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

Fw: SOUL Software
by Rajesh Chandrakar 13 Mar '09

13 Mar '09

Dear Moderator, kindly distribute it to the forum members as the content seems to be for the forum members. With best regards Rajesh ----- Original Message ----- From: Dr. Jagdish Arora To: 'Rajesh Chandrakar' ; 'Yatrik Patel' Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 4:18 PM Subject: FW: SOUL Software I suppose, this is written for the Forum. Regards Jagdish Arora From: principal [mailto:pgcdatia@rediffmail.com] Sent: 13 March 2009 12:50 To: director(a)inflibnet.ac.in Subject: SOUL Software Dear Friends SOUL has been designed Keeping in view the needs of academic instituions.It is user friendly and for redressed of complaints and for help SOUL Support centre have been established in every zone I am using SOUL foe past 6 years and maximum work of my library in being done through SOUL. In Higher Education M.P>SOUL was selected to the used after comparing them with other software in operation SOUL is being used in about 250 institutions in M.P. SOUL2.0 was developed as per the recommendation and needs of the existing soul users. N.S. YADAV Librarian Govt. P.G. Collage Datia Mob. 9425777461 13-03-09 Dr. G. K. Shrivastava PRINCIPAL GOVT. (AUTONOMOUS) POSTGRADUATE COLLEGE, DATIA (M.P.) Phone No. - (07522) 234538, 238574 Fax -(07522) 401847: Mobile No. 094257-41428 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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VACANCY- LIBRARY ASSISTANT
by Abhishek Verma 13 Mar '09

