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

INVITATION
by Daulat Jotwani 22 May '04

22 May '04

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Central Library Cordially invites you to the INAUGURAL FUNCTION Of Workshop on Optimal Use of e-Resource At KReSIT Lecture Hall 27 May 2004 at 10.00 am Prof Ashok Misra, Director IIT Bombay has kindly agreed to be the Chief Guest RSVP Daulat Jotwani Librarian Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Powai, Mumbai 400076 Phone 91-22-25768920, 91-22-25720227

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New cross-publisher search tool (3/86)
by Ramesh Gaur 21 May '04

21 May '04

Hi! It may be of interest to the members. Best, Ramesh ----- Original Message ----- From: <custserv(a)iop.org> Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 4:01 PM Subject: New cross-publisher search tool (3/86) > On behalf of the Institute of Physics, I'm pleased to announce our > participation in CrossRef Search, a new initiative enabling you to perform > cross-publisher, full text searches of the latest scholarly research. > > CrossRef Search is available free of charge in our Electronic Journals service > at http://www.iop.org/EJ/search_crossref. It can also be found on the Web > sites of the other eight participating publishers, which include The American > Physical Society, Nature Publishing Group and Oxford University Press. > > *Google(tm) technology* > CrossRef Search has been developed by CrossRef in partnership with Google. > Said Ed Pentz, Executive Director of CrossRef: > > 'CrossRef is very excited to work with Google on this pilot program. > Researchers, scientists and librarians should find CrossRef Search a valuable > search tool. Now, researchers and students interested in mining published > scholarship have immediate access to targeted, interdisciplinary and > cross-publisher search on full text using the powerful and familiar Google > technology'. > > CrossRef Search is a pilot program which will run through 2004 to evaluate > functionality and gather feedback. We are sure that you will find this new > free service useful (http://www.iop.org/EJ/search_crossref) > > Further information on CrossRef Search can be found online at > http://www.crossref.org/crossrefsearch.html. If you have any questions, please > do not hesitate to contact us at custserv(a)iop.org. > > Kind regards, > > Lucy Braithwaite (formerly Pearce) > Senior Product Manager > Institute of Physics Publishing > > custserv(a)iop.org > www.iop.org > > *Data Protection* > If you would prefer not to receive updates on our Electronic Journals in > future, please reply to this e-mail, entering the word 'Unsubscribe' in the > body of your e-mail (please do not delete the subject line). > > IOP Publishing Limited is the data controller (data.protection(a)iop.org) We > will take all reasonable measures to prevent unauthorised or unlawful > processing. > > > *Data Protection* > If you would prefer not to receive updates on our Electronic Journals in > future, please go to the following URL and follow the simple instructions: > > http://www.iop.org/EJ/optout/-digest=93231.riqgJEpjsqPhlj.Rrcx6KA > > IOP Publishing is the data controller (data.protection(a)iop.org) We will > take all reasonable measures to prevent unauthorised or unlawful processing. > Ramesh C. Gaur, Ph.D Librarian (Scientific Officer 'E') ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Deemed University and National Centre of the Government of India) Homi Bhabha Road, Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai-400 005 Phone: 022-22804545 Ext. 2230, Fax: 022-22804610, 22804611 URL: www.tifr.res.in\~library E-mails: rcgaur(a)tifr.res.in, ramesh_c_gaur(a)hotmail.com

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Alliance for ICTs for Basic Human Needs
by Mailing List Manager 21 May '04

21 May '04

Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 09:10:31 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun(a)mssrf.res.in> Alliance for ICTs for Basic Human Needs formed in India We had an excellent meeting here at MSSRF the past two days (19-20 May 2004) and we have now formed a National Alliance for ICTs for Basic Human Needs. More than 50 people were invited to the Consultatiuon - drawn from NGOs, Government departments, Academia, and private sector. Prof. M S Swaminathan is the Chairman of the Alliance. Ms Sukanya Rath, Executive Director of NASSCOM Foundation is the Secretary General. B H Shadrach (Shaddy) of OneWorld South Asia and Subbiah Arunachalam (Arun) of MSSRF are the two Joint Secretaries. There are seven task forces [Connectivity, Content, Policy, Capacity building, Resources, Organization and management, and Programme design]. These will be convened by active partners. For more information, please contact Arun at <arun(a)mssrf.res.in>. Arun

