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Showing posts with label September 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label September 2012. Show all posts

Monday, September 24, 2012

An interesting online Quiz!!! Try Your hand Library Professional Friends


Online Quiz


Join us in this adventurous journey of online research from 18 September to 18 November 2012 and discover the latest research and hot topics in the areas of life, health, physical and social sciences, and the humanities. As you discover, Wiley Online Library enables you to stay connected with your peers and the latest research output with its alert and social media sharing tools.

This online quiz is open to all in Asia-Pacific with over 35 attractive prizes to be won, including iPad2. This online quiz consists of eight questions and will take no more than 20 minutes to complete. Entries with all quiz
questions answered correctly will automatically
be entered into the lucky draw.
Terms and conditions apply.
get started

Prizes
Grand Prize:
iPad2 (6 Prizes)

Research Prize:
iPod Nano 8G (10 Prizes)

Discovery Prize:
iPod Shuffle 2G (15 Prizes)

Mystery Prize:
It’s a MYSTERY! (5 Prizes)

This quiz is open only to Asia Pacific.
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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Madras University Library Celebrations draw flak

The library of the University of Madras is now embroiled in yet another controversy with senior professors raising questions about the timing of the post-centenary celebrations slated for September 25.
The fete takes place even as the library has remained headless for about four years with several big ticket projects struggling to take off.
Sources in the university said that the celebrations have been organised 5 years after the library completed its centenary in 2007. About Rs 9 lakh had been sanctioned for the event. However, what has raised eyebrows is the timing, as vice-chancellor G Thiruvasagam’s tenure is set to end in October.
Speaking to Express, a senior professors said the historic library has been in neglect as far as administration is concerned. While the last full-fledged librarian retired in 2008, the post remained vacant ever since. This was despite two rounds of advertisements calling for applications. Also, there was an attempt recently by the administration to promote a deputy librarian to the post of librarian, which was defeated.
Statutes, a Syndicate member pointed out, clearly stated that the post could only be filled by direct recruitment and not through promotion.
A senior Senate member said the digitization of theses that began in 2006 was halted half way for two years and has now been restarted after negotiations with the contractor.
This apart, while an UGC notification in 2009 provided for electronic submission of theses by students through an MoU with the INFLIBNET centre, no efforts have been made to carry forward this project.
“Over 70 Universities have already done it. If MU had gone ahead, assistance would have been provided for installing anti-plagiarism software in the library, improving the overall quality of research scholars,” said a senior Senate member, who wished not to be named. While the V-C had promised the installation of the software last year, efforts on this front had been wanting, the member said.
Another project that has failed to take off is the introduction of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags for efficient cataloguing, now in place in almost all major varsities in the country.
Senior professors said while the focus should have been on recruitment of a qualified librarian and the implementation of all modernization projects, for which Rs 3.20 crore was allocated, the varsity was going ahead in a hurried manner with the celebrations, five years after the library completed its centenary. Vice-chancellor G Thiruvasagam could not be contacted for comments.
Source: Indian Express, 22 September 2012

Importance of access to library stressed


Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, September 22 2012: ON THE last day of the 5-day long national awareness programme on access to library organized jointly by Manipur University (MU) and National Library Kolkata at MU Library today, Prof E Bijoykumar Singh, Dept of Economics, MU has observed that researchers in the university need not have to be made to run from pillar to post in search of information.

Delivering the Presidential address of the valedictory function, Prof Bijoykumar Singh pointed out that one of the most time-consuming in any research is searching for sources and information.

So, most research scholars have to run here and there to collect their requirements.

Now that the library at Manipur University has been equipped with world class facilities that phase of running from pillar to post in search of information would be over.

He also noted that it would be ridiculous to build up facilities only in MU Library without expanding such facilities in other institutions under the varsity.

Speaking as Chief Guest of the valedictory function, Prof Amar Yumnam maintained that a university is become significant only when its library is significant.

Moreover, there is no importance for existence of library in any institutions if users do not use the facilities correctly He pointed out that none of the Indian Universities are among the top 200 best universities of the world, and it's because of the mechanism of operating library in the country.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

School libraries are still about teaching students to use information efficiently and ethically


When Sue Reinaman became Northern High School librarian 18 years ago, there were CD-ROMs and a card catalog in drawers, with the beginning of digital resources. 
    
Today, her library has seven online databases, with the budget shifting toward buying more digital resources, including e-books. 
    
Mechanicsburg High School libraryAllyson Fea, left, and Fiona Sweeney, both freshmen, say they like to work on homework in the library at Mechanicsburg Area High School.
Still, she said the emphasis is the same. 
    
“It’s always been about teaching them how to find and use information efficiently and ethically,” Reinaman said, except in a different format. 
    
Unlike some school districts, Reinaman said no library positions were cut at Northern this year. 
    
That wasn’t the case in West Shore School District, which cut half of its 12 library positions, said Ryan Argot, district spokesman. 
    
Argot said the district is expanding its digital resources, including e-books. He said the district realigned its library program “so the individual librarians are able to assist more students this year.” There are now three librarians in each of the elementary and secondary levels.
    
