countries. You can also look at the ASIST International Paper Contest, where so far no one held first place where the money involves. But, I appreaciate that more than two papers from India are being selected for best paper every year. Fullbright for Indian professionals in Library and Information Science has closed now. For Commonwealth Fellowship compare to other countries, India has got less number of fellowships. What do you want to say about this? 2006 class of Fellows named at IFLA annual conference OCLC, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the American Theological Library Association named the IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellows for 2006 in Oslo, Norway during the World Library and Information Congress: 71st IFLA General Conference and Council. They are: a.. Ms. Maria Cherrie, Librarian, Trinidad & Tobago National Library and Information System Authority, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago b.. Mrs. Janete Estevão, Head Librarian, O Boticário Franchising S/A, São José dos Pinhais, Paraná, Brazil c.. Mr. Festus Ngetich, College Librarian, Kenya Highlands Bible College, Kericho, Kenya d.. Mr. Roman Purici, Director, Information Resource Center, U.S. Embassy, Chisinau, Moldova e.. Mr. Salmubi, Head of Library, The State Polytechnic of Ujung Pandang, Makassar, Indonesia View news release ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rajesh Chandrakar, Commonwealth Professional Fellow Scientific & Technical Officer INFLIBNET (INFormation and LIBrary NETwork) Centre An IUC of University Grants Commission Near Gujarat University Guest House, PB No. 4116, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad - 380 009, India Tel. +91-(0)79-26305971/ 8528/ 4695(O), 26873805(R) Mobile: +91-9898087422 Fax: +91-(0)79-26300990, 263007816 E-mail: rajesh(a)inflibnet.ac.in; rchandrakar(a)gmail.com Website: http://www.inflibnet.ac.in ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am affraid, no one from India. It seems that European and American Communities, not taking more from India. However, India list under Developing Countries. I have observations. Lets have a look: Compare with the selection of the IFLA Travel Grants, where only one from India but more than one from other countries. You can also look at the ASIST International Paper Contest, where so far no one held first place where the money involves. But, I appreaciate that more than two papers from India are being selected for best paper every year. Fullbright for Indian professionals in Library and Information Science has closed now. For Commonwealth Fellowship compare to other countries, India has got less number of fellowships. What do you want to say about this? 2006 class of Fellows named at IFLA annual conference http://www.ifla.org/ http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/design/abstracts/08222005/ifla.jpg http://www.atla.com/atlahome.html http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/design/abstracts/08222005/atla.jpg OCLC, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the American Theological Library Association named the IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellows for 2006 in Oslo, Norway during the World Library and Information Congress: 71st IFLA General Conference and Council. They are: Ms. Maria Cherrie, Librarian, Trinidad & Tobago National Library and Information System Authority, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago Mrs. Janete Estevão, Head Librarian, O Boticário Franchising S/A, São José dos Pinhais, Paraná, Brazil Mr. Festus Ngetich, College Librarian, Kenya Highlands Bible College, Kericho, Kenya Mr. Roman Purici, Director, Information Resource Center, U.S. Embassy, Chisinau, Moldova Mr. Salmubi, Head of Library, The State Polytechnic of Ujung Pandang, Makassar, Indonesia http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200518.htm View news release ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rajesh Chandrakar, Commonwealth Professional Fellow Scientific & Technical Officer INFLIBNET (INFormation and LIBrary NETwork) Centre An IUC of University Grants Commission Near Gujarat University Guest House, PB No. 4116, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad - 380 009, India Tel. +91-(0)79-26305971/ 8528/ 4695(O), 26873805(R) Mobile: +91-9898087422 Fax: +91-(0)79-26300990, 263007816 E-mail: mailto:rajesh@inflibnet.ac.in rajesh(a)inflibnet.ac.in ; mailto:rchandrakar@gmail.com rchandrakar(a)gmail.com Website: http://www.inflibnet.ac.in http://www.inflibnet.ac.in -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Award for Public Libraries Outside the United States (fwd)
by Shyam Prasad pujar 23 Aug '05

23 Aug '05

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 09:05:55 -0400 From: Barbara Kountouzi <varvarak(a)mail.med.upenn.edu> To: ifla-l(a)infoserv.inist.fr Subject: [IFLA-L] award for Public Libraries Outside the United States Public Libraries Outside the United States Invited to Apply for Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award Deadline: February 28, 2006 The Council on Library and Information Resources ( http://www.clir.org/ ) welcomes applications for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ( http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ ) Access to Learning Award for 2006. Each year, the program presents an award of up to $1 million to a public library or similar organization outside the United States that has an innovative program offering the public free access to information technology. Preference will be given to institutions that the Gates Foundation has not funded in the past. U.S. libraries are not eligible to apply. A library offers free public access if it allows all members of the public, including children and young adults, to use its facilities free of charge (without membership or Internet fees). Organizations should show how they make information technology available to the public free of charge and what kinds of technology training they offer to the public and staff. Preference will be given to organizations that reach out to underserved populations, such as poor or disabled patrons, or those from minority groups. A library's programs are considered innovative if they provide access to information technology and services that were previously unavailable to the community. The programs could be relatively new, small ones or long-term, larger initiatives. Program guidelines, an application form, and a list of previous recipients are available at the CLIR Web site. RFP Link: http://fconline.fdncenter.org/pnd/3902/clir For additional RFPs in Science/Technology, visit, http://fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_science.jhtml

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New eGroup for Medical Librarians
by Sukhdev Singh 23 Aug '05

23 Aug '05

Dear Friends, Here is a new eGroup for Medical Librarians. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/medlib/ "Place for Medical Librarians and Information Scientist to discuss professional issues. However, it will avoid carrying purely Interlibrary Loan Requests" To Subscribe one may either visit the following link: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/medlib/ or send an email to medlib-subscribe(a)yahoogroups.com --Sukhdev Singh. NIC, http://openmed.nic.in

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1GB File Transfer...!
by Thapar, Amit 22 Aug '05

