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

LIS EDUCATION VIS-A-VIS CORPORATE LIBRARIANS
by Sadasivan KP 30 Nov '08

30 Nov '08

Dear All, This is in response to the recent postings on the above subject matter. The Problems 1. There is a widening gap between the demand and supply of really competent LIS professionals in our country, irrespective of the nature of institutions where they are expected to perform. Corporate sector is undoubtedly one such area with tremendous job potential. 2. But sadly, majority of the products of LIS Schools are mediocre in nature ! Few exceptions are always there from any School or most of the products are OK from a very very few Schools. 3. There are several factors contributing to this lamentable situation. They include : (a) Poor standard of the students joining for the LIS Course (b) Out of date Syllabus followed in the LIS Schools (c) Inadequate infrastructure facilities in the Schools (d) Incompetent Teachers or Teachers who do not bother to update their knowledge base (e) Reluctance of LIS Schools for proper interactive programmes with performing libraries & librarians (f) Poor communication skills and leadership qualities among the students (g) Lack of commitment of students in accepting LIS as a good profession. They, instead, consider it as a short cut to get a job. Etc., etc. Well, the above listing is only selective. The Solutions 3. The solutions are partly embedded in the problems listed above. But still, let me repeat a few : (a) There is an immediate need for restructuring the LIS Syllabus uniformly across the country. The exercise should not just be confined to NCSI or NISCAIR or DRTC or a handful of Universities, like, University of Mysore, Madras University, etc. Rather, these front-runners (and other stake holders too) should think of initiating a dialogue for a commonly acceptable quality/standard syllabus for all Schools in the country, in the larger interest of the profession. (b) Poor communication skills & leadership qualities of students constitute a major issue. Unless this is effectively resolved, we are not going to succeed in generating competent professionals. The course-ware , the methods of teaching and grading of results/scores should not, at all ignore these factors. Not much seriousness is attributed to the so called 'Soft Skill Development' among our young professionals at present. (c) Making them IT-savvy is another essential ingredient. (d) How to attract really brilliant students to this course is another big question. Career prospects is perhaps one aspect. We must evolve a proper assessment of the market-needs of our professionals. Then mould them appropriately, by complying with other curriculum-related issues (discussed earlier). An explicit outcome should be a mechanism for Assured Placement after their course of study. 4. We, the professionals by and large are lured to concentrate in segmented areas as part of our modernization. It could be anything like CDS/ISIS, WINISIS, Digital Libraries with its fragmented approaches, IR, Webopac, OAI, E-Print, DSpace, etc., if we examine the chronological events. But what is lacking is a Total Framework encompassing all these segments and much more, so as to make it as a body of knowledge for LIS Education & Practice. This has to be planned and designed at a fairly 'higher level' so as to implement the same uniformly and mandatorily as learning modules in the academic programmes. 5. Now, the question of Corporate Librarians.The existing teaching-learning practices and the curriculum contents should invariably be changed to suit the special needs of the sector, which is diffrent from the conventional systems. Rigorous training in soft-skill development and management practices, etc., are needed for moulding them to perform proactively in the newgen LIS domain. Be it 'old bottle or new bottle', it has to be filled with 'new wine' . 6. But who will bell the cat? Possibly a selfless 'Think Tank Group' should evolve for initiating the task. Even a 'Social Network' for the purpose can trigger the operation. Then it will assume the inertial strength required for the 'take off'. 7. A mandatory mechanism for LIS domain, like Medical Council of India in the Health Education Sector, Bar Council of India in the Legal Sector, AICTE for Engineering / Technical Education, etc., has to be evolved for a proper co-ordination to ensure quality education. 8. Responsible Professional Societies in LIS in India including IATLIS cannot shy away from this crisis situation. 9.Certain recommendations of NKC may also be examined in this context. The Time Targets Well, an overnight solution is not possible. What is proposed is a long term strategy. But the time factor should not be stretched to infinity, if we really want to salvage our profession and give it an impressive and acceptable shape. It is high time to evolve strategies for revamping the LIS Education / Profession in India so as to Seek the comments of our esteemed LIS Forum Members. SADASIVAN KP Former Head, Library & Informatics and Former Consultant (ICT) NIIST (CSIR), Trivadrum Poor management and communication skills among the students/products. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Requirement of Library trainees
by NIMR Library 30 Nov '08

30 Nov '08

We are looking for 3 young professionals to work as trainees in our library. Qualifications: MLIS or equivalent degree from a recognized university/institution Tenure : 12 months Salary : Rs.5000/- per month. (Consolidated ) Trainees will get opportunity to work in a highly professional environment. Science graduates with computer knowledge are preferable. Interested candidates are requested to send their details bio-data (including qualification, percentage of marks, year of passing etc) by email to librarian(a)mrcindia.org or librarian.nimr(a)gmail.com The last date for receiving the application is 10th December, 2008. The short listed candidates will be called for interview, the dates for which will be communicated later over the email. Thanks and regards Dr B.N. Nagpal Dy. Director National Institute of Malaria Research, 22-Sham Nath Mg, Delhi-54 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Library assistants
by C T K 29 Nov '08

