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

[Fwd: From Arun, MSSRF]
by arun＠mssrf.res.in 24 May '06

24 May '06

>From Peter Suber's blog 1. Finland's university rectors commit to OA The Finnish Council of University Rectors decided today to support a wide-ranging set of initiatives to advance OA in Finland. (Thanks to Kalle Korhonen.) From the minutes of its meeting: The Finnish Council of University Rectors has, in its meeting today, decided to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. The council is a non-governmental association representing the heads of all 21 Finnish universities. In this occasion, it is important to point out also the more concrete open access activities in Finland. In April 2006, an initiative was started for the advancement of open access activities in Finland, funded by the Ministry of Education. The project, known as OA-JES, is coordinated by the Finnish Open Access Working Group, FinnOA. It is a collaboration between the University of Helsinki, Helsinki University of Technology, the National Library of Finland, and the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV). The objectives of the initiative are: 1) to give aid to universities and research institutes in setting up institutional repositories; 2) to inform researchers about how open access is a part of the research process; and 3) to provide an easy-to-use platform for the open access journals of Finnish learned societies. The Ministry of Education will also be funding a digital infrastructure initiative in the centre campus the University of Helsinki, starting in 2007. In the centre campus are situated the faculties of arts, behavioural sciences, law, social sciences, and theology. The aims will be twofold: 1) to support scholarly open access publishing, which will include repository services both for researchers and for scholarly journals of the departments, and 2) to build a supportive infrastructure for the accessibility and preservation of primary research materials of the departments. The idea is to provide faculty with a comprehensive set of services for own publications and research materials. These activities are a concrete manifestation of the recommendations of the Open Access Publishing Committee, issued by the ministry in 2005. Comment. Finland is one of only three countries so far with a national-level OA policy that has gone beyond proposal to adoption. The other two are the US (NIH policy) and Germany (DFG policy). The minutes above link to an abstract (in English) of the policy, but also see the full-text (in English). The new initiatives supported by the rectors focus on what remains to be done: funding, educational outreach, and OA infrastructure. Kudos to Finland for these important steps. With the new OA bill in Germany I blogged yesterday, these are signs of growing momentum not only toward OA, but toward national commitments to OA. 2. Background on the US National Science Digital Library Dean Krafft, Building a National Science Digital Library, a webcast lecture and PPT slides from the Educause webinar series, delivered May 8, 2006. (Thanks to ResourceShelf.) From the summary: Since 2000, the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Core Integration team has been creating the infrastructure for a digital library of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics resources. That library now contains more than a million resources from approximately 100 collections. In this talk, Dean Krafft will give a short historical overview of the NSDL and describe the current NSDL community and participants. He will then review the technical underpinnings of NSDL 1.0, a library built on metadata harvesting, and describe some of the challenges encountered. For the past year, the project has been working on NSDL 2.0, a new version of the library built on the Fedora repository architecture. For the last part of the talk, Krafft will describe this new library architecture and explain how it supports creating context for science resources, how it enhances the selection and use of library materials, and what these capabilities mean for the users of the NSDL.