22 Aug '05

Dear All, it seems to be useful..we can send what ever files we want through this.. you find a file too big to send by email try YouSendIt, a free service that lets you send a file up to 1GB to another PC or person. Just type in the recipient's email id and upload the file. The recipient is then notified by email and has upto 7 days to download the file. No passwords, no software to install, no accounts to create, and normal/secure transfers. This free service can even provide Data Security Encrypted HTTPS session (SSL/TLS) to make sure you data is secure. This useful service is provided free at http://s2.yousendit.com/ Regards, Amit Thapar Library & Information Centre National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER) Sector-67, Phase-10 S.A.S.Nagar-160062, Punjab, INDIA Phone: 0172-2214682-87 Ext. 2073 Cell: 09417419457 e-mail: amitt(a)niper.ac.in URL: http://www.niper.ac.in/ "All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism." "Rain drop falling from the sky has nothing in mind except to hit the earth. No matter how tough the drop is, it still reaches its destiny! Be positive always, best of luck... " Dear All , it seems to be useful..we can send what ever files we want through this.. you find a file too big to send by email try YouSendIt, a free service that lets you send a file up to 1GB to another PC or person. Just type in the recipient's email id and upload the file. The recipient is then notified by email and has upto 7 days to download the file. No passwords, no software to install, no accounts to create, and normal/secure transfers. This free service can even provide Data Security Encrypted HTTPS session (SSL/TLS) to make sure you data is secure. This useful service is provided free at http://s2.yousendit.com/ http://s2.yousendit.com/ Regards, mailto:amitt@niper.ac.inURL: http://www.niper.ac.in/ Amit Thapar Library & Information Centre National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER) Sector-67, Phase-10 S.A.S.Nagar-160062, Punjab, INDIA Phone: 0172-2214682-87 Ext. 2073 Cell: 09417419457 e-mail: amitt(a)niper.ac.in URL: http://www.niper.ac.in/ "All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism." "Rain drop falling from the sky has nothing in mind except to hit the earth. No matter how tough the drop is, it still reaches its destiny! Be positive always, best of luck... "

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Open Access to Maps and Public Geo-Data
by Shekhar Krishnan 22 Aug '05

22 Aug '05

Dear All: :: apologies for cross-posting :: In the wake of the massive floods since 26 July in Mumbai and Maharashtra, a crisis of civic infrastructure and public health has emerged in the city and state, in which the right of citizens to information about their environments is of crucial public importance. Very few citizens of India enjoy open access to maps, satellite imagery, and other geographic information. Collected and brokered by national mapping and space imaging agencies, this geo-data is an essential for understanding civic issues such as planning, housing, infrastructure. Open access to this information can provide a platform for public action, reducing costs and promoting innovation by facilitating citizens' engagement with their local environments and authorities. The Open Knowledge Foundation is hosting a forum at http://okfn.org/ geo/manifesto.php about Open Access to State-Collected Geo-Spatial Data. * All government-collected maps, geographic information and spatial data are public property, and should be open; that is, available for free distribution and re-use under a share-alike license. * Online mapping projects creating freely re-usable geo-data should offer a compatible open license. * Common, standard formats for describing and exchanging geo-data should be adopted internationally. * Ultimately, all state-collected information should be freely available in the public domain, in a structured machine-readable format and in an open standard. Please read the manifesto and, if you agree with the statements it contains, sign up to support it at http://okfn.org/geo/ manifesto.php#signup For more information on the changing policies on maps and geo-data in India, see the 19 May 2005 release of the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India on http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp? relid=9388 _____ CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust) B-43, Shravasti Goregaon-Malad Link Road Malad (West), Mumbai 400064 India http://www.crit.org.in http://www.freemap.in http://www.mappinghacks.com

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Urine-Powered Micro Battery
by Prof. N. Laxman Rao. 22 Aug '05

22 Aug '05

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/dn7850 Pee-powered battery smaller than a credit card 18:10 15 August 2005 NewScientist.com news service Shaoni Bhattacharya The first urine-powered paper battery has been created by physicists in Singapore. The credit-card sized unit could be a useful power source for cheap healthcare test kits for diseases like diabetes, and could even be used in emergency situations to power a cellphone, they say. Testing urine can reveal the identity of illnesses, and the new paper battery could allow the sample being tested to also power the diagnostic device. We are striving to develop cheap, disposable credit-card sized biochips for disease detection, says Ki Bang Lee, at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. Our battery can be easily integrated into such devices, supplying electricity on contact with biofluids such as urine or blood. Current biochips need an external reader such as a laser scanner or an external source of power, such as conventional batteries, to perform diagnostic tests. Lees technology houses both the sensors and the battery on one plastic chip. One more drop This design circumvents many of the problems encountered by researchers attempting to shrink down more conventional battery systems for use with bioMEMS devices utilising bio-microelectromechanical systems. Many researchers have tried to design power sources or batteries for systems or bioMEMS devices. However, they have done this by reducing the size of conventional, bulky power systems or batteries, explains Lee. They faced a lot of problems, including difficulties in getting sufficient electrical energy, he adds. The urine-powered battery was able to generate a voltage of about 1.5 volts with a corresponding power of 1.5 micro-watts using just 0.2 millilitres of urine, says Lee. And if a second droplet of urine was added 15 hours after the battery was first activated, the replenished urine could generate still more electricity. The battery is currently suited for use with disposable devices it is not yet ready to power laptops or iPods. "But if, for example, we place a small cellular phone or transmitter on a plastic card, the chip will work as a disposable biofluid-activated means of communication in an emergency, Lee told New Scientist. In this case, the size will be less than that of a credit card. Wrapped sandwich The battery is made of a layer of filter paper steeped in copper chloride, sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper. This sandwich is then laminated in plastic to hold the whole package together. The resulting battery is just 1 millimetre thick and 60 by 30 mm across slightly smaller than a credit card. To activate the battery, a drop of urine is added and soaks through the sandwiched filter paper. The chemicals dissolve and react to produce electricity. The magnesium layer acts as the anode, losing its electrons. And the copper chloride acts as the cathode, mopping up the electrons. But Lee adds that the voltage, current and capacity of the battery could be improved by different designs or by switching the electrode or electrolyte materials used. He believes the system could be used in home-based health test kits. The long-term goal is for people to be able to buy disposable biochips for a disease test from any pharmacy, he says. Journal reference: Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (DOI: 10.1088/0960-1317/15/9/S06) Prof.N.LAXMAN RAO, Dept.of Library & Information Science, Osmania University, HYDERABAD- 500 007 (INDIA) President, Indian Association of Teachers in Library and Information Science (IATLIS). Ph:+91-40-27171565 (res): +91-40- 27682290 (off) 9246547599 (Mobile) e:mail-- naglaxman(a)yahoo.com OR naglaxman(a)indiatimes.com --------------------------------- To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/dn7850 http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/dn7850 Pee-powered battery smaller than a credit card 18:10 15 August 2005 NewScientist.com news service Shaoni Bhattacharya The first urine-powered paper battery has been created by physicists in Singapore. The credit-card sized unit could be a useful power source for cheap healthcare test kits for diseases like diabetes, and could even be used in emergency situations to power a cellphone, they say. Testing urine can reveal the identity of illnesses, and the new paper battery could allow the sample being tested to also power the diagnostic device. We are striving to develop cheap, disposable credit-card sized biochips for disease detection, says Ki Bang Lee, at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. Our battery can be easily integrated into such devices, supplying electricity on contact with biofluids such as urine or blood. Current biochips need an external reader such as a laser scanner or an external source of power, such as conventional batteries, to perform diagnostic tests. Lees technology houses both the sensors and the battery on one plastic chip. One more drop This design circumvents many of the problems encountered by researchers attempting to shrink down more conventional battery systems for use with bioMEMS devices utilising bio-microelectromechanical systems. Many researchers have tried to design power sources or batteries for systems or bioMEMS devices. However, they have done this by reducing the size of conventional, bulky power systems or batteries, explains Lee. They faced a lot of problems, including difficulties in getting sufficient electrical energy, he adds. The urine-powered battery was able to generate a voltage of about 1.5 volts with a corresponding power of 1.5 micro-watts using just 0.2 millilitres of urine, says Lee. And if a second droplet of urine was added 15 hours after the battery was first activated, the replenished urine could generate still more electricity. The battery is currently suited for use with disposable devices it is not yet ready to power laptops or iPods. "But if, for example, we place a small cellular phone or transmitter on a plastic card, the chip will work as a disposable biofluid-activated means of communication in an emergency, Lee told New Scientist . In this case, the size will be less than that of a credit card. Wrapped sandwich The battery is made of a layer of filter paper steeped in copper chloride, sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper. This sandwich is then laminated in plastic to hold the whole package together. The resulting battery is just 1 millimetre thick and 60 by 30 mm across slightly smaller than a credit card. To activate the battery, a drop of urine is added and soaks through the sandwiched filter paper. The chemicals dissolve and react to produce electricity. The magnesium layer acts as the anode, losing its electrons. And the copper chloride acts as the cathode, mopping up the electrons. But Lee adds that the voltage, current and capacity of the battery could be improved by different designs or by switching the electrode or electrolyte materials used. He believes the system could be used in home-based health test kits. The long-term goal is for people to be able to buy disposable biochips for a disease test from any pharmacy, he says. Journal reference: Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (DOI: 10.1088/0960-1317/15/9/S06) Prof.N.LAXMAN RAO, Dept.of Library & Information Science, Osmania University, HYDERABAD- 500 007 (INDIA) President, Indian Association of Teachers in Library and Information Science (IATLIS). Ph:+91-40-27171565 (res): +91-40- 27682290 (off) 9246547599 (Mobile) e:mail-- naglaxman(a)yahoo.com OR naglaxman(a)indiatimes.com To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/uk/taglines/default/security_centre/*http://uk.… Yahoo! Security Centre .

