Dear Mr. Aman Jha

I completely agree with you. The AD published by Monster.com is abusing our profession. This kind of AD will leave wrong impact  about our profession to the common people. We must protest it.

But the remarkable point is that, most of the common people still think libraries are just book-store and librarians are just polished book-keepers. We have been taught in our BLIS and MLIS classes that libraries are sociocultural institutions, information centres, etc. etc. and so on. But how many people are aware of that? The basic fault lies in our exam-based education system and exams are also suggestion-based. In our education-system students are forced to swallow some questions and answers, and to vomit that pulp on the answer script. After passing an exam almost all lessons studied turn fruitless in the context or real life experience. In such worthless education system the scope of library work is absolutely limited. How many PG/UG students of any university/college do regular reference work in library? Most of them solely depend on class-notes and cheap note-books available in the market. Such an education system hardly requires library. The teachers are mostly interested in spoon-feeding rather than academic discussions with the students. Teachers are also helpless, because everything is exam-oriented. exam brings degree, degree brings job, job brings money and security. Hence, there is no other way to avoid exam, and, in turn, to escape note-swallowing and answer-vomitting education system. This is a vicious circle of idiocy, that control today's knowledge society. We are living in an age where idiocy is disguished in knowledge.This is our tragedy.

Our education system has been turned into a big education bazaar, where the education policies are framed by the businessman rather than the educationists. Education is a big profit-making business today, where the central commodity is degree-holding-certificate.It is obvious that the businessmen are interested in their profit, and least bother the contents taught to the pupil. 

I personally feel this profession a very challenging and enlightening one. Everyday I collect new pebbles out of my profession. Mere providing good service to the library-users is not sufficient for the library-professionals; We have to bring those people in the library, who have never stepped in there. And also to convert seldom library-users to regular library-user.Only we, the library professionals can change the common people's view about library; and the "Monsters" (monster.com) will then stare us with a reverential sight. 

Thanking you

Sincerely yours

Bidyarthi 

Bidyarthi Dutta
Librarian
St. Xavier's College (An autonomous PG college affiliated to University of Calcutta)
30, Park Street
Kolkata 700016; India
URL: www.sxccal.edu
Ph. 033-22877278(O)
   033-24734766(R)
Fax: 033-22879966
Email: bidyarthi.bhaswati@gmail.com

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