1 0

NET
by Emmanuel E C (RBIN/ORG1-KCI) 24 May '06

24 May '06

Dear Friends, I strongly support Dr.H.S.Siddamalliah's thoughts & feel that there is logic in his thoughts. 1. First of all why do we need NET is basic thing here most our friends are unmindful of their writing and just telling that they want NET, let them express logically how NET is going to improve the present educational scenario namely in Library & Information Science Profession. I have two leaving examples in front of me those who have cleared their NET but still they cannot open their mouth and explain simple topics of LIS (Library & Information Science) clearly, I saw them attending several interviews but still not got through. By thinking that it might be communication problem I looked closely into their LIS knowledge it is shocking but they have cleared their NET. But I don't think one exam improves the caliber of education/identifies one's ability. 2. I believe NET & SLET is meant for teaching professionals and Research professionals in all faculties at Higher learning centers but I strongly believe that Librarian is not going to teach anything there. If yes why he is bothered with this unwanted exam. In this context I feel NET is totally irrelevant to Librarians. Of course we can have NET for those who want to make their career as teaching professionals/Research professionals in LIS. 3. I saw some of my friends writing as NET/SLET changes the way other look at Librarians. Through this forum I ask my friend "whether your role is going to change after clearing NET? Do you stop classifying, cataloguing & organizing information and or else start doing something else because you have cleared NET. What I would like to say is by wearing a new shirt your internal attitude doesn't change but only look changes. Whether you have NET or not but the basic work what you do and will be doing is the same. 4. Some of our fellow professionals wrote very arrogantly by recommending NET, that NET improves the LIS professions standard, I would like to reply them through this forum that it is NOT THE NET BUT sincere work of our senior fellow professionals in LIS has improved the way people look at us to name a few ( Karnataka) a. Dr. Karisidappa Professor, b. Dr. Dr.H.S.Siddamalliah, c. Mr. Chikmalliah , d. Mrs. Theresa Williams Manager information services , Wipro e. Dr Shalini Urs etc f. Dr. Maheswarappa Several others are there world over who are really contributing to the Profession by taking new projects, by providing innovative information services by publishing literature in LIS, by creating more opportunities for fellow professionals by taking new projects & providing apprenticeship trainings and even some of them have really worked hard to change the present syllabus of LIS which is par with syllabus of foreign universities etc. But none these have NET aren't they still contributing to the profession with their small efforts. 5. Last but not least what I want to convey is you improve your skills, learn something new every time as learning is a continuous process it will not stop by clearing NET. Let us say one who clears NET is really an asset to the profession but what is the guarantee that he keeps alive the fire within him and serve his profession sincerely. When you closely look why people want to clear their NET is not to contribute to the profession but to get/secure a job. 6. If it was our higher educational system is wrong then several people those who working in foreign universities would not have been there. Still several foreign universities are happy to recruit people who have completed their Ph.D in India. Yes here & there some bias and favoritism is there in Indian universities also as we all are human being .I strongly believe that few instances of bias & favoritism cannot overshadow the efforts & services of several Professors serving in the Indian Universities. 6. Request all of you to stop wasting your time by writing on this issue but to use this forum for right purpose. Thanks & Regards Knowledge Center & Information Services, RBIN, Bangalore. >Emmanuel Ebnazar. > -----Original Message----- From: lis-forum-bounces(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in [mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in] On Behalf Of lis-forum-request(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Sent: Wednesday, 24. May 2006 4:27 PM To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 38, Issue 30 Send LIS-Forum mailing list submissions to lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to lis-forum-request(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in You can reach the person managing the list at lis-forum-owner(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Casting away the NET (Satish Munnolli) 2. NET or PhD (nazim malik) 3. NET/SET stop discussion do action (Monali Panchbhai) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 12:26:54 +0530 From: "Satish Munnolli" <smunnolli(a)actrec.res.in> Subject: [LIS-Forum] Casting away the NET To: <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>, <nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <00b001c67eff$4013af70$1f08640a@SatishMunnolli> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" In continuation to the debate on NET/SET/MPhil/Ph.D. If, Librarians (not in teaching profession) are categorised under NON TEACHING faculty by many colleges, why they should clear NET / SET exam that is basically designed for teaching faculty ? Librarians attached to academic institute libraries are not teaching in their practice. Is it only to ensure UGC scale ? If it is so, how many fellow colleagues who cleared NET exam are really getting UGC scale in private colleges ? And also I believe for teaching professionals in library science (in Universities) they should have one more Master's degree apart from MLISc and NET clearance. Is it the same case with other disciplines also ? Why there is a double standard for Library Science professionals ? Satish S Munnolli Librarian Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research & Education in Cancer (ACTREC) Tata Memorial Centre Sector 22, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai 410 208 India Ph : +91 22 2740 5026 Fax : +91 22 2740 5085 Email : smunnolli(a)actrec.res.in ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dr.H.S.Siddmallaiah" <sidda(a)nimhans.kar.nic.in> To: "nmlis" <nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com>; "lis" <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>; "corporatelibrns Moderator" <corporatelibrns(a)yahoogroups.com>; "raja ram" <raj_lib001(a)yahoo.co.in> Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 10:01 PM Subject: [LIS-Forum] Re: [nmlis] Casting away the NET > Dear Friends > the arguments of the academician friends does not have any logic > and they are not confident of their product at research degrees like M.Phil > or Ph.D., > > NET is a benefit of chance in answering one exam > If Universities are not sure of the generating good quality M.Phil and > quality Ph.D., > then let them work out achieving good quality at that level not to leave > it to the benefit of chance in > one exam . > the argument to hang on to NET is a stupidity > and doubt on their own M.phil and Ph.D., > there argument is like they are through and they don't want others to be > through > > May be I am little harsh, conducting too many exam is not a solution and can > not create a research culture > or academic bent, making the students to work better in research degrees can > create better culture > With regards > Dr.H.S.Siddamalliah > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "raja ram" <raj_lib001(a)yahoo.co.in> > To: "nmlis" <nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com>; "lis" <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>; > "corporatelibrns Moderator" <corporatelibrns(a)yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 4:40 PM > Subject: [nmlis] Casting away the NET > > > > Casting away the NET > > The NET seems to be on its way out. But academics have their > > reservations about this development. It is now official. The University > Grants Commission (UGC) has declared > > that the National Eligibility Test (NET) it conducts for identifying > > potential teachers in colleges and universities will no longer be an > > eligibility criterion for those with an M.Phil. and/or a doctoral degree. > > On May 16, the Commission chairman announced that the interim report of > > the Balchandra Mungekar Committee, which was set up by the Ministry of > > Human Resource Development in November 2005 to suggest ways to revamp > > the NET and to find out whether the NET was needed at all as an > > eligibility criterion to teach in institutions of higher learning, has been > accepted in principle. > > Report recommendation > > The interim report recommends that those with an M.Phil. may be > > exempted from having to clear the NET for teaching in undergraduate courses > and that those with a Ph.D. need not have a NET for teaching postgraduate > courses. > > This announcement has caused dismay among many academicians in Kerala. > > Many teachers who spoke to The Hindu-Educationplus said they saw this > > announcement