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Alexandria library gets Indian touch
by Prof. N. Laxman Rao. 22 Aug '05

22 Aug '05

hi we are proud to know about Dr Swaminathan's nomination to Alexandria library Alexandria library gets Indian touch Chennai, Aug. 21: Egypt has enlisted the services of a renowned Indian scientist to help re-create the great ancient library of Alexandria and to guide its evolution as a world-class referral and res-earch institution on par with the Library of Congress in Washington. Dr M.S. Swaminathan, the father of the Indian Green Revolution, is the only Asian to become a member of the elite board of trustees putting together the Bibliotheca Alexandria, inaugurated in October 2002 at the very spot where Ptolemy I (Soter) had built the ancient library of Alexandria in 288 BC. The $220-million project envisaged putting up a 10-storey concrete cylinder, a third part of which is below the sea level, inclined at an angle of eight degrees a structural masterpiece and an awesome knowledge pool much like its predecessor that was one of the greatest wonders of ancient world. When Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is the driving force behind the Bibliotheca Alexandria project, asked me to be part of its board, I readily agreed as it was a very challenging task and I felt I could contribute to make this huge institution user-friendly. I had suggested a braille section for the blind and it was done, Dr Swaminathan told this newspaper. http://www.deccan.com/Nation/NationalNews.asp#Alexandria%20library%20gets%2… Prof.N.LAXMAN RAO, Dept.of Library & Information Science, Osmania University, HYDERABAD- 500 007 (INDIA) President, Indian Association of Teachers in Library and Information Science (IATLIS). Ph:+91-40-27171565 (res): +91-40- 27682290 (off) 9246547599 (Mobile) e:mail-- naglaxman(a)yahoo.com OR naglaxman(a)indiatimes.com --------------------------------- How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday snaps for FREE with Yahoo! Photos. Get Yahoo! Photos hi we are proud to know about Dr Swaminathan's nomination to Alexandria library [A] Alexandria library gets Indian touch Chennai, Aug. 21: Egypt has enlisted the services of a renowned Indian scientist to help re-create the great ancient library of Alexandria and to guide its evolution as a world-class referral and res-earch institution on par with the Library of Congress in Washington. Dr M.S. Swaminathan, the father of the Indian Green Revolution, is the only Asian to become a member of the elite board of trustees putting together the Bibliotheca Alexandria, inaugurated in October 2002 at the very spot where Ptolemy I (Soter) had built the ancient library of Alexandria in 288 BC. The $220-million project envisaged putting up a 10-storey concrete cylinder, a third part of which is below the sea level, inclined at an angle of eight degrees a structural masterpiece and an awesome knowledge pool much like its predecessor that was one of the greatest wonders of ancient world. When Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is the driving force behind the Bibliotheca Alexandria project, asked me to be part of its board, I readily agreed as it was a very challenging task and I felt I could contribute to make this huge institution user-friendly. I had suggested a braille section for the blind and it was done, Dr Swaminathan told this newspaper. http://www.deccan.com/Nation/NationalNews.asp#Alexandria%20library%20gets%2… http://www.deccan.com/Nation/NationalNews.asp#Alexandria%20library%20gets%2… Prof.N.LAXMAN RAO, Dept.of Library & Information Science, Osmania University, HYDERABAD- 500 007 (INDIA) President, Indian Association of Teachers in Library and Information Science (IATLIS). Ph:+91-40-27171565 (res): +91-40- 27682290 (off) 9246547599 (Mobile) e:mail-- naglaxman(a)yahoo.com OR naglaxman(a)indiatimes.com How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday snaps for FREE with Yahoo! Photos. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/uk/taglines/default/photos/*http://uk.photos.ya… Get Yahoo! Photos

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[Fwd: [bytesforall_readers] Free to use and free to edit, Wikipedia is growing fast...]
by Subbiah Arunachalam 21 Aug '05