29 Nov '08

We are looking for diploma holders for the post of Library assistants. Only male candidates can apply. The candidates should be ready to work in shift duties. Send your resume to the following address or send through email. -- *********************************************** C T Kantharaj Librarian Cambridge Instittute of Technology K R Puram, Bangalore - 560036 email: ctkantharaj(a)gmail.com -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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UGC NET QUESTIONS
by binu david 28 Nov '08

28 Nov '08

Dear all If any one remember the Paper 3 questions for Library Information Science for UGC net of December 2007. please mail me. Thanking you Binu David Librarian Engg College Palghat Kerala -- ______________________________________________ IndiaInfo Mail - the free e-mail service with a difference! www.indiainfo.com Check out our value-added Premium features, such as an extra 20MB for mail storage, POP3, e-mail forwarding, and ads-free mailboxes! -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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National Seminar on School Libraries 10-11 Feb. 2009 - NCERT
by Mailing List Admin 28 Nov '08

28 Nov '08

Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:48:31 +0530 (IST) From: Paramjit Singh Kawatra <ps_kawatra(a)yahoo.co.in> National Seminar on Role of School Libraries in Quality Education, 10-11- Feb. 2009 Organiser : NIE Library, NCERT For more information, you may have a look at : http://www.ncert.nic.in/html/pdf/DLDI.pdf � Thanking you � P. S. Kawatra, Head, DLDI

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ISiM-CXO Lecture by Ajit Balakrishnan postponed (due to Mumbai Mayhem)
by Shalini Urs 28 Nov '08

28 Nov '08

Dear Professional friends, We regret to inform that 'The ISiM - CXO Lecture by Ajit Balakrishnan Founder Chairman and CEO of Rediff. Com' had to be postponed due to the Mumbai Mayhem. Ajit Balakrishnan a resident of Colaba, Mumbai could not get out of his house on November 27th morning as per plan to catch his plane to Bangalore. We will announce the new dates of our CXO Lecture later on. ISiM joins the nation and the world in praying for peace and normalcy. Thanks and Regards Shalini Dr. Shalini Urs Executive Director and Professor International School of Information Management University of Mysore Manasagangotri Mysore - 570006 Phone : + 91 821 2514699 Fax : + 91 821 2519209 ISiM-Management School for IT, Technology School for IM www.isim.ac.in -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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KV Pattom releases New Library Bulletin
by faisal sl 27 Nov '08

27 Nov '08

Dear All, The Library Media Centre at Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram released its New Library Bulletin on 26 Nov., 2008. To read http://librarykvpattom.wordpress.com/2008/11/26/library-bulletin-vol1-issue… -- S.L.Faisal Librarian Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom,Thiruvananthapuram-695 004 Kerala India Ph.09447699724 http://librarykvpattom.wordpress.com http://librarynext.wordpress.com http://kvlblogs.wordpress.com http://homeworksonline.wordpress.com -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Maybury, MITRE Corp., USA, Keynote @ InfoVision 2009 - Early Bird Registration - 3 Weeks to Go!
by Angrosh 27 Nov '08

