Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:31:27 +0800 (SGT)
From: Khalid Nadeem Khan
A Gala Opening for ICAL 2013: Glitteringly Serene Ceremony Marked by the
Presence of Large Library Fraternity Continuing the rich legacy associated
with brand ICAL, the 2nd International Conference of Academic Libraries
opened with style at prestigious GGS IP University at its Dwarka Campus,
New Delhi. Marked by the presence of a large number of delegates from
across the globe, conference received an overwhelming response. The formal
inaugural function of 2nd International conference on academic libraries
[ICAL] 2013 started with lighting of ceremonial lamp by the dignitaries’
on the dais and with enchantment of divine Saraswati Vandana. The
dignitaries were welcomed with the flower bouquet.
This was followed by the release of souvenir and conference proceedings on
the theme “Academic Library Services through Cloud Computing: Moving
Libraries to the Web”. The organizing secretary, Mr. Subhash Deshmukh
welcoming the guests, emphasized upon the need to migrate the
conventional library setup to library services based on Cloud computing.
This will provide easier and simpler methods for greater sharing and
penetration of library resources to wider community. Predictions are that
within five years, all library collections, systems, and services will be
driven into the cloud. Inspired by the latest advances in virtualized
computing resources on the global network, the 2nd International
Conference on Academic Libraries, ICAL-2013 seeks to explore how cloud
computing could be applied for library applications, in particular for
moving libraries to the Web. Being a new and emerging area of interest to
library and information professionals, the Conference will focus on
academic library services through cloud computing. In addition, the
Conference will seek to explore cloud computing for converting ICAL-2009
roadmap into an action plan for repositioning academic libraries into next
generation libraries.
Prof. Dilip K Bandyopadhyay, Vice Chancellor, GGSIP University expressed
his gratitude to the dignitaries and participants for their over whelming
response and described how the idea of holding the conference at IP
University was conceived in year 2009 itself. In his address he dwelt
upon the theme of the conference which seeks to explore how cloud
computing could be applied to benefit libraries; in moving library data,
services, and applications to the Web, in over-coming barriers to sharing
library resources on the Web, in collaborating with libraries on new
programs and services on the Web, in setting up the required computing
resources on demand in the Cloud. He further highlighted the challenges in
front of library fraternity in today’s time and emphasized upon the use
of web based technologies. He elaborated the catalytic role of technology
in solving the problem of resource management. According to Prof.
Bandyopadhyay, the conference offers an international platform to all
stakeholders in the academic enterprise to network and debate on the theme
and topics of the conference and will provide a forum for presentation of
issues on virtualized computing resources on the global network through
original presentations, and extending opportunities to exchange and
present know-ledge and out of box ideas at the highest technical level.
Prof. Narendra Jadhav, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India,
the chief guest in his key note address exhorted the libraries to organize
their services through cloud computing in view of increased role of
libraries in knowledge economy. Prof. Jadhav in his very illuminating
and illustrious speech retraced the development of Indian economy
since 1991 and how India has been able to cope up with the challenge
of recession and economic slowdown. However he lamented the fact that
India’s research out was very low as compared to China and United
States. Prof. Jadhav touched upon the advantage of India’s huge
population but cautioned for sustainable and inclusive growth.
Delivering the Guest of Honour lecture, Dr. BK Gairola, Mission Director,
E-Governance, Govt of India shared his views about role of technology in
disseminating knowledge. He spoke lengthily on ICTs and how same is being
leveraged to harness growth and development. Dr. Gairola mentioned how
cloud computing has generated much interest recently and developments in
this space have revolutionized the way computing infrastructure is used.
Instead of installing packaged software applications on their computers,
people and businesses will use their web browsers to access a wide range
of “cloud services” available on-demand over the Internet. Its success
has seen a proliferation in the number of applications which have
leveraged various cloud platforms to applications such as Gmail,
Wikipedia, Flickr or Twitter on the Web. Mr. Marshall Breeding, former
Director for Innovative Technology and Research at Vanderbilt University,
USA delivered the keynote address and touched upon several important
developments taking place in the world of libraries. It was emphasized
that being a new and emerging area, cloud computing has generated much
interest in library applications. Predictions are that within five years,
all library collections, systems, and services will be driven into the
cloud. Cloud Library Management Systems, Cloud OPAC, Cloud Electronic
Resource Management Systems, etc. will replace individual and standalone
library systems such as LMS, OPAC, and ERMS. In addition, cloud computing
will enable libraries to collaborate on the Web.
Khalid Nadeem Khan
Librarian
Jamia Millia Islamia
New Delhi-110025