21 Aug '05

Friends: I received it in the mail today. Best wishes. Arun ---- Free to use and free to edit, Wikipedia is growing fast. Now its founder has announced a series of new projects, writes Sean Dodson Thursday August 11, 2005 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1546162,00.html In less than five years, what started out as a small side project with a budget of a few thousand pounds has grown into one of the web's greatest success stories. Wikipedia, the open, editable encyclopedia, and its sister projects have gone from absolutely nothing to 22m entries in less than half a decade. In doing so, Wikipedia - the centrepiece of the Wikimedia empire - has become the most detailed encyclopedia in history. And its breathtaking pace has yet to show any sign of slowing. As an online knowledge database, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) has one significant advantage over its expert, professional predecessors: anyone is free to edit it. Equally, anybody is free to delete entries or add new ones. The system works by using editable web pages known as wikis (hence the name), which let ordinary users make changes as they see fit. And, in handing this power to the people, Wikipedia has become more than just a hobby - for some it is almost a religion. Last Friday, the movement held its first ever international conference, Wikimania, in a youth hostel in Frankfurt, with 400 delegates who'd flown in from all over the world. The Wikimedia Foundation is to knowledge what the Open University is to academia, except it operates on an annual budget of $800,000 (Â£450,000) and - perhaps most surprisingly - with a staff of just one person. It is written and administered by a legion of volunteers who work for free. Tens of thousands of devotees, self-confessed wikimaniacs, squirrel away at the world's information, trying to cover "the sum of all human knowledge" in every language spoken by humans - and a few, such as Sanskrit and Old English, that are long dead. As well as the encyclopedia, the foundation also offers a dictionary, a taxonomy of the species and a nascent news service. All operate under the same ideals of openness and public cooperation without the need of financial incentive. At Wikimania, Jimmy Wales, the movement's founder, identified the next pieces of the jigsaw likely to fall into place. In his keynote address, Wales named a list of things "that should be free". While not quite commandments, they amount to 10 ideas about how the "Free Culture Movement", as he termed it, could extend the wiki ethic beyond the pages of its ever-growing encyclopedia. Among the projects under discussion are an online atlas charted by members of the public; a repository of classical music to be performed by student orchestras; a file format to rival the mighty MP3; an online curriculum stretching from kindergarten to university; and an archive of images of paintings by the old masters. In short, Wikipedia is to spread its wings over many more forms of culture. What's more, there are already 10,000 book "modules" being collaboratively written within the pages of Wikipedia. Soon, they will be published under the foundation's banner thanks to a deal with an "on demand" publisher. It could, says Wales, signal a whole new kind of book publishing. He also urged his hardcore following - the various volunteer "chapter heads" who administer the wiki projects and police the site for copyright violations and mindless vandalism - to go forth and multiply. This is important to Wales because while Wikipedia is becoming a wider movement theoretically open to anyone, only an elite of users actually bother. According to the movement's own statistics, there are 3,800 hardcore users making more than 100 edits a month, and another 18,000 who make at least five. Then there is a long tail of casual users who use Wikipedia as just another authoritative source - as they might have once used Britannica or Microsoft's Encarta, making the odd edit only if the urge takes them. As the movement gets bigger, its organisation becomes more difficult. Already there are Wikimedia "chapters" in Germany and France, who help organise fundraising and hand out administration tasks. A UK chapter (http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_UK) is also beginning to form, with a small group of wikipedians meeting in central London every couple of months. One of its regulars, Dave Gerard, a part-time volunteer editor and full-time computer system administrator, freely admits he is "addicted" to Wikimedia and spends several hours every day on work related to the site. Like most editors, his primary motivation is to do "some public good". "I've been filling my head with information for decades," he says. "This is a chance to get it all back out again." He is not alone. Ever since the library of Alexandria was built, the dream of amassing vast quantities of information has inspired the world. "What we're doing," says Wales, is building "a world in which every person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge." Just as astonishingly, he thinks it will take just a decade to achieve this ambition. According to Wales, there are more than 22m Wikimedia entries extending across 200 languages. The aim is to provide for "every language in the world spoken by at least one million people" by 2015. If this sounds like chaos, think again: it's more akin to the ideas that fired the imaginations of 19th century political radicals such as Matthew Arnold and Mikael Bakunin. It is anarchy representing a self-regulating cooperative of free thinkers acting voluntarily for a greater common good - and it works in practice, too. There is a rumour, started by a factual error in Time Magazine, that the Wikipedia entries for US presidential candidates George Bush and John Kerry were "frozen" during last year's election campaign, so fierce was invective-laden spam being slapped around by both sides. In fact, the page was closed "less than 2% of the time," according to Wales. Even in the heat of battle, Wikipedia can be relied upon as an impartial and trustworthy source. It should stay that way. Wikipedia will, says Wales, never carry a commercial advertisement, nor rely on government funding. The Wikimedia Foundation is paid for by contributions from charitable foundations and its reading public. Help comes from all quarters: Yahoo recently donated its old servers (banks of which reside in clusters in Paris, Amsterdam and Florida) and the Foundation holds bandwidth-buying fundraising drives. In February, wikimaniacs were so keen to stump up the cash that they overshot their target of $75,000 (Â£42,000) in just a few days. The organisation's entire budget is also online. In more ways than one, Wikimedia is an open book. Which is why it is easy to discover that there are 600,000 articles in the English language volume alone - not counting another 70,000 entries on its sister Wiktionary. More than 1,250 new articles - over 500 an hour - are added every day, and entries are becoming ever more detailed. The average number of edits - the inevitable revisions and corrections - in the English encyclopedia is now more than 10, with the entries increasing in quality as the project matures. That it achieves all this on it's small annual budget is astounding. The fact that it only employs one person is doubly so. Wales started Wikipedia in January 2001, as an offshoot to a failed commercial encyclopedia, Nupedia. He made his first fortune from his days treading the Chicago trading floors in futures and options, and made another with a dotcom that peddled content - including soft porn -in the late 90s. He now describes himself as "independently wealthy". Given that background, it's unsurprising that very little content gets censored. And the site takes a provocative stance on the copyright of old paintings, allowing images to be posted freely on the site. "I've told the National Portrait Gallery I'll see them in court," says Wales. It has so far avoided any serious trouble, though Wikipedia has twice been blocked from China - "We don't know if this was just a mistake" - and once from Saudi Arabia, but only for a few hours in each instance. In February 2002, most participants of the Spanish Wikipedia broke away to establish the rival Enciclopedia Libre, but there is now talk of welcoming them back. It could be said that the mark of a good technology is when Microsoft starts "borrowing" your ideas. Microsoft's Encarta announced in April that it was adopting wiki-style open editing for its for-profit encyclopedia. Others, such as the Free Encyclopedia, have copied the ideas pretty much wholesale. So can the other encyclopedias hope to match Wikipedia's pace? Maybe not, because Wikipedia has become something else. "Books like the Encyclopedia Britannica are nothing else than simple knowledge compendiums without any political soul," says Jean-Baptiste Soufron, a legal adviser to the Wikimedia Foundation. "I am convinced that Wikipedia is the only real encyclopedia of our days because it's the only one that relies on a real political goal: to pursue freedom over content and information." Links Wiktionary www.wiktionary.org Jimmy's blog http://blog.jimmywales.com Wiki Statistics http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Statistics_overview [Thanks to Eddie Fernandes <eddie at fernandes.u-net.com> for sending this in. -FN]

