Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 12:43:55 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun@mssrf.res.in> A very good question. Many Heads of the The Library of Congress in Washington DC did not go to a library school. In India, I knew of a librarian who was an arts graduate and who did extremely well at CSIR headquarters and later at the Fertilizer Association of India. For a very long time the National Science Library at INSDOC was managed by an arts graduate, who did a great job. But often these are exceptions. I also know of librarians who have degrees in the field they serve. To be able to serve a clientele, a librarian must know as much as possible in the field of specialization of the clientele. That is why institutions expect librarians to have some knowledge in physics/ astronomy/ aerospace/biology etc. I would expect a librarian working at the Reserve bank to be well read in economics, banking, finance and so on. What is essential is neither a degree in science nor librarianship, but the knowledge and ability to deliver. In most cases the knowledge comes through formal university training. Subbiah Arunachalam ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mailing List Manager" <mailman@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> To: <lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 6:36 PM Subject: [LIS-Forum] Reg.CLARIFICATION

Date: Fri, 6 May 2005 09:22:48 +0100 (BST) From: jaya kgowda <jaya_kgowda@yahoo.co.in>

QUESTION: WHY SOME OF THE LIBRARIES RESTRICT ONLY SCIENCE BACKGROUND LIBRARIANS.

EXAMPLE: ISRO,ASTRO PHYSICS NAL E.T.C

Library Science is a universal of Knowledge.

Jaya