13 Mar '09

DEAR MODERATOR PLEASE POST THIS ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE POST OF LIBRARY ASSISTANT IN ISRO, WHOSE WEB LINK IS......http://www.isac.gov.in/Library/advt.jsp AND THE DETAILS ARE GIVEN BELOW GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF SPACE INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION Advertisement No: ISRO HQ/01/2009 dated 18-02-2009 The Indian Space Research programme began in the sixties with the launch of modest sounding rockets for scientific investigations. Since then, India has achieved self-reliance in both Spacecraft and Satellite Launch Vehicle Programmes with the operationalisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle [PSLV] for launching satellites in polar orbits and Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle [GSLV] for launching satellites in Geosynchronous transfer orbits.ISRO has a vibrant space programme which envisages development of cutting edge technologies for reusable launch vehicle, advanced spacecraft and space explorations. ISRO has a strong base in space science too and the first Indian scientific mission to the Moon - Chandrayaan-1 was successfully launched in October 2008. ISRO offers the position of Library Assistant-A in the pay band of Rs. 9300-34800 with grade pay of Rs. 4200 to young graduates with a Master's Degree in Library Science/Library & Information Science with First Class or equivalent. Eligibility: * Graduate + Master's Degree in Library Science/Library & Information Science with First Class or equivalent. * Master's Degree must be in First Class only. Accordingly only those who possess First Class in Master's degree need to apply. * The qualification prescribed is the minimum requirement and the same does not automatically make candidates eligible for the interview. Age Limit: * Age limit is 35 years as on 31-03-2009(40 years in case of SC/ST candidates and 38 years for OBC candidates). * Ex-Servicemen and Persons with Disabilities are eligible for age relaxation as per rules. How to apply: * Candidates may visit our web-site at www.isro.gov.in to register their applications on-line. * The candidates should register their applications on-line between 13-03-2009 and 31-03-2009. * Applications will be received on-line only. * Upon registration, applicants will be provided with an on-line Registration Number, which should be carefully preserved for future reference. * E-mail ID of the applicant will have to be given in the application compulsorily. * The on-line application has to be invariably followed-up with a `No Objection Certificate' from the employer concerned, by those already in employment under Central/State Government, Public Sector Undertakings or Autonomous Bodies, duly indicating the name and Reg. No on the reverse. * There will be an Application Fee of Rs.100/- (Rupees One Hundred Only) for each application. Demand Draft details need to be filled-in at the time of on-line registration. The candidate before filing his/her application has to take a DD for Rs.100/- from any of the Nationalized Bank in favour of the Sr. Accounts Officer, ISRO HQ, Bangalore, payable at Bangalore. The Applicant should enter the DD Number, date and name of the Bank in the space provided for the same in the web application. * After filing the application, on-line, the applicant has to send the DD with his/her Full Name (as entered in web), Post and Registration No. written on the reverse of the DD to Administrative Officer(GA), ISRO Headquarters, Antariksh Bhavan, New BEL Road, Bangalore -560 231 by ordinary post superscribing on the envelope "ISRO RECRUITMENT-Library Assistant". Please note that applications, in respect of which DDs have not been received with Name as mentioned in the application and Registration Number on the reverse, will not be considered. * Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Persons with Disabilities (PWD) candidates are exempted from Application Fee. However, SC/ST and PWD candidates will have to send attested Caste Certificate and Medical Certificate of Board respectively by post to Administrative Officer (GA) duly indicating the Name, Post No. and Reg.No. on the reverse. Applications of candidates claiming SC/ST/PWD status and therefore exemption from Application Fee will be considered only if the duly attested Caste Certificate/Medical Certificate is received. * The DD/Caste Certificate/Medical Certificate and `No Objection Certificate' in respect of candidates employed under Central/State Govt/PSU/Autonomous Body should reach ISRO Headquarters, Bangalore within seven days of filing the applications by the candidates and in any case not later than 10-04-2009. Selection Process: * The qualification prescribed is the minimum requirement and the same does not automatically make candidates eligible for the interview. The candidate should have First Class in the Qualifying Degree ie, M.Lib or equivalent. Based on bio-data, initial screening will be conducted to short-list candidates for interview. Candidates short-listed will be called for interview, the schedule and venue of which will be intimated. Candidates attending the interview will be reimbursed to and fro second-class train fare by the shortest route from the address given in the application to the place of interview. Pay and Allowances: * Selected candidate will be appointed as Library Assistant -A in the pay band of Rs. 9300-34800 + 4200 (Grade Pay). Total emoluments (including DA, HRA, TA, etc) at present is Rs. 21300/- per month approximately in Bangalore. The employees will be governed by the New Pension Scheme. ISRO provides attractive benefits to its employees such as medical facilities for self and dependants, subsidized canteen, free transport [or in lieu transport allowance], limited housing facility for fresh entrants [or in lieu HRA], advances for purchase of conveyance, construction of house, Leave Travel Concession, Group Insurance, etc. * The DOS/ISRO has a periodical review system under which the accomplishments of Scientific/ Technical personnel are assessed and those found suitable will be promoted to higher grade as per the existing rules after a prescribed residency period without reference to vacancies, and as amended from time to time. Other Conditions/Instructions: * The posts are temporary, but likely to continue. * The appointees are liable to be posted in any of the Centres/ Units of the Indian Space Research Organisation/Department of Space situated anywhere in India as and when required. For details of ISRO Centres/Units, please visit http://www.isro.gov.in/isro_centres.htm * Candidates called for interview will have to produce all relevant original documents in proof of details furnished in their applications submitted on-line, at the time of interview. If any information furnished on-line is found to be wrong or false, the candidate will not be interviewed and TA will not be paid. * ISRO reserves the right not to fill up all or any of the posts, if it so decides. * Only Indian nationals need apply. * No interim correspondence will be entertained. * In case of any clarification candidates may send their mail to recruit(a)isro.gov.in Do not use 'Back' and 'Forward' button of your browser while filling up online application form. To get the online application form, please click on the Post Name below. Post Number Post Name Educational Qualification No.of Posts Reservation 01 Library Assistant-A Graduate + Master's Degree in Library Science/Library & Information Science with First Class or equivalent 01 UR UR- Un-reserved (General) JOIN ISRO AND SHAPE-UP YOUR CAREER SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH TALENTED SCIENTIST COMMUNITY SUPPORT NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ---------o---------- -- Abhishek Verma Parliament Library Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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IDENTITY CRISIS
by Sadasivan KP 13 Mar '09

