Dear fellow professionals
Vidyanidhi is a pioneering cooperative effort under the leadership of Prof. Shalini. Her efforts in visualizing and realizing the project should be be very much appreciated. The Four University libraries (Jadavpur University, University of Kashmir, University of Hyderabad, Jamia Millia Islamia) and NASSDOC, who became members of this project by contributing their Theses and Dissertations also deserve to be appreciated. We should encourage such efforts, whoever is making and contributing to the Indian knowledge base of research output.
Dr. Rama Reddy
________________________________
From: Ramachandran Guruprasad
To: LIS-Forum ; lis-forum-request@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in; shalini@isim.ac.in
Sent: Wednesday, 5 October 2011 11:21 AM
Subject: [LIS-Forum] Fwd: University of Hyderabad – VC’s blog on Open Access and Vidyanidhi
Dear LIS Professionals,
In response to Prof. Shalini's note on Vidyanidhi Digital Library, I as a
former research scholar at the Department of Studies, Library and
Information, University of Mysore wish to give my personal views on this:
=================================
Vidyanidhi's effort in digitizing Indian Theses and Dissertations is
undoubtedly a pioneering and to my knowledge India's first initiative in
making a large number of doctoral theses online and digital. More than
making this rich knowledge available to research scholars, what is really
important to be noted is that this excellent initiative was started many
years back when the network, digitization and internet technologies were
still scant and in its infancy.
I myself have been a huge beneficiary of this excellent repository when I
was referring related literature during my tenure as a research scholar at
the Department of Studies in Library and Information Science, University of
Mysore. It is very difficult to express in that
many words the immense benefits that I got through Vidyanidhi.
Enhancing my feelings a little further, this is an outstanding contribution
to the research knowledgebase of India. And this effort has seen the 'Light
of the Day' only due to your untiring guiding efforts and with the support
of your dedicated team (very small in number, if I get it right).
Many tall claims can be made by others, but the actual reality points out to
a small room in the Library Building of the University of Mysore where all
the magic was happening.
Sadly, there has not been a consortia effort from other Indian Universities
to eventually make this as a role model of India.
The bottom line lies with 'unwilling to share and part with information',
'afraid to go into a collaborative effort - because of the fear that your
credit will go away', 'and why I should give my data to someone else'. This
inner fear is the real killer.
Vidyanidhi will continue to inspire research scholars generaration after
generation in spite of all the hurdles that it has faced all through in
sustaining this outstanding effort all these years.
The entire team of Vidyanidhi Digital Library championed and led by Prof.
Shalini URS, Prof. DOS, LIS and Executive Director, ISIM needs to lauded in
every way and in my personal view this is absolutely an outstanding
contribution to research scholars across the country. I am very proud to
have used this facility and I can go one step in saying that this is a
'Kohinoor' of the University of Mysore.
*** I request my views be kindly posted in LIS-Forum.
Dr R Guruprasad
Former Research Scholar, DOS, LIS, University of Mysore and Scientist, NAL,
Bangalore
=================================================
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shalini Urs
Date: Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 1:46 PM
Subject: [LIS-Forum] University of Hyderabad – VC’s blog on Open Access and
Vidyanidhi
To: LIS-Forum , lis-forum-bounces <
lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in>, Ram Ramaswamy
Dear Friends,
Read this blog :
http://hcurocks.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/open-access-scholarship/
I am happy to share this blog post about Open Access and Vidyanidhi
Digital Library by one of the early champions of Open Access including ETD
(Electronic Theses and Dissertations) movement in India—Prof. Ram
Ramaswamy, Vice Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad. Prof. Ramswamy
(then professor and Dean at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)
with whom I had the privilege of interacting during my efforts way back in
2003, to enlist the support of different universities in India to join
hands with Vidyanidhi Digital Library initiative (www.vidyanidhi.org.in).
He was one of those academics who showed lots of enthusiasm and championed
the cause of Open Access and ETDs. Though JNU did not join Vidyanidhi
(despite several efforts and meetings), Prof. Ramaswamy gave away all his
students’ theses to Vidyanidhi.
Please also do not forget read his blog about S.R.Ranganathan
http://hcurocks.wordpress.com//?s=ranganathan&search=Go
We need more academics and VCs who blog and share their thoughts on
scholarship issues. May his tribe increase!
In line with his belief about making things happen and to reach academic
books reach a wider audience, Prof. Ramaswamy is also associated with the
Scholars Without Borders initiative - http://www.swb.co.in/ which has
been striving to help deliver books across the world.
Let me take this opportunity to share the vignettes of Vidyanidhi.
Vidyanidhi began championing the cause of Open Access and ETD way back in
1999 and the Vidyanidhi project funded by the then NISSAT was initiated in
2000. We expanded with funding from Ford Foundation in 2003.
Vidyanidhi is one of the earliest and long-standing online digital
libraries. We are online since 2001 (contrary to the claims by Mahatma
Gandhi University Library that their online theses
library-www.Mgutheses.org is the first – though started in 2008☺
It is the decennial of Vidyanidhi! We have been online without a break
for 10 years. So we can perhaps claim that it is one of the longest
surviving online libraries in India.
We are still the largest digital library of Indian Theses with more than
12,000 full texts available online.
We were the first online library to offer a Unicode compliant system to
access Indian Language Database and automatic transliteration of Kannada
and Hindi metadata.
It is due to our championing and advocacy efforts that the UGC adopted the
ETD policy in 2005 and current move towards the ETD repository initiative.
Shalini
--
Dr. Shalini R.Urs
Executive Director and Professor
International School of Information Management
University of Mysore
Manasagangotri
Mysore - 570006
Phone : + 91 821 2514699
Fax : + 91 821 2519209
www.isim.ac.in
ISiM - Management School of IT. Technology School for IM
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