Dear Friends, Following is the inaugural session report of the 3-day workshop on NewGenLib held today, the 25th Feb 2008 at our Institute. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More than 61 millions of people access Internet in India said Dr. Johnnes Keizer, Information Systems Officer, FAO of the United Nations, Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building Division. Keizer was giving a key-note address in a workshop on “Open Source Integrated Library Management Software for Knowledge Centres: A hands-on workshop on NewGenLib” at SDM Institute for Management Development (SDM IMD), Mysore. People are putting not only scholarly information but also the tacit knowledge. Wikis, Blogs, Question and Answer Services have enabled the people to share information globally and instantaneously. He cautioned the librarians that unless they are proactive and contribute significantly to the every growing information industry, their jobs will be taken away by others. Keizer explained the research that is going around the world to make the information on the Internet more meaningful. He said in this context Tim Berners-Lee’s idea of semantic web is catching up fast and the future lies in Web 2.0. Keizer said that Web 2.0 is envisioned with an basic philosophy of mutually maximizing collective intelligence and added value for each participant by formalized and dynamic information sharing and creation. The workshop is organized to train the librarians and knowledge managers in the newly released open source software called “NewGenLib”. Speaking on the software, Mr.. L.J. Haravu, Trustee, Keshavan Institute of Information and Knowledge Management, Hyderabad said that the software now can be downloaded freely. The software can be used in medium and large sized libraries and knowledge centers. It was released for free download only in January this year and already more than 4000 people around the world have downloaded the software, he said. The workshop intends to train the participants in the installation and use of the software. Prof. Ramesh Ventakteswaran, Director, SDM Institute for Management Development, Mysore said that true to the spirits of Dharmasthala trust, the Institute is spreading the specialized knowledge to the professionals by way of conducting workshops, seminars and conferences conducted periodically in the Institute. He said more than 30 participants from various parts of India are present for this first ever workshop on Indian based open source software. With regards, Sunil MV Librarian SDM Institute for Management Development No. 1, Chamundi Hill Road Siddartha Nagar, Mysore Phone : 0821 - 2420490/491 2429722/161 Fax: 0821-2425557 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.