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Vidyanidhi-Outreach-Travel Grants-ETD2004-JCDL2004-results
by Mailing List Manager 21 May '04

21 May '04

Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 17:01:41 +0530 From: bp.prakash(a)tcs.com 'Congrats' to the selected colleagues and 'Kudos' to Dr Shalini Urs ! Library profession in India wants such promotions and sponsorships. BP Prakash Tata Consultancy Services, Pune

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FW: [is] OWSA and MSSRF launch e-discussion on InfoKiosks
by Mailing List Manager 21 May '04

21 May '04

Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 17:34:06 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun(a)mssrf.res.in> -----Original Message----- From: Geeta Sharma [mailto:geeta.sharma@oneworld.net] Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 4:40 PM To: Information Society: Voices from the South Subject: [is] OWSA and MSSRF launch e-discussion on InfoKiosks Dear Friends, We have the pleasure of inviting you to join a discussion list on "Information Kiosks in every Indian village by 2007 - a myth or reality?" ( http://www.dgroups.org/groups/infokiosks/ <http://www.dgroups.org/groups/infokiosks/> ) The need for accelerating the pace of ICT enabled interventions in helping achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Indian context makes it imperative to look closely at their potential to cover over six lakh villages in the country within a short span of time. Towards this end OneWorld South Asia and MS Swaminathan Research Foundation are hosting this online discussion over the next six weeks. The major themes for this email and web-based discussion are: Scalability, Sustainability and Collaboration. The Sectoral focus within each of these themes would be on Education, Health and Livelihoods. A summary of the discussions would be shared at two separate national workshops on technology and policy issues on the ICT4D initiatives. These workshops are tentatively scheduled to be held in Delhi, towards the end of June and early July 2004. This is an open debate, so any one can join. We would specially like to invite groups, individuals and organizations, policy planners and practitioners interested in technology, ICT and development issues to join us in these discussions. HOW TO SIGN UP Joining this discussion list is very easy! Just send a blank message to: join-infokiosks(a)dgroups.org On successful sign-up, you will receive an email giving you a password and other relevant details. Please note that messages to the list should be sent to: Infokiosks(a)dgroups.org Messages sent to the above address will be sent out to all participants in the discussion. If you encounter any problems, please contact the administrator of this dgroup by sending an email to Infokiosks-owner(a)dgroups.org We look forward to you active participation in this discussion list. Contact Us: This discussion list will be co-moderated by stakeholders working on ICT4D issues. The moderators for the initial phase include Nikhil Raj (nikhil.raj(a)oneworld.net) from OneWorld South Asia, Osama Manzar (Osama(a)manzar.info) of the Digital Empowerment Foundation, Senthil Kumaran, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (senthil(a)mssrf.res.in) and Jitendra Shah (jitendras(a)vsnl.com) VJTI, Mumbai. As the discussions proceed, we would invite more experts to lead the debate as moderators. Thanks and regards Geeta Sharma ICT Advocacy Manager OneWorld South Asia http://southasia.oneworld.net <http://southasia.oneworld.net> ------ For discussion archives visit: http://www.dgroups.org/groups/IS/index.cfm To join, send a blank message to: join-IS(a)dgroups.org To leave the list, send a blank message to: leave-IS(a)dgroups.org

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Vidyanidhi-Outreach-Travel Grants-ETD2004-JCDL2004-results
by Mailing List Manager 20 May '04