as the beginning of the end of the NET. While these > > academics are firm in their view that the NET as it exists today is pretty > much useless, they are also equally firm in the belief that a > > national-level test of some sort in unavoidable if quality teachers are to > be appointed in the nation's universities and colleges. > > Dissenting voices > > "This is wrong step," says K. Sasikumar, professor, Department of > > Commerce, University of Kerala. "It will open the floodgates of mediocrity > as far as selecting good teachers is concerned. Now, in this university > anyone with 55 per cent marks for the postgraduate examination can sign up > for M.Phil. and everyone who registers for Ph.D. gets a doctoral degree. > There is no such thing as turning down a thesis. There is no evaluation by a > foreign expert." > > "Now, after this announcement, there is going to be a huge rush for > > M.Phil. courses," points out R. Mohankumar, general secretary of the All > Kerala Private College Teachers' Association. He says the UGC has always > been inconsistent in taking a stand, vis-à-vis exemptions from the NET. > > > > "In 1993, 1998, 2000 and in 2002, the UGC's position regarding who can > > be exempted from the NET kept on shifting. Is there a hidden agenda in > > this? There must be. Otherwise why these constant changes? If for some > > subjects, due to shortage of NET-qualified hands, some exemption needs > > to be given, fine. But a blanket exemption for all M.Phil. holders and > > Ph.D. holders? No that cannot be accepted. That is bad news for quality > > teaching," he says. > > Mr. Mohankumar adds that he is with those who argue that this move of > > the UGC is aimed at regularising the services of hundreds, if not > > thousands, of part-time/contract lecturers in colleges across the country > who have not cleared the NET but have M.Phil. and are seeking to get a Ph.D. > > Flawed decision > > There are also those who feel that the Mungekar committee could have > > better employed its time and energy by trying to reform and broad-base > > the NET. Head of the Department of Law University of Kerala N. K. > > Jayakumar is among those who firmly believe that the very concept of linking > M.Phil. and Ph.D. to the career of a teacher is flawed. > > > > "A good teacher need not be a good researcher and a good researcher > > need not know how to teach. We see that happening all the time. Sure you > should have a test to see gauge the teaching skills of a person. The method > adopted by the National Law School Bangalore is very good in this respect. > Now, with this announcement by the UGC, there is going to be a spurt in the > number of M.Phils. being offered by colleges. In no time there will also be > M.Phil. in the distance education mode. Then all those people are going to > try and become teachers. What will happen to these people if in the future > the NET - in another form - becomes > > compulsory," Dr. Jayakumar asks. > > Broad-basing NET > > Former Vice-Chairman of the UGC V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai too says the > > need of the hour is to try and revamp the NET instead of seeking to do > > away with it. As a teacher he says he is strongly in favour of having a > > nation-wide eligibility test in some form. " The NET can be broad-based > > so as to assess teaching capability and aptitude," he told The > > Hindu-Education plus over phone from Kottayam.Right from the time the > Mungekar Committee was set up, Dr. Pillai had > > argued that the best way ahead would be to have a NET that allows for > > trans-disciplinary eligibility; so that a candidate who clear the NET for > English can also teach such subjects as communicative English, > > linguistics or journalism. > > Many in the academic community say they would not be surprised if the > > Mungekar Committee in its final report recommends that the NET be done > > away with. "All these things should be done after a nation-wide debate > > among academics and by a five-member committee," points out Mr. > > Mohankumar, "such decisions can affect the lives and future of thousands of > students." > > G. MAHADEVAN Source: The Hindu, Education plus , kerala. > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! India Answers Share what your know-how and wisdom > Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger Download > now > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> > Protect your PC from spy ware with award winning anti spy technology. It's > free. > http://us.click.yahoo.com/97bhrC/LGxNAA/yQLSAA/HDfwlB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nmlis/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > nmlis-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > _______________________________________________ > LIS-Forum mailing list > LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 08:10:12 +0100 (BST) From: nazim malik <monis_naz(a)yahoo.co.in> Subject: [LIS-Forum] NET or PhD To: LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <20060524071012.32961.qmail(a)web8404.mail.in.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Dear Friends Much has already been discussed regarding the exemption of NET. Some people are in favor and some are against the UGC decision. This is very difficult to say that UGC decision is right or wrong because those who having PhD or going to complete their PhD in near future obviously welcome the UGC decision. But those who after a hard work cleared the NET/JRF certainly reject the exemption of NET idea of UGC. This is my observation that in each discipline or subject number of NETs is more than number of available posts. It means supply is higher than demand. Then what is the need of exemption of NET? If UGC is really interested to improve quality in teaching and research then NET must be compulsory for those who want to do PhD and the essential qualification for lectureship must be NET+PhD. A PhD Holder may be expert in a very small field on which he has done his work but for clearing NET he must be master of his subject and that is necessary for a good teacher. One thing I would like to share that UGC decision is good as far as the post of Asstt. Librarian is concerned because this is purely administrative post which requires practical experiences rather than theoretical knowledge. 50% post of Asstt. Librarians should be filled up through the internal promotion and rest 50% through the NET or PhD. This is my personal views based on my experiences. But I have also experienced that candidates having sound knowledge of their subjects but could not cleared the NET. But these are exceptional cases. With Regards Nazim malik BHU, Varanasi --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Answers Share what your know-how and wisdom Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger Download now -------------- next part -------------- Dear Friends Much has already been discussed regarding the exemption of NET. Some people are in favor and some are against the UGC decision. This is very difficult to say that UGC decision is right or wrong because those who having PhD or going to complete their PhD in near future obviously welcome the UGC decision. But those who after a hard work cleared the NET/JRF certainly reject the exemption of NET idea of UGC. This is my observation that in each discipline or subject number of NETs is more than number of available posts. It means supply is higher than demand. Then what is the need of exemption of NET? If UGC is really interested to improve quality in teaching and research then NET must be compulsory for those who want to do PhD and the essential qualification for lectureship must be NET+PhD. A PhD Holder may be expert in a very small field on which he has done his work but for clearing NET he must be master of his subject and that is necessary for a good teacher. One thing I would like to share that UGC decision is good as far as the post of Asstt. Librarian is concerned because this is purely administrative post which requires practical experiences rather than theoretical knowledge. 