Re: [LIS-Forum] Promoting reading habits
Dear All, Its really a crucial part of librarianship, we should discussed and search out some important and special ideas for improving the reading habits. I have a suggestion regarding this !. We should maintain a user profile(Specially for faculty, researchers and special users, where we mapping their interest areas. after this as any material come to our library we can inform the concern user through a mail, by this they will feel special attention towards them and they'll come to read to the library. I think this idea will work, what all you thinks. Regards Divya Soni Assistant Librarian Development Alternatives New Delhi-17 On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 Parinita Samant wrote :
Dear All,
This could be a very interesting point for discussion, as promoting reading habits will always be an important topic for all librarians.
Could we professionals work together on this forum and try to list out all possibilities for increased readership in libraries?
Thanks & Regards
Parinita Samant Hexaware Technologies Ltd Mahape, Navi Mumbai 400710
67919595 - Xt- 9707 "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all" -Oscar Wilde -----Original Message----- From: lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in [mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in] On Behalf Of binu david Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 3:13 PM To: lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: [LIS-Forum] Promoting reading habits
Dear Friends
I am a Librarian with a self financing engineering college(only BTech/BE) in Kerala. Our library subscribes to around 80 print periodicals in the area of engineering and allied subjects. To promote reading habits of periodicals among students and faculty we have taken initiate like user education, current awareness etc. But the response to these initiatives are meagre. Yearly we are spending around 2 lakh on periodicals. So i need some valuable suggestions from my colleague's in promoting reading habits of our periodicals in optimum.
Hope soon I will receive a lot of suggestion from you people.
Thanking you
Sincerely
Binu David Librarian N J College of Engineering Pothandi Palghat
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Miss. Divya Soni Professional Trainee Library Indian Institute of Management Indore, Pigdamber Rau, Phone-91-731-4228625-628 Mobile No.-09926624935 Indore -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.
This is an amazing question – thank you very much indeed for initiating such
a simple and but wonderful discussion topic. As always, there are questions
that can trigger a discussion (and there are dead question as well), those
questions are better than the answers or solutions provided against them.
Because the ripples that it creates in a human mind has a fissile effect. So
the way you ask question to your customers will help you understand them
better. So, here again, I'm might ask some related questions, answers to
those might help you get this initiative going forward.
I personally believe that any new initiative require change. For example,
the question Binu David has put forth to this forum is the first sign of a
change to take place. Where does that change take place first? In his/her
head, right? How does that change take place? It emerges from the feeling
that Users would get better value if they come to the Library and read. But,
it is still in the head of Binu and certainly not shared by his customers or
users. Why? Simple, they don't buy into what Binu think is good for them?
So, I personally believe that we must start asking fundamental and simple
questions to our users – that's how anyway, we solicit user feedback.
But, in this scenario, we must engage our users personally on a face-to-face
discussion. Now, this discussion has to be very structured and mentally
convincing to the person you are going to explain your concept of value
addition to users through Library. That means, you as a Librarian should be
a in a position to convince him/her on all matters relating to his believe
on why he/she should come to the Library. Remember, this is a mental
exercise you have to do.
Because, as of now the person believe that the Library can provide very
little for himself or herself? He/she feels that it is the same old, boring
place. So, immediate answer to the question is : Get into the heads of the
your users, think from their view point on why should they come to the
Library? Why did or didn't you go to the Library, when you were a student?
I'm sure you had better things to do, than going there;- unless you got what
you were looking for? Whether it was to find your romantic counter part or
the novel you were looking for – whatever that may be.
The point is, we have to build romantic Libraries, Libraries that can
attract, retain and make people continuously starve for lib services. By the
way, where do you go for romance? Mostly to a Garden, unless you are in
Bangalore, and looking for a Coffee day outlet. In either case, it has
commonalities and differences. Meaning: Library has to be esthetically
pleasing to the people to come and romance with books. Second, we must
encourage over-a-cup of coffee conversations inside the Library in well
crafted environment (meaning not disturbance to other users). We must embed
ourselves into these conversations and get a feel of why people should come
to Library? I can tell you, if you can encourage informal conversations,
nothing can stop the bonding that take place among people to avoid coming to
the same place at the same time. This is from my experience of attending
BarCamps in Bangalore. So encourage conversation, provide conducive,
non-threatening and free flowing discussions.
