Paul Otlet (Founder of FID) and Internet

 

Source: Hindustan Hindi Dainik, 2nd July 2012, Page No.11

Information Literacy

Information Literacy can be termed as a set of individual abilities to identify, retrieve, evaluate and use information that is appropriate to a particular requirement. It is the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to identify, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, leading to wise and ethical use of information in society. 
To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. The information literate individuals are those who have learned how to learn. Scholars who develop information literacy skills will be more successful in their studies and their daily lives. These skills are an essential element in becoming a lifelong learner. An Information Literate student is one who is able to: 
• Recognise his information requirements
• Analyse and formulate queries based on his information requirements;
• Identify and locate potential sources of information; 
• Design, develop and successfully use various search strategies;
• Evaluate information gathered from various sources and in various formats;
• Use information in critical thinking and problem solving;
• Use information ethically; 
• Integrate new information into the existing body of knowledge;
• Effectively communicate the knowledge and ideas with rest of the world;
Introduction
Historically the term information literacy was first used in print by Paul G. Zurkowski in 1974 in a report written on behalf of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. The phrase was used to describe the "techniques and skills" known by the information literate "for utilizing the wide range of information tools as well as primary sources in molding information solutions to their problems". Although other educational goals, including traditional literacy, computer literacy, library skills, and critical thinking skills, are related to information literacy and important foundations for its development, information literacy itself has emerged as a distinct skill set and a necessary key to one's social and economic well-being in an increasingly complex information society". 
The complete information environment is changing rapidly, be it the form, format or resources. The abundance of information available through the Internet in public domain in the form of subject gateways, e-books, e-journals, subject and subject concept based web pages, etc., as well as the information available through different subscription based databases made available by various hosts and aggregators, is bound to play a very important role in teaching, learning and research, particularly in higher education and R&D institutions.

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The art of managing information - K. Lakshmi

    

Career opportunities for librarians have increased manifold in this digital era.

OPPORTUNITIES GALORE: Librarians need to keep themselves abreast of the latest technology to facilitate quick retrieval of information.

Libraries have come a long way from being mere storehouses of books and periodicals. And the work profile of librarians has also undergone a tremendous change.
According to librarians in the government sector, only a few chose library for a career a few decades ago and most of them were based in the public sector. Now, the number of libraries and the scope of the career have increased manifold.
Officials of the Public Libraries department said a degree or postgraduate degree in library science is a must to take up job as a government librarian. Knowledge in computer science has also become a necessity to keep up with the emerging trend of digitisation. Many universities offer library science courses in distance education mode and regular stream. A. Amudavalli, professor and head, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Madras, said it is a misconception that such courses are now being offered only through distance education. The regular college students have better opportunities than the students of distance education mode.
Various courses
The Department established in 1937 offered certificate and diploma courses. Over time, undergraduate and postgraduate courses were merged together as a two-year Integrated Course in Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS). Later, the course was renamed M.Sc. in Library and Information Science as a full-time (regular) programme, she said.
As the data is not limited to books anymore, the scope for careers in different fields has widened. Besides opportunities in traditional libraries, including those at schools and colleges, candidates could get placement in government department libraries and private sector libraries such as in IT firms and hospitals.
“We constantly update the curriculum with new topics based on the current trends. The students are exposed to latest concepts such as digital libraries, computer applications and soft skills. This provides required competence for employability in various fields,” she said. As the new courses train students in management information system, they could also apply for jobs in banks for record and data management. Another important aspect of the curriculum is the one-month internship training at various major libraries.
Career scope
Most institutions, including non-governmental organisations, research and development labs, defence organisations and media houses, now have library equipped with latest technology and need qualified candidates.
The department is also introducing P.G. Diploma in Digital Library Management in the coming academic year.
Students would learn about digital data preservation, management and retrieval through this evening college programme.