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Book Request
by Siva Chidambaram 20 Aug '05

20 Aug '05

Dear professionals/fellows Could you please tell me the following book is available in your Library. Preferably in New Delhi. Rao, U. R., 1996. Space technology for sustainable development. 564pp, ISBN 0 07 462368 0, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing, New Delhi. Thanks with regards ****************************************************** S.Siva Chidambaram Librarian National Institute of Public Finance and Policy 18/2 Satsang Vihar Marg, Special Institutional Area Near J.N.U. East Gate, New Delhi - 110067 India Phone:91-11-26569303,26569780,26569784 Fax: 91-11-26852548 Email:ss_chidambaram@yahoo.com.in ***************************************************** Dear professionals/fellows Could you please tell me the following book is available in your Library. Preferably in New Delhi. Rao, U. R., 1996. Space technology for sustainable development. 564pp, ISBN 0 07 462368 0, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing, New Delhi. Thanks with regards ****************************************************** S.Siva Chidambaram Librarian National Institute of Public Finance and Policy 18/2 Satsang Vihar Marg, Special Institutional Area Near J.N.U. East Gate, New Delhi - 110067 India Phone:91-11-26569303,26569780,26569784 Fax: 91-11-26852548 Email:ss_chidambaram@yahoo.com.in *****************************************************

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KALA: Dream/Agenda
by I.R.N.Goudar 19 Aug '05

19 Aug '05

Dear friends, Myself and my team of newly elected office bearers of KALA (Karnataka State Library Association) thank all those who have sent greetings and also all members of KALA for having reposed confidence in us and entrusted the important responsibility. The team is very cohesive with representation from different types of libraries including public, college, industry, school, research institute and university (library and department). Over the years KALA has seen many ups and downs. It has glorious history of having great personalities from public life, educationists, industrialists like late H. Narasimhaiah, S.R. Kanti and A.C. Devegowda as its office bearers. The erstwhile Mysore Library Association started by Dr. Ranganathan lead for establishing our Association in its present name KALA. There is strong professional link between Dept. of Public Libraries and KALA. We have a dream of making KALA as a model Professional Association with the following Agenda, set for ourselves, a few being already in the list of KALA objectives: 1. Increase the membership base 2. Make the Association its name worth - Membership and activities beyond Bangalore - Membership of Karnataka LIS people working out of state 3. Enrolling other professional people having strong link with LIS 4. Divisional/District representatives to reach entire state and beyond 5. Functional Committees and Special Interest Groups 6. Reviving monthly lectures/ Round table discussions 7. Organising Workshops and Seminars 8. Developing links with all State/National and other Library Associations including ILA, IASLIC, SIS, etc 9. Work closely with other local Associations like CLA, SLA, ITLA, BSLG and also SRELS 10. Set up a e-mail discussion group 11. Establish cordial and functional relation with Publishing industry and vendors 12. Take up the matter concerned to status of LIS profession in the matter concerned to salary, representation in different committees, etc 13. Setting up of KALA Web site 14. Reviving KALA News Letter 15. Generating revenue to meet the expenses of KALA Activities 16. Entrust young LIS professionals with the responsibility of carrying forward the KALA's mission and activities more vigorously 17. Prepare LIS Professionals to cope up with the Digital Era 18. Using KALA's good relation with Dept of Public Libraries, work with them for literacy at village level and promote library cause 19. Try to have it own office place for KALA 20. Associate with NGO's to promote school libraries We will come up with detailed action plan soon after we take charge of KALA. We thank all earlier Presidents, Secretaries and other office bearers for their contributions and support for KALA and its activities and seek their guidance in our endeavor. We seek suggestions, guidance and help from members of all forums and associations. Once again we thank all of you. I.R.N. Goudar President, KALA on behalf of all Office Bearers -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I.R.N. Goudar Tel: 91-80-25086081 Head, Information Centre for 91-80-25235315 Aerospace Science and Technology Fax: 91-80-25268072 National Aerospace Laboratories E-mail:goudar@css.nal.res.in Airport Road, BANGALORE-560 017 India http://www.icast.org.in/staff/goudar.html

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SALIS Awards for the year 2005 - announcement - reg
by Arunachalam Hariharan 19 Aug '05

19 Aug '05

Nominations are invited for the following SALIS Awards for the year 2005. SALIS Awards 1. Dr. Harish Chandra-Sushila Chandra Best Librarian Award (National level) ------------------------------------------------------- SALIS instituted an award- sponsored by Dr. Harish Chandra, Librarian, IIT Madras, in the name of `Dr. Harish Chandra-Sushila Chandra Best Librarian Award' . Aim of instituting the award: To honor and recognize library professionals - for their outstanding contributions to the profession. Eligibility: Professionals holding any degree in Library Science or equivalent and working in library and information field in any parts in India. Must be a citizen of India About Dr.Harish Chandra -------------------------- Dr.Harish Chandra is currently working as Librarian of IIT, Madras. Prior to this, he has also worked in IIT, Delhi, GSI and IIFT. He underwent training in Library Automation and Digital Library at University of Cambridge, UK and Tilburg University, Netherlands respectively. His major contributions are in the areas of New Library Building Planning, ISO-9001 application in the Library, Digital Library Initiative, Web based library and information services, etc. Dr.Chandra is a member of Senate, IIT since 1995, a member of Task Force for Higher Education Library System, MHRD. He is also a member in the editorial board of various journals including OCLC Systems and Services. He is also a member of many professional bodies. Dr.Chandra has over 60 publications to his credit and completed various projects and consultancy assignments. He has organized several national and international conferences. He has received several awards, chaired number of technical sessions and delivered number of invited lectures. He has visited more than 12 countries and received several awards. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- 2. AutoLibTamilnadu Best Librarian Award (for Library Professionals working in Tamilnadu region only) 3. AutoLib Tamilnadu Best Young Librarian Award (for Library Professionals working in Tamilnadu region only: Age below 40 years) Must be a citizen of India The above two awards are sponsored by M/s AutoLib Software System , a leading Library Automation Solution Provider at Chennai. AutoLib Software System ---------------------------------- AutoLib Software System has been established to provide low cost and high quality library automation solutions. They undertake all types of library automation projects. One of their objectives is to recognize and encourage library professionals who contribute more for the profession. `AutoLib' is a popular library automation software in Tamilnadu- installed in many reputed institutions, is one of their products. --------------------------------------------------------------------- - Eligibility for the above two Awards : Professionals holding any degree in Library Science or equivalent and working in library and information field in Tamilnadu region.Must be a citizen of India Nominations for all the three awards ( by Library professionals holding responsible position or by self) are invited for the year 2005 from eligible professionals. The application form can be obtained from the Convener, SALIS Award Committee by sending a self addressed stamped (Rs.10/-) cover or downloaded from http://autolib-india.net/salis.html. or by sending E-mail to salisawards(a)yahoo.com. The other details are given in the application form. Filled-in application along with necessary supporting documents should be sent in a sealed cover to The Convener, SALIS Award Committee, SALIS, C/o, AutoLib, B2-Solai Apartments(opp to MGR Garden) Mount-Poonamallee Road, Chennai 600 089. Last date for the receipt of filled application is 30.09.2005. For any clarifications, E-mail to the convener salisawards(a)yahoo.com Convener SALIS Award Committee ____________________________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Fw: [bytesforall_readers] Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a Bangladesh NGO, today received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's annual Access to Learning Award and US $1 million for its innovative approach to providing free public access to computers and
by Subbiah Arunachalam 19 Aug '05