13 Mar '09

Dear All, It has become a common practice among the decision-making agencies/organizations in our country - be it UGC or AICTE or Pay Commissions or their implementing Committees in various Universities, IIMs, IITs, etc.- to bracket Librarians along with Physical Education Directors. By default ( or by 'mercy' ?) the LIS Professionals are put under this common umbrella ! Sometimes our fraternity feels it even as a 'great privilege' to have been 'granted' such an 'enviable (!) status' ! One has absolutely no intention to belittle the Physical Education Profession . But what is of serious concern is : Are the LIS Professionals such an insignificant species of professionals, always to be bracketed (at the tail end) with a group whose activity domain is totally different? Are we aware of the possible dangers of the 'chain action' of such a concept in various activity environments? Do we not have an identity of our own vis-a-vis the main stream academic & research pursuits ? Are we not playing a participatory / contributory / catalytic role in the academic and research programmes of the main stream - unlike the Physical Education Profession? Are we not better identifiable with the scholarly / learning groups in the Campuses ? Are we satisfied with the plea for 'academic status' by just getting salaries & scales alone ? My decades of experience with a couple of national R&D organizations in the country had helped me to observe / conclude that such institutions/organizations and serious scientists always recognized, acknowledged and appreciated the contributions made by Libraries & Librarians. They have understood the proximity and bondage of our activities with their research programmes. I am sure, our fraternity in the R&D sector, by and large, will subscribe to this view. Registrar of a University is not clubbed with DPE. Why not Librarians too? Is not the Librarian's status/role thus unique, if not closer to the academic community? Are we prepared to digest anything in the name of 'parity' ? This is a matter of deeper impact, interpretations and inferences in the backdrop of the professional image and identity of LIS. Our esteemed LIS Forum readers may comment. SADASIVAN KP Former Head, Library & Informatics NIIST (CSIR) , Trivandrum Tel. 919447903282 (Mob) E-Mail: kps31147(a)yahoo.com -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Business Information on Demand
by Dharmendra 13 Mar '09

13 Mar '09

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Regarding SOUL 2.0 V/s Open Source Software
by Jagdish Arora 12 Mar '09

12 Mar '09

Dear colleagues, I have been carefully going through the comments on SOUL V/s open source software for past few days. I would like straighten-out a few points that were raised by Prof. Laxman Rao in his mail addressed to professional colleagues: 1. SOUL Software works on a self-sustenance model. The INFLIBNET Centre is not investing huge money on the Software. All expenses on the SOUL including, R & D, maintenance, salary for SOUL Coordinators, Technical Assistants, etc. is born from the sale of SOUL software, in fact, the Centre have saved funds from sale of SOUL and this savings is being now used for further strengthening the support system for SOUL; 2. SOUL support and maintenance system has been strengthened now. We had only two coordintors in the past. We have now deployed five SOUL Coordinators, two more will be engaged shortly. Each SOUL Coordinator can have two to three Technical Assistants depending upon the number of installations in a given region. In all, there will be seven Coordinators and 21 Technical Assistants. SOUL Software Support Unit is also functioning from the INFLIBNET Centre for past more than 8 months. Expenses on strenghthened support system is being born from income from SOUL software. 3. SOUL 2.0 has several new features and functionalities. Senior library professionals are advised to examine the product and then give their considered opinion. I am sure Prof. Laxman Rao did not have opportunity to see SOUL 2.0. A large number of library professionals have helped us with their feed-back during development of SOUL 2.0. Actual users were in involved in various phases of development. Feedback from most of the Library professionals has been highly positive for SOUL 2.0. My Software Team at the INFLIBNET Centre has worked day and night to bring the software to this stage. The 2nd version of Software was developed in a record time to less than one year. It is in-appropriate to criticize a product without even fully exploring its features and functionalities. 4. Dr. Satish Deshpande, Dr. Haravu, Dr. Sathyanarayana (JNTU), Dr. Goudar and other colleagues have already given their considered views about open source software and co-existence of other LMS packages. The SOUL Software has its own followers. We have more than 1800 installations and number is growing inspite of existence of several open source software. We are committed to all our existing clients. The software will be given free of cost to all our existing clients with all the support that they require. 5. The INFLIBNET Centre has set-up an Open Source Software Laboratory. Our scientists are working on all open source software including NewGenLib. I would like to re-iterate here that for most library science professionals, open source essentially means “free” software, they neither have expertise nor resources to customize it. I know a couple of big libraries who are struggling with open source software LMS packages without much success. It would be our endevour not only to provide support for all or selected open source software, but also contribute to their development. 6. The price of SOUL 2.0 and its associated services were fixed as per the guidelines laid down by the our Governing Board. We had to consider cost of inputs in terms of manpower, infrastructure, etc. However, we can revisit the prices, if desired. 7. As on now, the INFLIBNET is not considering to make SOUL 2.0 an open source given the fact that it is developed for Microsift OS, a proprietary OS. We are committed to develop it further, make it completely platform independent and then we may consider to make it open source. I would like to ensure the academic community and library professionals that the INFLIBNET Centre is doing its best and results are already visible. Thanks and regards Dr. Jagdish Arora Director, INFLIBNET Centre Opp. Gujarat University Guest House Post Box No. 4116, Navrangpura Ahmedabad, Gujarat - 380009 Tel: +91 79 26305702 (Direct) +91 79 26308528, 26304695,26305971 Mobile: 09974881882 Fax: +91 79 26300990 and 26307816 E-mail: jarora(a)inflibnet.ac.in; director(a)inflibnet.ac.in -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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UNESCO releases Digital archiving of audio content using WINISIS and Greenstone software: a manual for community radio managers
by Puna Das 12 Mar '09