Though, the next point is very controversial. I would like to hit upon this
as well. The education imparted in most colleges in Kerala barring a few
national level institutions are not up to the standard of making people to
think and provide their assessment of a view or question. Therefore,
students have no clarity of concepts, they just have swallowed the theory
only find a place where they can vomit – nothing beyond.
So, engage professors, to come to the Library and use the audio-visual
facilities to trigger curricular or non-curricular but inspiring discussions
on anything the user community want to discuss or understand. Generally,
students are open to have discussions on topic they hardly understand but
by-hearted. What I'm saying is that, we must provide value that the students
are seeking (you must read this with my earlier posting on value/individual
productivity).
Though there are many things that we could do change the mindset, one
important, one can quickly take up is to find the most influential students
among the students community and have a conversation with them on the value
(again, you must have convincing answers to them) of Library to them. If you
get through this, you have got a large mass coming to the Library under the
influence of this people. It depends on your ability to plant seeds of
convincing thoughts into the brain of the influence people, who will
influence others. Again, conversation is the key.
So, key points: 1. Plant seeds of thoughts with influential people 2.
Encourage conversations (design and deploy) 3. Build aesthetics soothing to
the people 4. Continuously question your own judgment on why users don't
come to the Library. You must avoid pre-mature judgment on why users don't
come. 5. Get into the depth of your assumptions, at least ¾ level deeper
(example, Let's say, you think that users not coming to the Library because
they are no longer interested in reading. Don't stop there, ask yourself,
why they are not interested, you might get some answers, I know everything,
what I need to know, again don't stop there, ask yourself why does he thinks
that he knows everything, library can't provide any additional value? So,
you have to keep going, at least 5 or 6 level deeper. Whatever you discover
will get you the right answers and can be published in a International
journal.
Inviting your critical comments and further questions!
So, good luck
On 23 Apr 2008 10:55:51 -0000, divya soni
Dear All, Its really a crucial part of librarianship, we should discussed and search out some important and special ideas for improving the reading habits. I have a suggestion regarding this !. We should maintain a user profile(Specially for faculty, researchers and special users, where we mapping their interest areas. after this as any material come to our library we can inform the concern user through a mail, by this they will feel special attention towards them and they'll come to read to the library. I think this idea will work, what all you thinks.
Regards Divya Soni Assistant Librarian Development Alternatives New Delhi-17
On Wed, 23 Apr 2008 Parinita Samant wrote :
Dear All,
This could be a very interesting point for discussion, as promoting reading habits will always be an important topic for all librarians.
Could we professionals work together on this forum and try to list out all possibilities for increased readership in libraries?
Thanks & Regards
Parinita Samant Hexaware Technologies Ltd Mahape, Navi Mumbai 400710
67919595 - Xt- 9707 "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all" -Oscar Wilde -----Original Message----- From: lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in [mailto:lis-forum-bounces@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in] On Behalf Of binu david Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 3:13 PM To: lis-forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in Subject: [LIS-Forum] Promoting reading habits
Dear Friends
I am a Librarian with a self financing engineering college(only BTech/BE) in Kerala. Our library subscribes to around 80 print periodicals in the area of engineering and allied subjects. To promote reading habits of periodicals among students and faculty we have taken initiate like user education, current awareness etc. But the response to these initiatives are meagre. Yearly we are spending around 2 lakh on periodicals. So i need some valuable suggestions from my colleague's in promoting reading habits of our periodicals in optimum.
Hope soon I will receive a lot of suggestion from you people.
Thanking you
Sincerely
Binu David Librarian N J College of Engineering Pothandi Palghat
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*************************************************************************************************************************** This e-mail communication and any attachments may be privileged and confidential to Hexaware and are intended only for the use of the recipients named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please do not review, disclose, disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail and attachments. If you have received this email in error, please delete the same alongwith all attachments thereto and notify us immediately at mailadmin@hexaware.com .
***************************************************************************************************************************
*************************************************************************************************************************** This e-mail communication and any attachments may be privileged and confidential to Hexaware and are intended only for the use of the recipients named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please do not review, disclose, disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail and attachments. If you have received this email in error, please delete the same alongwith all attachments thereto and notify us immediately at mailadmin@hexaware.com .
***************************************************************************************************************************
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_______________________________________________ LIS-Forum mailing list LIS-Forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum Miss. Divya Soni Professional Trainee Library Indian Institute of Management Indore, Pigdamber Rau, Phone-91-731-4228625-628 Mobile No.-09926624935 Indore
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participants (2)
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divya soni