19 Aug '05

Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication Promoting Communication Technology for a Fairer World Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a Bangladesh NGO, today received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's annual Access to Learning Award and US $1 million for its innovative approach to providing free public access to computers and the Internet Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a Bangladesh NGO, today received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's annual Access to Learning Award and US $1 million for its innovative approach to providing free public access to computers and the Internet. Through the use of indigenous boats converted into mobile libraries, schools, and the Mobile Internet Educational Units on Boats program, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha provides educational services, access to technology, and computer training to poor communities in a Northern Bangladesh watershed. The boats, which anchor at remote villages, rely on generators or solar energy and mobile phones for Internet access. Abul Hasanat Mohammed Rezwan is the executive director of Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha and founder of the boat project. The project's web site is www.interconnection.org/sss/ Relying on skilled volunteers, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha educates men, women, and children on issues ranging from agricultural practices and to micro enterprise and literacy. Farmers learn about strategies for productive and sustainable farming and the ecological hazards of pesticides. Throughout the year, they are able to connect with educators via onboard e-mail and check current farm prices online to remain competitive in the local market. Students who would otherwise be unable to attend school during the monsoon season continue their education through the year using the libraries' onboard field staff. With literacy rates in Bangladesh at only 42 percent, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is making a significant impact on educating young people, especially girls. In fact, over 70 percent of the program's beneficiaries are women. The annual Access to Learning Award, now in its sixth year, recognizes the innovative efforts of libraries, organizations or library agencies outside the United States in providing no-cost public access to this technology. For more information, visit www.clir.org <http://www.clir.org/> or www.gatesfoundation.org <http://www.gatesfoundation.org/> . Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication Promoting Communication Technology for a Fairer World Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a Bangladesh NGO, today received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's annual Access to Learning Award and US $1 million for its innovative approach to providing free public access to computers and the Internet Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a Bangladesh NGO, today received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's annual Access to Learning Award and US $1 million for its innovative approach to providing free public access to computers and the Internet. Through the use of indigenous boats converted into mobile libraries, schools, and the Mobile Internet Educational Units on Boats program, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha provides educational services, access to technology, and computer training to poor communities in a Northern Bangladesh watershed. The boats, which anchor at remote villages, rely on generators or solar energy and mobile phones for Internet access. Abul Hasanat Mohammed Rezwan is the executive director of Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha and founder of the boat project. The project's web site is http://www.interconnection.org/sss/ www.interconnection.org/sss/ Relying on skilled volunteers, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha educates men, women, and children on issues ranging from agricultural practices and to micro enterprise and literacy. Farmers learn about strategies for productive and sustainable farming and the ecological hazards of pesticides. Throughout the year, they are able to connect with educators via onboard e-mail and check current farm prices online to remain competitive in the local market. Students who would otherwise be unable to attend school during the monsoon season continue their education through the year using the libraries' onboard field staff. With literacy rates in Bangladesh at only 42 percent, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is making a significant impact on educating young people, especially girls. In fact, over 70 percent of the program's beneficiaries are women. The annual Access to Learning Award, now in its sixth year, recognizes the innovative efforts of libraries, organizations or library agencies outside the United States in providing no-cost public access to this technology. For more information, visit http://www.clir.org/ www.clir.org < http://www.clir.org/ http://www.clir.org/ > or http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ www.gatesfoundation.org < http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ > .

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info needed in connection with libraries of various states of INDIA
by abhijit bhowmick 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

Friends, I need the following data in connection with the libraries of different States of INDIA. I need the information to study the Indian picture of Library Services. INFO NEEDED Name of the State : Number of Libraries : Total number of the members of the libraries : Annual report, if any, of Library Department : Whether the State Central Library of the State is computerized : e-mail address of any contact person of the SCL : May I get help from anybody. Abhijit Kr Bhowmick District Library Officer, Howrah West Bengal Contact : a_k_b(a)vsnl.net --------------------------------- Check out Yahoo! India Rakhi Special for Rakhi shopping, contests and lots more. http://in.promos.yahoo.com/rakhi/index.html Friends, I need the following data in connection with the libraries of different States of INDIA. I need the information to study the Indian picture of Library Services. INFO NEEDED Name of the State : Number of Libraries : Total number of the members of the libraries : Annual report, if any, of Library Department : Whether the State Central Library of the State is computerized : e-mail address of any contact person of the SCL : May I get help from anybody. Abhijit Kr Bhowmick District Library Officer, Howrah West Bengal Contact : http://in.f83.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=a_k_b@vsnl.net&YY=11413&order=do… a_k_b(a)vsnl.net Check out Yahoo! India Rakhi Special for Rakhi shopping, contests and lots more. http://in.promos.yahoo.com/rakhi/index.html

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request for article
by Yashwant G Kanade 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

Dear Members, Below are some of papers for which i am looking for soft/hard copies. Latest publications in similar areas would help me a lot. 1.Agricultural applications of expert systems concepts ARTICLE Agricultural Systems, Volume 31, Issue 1, 1989, Pages 3-18 Pierce Jones 2.Intelligent information systems for production management in agriculture and horticulture ARTICLE Future Generation Computer Systems, Volume 5, Issue 1, August 1989, Pages 131-136 Toyoki Kozai and Takehiko Hoshi 3.Expert systems: Applications to agriculture and farm management ARTICLE Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Volume 2, Issue 3, February 1988, Pages 173-182 R. Doluschitz and W. E. Schmisseur 4.Expert systems for agriculture ARTICLE Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Volume 1, Issue 1, October 1985, Pages 31-40 J. M. McKinion and H. E. Lemmon Waiting for your repsonse. With Warm Regards Yashwant G Kanade CES.IISc., Bangalore-12 kanade(a)ces.iisc.ernet.in