12 Mar '09

UNESCO releases Digital archiving of audio content using WINISIS and Greenstone software: a manual for community radio managers 12-03-2009 (New Delhi) UNESCO Office in New Delhi has published Digital archiving of audio content using WINISIS and Greenstone software: a manual for community radio managers. This self-instructional handbook is aimed at helping managers of community and FM radio stations, public service broadcasting agencies and any other organizations that deal with audio files create prototype archives of digital audio documents. Free and open source software (FOSS) helps digital inclusion of citizens in developing countries through easy-to-get and socially useful applications. UNESCO’s information processing tools assist many grassroots institutions in disseminating information to local communities. Digital archive of a community radio station can be a knowledge repository containing collective wisdom of indigenous people, as well as of regional communities and institutions. The South Asian sub-region is now at the nascent stage of community radio development, with the introduction of policy frameworks in India, Nepal and other countries. Community radio has a great development potential across the sub-region with ever increasing number of community radio stations. To maintain an archive of broadcasted contents is a legal obligation as a self-regulatory mechanism, however many stations are not equipped for doing this.. Moreover, community radio stations often need to re-use and re-broadcast many of their archived contents. This new publication is a reliable manual for digital archiving of multimedia contents, with special focus on community radio contents. Its users will find it helpful in their every-day work. The publication has its genesis in the recommendations and proceedings of two events, supported by UNESCO: National Consultation on Community Radio for Practising and Potential Community Radio Operators in India and National Consultation to Review Community Radio in Nepal, during which community radio station managers stressed the importance of archiving digital audio contents. In line with the needs of the community, the manual guides users in creating their own archives with stable, free software like WINISIS, GenISIS and Greenstone. The book also provides the URL addresses from where this software can be downloaded. The manual can be downloaded here: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/28434/12367893463digital_archiving_en.… http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28434&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECT… Source: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28438&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECT… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anup Kumar Das New Delhi, India http://anupkumardas.blogspot.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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SOUL-NewGenLib-OpenSource Debate
by SatishDpnd＠Adroit 12 Mar '09