20 May '04

Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 20:26:12 +0530 From: shalini(a)vidyanidhi.org.in Friends, I am happy to announce the results of the Travel Grants for ETD 2004 and JCDL 2004 at Lexington and Tucson, USA respectively. This Travel Grants initiative is part of the Vidyanidhi's endeavour to advocate, promote and contribute to the digital library development/ETD initiatives in India through its 'Out reach' Programme . ETD 2004-JCDL 2004 -Travel Grants is one such 'out reach' Programme of Vidyanidhi. Under this programme, Vidyanidhi was able to procure support for funding the participation of 6 Indian information professionals to participate in the two key International digital library conferences - ETD 2004 ( http://www.uky.edu/ETD/ETD2004) and JCDL 2004 (http://www.jcdl2004.org) This travel grants programme was announced in LIS-Forum and letters were sent to universities and other institutions soliciting applications. We received very good response. Thanks to the generous support by the Ford Foundation , it was possible to procure this Travel Grants. Given the number and quality of applications, it was a difficult task for the international selection committee to short list the candidates for approval by the Ford Foundation which is supporting this initiative. Dr.Sumathi Ramaswamy, Program Officer for Education, Arts, and Culture, in consultation with the Ford Representative, Dr.Balachander, made the final selection of six candidates out of the short listed candidates. Those professionals who are receiving the grants are- 1. Dr.M.D.Baby ( Cochin University of Sciene and Technology) 2. Prof. Rajib Bandypadhyay ( Jadavpur University , Kolkota) 3. Mr. G.K.Manjunath ( IGIDR, Mumbai) 4. Ms. Shubhada Nagarkar ( University of Pune) 5. Mr. Ganesan Sundar ( Roja Muthaiah Research Library) These five professionals under the leadership of Prof.Shalini Urs, University of Mysore, would be participating in the conferences. ------------ Shalini -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr.Shalini R.Urs Director Professor and Chairperson Information & Communication Division Department of Library and Information Science University of Mysore University of Mysore Manasagangotri Manasagangotri Mysore- 570006 Mysore -570006 India Ph : 91-821-2514699 Fax: 91-821-2519209 Website:http://www.vidyanidhi.org.in/shaliniurs.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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From SciDevNet
by Mailing List Manager 20 May '04