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RE: [LIS-Forum] M.Phil in Library and Information Science
by Mailing List Manager 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 12:40:05 +0530 From: Vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com Information provided by Mouni is very useful. It brings to our knowledge not only about MPhil Courses by distance mode in LIS but, at a more basic level, about universities we did not know. Thanks Vyasamoorthy, P -----Original Message----- From: lis-forum-bounces(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in [mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in]On Behalf Of Mailing List Manager Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 11:02 AM To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: [LIS-Forum] M.Phil in Library and Information Science Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:59:51 +0530 From: mouni(a)nitt.edu In response to Mr. Pravesh Choudary, ISM, Dhandbad request, the following information is furnished for enabling him to do M.Phil. in Library and Information Science. The following UGC authorised and reputed Universitites in Tamil Nadu offer the M.Phil. degree course through distance mode. 1. Alagappa University, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu 2. Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu 3. Vinayaga Mission (Deemed University), Salem, Tamil Nadu 4. SASTRA University, Vallen, Tamil Nadu The candidate who possess masters degree in Library and Information Science is eligibile for admission. There are many study centres at major cities for these universities in our country. Application can also be had from the study centres and filled in application form can also be submitted through the study centres. The duration of the course is 1 year. There are 3 theory papers and one dissertation and via. The candidate can choose any authorised guide by the universitity. Many faculty of the LIS department of our country have been authorised to guide the M.Phil dissertation. For more details the study centres of the universities or websites of the universities concerned may be visited or the Registrars of the universities can be cantacted. P. Mounissamy Central Library National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli-620 015 Tamil Nadu _______________________________________________ LIS-Forum mailing list LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum

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KALA office bearers/corrections (fwd)
by Mailing List Manager 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 10:57:35 +0530 From: Dr.H.S.Siddamallaiah <sidda(a)nimhans.kar.nic.in> Karnataka State Library Association (R) C/o Library and Information Center, NIMHANS, Bangalore- 560029 No.kala/05/2005-2006 Dated 17-08-2005 I am happy to announce the name of the newly elected office bearers of the KALA for two years (2005-2007). Dr.H.S.Siddamallaiah President KALA ------------- President Mr. IRN Goudar Head, ICAST National Aerospace Laboratories Bangalore Vice - President Dr. Y.M.Patil Libraraian Raman Research Institute Bangalore Vice - President Mr. Marana Basrie Chief Librarian City Central Library South Zone, Bangalore General Secretary Dr. T.D.Kemparaju Professor, Dept LIS Bangalore Univ. Tresureer Mr. Desai Goudar Librarian DSERT, Bangalore Joint Secretary Dr. M. Krishnamurthy, Librarian, Indian Statistical Inst Bangalore Joint Secretary Ms. Kota Saraswathi Librarian PG Centre Surana College Bangalore ----------

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Dr. S.R. Ranganathan's Birthday Celebrations
by Ratnakar Aspari 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

Kindly circulate the following message on lis-forum. With best wishes A. Ranakar New Delhi __________________________________ RANGANATHAN RESEARCH CIRCLE, New Delhi Cordially invites you to 113th Birthday Celebration of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan at the Auditorium of Hall No. VII Pragati Maidan, New Delhi On August 27th , 2005 Saturday at 2.00 P.M. Dr. Abdul Rehman Kamruddin Secretary General, Tipu Sultan Advanced Study & Research Centre, Mysore and Former Advisor, UNESCO & UNIDO will deliver Ranganathan Memorial Lecture on "RELEVANCE & IMPACT OF Dr. S R Ranganathan CONTRIBUTION IN DIGITAL ERA". Hon'ble Shri A. Rehman Khan, Deputy Speaker, Rajya Sabha will be the Chief Guest. SUBHASH DESHMUKH Programme Coordinator. Job hunting? Get the right one! http://g.msn.com/8HMBENIN/2740??PS=47575 Log on to timesjobs TODAY

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M.Phil in Library and Information Science
by Mailing List Manager 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:59:51 +0530 From: mouni(a)nitt.edu In response to Mr. Pravesh Choudary, ISM, Dhandbad request, the following information is furnished for enabling him to do M.Phil. in Library and Information Science. The following UGC authorised and reputed Universitites in Tamil Nadu offer the M.Phil. degree course through distance mode. 1. Alagappa University, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu 2. Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu 3. Vinayaga Mission (Deemed University), Salem, Tamil Nadu 4. SASTRA University, Vallen, Tamil Nadu The candidate who possess masters degree in Library and Information Science is eligibile for admission. There are many study centres at major cities for these universities in our country. Application can also be had from the study centres and filled in application form can also be submitted through the study centres. The duration of the course is 1 year. There are 3 theory papers and one dissertation and via. The candidate can choose any authorised guide by the universitity. Many faculty of the LIS department of our country have been authorised to guide the M.Phil dissertation. For more details the study centres of the universities or websites of the universities concerned may be visited or the Registrars of the universities can be cantacted. P. Mounissamy Central Library National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli-620 015 Tamil Nadu

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newly elected office bearers of KALA
by Mailing List Manager 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 09:55:12 +0530 From: Dr.H.S.Siddamallaiah <sidda(a)nimhans.kar.nic.in> Karnataka State Library Association (R) C/o Library and Information Center, NIMHANS, Bangalore- 560029 No.kala/05/2005-2006 Dated 17-08-2005 I am happy to announce the name of the newly elected office bearers of the KALA for two years (2005-2007) Mr.IRN Goudar President Dr.Y.M.Patil Vice - President Mr.Marana Basrie Vice - President Dr.T.D.Kemparaju Genaral Secretary Mr.Patawardan Treasurer Dr.Anjanappa Joint Secretary Ms.Kota Saraswathi Joint Secretary Dr.H.S.Siddamallaiah President KALA

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OpenMED@NIC crosses 500 Mark
by Sukhdev Singh 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

Dear Members, The OpenMED@NIC which was launched just two months back now has than 500 articles. It is an open access self-archiving international archive for Medical and Allied Sciences [including Bio-Medical, Medical Informatics, Dental, Nursing and Pharmaceutical Sciences]. The earliest article dates back to 1952. It is available from the URL http://openmed.nic.in and provide free facility for authors / journals to archive their published / unpublished articles or other research related documents. Institutions can also register and build their Institutional Repositories on OpenMED@NIC. Almost all search engines and other OAI service providers index data from http://openmed.nic.in . This ensures maximum visibility and exposure to articles/documents archived at OpenMED. SO, DO YOU SELF-ARCHIVE? --Sukhdev Singh, NIC. http://openmed.nic.in

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PGDLAN COURSE FROM IGNOU
by Nivedita.Sharma＠fluor.com 17 Aug '05

