----- Original Message ----- From: "K.Sankaraiah" <sankariahk@dataone.in> Subject: Re: [LIS-Forum] Damning indictment of LIS profession

Dear Moderator, I would be most grateful for posting the following mail. Let me begin by thanking all the professional colleagues for their comments on the subject. I'm most happy to see Dr Vyasamurthy also picked up the Hindu article and providing a link to it, felt that some of the librarians need to be sensitised to the concept of service. I hope to be permitted to sum up the whole little debate. The comments varied from a) some users are rude and selfish, try to pull their weight around b) library is a temple and so access should not be restricted c) we have not heard the other side of the story and so should not rush to judge and d) every one should observe rules. In fact d) seems to be the dominant factor. One cannot the dispute the validity of these claims; but equally we cannot dispute the suppremacy of service for our profession, as also for many otherprofessions. How can we forget the basic tenets of librarianship as enunciated by the greatest library thinker of all times viz books are for use; every book its reader; every reader his book and save the time of the reader. Can we afford to take a confrontationist stand of "them and we" and cry for eye for an eye and tooth for the tooth. We talk of library marketing today like any commercial enterprize. We say library user is a customer. Most of the librarians in the West say, by calling the library user a customer, we have promoted them to a higher position. Customers come in all shapes and sizes. There are awkward customers and difficult customers. But is it not a fact that as long as we are behind the 'counter' ie the Lakshman Rekha, we cannot think of' tit for tat'. Even when we know that a particular customer is in the wrong, we cannot afford to vent our spleen on him or her. In this context, Gandhiji is often quoted. 'We are in business because of the customer' and not the other way round. Yes, there are rules. But rule are there to prevent misuse or abuse and not to prevent genuine use or user. I'm very distressed to see my friend, Prof Lakshman Rao saying that rules have to be followed. He says he was not allowed entry to Bibliotheca National. But I'm sure he would not have been asked to prove his bonafides. The library staff there, must have explained the restrictions in a most polite way. I had a similar experiance. First time I could not get in to the British Museum Library in London. But the staff there did every thing possible to enable me to have access to it. They advised me to get a letter from the British Council, which I did. I could see they were inspired by the ideals of service. Mr Lakshman Rao is a respected teacher and trainer of librarians and has been in the field for a long time and if a teacher takes the stand that he has taken, we need not be surprised by the attitude of some of us. In the present case of Ranjit Lal, to me it appears, he wanted to consult the documents in the National Museum Library. I visited its website which looks very impressive, claims a stock of two lakh documents. The name of the librarian (?) given there is one Ms Pratibha Parashar. She might not have been the staff to attending Ranjit Lal. In the interests of our profession, could some one in Delhi please find out what had happened. As I said in my first mail, because of isolated instances like this, the whole profession is blamed. By and large, librarians are good and service-minded. Society is changing fast, much faster than any one can imagine. We have come a long away from preservation to active dissemination of information ( proactive is the word most appropriate, I think) and I hope we have long ceased to be policing our possessions. Social forces like competition are driving us to provide quality service to our users. Technology is helping us today in ways undreamt of previously to help us in this noble mission of ours, which ultimately contributes to personal, individual and national development. I'm grateful to LIS-FORUM for opportunities to share our views in matters concerning our profession. You are doing a wonderful service !! Thank you. Sankaraiah, K

----- Original Message ----- From: "K.Sankaraiah" <sankariahk@dataone.in> To: <lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in> Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 7:28 AM Subject: [LIS-Forum] Damning indictment of LIS profession

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Dear Moderator, Grateful for publishing the following in lis-forum.

I wish to draw the attention of our professional colleagues to an article under the Musings, entitled "What are your bonafides?", by Mr Ranjit Lal in the Magazine section of the Hindu of 9 April, 2006. I think all of us should read this and ponder over the implications. I'm sure many of us must have already done so. The gist of the article is the author, obviously not a member, approached the librarian of the National Museum library in Delhi for help and the librarian promptly asked him to prove his bonafides. Ranjit Lal contributes articles to the Hindu and probably does so to many other renowned newspapers and journals. In any case he told the librarian that he uses the Teen Murthi library and the British Council Library in Delhi and he is working on a book for which he needs help. According to the article, this did not cut ice with the librarian.

This article, I believe, is a damning indictment of the unhelpful and bureaucratic attitude of the librarian of one of the premier institutions of the country. It should rouse the collective conscience of the LIS profession and force us to think if in today's competitive world we can afford to have this kind of unhelpful attitude. Even otherwise, isn't service to the user at the centre of our profession ?. The aurthor rightly says the public pays for librarian's salary, allowances and the innumerable cups of tea, justifiable and just righteous indignation!!.

How do we change this attitude?. I was under the impression that things have changed and we all swear by service. All the works of SRR emphasise this aspect. Because of instaces like this,( I hope they are isolated) the whole profession gets the stick. And this is why society does not give us the status that an intellectual profession like ours deserves.

We need to do something here.

Sankaraiah, K Immediate past President of the Madras Library Association (MALA)

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