I enjoyed reading this brief note from Jai Haravu. For me it sums up almost all the problems pertaining to libraries, librarians and their training in today's India. We expect the Haravus (unforunately there aren't many) to lead us out of the morass. Arun [Subbiah Arunachalam] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jai Haravu" <haravu@newgenlib.com> To: <lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2005 7:33 PM Subject: [LIS-Forum] Re: Librarian's proficiency in English - DrVyasamoorthy's lament Friends I would like to expand on Dr Vyasamoorthy's lament somewhat with due apologies to the poet T S Elliot. I think the lack of proficiency in English is only the tip of the iceberg and hence my lament below. Where are the books we have lost in our 'digital libraries'? Where are the users we have lost in our 'library science'? Where is the service we have lost in our 'automation'? Where are the library networks we have lost in 'cyberspace'? Where are the leaders we have lost in our 'library schools'? Where are the scholars we have lost in our 'Ph D's'? Where is the professionalism we have lost in our 'profession'? Where is the substance we have lost in 'hype'? L J Haravu Trustee, Kesavan Institute of Information and Knowledge Management [http://www.kiikm.org/] 69 Krishnapuri Colony West Marredpally Sedcunderabad 500 026 Tel: 91-40-27803947 -------Original Message------- From: lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Date: 02/23/05 17:40:52 To: lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: LIS-Forum Digest, Vol 23, Issue 30 Send LIS-Forum mailing list submissions to lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to lis-forum-request@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in You can reach the person managing the list at lis-forum-owner@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of LIS-Forum digest..." Today's Topics: 1. MSN Search Helpful to Net User (Farooque Shaheen) 2. FW: Special lecture at DRTC (Dr. T.B. Rajashekar) 3. Librarians' proficiency in English (Vyasamoorthy@icicikp.com) 4. RE: Librarians' proficiency in English (Aman Jha) 5. Basic English (shantha venkatesan) 6. Communication skills (gayathri sen) 7. Why do we need high proficiency in English language ? (Jayadev P Hiremath) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 11:03:09 +0530 From: Farooque Shaheen <Farooque.Shaheen@caritor.com> Subject: [LIS-Forum] MSN Search Helpful to Net User To: lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Message-ID: <OFB6070F6A.8B1FE410-ON65256FB1.001DA55F-65256FB1.001F83C2@notes.caritor com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The Hindu, The next time you have a query such as "what is seven times 20" or "how high is Mt. Everest" or a complex arithmetic or algebra calculation,simply type the question in the window of MSN Search, Microsoft's latest innovation. A one-line answer would appear in microseconds on the web page, along with the other MSN search results. "How many inches in a mile?" Launched last fortnight in the country, this feature of MSN Search draws its results from the database of 1.5 million answers provided by Microsoft Encarta, the leading encyclopaedia brand. You could ask any question on geographical locations, historical and popular figures, definitions, facts, calculations, conversions, and solutions to equations. Till now, Internet browsers had to type out the key words in the search window and click on the search results to look out for precise definitions. But the one-line Encarta answer is only part of the long list of features offered by the new MSN Search, built from the ground up by Microsoft in about 16 months. Now available in 25 countries and 10 languages, the search service offers a collection of tools to Net users, giving them greater control in targeting and refining searches to get instant,accurate answers to specific questions. http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/23/stories/2005022315510300.htm Thanks & Regards, Farooque Shaheen, Caritor India Pvt Ltd. Tel. 080-26678388 # 4105 Mobile-9342507449