12 Mar '09

In response to LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 72, Issue 13 : Message 2 and earlier discussions on the topic Dear LIS professionals The debate on NewGenLib v/s SOUL is simply not necessary because I feel both are meant for different segments of LIS market. SOUL was developed by INFLIBNET years back under the aegis of UGC to support academic Library community which at that time was unable to invest in proprietary LMS. The initial College edition of SOUL was costing merely Rs.15,000/- (until recently) when proprietary standalone LMS was costing Rs.1 lac. There are more than 1600 SOUL installations in India. Just think of them ! What should they do ? Get free-upgrade of SOUL 2.0 (with moderate costs of installation) or go for NewGenLib/Koha which is free and open source. SOUL 2.0 has added many more facilities to its previous version. It's web-based, many International Standards have been adopted and it is SIP2/NCIP compatible too. Now think of those smaller libraries which have only couple of staff, what should they do ? Use readily available upgraded LMS or switch over to free, open source NewGenLib or Koha - for which neither they have expertise nor time to devote. All of us those who are adopting Open Source software know very well that it needs substantial staff-time-investment - may it be for data migration, customising each function to suit to one's needs or even fixing small problem of default currency. Open Source LMS is only a powerful engine, but whether one can make a racing car out of it or not depends upon availability of the workshop facilities, latest tools and machinery, research staff to support and designing team to take care of its dynamics. Therefore I would not blindly support Open Source just because it is almost free compared to proprietary LMS - but would strongly advocate use of SOUL 2.0 by those who would like to concentrate more on user-services than breaking their heads in customising Open Source LMS. SOUL 2.0 is a step towards upgrading efficiency of LIS community as a whole at very negligible input costs. Those who feel the SOUL 2.0 rates are high should enquire for rates for proprietary LMS in the market, and also how much would it cost to customise Open Source with facilities which are offered by SOUL 2.0. I have yet not come across any fully operational Open Source LMS in any of the large Libraries in India. Many open source agencies claim that each and every module/facility can be customised, e.g. Template designs, RSS Feeds, Blogs, Federated Search, scheduled auto e-mail generators, Customised Reports, MIS stats, Online Reservation facility, built-in SIP2/NCIP, Video-streaming facility through web-OPAC, importing records from web catalogues, exporting records in variety of formats, remote log-ins, Serials Management etc., but when it comes to practical implementation, it takes months together to mould them to match needs of the organisation. Therefore I will never ever criticise indigenous LMS like SOUL. It is/was developed for specific cause/purpose and not for competing with proprietary LMS or to discourage use of Open Source LMS. We all should recommend it to all those who are short of resources and do not have time/expertise to customise freely available open-source. Would certainly welcome your views Happy LMSing ! satish deshpande formerly Head British Council Library Ahmedabad Mentor, Nirma University Libraries; Adviser, KM&IC, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad M : 098250 30460 email : satish.dpnd(a)gmail.com In response to LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 72, Issue 13 : Message 2 > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 13:56:14 +0530 (IST) > From: "I.R.N.Goudar" <goudar(a)nal.res.in> > Subject: [LIS-Forum] SOUL-INFLIBNET-NEWGENLIB > To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0903091302140.24277(a)css.nal.res.in> > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed > > Dear Professionals, > Herewith I have forwarded my response I sent through lis-forum soon after > the announcement of NewGenLib as open source software. My message answers > few questions raised by few LIS colleagues. Ther is no poin in discussing > the merits and demerits of SOUL, GRANTHALAYA, Maitreyee, Suchika, etc. > At this juncture of avilability of open source software, what should be > our (librarians) stand? What responsible institutions like INFLIBNET, > NISCAIR, DRTC, NIC, Keshavan Institute, etc should do? Government has > spent lot of money various agencies for the development of good library > automation system. Some of them were cooked half? Discontinued further > developments? some of them never saw the light of the day? Some of > them did not get good support after sale or implementation? While I have > full confidence in the capability and vision of present director of > INFLIBNET for developing SOUL as one of the good system, my basic question > is, at this juncture is it necessary still put efforts and spend > money on such developments, when so many open source softawre are > available? NEWGENLIB, apart from using open source flatform, uses only > open standards. It has stood test ofthe time. At national level we > should have customization, migration and support service > arrangements on any open system we adopt. MY LIS-FORUM MESSGE SENT ON > 11 JAN 2008, GIVES SOME SUGGESTIONS IN THIS MATTER (Copy enclosed below) > Goudar > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Dr. I.R.N. Goudar Tel: 91-80-25086081 > Sci F & Head, Information Centre for 91-80-25235315 > Aerospace Science and Technology Fax: 91-80-25268072 > National Aerospace Laboratories E-mail:goudar@css.nal.res.in > Airport Road, BANGALORE-560 017 India > http://www.icast.org.in/staff/goudar.html > > > > -- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is > believed to be clean. > > _______________________________________________ > LIS-Forum mailing list > LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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How to organize workshops and seminars more productive
by Vimal Kumar 12 Mar '09