50% post of Asstt. Librarians should be filled up through the internal promotion and rest 50% through the NET or PhD. This is my personal views based on my experiences. But I have also experienced that candidates having sound knowledge of their subjects but could not cleared the NET. But these are exceptional cases. With Regards Nazim malik BHU, Varanasi http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/mailanswersshare/*http://in.answers.yahoo.co… Yahoo! India Answers Share what your know-how and wisdom Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/freesms/*http://messenger.yahoo.com/download… Download now ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 07:16:51 +0000 From: "Monali Panchbhai" <monalipanchbhai(a)hotmail.com> Subject: [LIS-Forum] NET/SET stop discussion do action To: sidda(a)nimhans.kar.nic.in, nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com, lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in, corporatelibrns(a)yahoogroups.com Message-ID: <BAY108-F28A315635B88FFD203C243B1980(a)phx.gbl> Content-Type: text/plain; format="flowed" Hi, I do not know who told my respected friends that those who have cleared NET / SET have opted standards and quality? It's been observed that, just because of NET and / or SET clearance few undeserved candidates gets job. There are professionals who hold certificates in NET / SET but can not build a good image of profession in society, do not have enthusiasm in teaching and / or servicing the need of users. Even students can clearly mark their negative qualities. Tell me how many college going students actually say some good things about their librarian? Everyone makes faces when the topic of library or librarian comes into discussion. One can easily observe this in surrounding specially while traveling with young generation. In such cases what's the use of their certificates of NET/SET exams? If private sector ensures the best candidate for their profitability and if professionals with NET/SET are supposed to be the best then why our MNCs and private sectors are yet away from having that as one of the major selection criteria for candidate? Infact the payments in these sectors are like anything and thus they can demand for the best as well. But I think they go for skills and not for certificates which can be obtained through a completely opaque system like these eligibility examinations. Tell me how many students who can not clear these exams even after several attempts, actually know the paper which becomes cause of failure? There is no transparency in examination results and thus it does not help students for preparations of next attempt. One of our friends has stated that "A good teacher need not be a good researcher and a good researcher need not be a good teacher" thus M. Phil and Ph.D. as well have to go through these examinations. But can anyone tell me which section of NET / SET exam actually checks teaching skills of candidates? People from private sectors do their best to update themselves and cater the need of their organizations. But people from public sector has secure job and thus do not take much efforts to give someting best, which spoils the image of profession and professionals both. Thus I personally think that the exemption of these examinations is a good start and at same time instead of debating NET/SET/Ph.D./M.Phil etc. we should think of improving quality of our profession. Cause our educational system is such that neither clearing any of eligibility tests nor having any degree assures the quality. And our professionals who works as guide for Ph. D. and M. Phil students should take care that they allocate degree to a proper candidate. They can also try to either ban those universities who give fake degree to students or force them to wind up their activity so that we get quality. There should be a committee where anyone can complain against those professionals who are spoiling the image of profession. And the rights should be given to that committee so that they can take serious actions against the candidate (Like in Medical profession they have rights to take away the degree of doctor). This will automatically help to maintain the quality. And people will do their best to serve the profession. Regards, Monali Sr. Exe. - Library & Documentation Mumbai. From: "Dr.H.S.Siddmallaiah" <sidda(a)nimhans.kar.nic.in> To: "nmlis" <nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com>, "lis" <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>, "corporatelibrns Moderator" <corporatelibrns(a)yahoogroups.com>, "raja ram" <raj_lib001(a)yahoo.co.in> Subject: [LIS-Forum] Dont hang on to NET Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 22:48:19 +0530 >Dear Friends > >UGC have honoured university colleagues > >If university people are not confident >on their own product >why don't they close M.Phil or Ph.D., > >on Contrary Ph.D., is mandatory for teacher in their >promotion, irrespective of whether they are through with >NET or not. >If NET is everything why Ph.D., why don.t you call it like an IAS in >academic. > >Research or academic activities are mindset, culture and need to be >acquired through practice and actual research not just one exam > >Please be proactive to creativity and grow up to expectation by >creating better products in university. Do not underestimate your >own product. >Good or bad is a comparative value, >there is no benchmark for it > >With regards >Dr.H.S.Siddamallaiah > >----- Original Message ----- From: "raja ram" ><raj_lib001(a)yahoo.co.in> >To: "nmlis" <nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com>; "lis" ><lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>; "corporatelibrns Moderator" ><corporatelibrns(a)yahoogroups.com> >Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 4:40 PM >Subject: [nmlis] Casting away the NET > > > >Casting away the NET > >The NET seems to be on its way out. But academics have their > >reservations about this development. It is now official. The >University Grants Commission (UGC) has declared > >that the National Eligibility Test (NET) it conducts for identifying > >potential teachers in colleges and universities will no longer be an > >eligibility criterion for those with an M.Phil. and/or a doctoral >degree. > >On May 16, the Commission chairman announced that the interim report >of > >the Balchandra Mungekar Committee, which was set up by the Ministry >of > >Human Resource Development in November 2005 to suggest ways to >revamp > >the NET and to find out whether the NET was needed at all as an > >eligibility criterion to teach in institutions of higher learning, >has been accepted in principle. > >Report recommendation > >The interim report recommends that those with an M.Phil. may be > >exempted from having to clear the NET for teaching in undergraduate >courses and that those with a Ph.D. need not have a NET for teaching >postgraduate courses. > >This announcement has caused dismay among many academicians in >Kerala. > >Many teachers who spoke to The Hindu-Educationplus said they saw >this > >announcement as the beginning of the end of the NET. While these > >academics are firm in their view that the NET as it exists today is >pretty much useless, they are also equally firm in the belief that a > >national-level test of some sort in unavoidable if quality teachers >are to be appointed in the nation's universities and colleges. > >Dissenting voices > >"This is wrong step," says K. Sasikumar, professor, Department of > >Commerce, University of Kerala. "It will open the floodgates of >mediocrity as far as selecting good teachers is concerned. Now, in >this university anyone with 55 per cent marks for the postgraduate >examination can sign up for M.Phil. and everyone who registers for >Ph.D. gets a doctoral degree. There is no such thing as turning down >a thesis. There is no evaluation by a foreign expert." > >"Now, after this announcement, there is going to be a huge rush for > >M.Phil. courses," points out R. Mohankumar, general secretary of the >All Kerala Private College Teachers' Association. He says the UGC >has always been inconsistent in taking a stand, vis-à-vis exemptions >from the NET. > > > >"In 1993, 1998, 2000 and in 2002, the UGC's position regarding who >can > >be exempted from the NET kept on shifting. Is there a hidden agenda >in > >this? There must be. Otherwise why these constant changes? If for >some > >subjects, due to shortage of NET-qualified hands, some exemption >needs > >to be given, fine. But a blanket exemption for all M.Phil. holders >and > >Ph.D. holders? No that cannot be accepted. That is bad news for >quality > >teaching," he says. > >Mr. Mohankumar adds that he is with those who argue that this move >of > >the UGC is aimed at regularising the services of hundreds, if not > >thousands, of part-time/contract lecturers in colleges across the >country who have not cleared the NET but have M.Phil. and are >seeking to get a Ph.D. > >Flawed decision > >There are also those who feel that the Mungekar committee could have > >better employed its time and energy by trying to reform and >broad-base > >the NET. Head of the Department of Law University of Kerala N. K. > >Jayakumar is among those who firmly believe that the very concept of >linking M.Phil. and Ph.D. to the career of a teacher is flawed. > > > >"A good teacher need not be a good researcher and a good researcher > >need not know how to teach. We see that happening all the time. Sure >you should have a test to see gauge the teaching skills of a person. >The method adopted by the National Law School Bangalore is very good >in this respect. Now, with this announcement by the UGC, there is >going to be a spurt in the number of M.Phils. being offered by >colleges. In no time there will also be M.Phil. in the distance >education mode. Then all those people are going to try and become >teachers. What will happen to these people if in the future the NET >- in another form - becomes > >compulsory," Dr. Jayakumar asks. > >Broad-basing NET > >Former Vice-Chairman of the UGC V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai too says >the > >need of the hour is to try and revamp the NET instead of seeking to >do > >away with it. As a teacher he says he is strongly in favour of >having a > >nation-wide eligibility test in some form. " The NET can be >broad-based > >so as to assess