I am also joining with Sri K.P Sadasivans's feelings.His posting was an informative one to all LIS professionals. Thank sir again On 20 September 2013 16:00, Sadasivan KP <kps31147@yahoo.com> wrote:
Professor Lancaster's demise is indeed a shocking and saddening news for me. His visit to Trivandrum more than two decades ago in response to my invitation and the few days he had spent as a guest of the then RRL(CSIR) Trivandrum is unforgettable. I had the privilege of organizing three programmes of Prof. Lancaster during his visit : CSIR Golden Jubilee Lecture on Scientific Productivity at RRLT, another lecture on a related topic in the University of Kerala and a Television Programme by DoorDarshan Kendra (the then existing only electronic media channel in the city). The two lectures were attended by packed audience in the respective halls. The DD programme was a discussion associating Dr. AD Damodaran, the then Director of RRLT and Mr. S. Parthasarathy, the then British Council Librarian, Trivandrum.
When he visited my Library, we had informal discussions on quite a few issues related to LIS - blended with the trends, the pragmatism and the philosophy. Some of his replies/observations refreshingly echo still in my thoughts.....
" Library is the last place I like to visit these days"
" Well, the Papperless Society has in reality, its own constraints to be 100% paperless "
" The smell of a new book, of its paper, admittedly brings in the nostalgic feeling of the print world "
When I was a student of LIS, while familiarizing with Prof. Lancaster's works and contributions on Information Retrieval Systems, Paperless Information Systems, Indexing and Abstracting, Measurement and Evaluation, etc., I was delightfully excited and was gazing at him as a child gazing at a glittering star, several light years afar !
Years after, in the early 1990s, when he visited Trivandrum as my guest (accompanied by his Italian wife), it was really 'a dream come true' effect in my life ! I thankfully remember Prof. MA Gopinath, who telephonically informed me from Bangalore about Prof. Lancaster's India visit....in his inimitable words : " Sadasivan ! A BIG FISH is here around...Want to catch him? Act swiftly " The result : 'THE BIG FISH' in Trivandrum during the very next week !
Prof. Lancaster was a visionary scholar, whose insight triggered a host of novel ideas in formulating new theories and models with the strong back up of empirical studies and scientific inferences. His simplicity and human approach endeared him to his friends and the public.
I request our professional fraternity to join me for respectfully paying homage to the departed !
Sadasivan KP Consultant (Library) IIITMK, Technopark, Trivandrum and Former Head, Knowledge Resource Centre, NIIST(CSIR), Trivandrum
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