Dear
Sirs/Madams
We are anxious to observe the disquieting situation prevailing in the Government controlled and Govt. sponsored Public
libraries in West Bengal caused by recent Govt. order dated 14.03.12 indicating
the imposition of the Govt.'s inhibitive restriction for reading
newspapers in the libraries of West Bengal.
It is needless to
mention here that modern libraries, unlike those in earlier centuries, are the
knowledge resource centres (KRC) and cardinal intermediaries between the
producers and consumers of knowledge. The knowledge economy starting from the
days of Adam Smith has been shaping itself anew in these days of market economy
resulting in both generation and proliferation of knowledge at faster rate. Its
fruitful use has become indispensable in any sphere of human activity.
Precisely, knowledge is the invisible capital for development and newspapers
are the primary sources of knowledge. Gathering, culling, disseminating and
using of knowledge of any type and variation are the absolute rights of any
individual institution and organization in the society. Its easy accessibility
availability and free flow for use in a library according to user’s choice,
need, demand and requirement should be imperatively ensured. Moreover,
according to UNESCO, a library
is “people’s
university”. Any imposed restriction for reading newspapers in the
libraries is bound to mar the activity and effort for achieving the cherished
goal.
Thus, IASLIC, in collaboration with
Bengal Library Association(BLA), is going to organise a joint convention on the
above mentioned order issued by the Govt of West Bengal imposing restrictions
on subscribing newspapers for Govt libraries on 22.04.2012 (Sunday)
at 4 pm in the Mahabodhi Society Auditorium, College Square, Kolkata – 700 073.
A good number of speakers are invited from different fields. We earnestly
invite you to attend the convention with your professional friends and
colleagues to make this convention a grand success.
With warm
regards.
=====================================================
পীযূষকান্তি পাণিগ্রাহী
Dr
Pijushkanti Panigrahi,
Professor
& Head, Dept of Lib and Inf Science, 3rd Floor Asutosh Building, University
of Calcutta, 87/1 College Street,Kolkata - 700 073, West Bengal, India, email :panigrahipk@yahoo.com, (M) : +91 94342 43522.
General
Secretary, Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centres
(IASLIC), P-291, CIT Scheme No 6M , Kankurgachi, Kolkata – 700 054, India;
Associate
Editor, IASLIC Bulletin ;
Member,
Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning (CPDWL),
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA),
Netherlands
Member, Library Committee, The Asiatic Society,
Kolkata.
