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

22 Aug '05

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

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

22 Aug '05

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

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

22 Aug '05

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

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

21 Aug '05

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

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Book Request
by Siva Chidambaram 20 Aug '05

20 Aug '05

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

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

19 Aug '05

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

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

19 Aug '05

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

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

19 Aug '05

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

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

18 Aug '05

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

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request for article
by Yashwant G Kanade 18 Aug '05

18 Aug '05

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

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