20 May '04

Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 13:07:14 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun(a)mssrf.res.in> Friends: Here is a short piece from today's SciDevNet. Arun http://www.scidev.net/Editorials/index.cfm?fuseaction=readEditorials&itemid= 115&language=1 India's new challenge on technology policy David Dickson 17 May 2004 The surprise defeat of the BJP in last week's Indian election appears to reflect widespread resentment that the benefits of rapid technological innovation have reached only a relatively small section of society. This has implications for the whole developing world. A few weeks ago, a leading aid expert described how, in the 1970s, he had spent three years in India working for the United Nations Development Programme. At the time, he had been engaged in helping India set up its first microelectronics research facility. But he became convinced that the country's real needs lay at the other end of the technological scale, in the diffusion of more effective agricultural techniques and other innovations to help the rural poor. Yet given the country's success in turning itself into a major industrial player in a range of key technologies, he admitted that he now felt he had been wrong. Last week's surprise success of the Congress Party, headed by Sonia Gandhi, in India's general election suggests that he may not have been as wrong as he thought. For, according to many commentators, the rejection of the incumbent government - headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - appears to reflect widespread disillusionment with the way that the country's recent rapid economic and technological growth has been enjoyed unequally by different social groups. It would, of course, be na�ve to pretend that this is the whole story behind the election result. The success of the Congress Party in some of India's largest cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, immediately challenges the argument that it is the votes of excluded rural communities that have brought the Congress Party - the dominant political party in India since it achieved independence in 1947 - back to power after a gap of eight years. Conversely there are several states that still face massive social and economic problems, but that voted for parties belonging to the ousted National Democratic Alliance, rather than opting for the pro-poor messages offered by the Congress Party. Those living in the world's largest democracy appear merely to have been exercising their right to protest against mismanagement by voting their rulers out of office. Balancing innovation with basic needs Despite all this, it would be equally na�ve to believe that rejection of the BJP was a conventional protest vote against an incumbent government. There is considerable evidence to back the claim that many of those voting against the party and its political allies were expressing resentment at their exclusion from the country's economic miracle of the past decade. Deregulation and privatisation, central planks in the BJP's economic policy, have certainly led to a boom in several new technology areas, and left many Indians considerably better off - some extremely. But relatively few of the benefits have filtered down to the rural poor, many of whom continue to lack basic human needs, such as clean water and adequate food. To some extent, the protest was relatively apolitical. It is significant that two south Indian states threw out ruling parties of differing political complexions. Andhra Pradesh, with its capital Hyderabad, and Karnataka, with Bangalore, are vying to become global information technology (IT) powers. In doing so, however, both have become excessively focused on IT development, ignoring the conventional rural development that should have gone along in parallel. The need for the latter is plain. For example, both states have experienced periods of severe drought over the past three years, with farmers committing suicide because of mounting debts. Voters in both states threw out their ruling party, underlining the need to focus on basic issues such as water for irrigation, rather than on attracting multinational investment and creating software parks. The various platforms on which the Congress Party and its political allies appear to have won the election do contain various measures designed to redress this balance. And there is some evidence of its success in doing so. It is notable that in Delhi, for example, the local Congress Party leadership that was re-elected has recently been responsible - actively prompted, admittedly, by campaigning groups such as the Centre for Science and Environment - for the introduction of rigorous new regulations on vehicle emissions. These regulations have already significantly reduced the city's air pollution problems, as well as the incidence of breathing problems and other associated diseases. Such outcomes point towards a new form of participatory politics. Indeed, the Indian electorate's rejection of the self-congratulatory modernism in the BJP's election slogan, 'India shining', is eerily reminiscent of the rejection by the British electorate in the 1970s of a Labour Party that had raised the flag of "white hot technological revolution", and the subsequent growth of the environmental movement as a new political force. The outcome has important lessons for other developing countries. For it is a reminder that although technological innovation is a necessary condition for social and economic progress, it is not a sufficient condition. Equally important are accompanying policies to ensure that the benefits of successful innovation are widely shared and experienced. Forging an alternative development strategy Last week's election poses an important set of challenges for the new Indian government. The country is not short of ideas about alternative technology strategies aimed directly at meeting the needs of the rural poor - or charismatic individuals to promote them. During the political struggle for independence, for example, this was a key concern of Mahatma Gandhi. Today a wide range of organisations continue to pursue such strategies, ranging from the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation - which is already doing much to explore the potential of computers in rural development - to groups such as Development Alternatives, equally committed to exploring ways in which technology can directly aid the poor. The task is to find ways in which such initiatives, many of which continue to operate on an essentially local scale, can become better integrated with the scientific and technological institutions that, in recent years, have been increasingly taking on the characteristics of Western industrial research systems. Nor is the task unique to India. It would be an exaggeration to say that there is widespread disenchantment with the global knowledge economy. Nevertheless, it is true that there is growing resentment among those being asked to help share the costs of participation in such an economy, yet at the same time are excluded from its benefits. In issues that range from the application of intellectual property rights to the integration of biodiversity concerns with development strategies, there is growing evidence that solutions designed by the North are not always applicable in the South - and that alternative approaches are needed. If India can now explore and develop some of these alternatives, ensuring firstly that they are based on a thorough comprehension of the underlying science, and secondly that they are capable of meeting the basic needs of the country's rural poor, it will have made a substantial contribution to the whole development community. Conversely there is a strong case for reviewing the future direction of IT policies in India, ensuring that these effectively complement and support rural development and poverty-reduction strategies, and not substitute for them. And if the Congress Party can successfully tackle these two central issues, it will have demonstrated that last week's election was not merely a protest vote, but a democratic endorsement of a viable alternative development strategy that will be eagerly watched. And it might even see itself re-elected for a second term.