teaching capability and aptitude," he told The > >Hindu-Education plus over phone from Kottayam.Right from the time >the Mungekar Committee was set up, Dr. Pillai had > >argued that the best way ahead would be to have a NET that allows >for > >trans-disciplinary eligibility; so that a candidate who clear the >NET for English can also teach such subjects as communicative >English, > >linguistics or journalism. > >Many in the academic community say they would not be surprised if >the > >Mungekar Committee in its final report recommends that the NET be >done > >away with. "All these things should be done after a nation-wide >debate > >among academics and by a five-member committee," points out Mr. > >Mohankumar, "such decisions can affect the lives and future of >thousands of students." > >G. MAHADEVAN Source: The Hindu, Education plus , kerala. > > > > > >--------------------------------- > Yahoo! India Answers Share what your know-how and wisdom >Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger >Download now > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > >------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor >--------------------~--> >Protect your PC from spy ware with award winning anti spy >technology. It's free. >http://us.click.yahoo.com/97bhrC/LGxNAA/yQLSAA/HDfwlB/TM >--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > ><*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nmlis/ > ><*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > nmlis-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com > ><*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > >_______________________________________________ >LIS-Forum mailing list >LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in >http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ LIS-Forum mailing list LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum End of LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 38, Issue 30 ***************************************** NET Dear Friends , I strongly support Dr.H.S.Siddamalliah 's thoughts & feel that there is logic in his thoughts. 1. First of all why do we need NET is basic thing here most our f riends are unmindful of their writing and just telling that they want NET, let them express logically how NET is going to improve the present educational scenario namely in Library & Information Science Profession. I have two leaving examples in front of me those who have cleared th eir NET but still they cannot open their mouth and explain simple topic s of LIS (Library & Information Science ) clearly , I saw the m attending several interviews but still not got through. By thinking that it might be communication problem I looked closely into their LIS knowledge it is shocking but they have cleared their NET. But I don't think one exam improve s the caliber of education /identifies one 's ability . 2. I believe NET & SLET is meant for teaching professionals and Research professionals in all faculties at Higher learning centers but I strongly b elieve that Librarian is not going to teach anything there . I f yes why he is bothered with this unwanted exam. I n this context I feel NET is totally irrelevant to Librarians . Of course we can have NET for those who want to make their career as teaching professionals /Research professionals in LIS . 3. I saw some of my friends writing as NET/SLET changes the way other look at Librarian s. T hrough this forum I ask my friend " whe ther you r role is going to change after clearing NET? Do you stop classifying, cataloguing & organizing information and or else start do ing something else because you have cleared NET . W hat I would like to say is by wearing a new shirt your internal attitude doesn't change but only look changes. Whether you have NET or not but the basic work what you do and wi ll be doing i s the same. 4. Some of our fellow professionals wrote very arrogantly by recommending NET , that NET improves the LIS professions standard , I would like to reply them through this forum that it is NOT THE NET BUT sincere work of our senior fellow professionals in LIS has improved the way people look at us to name a few ( Karnataka) a . Dr. K arisidappa Professor , b . Dr. Dr.H.S.Siddamalliah , c . Mr. Chikmalliah , d . Mrs. Theresa Williams Manager information services , Wipro e. D r Shalini Urs etc f. D r. Mah e swarappa Several others are there world over who are really contributing to the Profession by taking new projects, by providing innovative information services by publishing literature in LIS , by creating more opportunities for fellow professionals by taking new projects & providing apprenticeship trainings and eve n some of them have really worked hard to change the present syllabus of LIS which is par with syllabus of foreign universities etc . But none these have NET aren't they still contributing to the profession with their small efforts. 5. Last but not least what I want to convey is you improve your skills , learn something new every time as learning is a continuous pro cess it will not stop by clearing NET. Let us say one who clears NET is really an asset to the profession but what is the guarantee that he keeps alive the fire within him and serve his profession sincerely. When you closely look why people want to clear their NET is not to contribute to the profession but to get/ secure a job . 6. If it was our higher educational system is wrong then several people those who working in foreign universities would not have been there. Still several foreign universities are happy to recruit people who have completed their Ph.D in India. Yes here & there some bias and favori ti sm is there in Indian universities also as we all are human being . I str ongly believe that f ew instances of bias & favoritism cannot overshadow the efforts & services of several Professors serving in the Indian Universities. 6. Request all of you to stop wasting your time by writing on this issue but to u se this forum for right purpose . [A] Thanks & Regards Knowledge Center & Information Services, RBIN, Bangalore. >Emmanuel Ebnazar. > -----Original Message----- From: lis -forum-bounces(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in [ mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in ] On Behalf Of lis-forum-request(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Sent: Wednesday, 24. May 2006 4:27 PM To: lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 38, Issue 30 Send LIS-Forum mailing list submissions to lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to lis-forum-request(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in You can reach the person managing the list a t lis-forum-owner(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Casting away the NET (Satish Munnolli) 2. NET or PhD (nazim malik) 3. NET/SET stop discussion do action (Monali Panchbhai) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 12:26:54 +0530 From: "Satish Munnolli" <smunnolli(a)actrec.res.in> Subject: [LIS-Forum] Cas ting away the NET To: <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>, <nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <00b001c67eff$4013af70$1f08640a@SatishMunnolli> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" In continuation to the debate on NET/SET/MPhil/Ph.D. If, Librarians (not in teaching profession) are categorised under NON TEACHING faculty by many colleges, why they should clear NET / SET exam that is basically designed for teaching faculty ? Librarians attached to academic institute libraries are not teaching in their practice. Is it only to ensure UGC scale ? If it is so, how many fellow colleagues who cleared NET exam are really getting UGC scale in private colleges ? And also I believe for teaching professiona ls in library science (in Universities) they should have one more Master's degree apart from MLISc and NET clearance. Is it the same case with other disciplines also ? Why there is a double standard for Library Science professionals ? Satish S Munnolli L ibrarian Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research & Education in Cancer (ACTREC) Tata Memorial Centre Sector 22, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai 410 208 India Ph : +91 22 2740 5026 Fax : +91 22 2740 5085 Email : smunnolli(a)actrec.res.in ----- Original Message -- --- From: "Dr.H.S.Siddmallaiah" <sidda(a)nimhans.kar.nic.in> To: "nmlis" <nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com>; "lis" <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>; "corporatelibrns Moderator" <corporatelibrns(a)yahoogroups.com>; "raja ram" <raj_lib001(a)yahoo.co.in> Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 10:01 PM Subject: [LIS-Forum] Re: [nmlis] Casting away the NET > Dear Friends > the arguments of the academician friends does not have any logic > and they are not confident of their product at research degrees like M.Phil > or Ph.D., > > NET is a benefit of chance in answering one exam > If Universities are not sure of the generating good quality M.Phil and > quality Ph.D., > then let them work out achieving good quality at that level not to leave > it to the benefit of chance in > one exam . > the argument to hang on to NET is a stupidity > and doubt on