12 Mar '09

Dear Friends, I am writing this piece for drawing the attention of library professionals who are going to organize workshops, seminar and other related events. Recently lot of announcements of such programmes received through popular online discussions forums. Most of the announcements contained minimum information and had no provision to know more about the programme. Library professionals are missing the opportunity to attend professional development activities due to the lack of getting proper information. Getting professional training and knowledge enhancement through various programmes are important for professional development. Library professionals who are involved in organizing continuing education programme deserve appreciation. Organizers should care to capture and disseminate the knowledge emanated in professional development activities. In most of the cases, no facilities arranged to capture the talk and seem no related activities after the programs. Here are my humble suggestions to make the career development programmes more worth. 1. Create a workshop/seminar website. If no technical help available, make use a blog service for this purpose. Blogs are suitable for fast and frequent content updating. 2. Provide maximum details in website. Organise information under various heads, e.g. Registration, Paper submission, Accommodation, etc. Schedule the sessions as early as possible. 3. Avoid displaying entire brochure in picture format in website. Huge brochure file will take time to display the content. 4. Make use Open Conference Systems (http://pkp.sfu.ca/?q=ocs) to automate conference activities. 5. Announce the seminar/workshop at least 30 days before. It will help the working professionals to obtain permission from authority and make arrangement for travel. 6. Remember to give programme website link in discussion forum posting. 7. If organizers have no plan to publish submitted papers, make arrangement for archive papers in institutional or any public repository (e.g. http://eprints.rclis.org) 8. Make available workshop kit online after the event. 9. Arrange facilities for post conference discussions. 10. Record key talks and publish it online using streaming audio/video services (e.g. youtube.com) In this way, library professionals not able to attend the programmes can access the content of the seminar/workshop. -- Vimal Kumar V. Asst. Librarian Asian School of Business Technopark, Trivandrum-695 581 Web: www.asb.edu.in/vimal/ Blog: http://vimalkumar.oksociety.in OK Society Volunteer. http://oksociety.in --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I forget what I was taught. I only remember what I have learnt" -Patrick White -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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SOUL-INFLIBNET-NEWGENLIB (I.R.N.Goudar) (Saitra Sirohi) and ohers
by Jai Haravu 11 Mar '09

11 Mar '09

Dear Members A number of useful thoughts have emerged from the discussion on SOUL, Inflibnet's role, NewGenLib and Koha. I would also like to add to the discussion, hopefully in an objective and non-partisan manner. 1.. First and foremost we need to accept the fact that open source solutions (in all domains and application areas) are increasingly considered to be not only credible alternatives but also cost-effective in the long run if the community behind such software is an active participant. Good examples of strong communities are seen in Koha and Evergreen. 2.. Part of the reason why Koha and Evergreen have strong communities is because of strong social and cultural influencess in the countries where they are most actively used, e.g., USA. I must comment here that in India, we do not have the same approach either because we don't think it is needed or simply we do not have the needed infrastructure. For instance, even today many libraries in India do not have relaible Internet access. In such cases, how can we expect better community participation. The extent to which members of a community support each other (in spite of commercial support) in India leaves much to be desired. I am afraid, our score card on sharing our resources and knowledge freely with other professionals via forums and local associations is poor. 3.. NewGenLib is a good example of inadequate community involvement. We have trained over 1000 library and IT staff in India in NewGenLib but we do not see many of them participating in community forums. 4.. I agree with Mr Mahesh of NISCAIR, that in a competitive world, all manner of products have a place in the sun. Libraries should be free to choose what they consider is useful to them. 5.. I believe that an important consideration in choosing a software is the extent to which it supports local practices. I am aware that NewGenLib has attempted to cater to the many practices (some may not be considered good practices) that libraries in India follow. For instance, some libraries still ask for quotations from vendors before they place orders for books. I know for sure that in NewGenLib we have been called upon (often at great expense) to customize the software to suit a unique requirement in a library. Similarly, in India, bodies such as AICTE and NAAC ask for ceratin types of reports during their annual inspection visits. Software developed in India (SOUL and NewGenLib) would have provided for these. 6.. Equally important is the potential that a software has to take note of and leverage new technologies, and of the rapid shifts that are taking place, e.g., the need for API's, web services, open schemas and social web features. 7.. All said and done, I would agree with the view that SOUL should also be made open source so that there would be more options for libraries. When a poorly funded venture behind NewGenLib could be made open source, I really do not see why a well funded, quasi-governmental agency cannot make it open source. 8.. Finally, I would like to state that in this world "There is no such thing as a Free Lunch". Open source developers have to survive and if they charge for services these should be paid for willingly. Koha has the backing of commercial companies in the US and elsewhere and I am sure they will not be sustainable only wth Koha if libraries do not pay for services. In the case of NewGenLib, I am aware that we have many problems convincing libraries and managements that open source does not mean FREE, it is more abour FREEDOM of choice, freedom to change, freedom from vendor hegemony, freedom to ask for new features, etc.. Thanks. Haravu Trustee, Kesavan Inst of Information and Knowledge Management 1.. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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FREE Open Access-Conf
by I.R.N.Goudar 11 Mar '09