27 Nov '08

Dr. Mark Maybury, an expert in Intelligent Multimedia Information Retrieval and Executive Director, Information Technology Division, MITRE Corporation, USA will give the Inaugural Keynote at InfoVision 2009 on January 22, 2009. Please note that the Early Bird Registration closes on December 20, 2008. InfoVision 2009 - the 4th Edition of InfoVision Series focuses on the following: * Mobile Information Access * Multimedia Information Access * Multilingual Information Access * Consumer Created Content * eScience, eResearch and Cyber infrastructure * Enterprise Content and Communication The overarching theme of InfoVision 2009 is ""Content to Intent: Understanding user intent in multimodal, multilingual. mobile and enterprise content Information Access" InfoVision 2009 offers an intellectual feast of talks by: 1. Dr. P. Anandan, Managing Director, Microsoft Research India, Bangalore 2. Mr. John Blossom, President and Senior Analyst, Shore Communications, USA 3. Dr. Edward Cutrell, Research Scientist, Adaptive Systems Interaction Group, Microsoft Research, Redmond, USA 4. Prof. Dieter Fellner, Director IGD, Fraunhofer Institute of Computer Graphics Research, Darmstadt, Germany 5. Prof. John Girard, Associate Professor of Management, Minot State University, USA 6. Mr. Bruno Goveas, Head, Marketing & Product Management, Akamai Technologies India 7. Mr. Ajay Gupta, Director HP Labs India and Director, Mobility Solutions Group 8. Mr. Srikanth B. Iyer, Co-Founder and COO, Edurite Technologies 9. Dr. Hari M. Koduvely, Senior Risk Analyst, Amazon.com 10. Mr. Balaji Krishnan, General Manager, MindTree 11. Prof. Ee-Peng Lim, School of Information Systems, Singapore Management University, Singapore 12. Ms. Usha Mohan, Managing Director, Triumph India Software Services, Bangalore 13. Mr. Gopinath Padmanabhan, President, Applications Business Unit, Mphasis 14. Mr. P. Ravindranath, Director - Strategic Development and Govt. & Public Affairs, Hewlett Packard India 15. Prof. Rohini Srihari, Founder CEO, Janya Inc., USA & Associate Professor, Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA 16. Mr. Bob Stembridge, Thomson Reuters, UK 17. Prof. Shalini R. Urs, Executive Director, ISiM, Mysore 18. Mr. Mahesh Vyas, Managing Director & CEO, CMIE Don't miss this great opportunity. For registration and updates, please visit: www.infovision2009.org For details and clarifications, please contact: InfoVision secretariat International School of Information Management University of Mysore, Manasagangotri Mysore 570 006 Tel: +91-821-2514699; +91-821-2411417 Fax: +91-821-2519209 Angrosh - 9886970411 Email: office(a)infovision.org.in; office(a)isim.ac.in See you at InfoVision 2009! InfoVision 2009 Summit Team. ***************************************** Angrosh M.A. Project Manager International School of Information Management University of Mysore, Manasagangotri Mysore 570 006 Tel: +91-821-2514699; +91-821-2411417 Fax: +91-821-2519209 Email: angrosh(a)isim.ac.in; office(a)isim.ac.in ****************************************** -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Self learning of Drupal, Wiki Moodle etc
by Rajan 27 Nov '08

27 Nov '08

Dear All, The recent Drupal workshop at NCSI was a meaningful attempt to capacitate librarians in opening new ways of information dissemination with a good content management tool. Libraries or institutions having local area network (LAN) can think of using Drupal (or Joomla or similar one) for creating an intranet website that provides information content to the institutional users through a website- like a gateway. Drupal requires apache, mysql & php software - all installed and configured in the computer. The configuration of those software may fail at times. So the easier option for a beginner is to use Xampp software that includes all the three software. So any beginner who is interested to learn Drupal can do so by installing it even in a client computer by using Xampp. The advantage of the content Management System is that we can have local language content and can make search /retrieval, if the information is in Unicode font. By using the same Xampp installation, one can install Wiki software also in the same computer and can develop an internal Wikipedia for creation of frequently used local content for internal users. Even reading materials on key topics can be made available in LAN by using internal Wiki. Media Wiki is a reasonable choice among a wide range of Wiki software available for download. Having an internal Wiki may help the users in learning the process of editing the content in Wikipedia. So the creative users may eventually turn themselves as contributors of Wikipedia, the fastest growing segment in the digital world. Librarians, thus, can have partnership in building the knowledge repository by showing the users a method to build digital knowledge resource. Moodle is an E-Course Management software one can install in the same computer by using the same Xampp installation. Libraries can use it for offering compensatory or additional courses on topics of special interest among the users, with the help of library friendly academics or library professionals themselves. The screenshots of Moodle installation on Windows is available at http://docs.moodle.org/en/Windows_installation_using_XAMPP Installation on Linux is also similar. The installation of Drupal or Wiki can be done in the similar manner. Open Journal System is yet another similar tool, the librarians should look into. Exploring all these tools will be a way ahead in empowerment in this bewildering digital world. Regards, K Rajasekharan Kerala Institute of Local Administration Thrissur -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Journals for donation
by Mankad, Manish 27 Nov '08

27 Nov '08

We have the following journals for donation. 1. Archives of Bio chem biophys 2. Arch of dermatology 1991-92 3. Biochem journals 1950-1992 4. Biochemistry 1962-1992 5. Biochimica et biochemica acta 1961-1975; 1982-83 6. Food tech 1947-1974 7. Immunology today 1983-1993 8. IJMR 1960-1983 9. Jl of bio chem1950-1992 10. Jl of immunology 1981-1988 11. Jl of molecular biology 1960-1974 12. Jl of national cancer inst 1971-1977 13. Jl of physiology 1970-1974 The packaging and forwarding costs will have be paid by the party accepting this offer. Regards. Manish Mankad Manager-Knowledge Management 080 39830958 Hindustan Unilever Ltd 64 main Road Whitefield Bangalore 560066 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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