their own M.phil and Ph.D., > there argument is like they are through and they don't want others to be > through > > May be I am little harsh, conducting too many exam is not a solution and can > not create a research culture > or academic bent, making the students to work better in research degrees can > create better culture > With regards > Dr.H.S.Siddamalliah > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "raja ram" <raj_lib001(a)yahoo.co.in> > To: "nmlis" <nmlis(a)yahoogroups.com>; "lis" <lis-forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>; > "corporatelibrns Moderator" <corporatelibrns(a)yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 4:40 PM > Subject: [nmlis] Casting away t he NET > > > > Casting away the NET > > The NET seems to be on its way out. But academics have their > > reservations about this development. It is now official. The University > Grants Commission (UGC) has declared > > that the National Eligibility Test ( NET) it conducts for identifying > > potential teachers in colleges and universities will no longer be an > > eligibility criterion for those with an M.Phil. and/or a doctoral degree. > > On May 16, the Commission chairman announced that the interim report of > > the Balchandra Mungekar Committee, which was set up by the Ministry of > > Human Resource Development in November 2005 to suggest ways to revamp > > the NET and to find out whether the NET was needed at all as an > > eligibility criterion to teach in institutions of higher learning, has been > accepted in principle. > > Report recommendation > > The interim report recommends that those with an M.Phil. may be > > exempted from having to clear the NET for teaching in u ndergraduate courses > and that those with a Ph.D. need not have a NET for teaching postgraduate > courses. > > This announcement has caused dismay among many academicians in Kerala. > > Many teachers who spoke to The Hindu-Educationplus said they saw this > > announcement as the beginning of the end of the NET. While these > > academics are firm in their view that the NET as it exists today is pretty > much useless, they are also equally firm in the belief that a > > national-level test of some sort in una voidable if quality teachers are to > be appointed in the nation's universities and colleges. > > Dissenting voices > > "This is wrong step," says K. Sasikumar, professor, Department of > > Commerce, University of Kerala. "It will open the floodgates of mediocrity > as far as selecting good teachers is concerned. Now, in this university > anyone with 55 per cent marks for the postgraduate examination can sign up > for M.Phil. and everyone w ho registers for Ph.D. gets a doctoral degree. > There is no such thing as turning down a thesis. There is no evaluation by a > foreign expert." > > "Now, after this announcement, there is going to be a huge rush for > > M.Phil. courses," points out R. Moh ankumar, general secretary of the All > Kerala Private College Teachers' Association. He says the UGC has always > been inconsistent in taking a stand, vis-à-vis exemptions from the NET. > > > > "In 1993, 1998, 2000 and in 2002, the UGC's position regardin g who can > > be exempted from the NET kept on shifting. Is there a hidden agenda in > > this? There must be. Otherwise why these constant changes? If for some > > subjects, due to shortage of NET-qualified hands, some exemption needs > > to be given, fine . But a blanket exemption for all M.Phil. holders and > > Ph.D. holders? No that cannot be accepted. That is bad news for quality > > teaching," he says. > > Mr. Mohankumar adds that he is with those who argue that this move of > > the UGC is aimed at regularising the services of hundreds, if not > > thousands, of part-time/contract lecturers in colleges across the country > who have not cleared the NET but have M.Phil. and are seeking to get a Ph.D. > > Flawed decision > > There a re also those who feel that the Mungekar committee could have > > better employed its time and energy by trying to reform and broad-base > > the NET. Head of the Department of Law University of Kerala N. K. > > Jayakumar is among those who firmly believe t hat the very concept of linking > M.Phil. and Ph.D. to the career of a teacher is flawed. > > > > "A good teacher need not be a good researcher and a good researcher > > need not know how to teach. We see that happening all the time. Sure you > should have a test to see gauge the teaching skills of a person. The method > adopted by the National Law School Bangalore is very good in this respect. > Now, with this announcement by the UGC, there is going to be a spurt in the > number of M.Phils. be ing offered by colleges. In no time there will also be > M.Phil. in the distance education mode. Then all those people are going to > try and become teachers. What will happen to these people if in the future > the NET - in another form - becomes > > compu lsory," Dr. Jayakumar asks. > > Broad-basing NET > > Former Vice-Chairman of the UGC V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai too says the > > need of the hour is to try and revamp the NET instead of seeking to do > > away with it. As a teacher he says he is strongly in favour of having a > > nation-wide eligibility test in some form. " The NET can be broad-based > > so as to assess teaching capability and aptitude," he told The > > Hindu-Education plus over phone from Kottayam.Right from the time the > Mungekar Committee was set up, Dr. Pillai had > > argued that the best way ahead would be to have a NET that allows for > > trans-disciplinary eligibility; so that a candidate who clear the NET for > English can also teach such subjects as communicative English, > > linguistics or journalism. > > Many in the academic community say they would not be surprised if the > > Mungekar Committee in its final report recommends that the NET be done > > away with. "All these things should be done after a nation-wide debate > > among academics and by a five-member committee," points out Mr. > > Mohankumar, "such decisions can affect the lives and future of thousands of > students." > > G. MAHADEVAN Source: The Hindu, Education plus , kerala. > > > > > > ------------------------- -------- > Yahoo! India Answers Share what your know-how and wisdom > Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger Download > now > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> > Protect your PC from spy ware with award winning anti spy technology. It's > free. > http://us.click.yahoo.com/97bhrC/LGxNAA/yQLSAA/HDfwlB/TM http://us.click.yahoo.com/97bhrC/LGxNAA/yQLSAA/HDfwlB/TM > ------------------------------------ --------------------------------~-> > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nmlis/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nmlis/ > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > nmlis-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com > > <* > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > _______________________________________________ > LIS-Forum mailing list > LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in > http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum > > ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 08:10:12 +0100 (BST) From: nazim malik <monis_naz(a)yahoo.co.in> Subject: [LIS-Forum] NET or PhD To: LIS-Forum(a)ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <20060524071012.32961.qmail(a)web8404.mail.in.yahoo. com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Dear Friends Much has already been discussed regarding the exemption of NET. Some people are in favor and some are against the UGC decision. This is very difficult to say that UGC decision is ri ght or wrong because those who having PhD or going to complete their PhD in near future obviously welcome the UGC decision. But those who after a hard work cleared the NET/JRF certainly reject the exemption of NET idea of UGC. This is my observation that in each discipline or subject number of NETs is more than number of available posts. It means supply is higher than demand. Then what is the need of exemption of NET? If UGC is really interested to improve quality in teaching and research then NET m u st be compulsory for those who want to do PhD and the essential qualification for lectureship must be NET+PhD. A PhD Holder may be expert in a very small field on which he has done his work but for clearing NET he must be master of his subject and that i s necessary for a good teacher. One thing I would like to share that UGC decision is good as far as the post of Asstt. Librarian is concerned because this is purely administrative post which requires practical experiences rather than theoretical kno wledge. 50% post of Asstt. Librarians should be filled up through the internal promotion and rest 50% through the NET or PhD. This is my personal views based on my experiences. But I have also experienced that candidates having sound knowledge of their subjects but could not cleared the NET. But these are exceptional cases. With Regards Nazim malik BHU, Varanasi --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Answers Share what your know-how and wisdom Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger Download now

