Dear All, Department of Library & Information Science, BHU & Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi are jointly going to organise *National Seminar On Open Source Library Solutions (OSLS)* on 16th - 17th January, 2009. *About Seminar:* The rising cost of technology has compelled the libraries to use Open Source Software (OSS) for library automation, digital library and so on. OSSs are developed in public domain by the technology experts for the libraries. The professional community implements the software solutions and renders feedback to developers, which is a real time testing of software. The OSS products are provided with source code for implementation level customization and future development of software. These solutions are often free for use and could be redistributed. Today, there are OSSs available for different library activities which are better than the commercial solutions using cutting age technology. These solutions range from Operating System to specialized institutional repositories. This has made the library services more cost effective and least dependent on commercial software and vendors. However, there is a concern of the professionals over stability of software implementation and continuing support to these OSSs. There is an equal and opposite concern from the end of developers also towards having a sustainable funding for running the software development projects. Whatever the concerns may be, the increased use of open source software among the library community is very encouraging for open source solution developers. The Department of Library and Information Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi proposes to conduct two days National Convention on Open Source Library Solutions (OSLS), 16th – 17th January, 2009. The proposed seminar would provide a common platform for library professionals to share their experience. Research papers, demonstration and case-studies are invited for presentation and discussion during the convention in following areas: Implementation of OSS in:- Library automation, Digital repositories, Digital preservation, Consortium planning, Community education, Office management, Content development, Event management, E-publishing, Knowledge management, E-governance, Community networks. *Target Participants:* Practicing Librarians and Information Scientists, Faculty Members, Researchers, Students, Information System Personnel, Managers, etc. *Call for Papers:* Full texts paper(s) in English (in A4 size, double space, not more than 10 pages) should be sent to the *Organising Secretary, Deptt. of Library and Information Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi - 221005*. adityatripathi@hotmail.com aditya@bhu.ac.in Last date for submission of full texts of paper(s) is 20.12.2009. *Registration:* Rs. 500/- per participant. The DD / Cash payable in favour of *"National Seminar on Open Source Library Solutions"*, payable at Varanasi. The Registration Fee includes -Conference Kit & Working Lunch / Tea. *Accommodation:* Limited accommodation is available on payment basis on first come first basis. For further enquiry please contact: Coordinator Prof. H. N. PRASAD Head, Deptt. of Library and Information Science Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221 005 Tel: +91 542 6701028 (Off.) +91 9415336709 (Mob.) E-mail: hnprasad.bhu@gmail.com Organising Secretary Dr. ADITYA TRIPATHI Lecturer, Deptt. of Library and Information Science Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221 005 Tel: +91 542 6701027 (Off.) +91 9450710628 (Mob.) E-mail: adityatripathi@hotmail.com; aditya@bhu.ac.in *Registration Form:* Registration form can be downloaded from the Department's website http://www.bhu.ac.in/lis.html or directly from the URL http://www.bhu.ac.in/dlis/osls.pdf KRISHNA NAND SINGH MLIS(BHU) -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.