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FW: Open Access
by Mailing List Manager 20 May '04

20 May '04

Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 11:41:10 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun(a)mssrf.res.in> Friends: Here are a few questions on the two workshops on open access I organised at MSSRF in the first week of May 2004 from Richard Poynder, a correspondent of Information Today, and my answers. I thought I must share it with all the workshop participants and some policy makers. Now I am working on holding a three-country policy makers workshop on open access for India, China and Brazil (plus representatives of TWAS, InterAcademy Council and InterAcademy Panel). Best wishes. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] -----Original Message----- Dear Richard: Here are my answers to the questions. Sorry for the delay. I was away in Europe to attend two meetings and returned to my office only this morning. Regards. Arun -----Original Message----- From: Richard Poynder [mailto:aotg20@dsl.pipex.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 1:33 AM To: Subbiah Arunachalam Subject: FW: Open Access Dear Subbiah, In the hope that you can help the questions I had in mind are listed below. Best wishes, Richard Poynder >> " What was the primary objective of the Chennai workshops, and what do you think has been achieved/will be achieved as a result?" The primary aim of the workshop was to help Indian research laboratories and hihger educational institutions set up their own interoperable institutional archives and to raise the awareness of researchers (faculty, students and laboratory scientists) and librarians on the need for and usefulness of self archiving. Thanks to the dedicated and competent faculty, we hope we have achieved considerable success. The 48 participants [25 in the first workshop held during 2-4 May and 23 in the second held during 6-8 May] are now exposed to the concept and philosophy of open access (both open access journals and open access archives), the Eprints software [incorporating OAI interoperability protocol and all the important modules] and examples of both open access journals and open access archives. From our experience with the first workshop and the feedback received from participants, we made some changes in the second workshop which placed much greater emphasis on actually loading the eprints software on to a Linux server. Particiapants of the workshop actually loaded a few papers and created the metadata. We hear that already within a week after the workshops, Mr Madhan of National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, has set up a server at NITRKL. The National Chemical Laboratory has also begun work on archiving papers by its scientists. I expect to see at least a dozen archives up and running in the next four months. It is not just me. The OA workshops and the OA movement in India is backed by some very important people. Prof. M S Valiathan, President of the Indian National Science Academy, and Dr R A Mashelkar, Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, have extended their support. Soon INSA is likely to set up an archive for papers by ALL FELLOWS of INSA. The INSA Fellows constitute the cream de la cream of Indian science. Prof. M S Swaminathan and Prof. P Balaram, two of India's most respected scientists addressed the particiapnts and motivated them to adopt OA. After three months, I plan to do monitoring and evaluation; I or someone else such as Dr T B Rajashekar of Indian Institute of Science will visit some of the centres and talk to the persons implementng as well as the researchers depositing their papers. Stevan Harnad recently asked which country will be the first to be totally open access; I wish India should try to win this honour! " What further issues still need to be resolved?" The 48 participants have had a good exposure. When they actually start implementing what they have learnt surely they will face some problems. It is for this reason we have set up a discussion group (OA-India dgroup) so they can discuss among themselves. Incidentally, all four resource persons are members of this group. Also we had specially invited a Linux expert (Mr Suil Abraham of Mahiti) who will now be an evangelist for OA in India. We also need to persuade vice chancellors of universities and directors of research laboratories to proactively promote OA archiving in their institutions. We should ensure that they provide a dedicated Linux server and a decent Internet connection for the archive. " What would you envisage being placed in any archives that are created in the wake of the workshops (pre-prints/post-prints/self-archived papers that have been published in traditional peer- reviewed material/papers published in OA journals etc. etc., or something else?)" We have suggested that the archives (or institutional repositories) may be used to place preprints, postprints, PDF versions of published articles (where permited by the journal publishers), theses, etc. Indeed, the IISc archive is moving towards a repository of all publications of the institute. " There seems to be considerable confusion surrounding the topic of OA today (what it is, what needs to be done to achieve it, who should do what etc.). Based on what you witnessed at the Chennai workshops how would you envisage OA developing in India?" Yes. There is confusion. Much of these confusions were cleared by the faculty. Issues of copyright were discussed and participants were alerted to the list of journals permiting authors to archive preprints/postprints/both prepared by Dr N V Joshi of Indian Institute of Science on a request from Stevan Harnad. As and when participants start implementing, they will confront with some problems, and thse will be reflected in the discussion list. " Does OA raise specific issues/have particular implications in the Indian context? If so what, and why?" By placing Indian papers in interoperable archives, we can gain greater visibility for work done in India. But we also need to read papers written by scientists elsewhere, especially in the advanced countries. It is important for us, therefore, that scientists in advanced countries also place their papers in publicly available archives - either distributed institutional archives or centralised archives such as arXiv. The one great benefit I see is that if a large number of Indian papers become available through institutional archives, then institutions in other developing countries will start setting up their own archives. " What implications do you think the workshops will have for a) researchers, universities, and libraries in India, and b) the OA movement at large?" Overall, the OA movement in India will have many beneficial effects. First of all, scientists and research students will gain greater visibility to their work. Which in turn will add to the reputation and image of thir universities (research labs). Librarians, if they take the responsibility of setting up and running the archives, can improve their status among the academic community. The OA movement will make the field level playing for scientists in India and the rest of the developing countries. Already the workshops are being talked about as well organised and there are queries about when we will hold the next set of workshops on OA! My plan is to organise a meeting on OA for policy makers from India, China and Brazil, preferably at our Foundation (MSSRF, Chennai, India) and invite a few senior scientists from Third World Academy of Sciences, InterAcademy Panel and InterAcademy Council apart from policy makers from the three largest developing countries. The Director of the British Council at Chennai, Ms Eunice Crook, who addressed the participants of the first workshop, is looking at enlarging the virtual activities of the British Council Library (rather than the physical aspects) and is thinking of incresaing cross-country flow of scientific and scholarly information through OA archives. Leslie Chan, one of our resource persons, spooke at the Indian Institute of Science, Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, etc. after the workshops were over. I hear these were very well received and the scientific community in India is getting more aware of the virtues of OA ***** If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. Thanks and regards. Arun