1 0

Casting away the NET
by Jeetender Chandna 24 May '06

24 May '06

My two thoughts on the NET wrangle. This net is full of holes and lets many fishy teachers through it. First, there is the problem with our standards of teaching itself. Many seem to agree that our standards have gone pretty low. Many grads do not have the capacity to write two error free sentences. Then there is the boom of Masters. Today people claim that PhD's are easy to obtain. Now how is that possible. Whatever be the scenario, most would agree that we are one of the most corrupt nations on earth. The "sab chalta hai" attitude is a primary reason for our downgrading. Even the sacrosanct UPSC/IAS exams are not free from the bane of paper leaks, corrupt interviews, and seats for money. Punjab is example where high level appointments were sold for money. ********** Now on the positive side. ********* With the abolition of NET -- there will be greater competition for the teaching posts. And if, no corruption happens during the appointments, then the students willl benefit. -- Regards Granthpal ---------------------------------------- Jeetender Chandna aka Vicky aka Granthpal Esha News Monitoring Services Pvt Ltd 10th Floor, Krushal Commercial Complex Chembur (W) Mumbai 400089 Tel: (91-22) 3245 2861 Email: granthpal(a)gmail.com

1 0

(no subject)
by dibya kishor pradhan 24 May '06

24 May '06

Dear all, RFID implimentation in a library having the collection of 10,000 documents need what type of system requirments and how much cost. Please inform . With reghards. D.K.Pradhan Asst.Librarian C.V.R.C.E Bhubaneswar Dear all, RFID implimentation in a library having the collection of 10,000 documents need what type of system requirments and how much cost. Please inform . With reghards. D.K.Pradhan Asst.Librarian C.V.R.C.E Bhubaneswar 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…

1 0

Video interview on Open Access
by Sukhdev Singh 24 May '06

24 May '06

Richard Poynder, a Freelance Journalist, had an excellent Video interview with Open Access advocate Stevan Harnad. It is about 30 minutes interview that can be viewed on a multi-media PC having a Windows Media Player installed. Apart from OA Publishing and Self-Arching, Prof Harnad also talk of role of librarians in OA Movement. Here are the Broadband < http://www.streamingmedia.com/internetlibrarian/inetlib1_300.asx > and Dial-up < http://www.streamingmedia.com/internetlibrarian/inetlib1_56.asx > Links. --Sukhdev Singh, NIC. http://openmed.nic.in

1 0

A letter to SciDev.net
by Subbiah Arunachalam 24 May '06

24 May '06

Friends: Here is a letter we posted to SciDev.Net a few days ago. It was published two days ago. Please spread the word. Arun -------- Dear Editor, My colleagues and I have read with interest your news item, 'Open-access research makes a bigger splash', on the Gunther Eysenbach study on the impact of open access on citations. This is a welcome study, and is confirmation of a growing number of similar studies carried out since 2001, (eg http://opcit.eprints.org/oacitation-biblio.html) It will be of interest to your readers that statistics becoming available now from journals published in developing countries are showing a similar very marked increase in usage following conversion to Open Access. For example, the journals distributed by the Brazil/Canada service, Bioline International, show a remarkable increase in full text paper downloads, rising from an average of about 2500 in 2004 to an average of 200,000 full papers per month since becoming OAI-compliant in January 2005, an eight-fold increase. The journals are from 16 developing countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, Croatia, India, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Senegal, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela - see http://www.bioline.org.br/journals, and the service is provided free-of-charge to authors, institutions and countries). It seems certain that the recovery of full papers will have a direct impact on the citation index as data becomes available. Similarly, the distribution service, MedKnow (http://www.medknow.com) managing biomedical journals in India, has found that as a result of converting to Open Access, accessions to full text papers have risen dramatically, the numbers of submissions has grown (and submissions are increasingly received from non-Indian authors), the citation index has reached over 1.0 for the first time for an Indian journal, and significantly the numbers of subscriptions have increased. As a result, the authors and the publishers are extremely pleased with the development. The MedKnow journals are also distributed through Bioline International. Although these statistics are not comparing the same papers available either OA or non-OA as in the PNAS study, but are comparing the journal usage before and after converting to OA, it is certainly clear that open access is creating a remarkable and hugely encouraging usage of research publications from developing countries. Further monitoring will continue and no doubt the pattern of usage, geographically and by discipline, will emerge as the OA environment beds down into common practice. We feel these findings may be of interest to readers of your news item and the authors of this letter can provide more detailed information if requested. Yours truly, Subbiah Arunachalam, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai Vanderlei Canhos, Bioline International, Campinas, Brazil Leslie Chan, Bioline International, Toronto, Canada D K Sahu, MedKnow, Mumbai Barbara Kirsop, Electronic Publishing Trust for Development http://www.epublishingtrust.org Friends: Here is a letter we posted to SciDev.Net a few days ago. It was published two days ago. Please spread the word. Arun -------- Dear Editor, My colleagues and I have read with interest your news item, Open-access research makes a bigger splash , on the Gunther Eysenbach study on the impact of open access on citations. This is a welcome study, and is confirmation of a growing number of similar studies carried out since 2001, (eg http://opcit.eprints.org/oacitation-biblio.html http://opcit.eprints.org/oacitation-biblio.html ). It will be of interest to your readers that statistics becoming available now from journals published in developing countries are showing a similar very marked increase in usage following conversion to Open Access. For example, the journals distributed by the Brazil/Canada service, Bioline International, show a remarkable increase in full text paper downloads, rising from an average of about 2500 in 2004 to an average of 200,000 full papers per month since becoming OAI-compliant in January 2005, an eight-fold increase. The journals are from 16 developing countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, Croatia, India, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Senegal, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela see http://www.bioline.org.br/journals http://www.bioline.org.br/journals , and the service is provided free-of-charge to authors, institutions and countries). It seems certain that the recovery of full papers will have a direct impact on the citation index as data becomes available. Similarly, the distribution service, MedKnow ( http://www.medknow.com/ http://www.medknow.com ) managing biomedical journals in India, has found that as a result of converting to Open Access, accessions to full text papers have risen dramatically, the numbers of submissions has grown (and submissions are increasingly received from non-Indian authors), the citation index has reached over 1.0 for the first time for an Indian journal, and significantly the numbers of subscriptions have increased. As a result, the authors and the publishers are extremely pleased with the development. The MedKnow journals are also distributed through Bioline International. Although these statistics are not comparing the same papers available either OA or non-OA as in the PNAS study, but are comparing the journal usage before and after converting to OA, it is certainly clear that open access is creating a remarkable and hugely encouraging usage of research publications from developing countries. Further monitoring will continue and no doubt the pattern of usage, geographically and by discipline, will emerge as the OA environment beds down into common practice. We feel these findings may be of interest to readers of your news item and the authors of this letter can provide more detailed information if requested. Yours truly, Subbiah Arunachalam, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai Vanderlei Canhos, Bioline International, Campinas, Brazil Leslie Chan, Bioline International, Toronto, Canada D K Sahu, MedKnow, Mumbai Barbara Kirsop, Electronic Publishing Trust for Development http://www.epublishingtrust.org/ http://www.epublishingtrust.org