17 Aug '05

Hello Team Members Can I get qualitative feedback on Library Automation Course offered by IGNOU(PGDLAN). This course was started 2 yrs back. I was going thru the IGNOU web site, it doesn't have much details about the programme. Regards Nivedita Sharma Knowledge and IT Services Delivery - Fluor Fluro Daniel India Pvt. Ltd Gurgaon Haryana 122 002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Open Access and Electronic Publishing Session @InfoVision2005- join the debate
by Shalini R Urs 17 Aug '05

17 Aug '05

Dear friends, Participate and join the debate - at the Panel on E-Publishing: Changing Paradigms and shifting markets on September 15 at the InfoVision2005 Summit This panel begins with a keynote by Prof. Jean Claude Guedon of University of Montreal, Canada, the founder of Surfaces, the first Canadian electronic scholarly journal, and a champion of Open Access Publishing from the Open Society Institute. The session is anchored by Ms. Judith Turner, the editor of Journal of Electronic Publishing - University of Michigan Press, USA. Joining the great debate are Mr. H.S. Balaram, Editor, Times of India, Ms. Mr. Rajiv Seth, president, Cybermedia services, Ms. Nancy Buckley from Blackwell publishing, Come and enjoy the intensive and incisive debates on topical issues that affect the Information Landscape of the future at the InfoVision 2005 Summit For more details visit the website www.infovision2005.org Shalini Urs Coordinator- InfoVision2005 -- Dr.Shalini R. Urs Director Information and Communication Division & Professor and Chairperson Department of Library and Information Science University of Mysore, Mysore Tele: 91-821-2514699 Fax: 91-821-2519209 Homepage:www.vidyanidhi.org.in/shaliniurs.html

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Infosys launches 'A library for a school' in Gulbarga district
by Vyasamoorthy＠icicikp.com 17 Aug '05

17 Aug '05

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEK20050816025454&Page=K&Title=… Infosys launches 'A library for a school' in Gulbarga district Tuesday August 16 2005 13:16 IST GULBARGA: The launching of 'A Library for a School' scheme by Infosys Foundation was the highlight of the celebrations of the 59th Independence Day here on Monday. The ambitious scheme envisaging provision of books worth Rs.10, 000 to every government school was inaugurated at a simple function in the Durbar Hall of the Aiwan-E-Shashi guesthouse. Though the beneficiary schools are from Gurmitkal assembly constituency in Yadgir taluk the function was organised at the far off district head quarter. Foundation Chairpersons Sudha Murthy symbolically handed over five kits each containing 144 books costing about Rs.10, 000 to the head masters of five government schools of Gurmitkal in the presence of Minister for Water Resources and Transport Mallikarjun Kharge. Gurmitkal is the assembly constituency of Kharge from where he has been elected to the assembly for a record eight times in a row. There are 169 government lower, higher and secondary schools in Gurmnitkal constituency and all of them will be getting free books under the Infosys Foundation scheme. The Foundation also offered sewing machines to five poorest of the poor women all hailing from Gurmitkal in an effort to bring about economic stability to their families. Handing over the book-kits, Sudha Murthy declared that all government Kannada medium secondary schools will be given book-kits in Gulbarga district in a phased manner. She wanted teachers to evince interest in inculcating reading habits among children so that children can develop love for reading in their life. Mallikarjun Kharge lauded Infosys Foundation for taking up educational charities on a large scale. Sent by ======= Dr.P.Vyasamoorthy, Advisor, Virtual Information Centre, ICICI Knowledge Park, Genome Valley, Turkapally, Shameerpet Mandal, RR District, Hyderabad 500078 INDIA Email: vyasamoorthy(a)icicikp.com Phone - Office: +91(40)23480053 Fax: +91(40)23480007 Phone Residence: +91(40)27846631

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post ponement of refresher course in Jammu University
by sangeeta gupta 17 Aug '05

17 Aug '05

Dear COlleagues We r sorry to say that Refresher Course in library Science has been postponed for probably in the month of November due to unavoidable circumstances. We will write to you later in the month of October. sorry for inconvenience. Dr. sangita Gupta Reader( Course Coordinator ) Deptt of Library science University of jammu jammu __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Is there any refresher course
by Mailing List Manager 16 Aug '05

16 Aug '05

Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 00:35:11 -0700 (PDT) From: veena dusane <veenadusane2003(a)yahoo.com> Dear members Is there any agency/university which sponsors to attend refresher course or conference or seminar for library staff. It will be nice of you, if you will able to provide information about the refresher course in India. Thanking you Veena

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The newest open access journal from Hindawi
by Mailing List Manager 16 Aug '05

16 Aug '05

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 14:06:08 +0100 (BST) From: M.Prasanna <mitubpj(a)yahoo.co.in> August 10, 2005 The newest open access journal from Hindawi The Hindawi Publishing Corporation announce one more addition to its open access journal collection. The Journal of Nanomaterials (JNM) will be edited by Michael Hu of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and it can be found at www.hindawi.com/journals/jnm/. JNM is open access with a business model based on article processing charges to be paid by the authors' institution or research grant. The journal shall have an online edition, which is free with no subscription or registration barriers, and a print edition which shall be priced at a level reasonable for covering the printing cost. All articles published in JNM shall be distributed under the "Creative Commons Attribution License," which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. JNM brings the number of open access journals published by Hindawi to eight. The first seven journals are in the areas of biomedicine, computer engineering, mechanical engineering and applied mathematics. Hindawi is planning to launch several more open access journals in the next few months. For more information please contact: Paul Peters Senior Publishing Developer Hindawi Publishing Corporation E-Mail: http://in.f85.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=paul.peters@hindawi.com&YY=81754… paul.peters(a)hindawi.com The Hindawi Publishing Corporation is an STM publisher with 25 journals (17 subscription based and 8 open access) and two book series. The company website is located at http://www.hindawi.com/ http://www.hindawi.com < http://www.hindawi.com/ http://www.hindawi.com/ Prasanna

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XML Query Test Suite Released
by Mailing List Manager 16 Aug '05

16 Aug '05

Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 07:45:29 +0100 (BST) From: noufal palliparamban <noufalkodur(a)yahoo.co.in> Dear friends, The XML Query Working Group and the XSL Working Group are pleased to release the XML Query Test Suite (XQTS). The groups invite W3C Members and the public to run this suite of approximately 7,000 test cases with any or all of the over 20 implementations of the XML Query draft specification. Your feedback will help the Working Groups judge the implementability of the XML Query language, help to improve interoperability, and help XML Query advance on the W3C Recommendation Track. Contributions of additional test cases are invited. XML home page. Regards Noufal.P.P Indian Institute of Technology

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Google's digital library on hold
by Sreeharsha_Gopalakrishna＠i2.com 16 Aug '05

16 Aug '05

Google has shelved its ambitious library project -- to scan every book in the world -- for three months to allow copyright holders time to opt out of being scanned and included in Google's index. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B80E824B0-2A2A-4670-A62E-4… Thanks Sreeharsha BG

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