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Availability of Journal
by Mailing List Manager 18 May '04

18 May '04

Date: 17 May 2004 09:11:13 -0000 From: vishal verma <vishal_56verma(a)rediffmail.com> Dear All, I am searching for a reference, which is required by one of the scientists at TIFR, for quite a some time now and unable to locate it anywhere in India. The journal is not even listed in the union catalogue of INFLIBNET (2000). The details are as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Parrott, Stephen Title: The no ghost theorem in string theory. Journal: Results Math. 21 (1992), no. 3-4, 379--395. --------------------------------------------------------------- I request if anyone can tell us about the availability of the journal anywhere in India, so that we can ask the concerned library or Inf. Centre for a copy of the same. Regards Vishal Verma TIFR, Mumbai

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FW: loreal prize
by Mailing List Manager 17 May '04

17 May '04

Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 14:20:03 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun(a)mssrf.res.in> Please spread the word among all physicists. I wish many Indian women physicists are nominated. Arun -----Original Message----- From: Marcia C. B. Barbosa [mailto:barbosa@if.ufrgs.br] Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 2:57 AM To: Subbiah Arunachalam Subject: loreal prize ~ Dear Colleagues, Loreal is lauching again the Loreal prize for women in Condensed Matter. The details about how to nominate can be found in the webpage: http://www.if.ufrgs.br/~barbosa The deadline for nominating or renominating candidates is June 15th, 2004. Marcia Barbosa

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