11 Mar '09

NO REGISTRATION FEE (All are welcome, PLEASE FORWARD THIS MAIL TO INTERESTED, Circulate in your Institute for Faculty, Scientists, LIS staff,etc.) One Day Conference on Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons(Open Access) 26th March, 2009: 9.30AM - 4.15PM Venie: S.R. Valluri Auditorium National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore-560017 --------------- ORGANIZERS: National Aerospace Laboratories (as a part of its Golden Jubilee Celebrations) Indian Academy of Sciences Centre for Internet and Society PARTICIPANTS: Welcome to Policy makers, Academicians, Scientists, Editors, Publishers, Media persons, Librarians, etc. TOPICS COVERED: Scholarly Communication, Research Publication Issues, Copyrights of Publishing Authors, Publishers Attitude, Open Access (OA) Movement, OA Scenario in the World and India OA Declarations, OA Channels: OA Journals, Repositories, OA Policy: National and Institutional Level, OA Challenges: Economic, Societal Impact of OA on Science Communication INAUGURAL KEYNOTE: Prof. HS Mukunda, Vice President, Indian Academy of Sciences SPEAKERS: Prof. John Willinsky, Stanford University Prof. Leslie Chan, University of Toronto Dr D K Sahu, MedKnow Publications Dr. Sunil Abraham, Director, Centre for Internet and Society PANEL DISCUSSION: 2.45 - 4.15 pm "Scholarly Communication and Openness: Emerging Trends" Prof. P Balaram, Director, IISc & Editor, Curr. Sci. CHAIRMAN Prof. John Willinsky, Stanford University Panelist Prof. Leslie Chan, University of Toronto Panelist Dr. A.R. Upadhya, Director, NAL Panelist Mr. N.V. Sathyanarayana, MD,Informatics India Panelist Prof. Subbiah Arinachalam, Centre for Internet and Soc. Panelist BACKGROUND: Open Access to the scientific literature means the removal of barriers, including price barrier, for accessing scholarly work. In today's knowledge based society the advent of Internet and widespread and easy access to scientific information are facilitating research and innovation. Open Access is not only changing the nature of scholarly communication but even the way research is carried out. Indeed open access is the bedrock on which the emerging global research library initiative is being built. Scientists and scientific institutions in India - some of them to be precise - have moved up in the value chain in that they access information and disseminate their findings often through barrier-free electronic channels. Out of about 4500 open access journals (OAJ) world over, India accounts for 150 titles. The major Indian contributors for OAJ include Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, MedKnow Publications and NISCAIR. About 50 institutes have set up their institutional open access repositories including IISc, NAL, NIO, RRI, IIAP, IITs, etc. Prof. Samir Brahmachari, Director General of CSIR, came up with the Open Source Drug Discovery programme as an alternative to the traditional patent-driven model of drug research. Recently CSIR has adopted open access policy as recommended by its Group of Open Access Science Publications. Thus open access - both for accessing worldwide information and for making our own research more visible - is not new to India. But one must admit that considering the size of India's research and higher education enterprise what we have achieved so far is utterly inadequate to commensurate with our ambition to become a knowledge power. We have a long way to go. And the first step is to adopt open access nationwide. This one day conference on "Conference on Scholarly Communication in India in the Age of the Commons" is organized to take stock of the current developments in Open Access and to highlight the issues that would need to be addressed to enable a wider access to scientific knowledge and to enhance the visibility of research performed in India. PS: While spot registration is allowed, we request you to kindly register through e-mail along with name, designation, address, contact telephone and e-mail. We have not made any arrangements for accommodation. Conference Site: http://www.icast.org.in/events/OA-Conf.html For more information please contact: Dr I R N Goudar Scientist 'G' and Head, ICAST National Aerospace Laboratories Airport Road, BANGALORE-560017 Tel:080-25086080 Fax:25260862 Email: goudar(a)nal.res.in -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. I.R.N. Goudar Tel: 91-80-25086081 Sci G & Head, Information Centre for 91-80-25235315 Aerospace Science and Technology Fax: 91-80-25268072 National Aerospace Laboratories E-mail:goudar@css.nal.res.in Airport Road, BANGALORE-560 017 India http://www.icast.org.in/staff/goudar.html -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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