1 0

Vendors
by veena bhat 24 May '06

24 May '06

Dear Sir/ Madam, Is there any vendors for Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute in India? If so, please let me know. I will be greatful to you. Best Regards, Veena Bhat International Institute of Information Technology, Pune. --------------------------------- Sneak preview the all-new Yahoo.com. It's not radically different. Just radically better. Dear Sir/ Madam, Is there any vendors for Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute in India? If so, please let me know. I will be greatful to you. Best Regards, Veena Bhat International Institute of Information Technology, Pune. Sneak preview the http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=40762/*http://www.yahoo.com/preview all-new Yahoo.com . It's not radically different. Just radically better.

1 0

SCHEME OF CARRER ADVANCEMENT FOR THE POST OF INFORMATION SCIENTIST
by ranjit dharmapurikar 24 May '06

24 May '06

Dear all, I would like to know whether the scheme of carrer advamcement is applicable for the post of Information Scientst. This post is considered as a non-vacational academic staff on par with university assistant librarian or college librarian, its basic pay is 8000-13500. However guidelines about carrer advancement are not available till now to the post of Information Scientst. Will anybody help me and clarify the matter. If such authontic document is availble kindly send it to me or at least communicate me the source. Thanks Ranjeet Dharmapurikar __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

1 0

One Day Workshop
by satish kumar 24 May '06

24 May '06

Dear all, Kindly accetp this invitation and forward this for all your professional friends It gives me immense pleasure to inform you that the Learning Resource Wing of East Point College of Engineering and Technology, Bangalore 49 is organizing one day workshop on E-Resources: A Tool to Make Science and Engineering Research Easier on May 26th 2006. The workshop will mainly focus on various dimensions of the theme. During the event eminent scholars and practioners will be sharing their experience on the subject. We cordially invite you to participate in one day workshop. This Workshop will help Librarians, Teaching faculty, research scholars, and staff involved in R&D Activities. Workshop E-Resources: A Tool to Make Science and Engineering Research Easier Date & Time May 26th 2006 : 09.00 am Registration Fee Librarians Rs. 200.00 Academicians Rs. 200.00 Research Scholars Rs. 100.00 Students Rs. 100.00 Payment Mode Cash or DD in favour of Principal, EPCET, payable at Bangalore Venue Seminar hall, East Point College of Engineering and Technology, Bidarahally, Near Avalahally, Bangalore-560 049 Contact details of Workshop Coordinator 9844116650, 080-28473777 e-mail: libraryworkskop(a)yahoo.co.in Thanking you Paramanand --------------------------------- Yahoo! India Answers Share what your know-how and wisdom Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger Download now professional friends It gives me immense pleasure to inform you that the Learning Resource Wing of East Point College of Engineering and Technology, Bangalore 49 is organizing one day workshop on E-Resources: A Tool to Make Science and Engineering Research Easier on May 26th 2006. The workshop will mainly focus on various dimensions of the theme. During the event eminent scholars and practioners will be sharing their experience on the subject. We cordially invite you to participate in one day workshop. This Workshop will help Librarians, Teaching faculty, research scholars, and staff involved in R&D Activities. Workshop E-Resources: A Tool to Make Science and Engineering Research Easier Date & Time May 26th 2006 : 09.00 am Registration Fee Librarians Rs. 200.00 Academicians Rs. 200.00 Research Scholars Rs. 100.00 Students Rs. 100.00 Payment Mode Cash or DD in favour of Principal, EPCET, payable at Bangalore Venue Seminar hall, East Point College of Engineering and Technology, Bidarahally, Near Avalahally, Bangalore-560 049 Contact details of Workshop Coordinator 9844116650, 080-28473777 e-mail: http://in.f85.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=libraryworkskop@yahoo.co.in&YY=1… libraryworkskop(a)yahoo.co.in Thanking you Paramanand http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/mailanswersshare/*http://in.answers.yahoo.co… Yahoo! India Answers Share what your know-how and wisdom Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/in/freesms/*http://messenger.yahoo.com/download… Download now

1 0

Copyright Clearance of articles
by Kaushik 24 May '06

24 May '06

If a corporate library is looking for an article and procuring that article from another library by doing photocopy of the same and then using that in the library ....then will such procurement be copy right cleared ? What does our copyright act say on this ? -- Kaushik Ghosh Kolkata -- Kaushik Ghosh Kolkata

2 1