“Especially at the elementary level, libraries are an important component of what schools do to ensure students read proficiently,” Argot said, adding that school library programs help students find research materials and teach Internet safety, in conjunction with regular classroom teachers. 
    
Cuts also were less severe at East Pennsboro Area School District, which eliminated one library position last year. As in many school districts, the two elementary librarians each travel to two schools, and the middle and high schools each have their own librarian, spokeswoman Katie Gouldner said. 
    
Erin Siwert, one of the elementary librarians, said the reduction does affect the amount of time students receive library instruction. When she’s not in the school, there is a clerk to make sure materials are available to teachers and students.

LIBRARIAN ROLE CHANGES

In the past, the librarian was more of a selector, protector and preserver of materials, Siwert said, sharing books and fostering a love of reading. 
    
“Today, a school library-media specialist is more of a discerning cultivator matching their patrons with the print and digital resources to meet their information needs,” she said. 
    
Computer labs are connected to the libraries in both elementary schools, Siwert said, so students can immediately apply the skills she teaches them. 
    
As students start doing research in third grade, Siwert said she sees them eagerly going to Google or other search engines to find the answers to questions. 
    
“I teach them to not always trust those search results. If they are looking for facts, they need to use reliable resources,” she said, such as online encyclopedia databases and others that the district has purchased. 
    
“It is the hub of technology — that’s definitely how we see the direction of our library,” said Capri Stiles, head librarian in Carlisle Area School District. 
    
Technology has forced librarians to “get onboard” or not be very happy with their positions, Stiles said. Carlisle hasn’t cut its library staff, but the seven buildings have been sharing three librarians for a number of years, assisted with aides. 
    
One of the current dilemmas is determining how e-books fit into a school environment. “Our district is addressing this very soon,” she said, as the district decides whether and how to allow students to bring their own electronic devices to school.

A BALANCING ACT

At the same time, Stiles sees high school students more interested in books than in the past, and more accustomed to having a Barnes & Noble-type environment in their library where people are discussing books. 
    
“We certainly don’t have lattes, but we have sections of books where discussions can take place,” she said. 
    
Books turning into movies might be generating some of the excitement, she said. “It has really inspired a lot of students to look and see what’s out there,” she said. 
    
As in most high school libraries, Stiles doesn’t have regularly scheduled classes, but collaborates with teachers to supply materials and assist students in research. 
    
Stiles said she knows that school districts have to make cuts, and added that the cost of books has risen drastically. 
    
“The trends are forcing districts to be creative in spending,” Stiles said, adding “There are other ways of accessing information that don’t cost nearly as much.” 
    
Librarians have to weigh whether it’s worth it to have an item in print form “when the same information can be accessed electronically for a fraction or free,” Stiles said. 
    
“Just as we’re seeing newspapers struggling with the competition of an online environment, I can’t imagine that Norman Rockwell picture of the man smoking a pipe reading a newspaper — is he going to have a Kindle or smartphone in his hand reading the newspaper?” Stiles said. 
    
“I see students who like to come in and browse across the shelf for a magazine that catches their eye, and sit back and relax and not have to worry about their connection going off” on their laptop, she said. 
    
In Mechanicsburg Area School District, increased commitment to the school libraries has helped make up for some state library funding cuts that cause some libraries to reduce hours and cut PowerLibrary database resources, said Kirsten Zelenky, school district library coordinator. 
    
The district has maintained four full-time librarians, and every student gets instruction in information literacy skills, Zelenky said.

LIBRARIES ARE MEDIA CENTERS

School libraries are called “information media centers,” since they offer iPads, e-book readers, DVDs and laptops, in addition to print materials. At the high school there are more than 100 titles in e-book format. 
    
“Instead of buying encyclopedia sets, libraries purchase online databases,” Zelenky said, which students can access at home as well as school. 
    
Students can collaborate online on programs like GoogleDocs, with the library using technology to foster online learning groups. 
    
The library curriculum used to be about information (reference) and literacy (books), with a librarian helping students to find a book with the facts they needed. 
    
“Today, the librarian helps by teaching a student how to develop a topic, how to narrow the search results by identifying key words, how to evaluate the results and how to give credit to the author,” she said. 
    
Information is easy to come by today, but understanding and using it is not, Zelenky said. 
    
“Students today must learn to be critical thinkers, they must understand how to approach learning as inquiry, they must develop the ethical behavior specific to the modern world,” Zelenky said. 
    
At Northern, Reinaman teaches a class for ninth-graders on research but otherwise works with classroom teachers and students on a flexible schedule, as needed. 
    
As teachers assign projects, Reinaman creates a page of resources for students to access, ranging from databases to e-books and online websites. 
    
“There’s so much information out there. We try to balance being a school library with supplying information and teaching them how to find it,” she said. 
    
Elaine Kern, president of the Pennsylvania School Libraries Association, said studies have shown that schools with strong library programs have higher test scores and better grades. Libraries not only teach students love of reading, it provides them with work skills. “It teaches them how to be critical thinkers, analyzers of information,” Kern said. 
    
PSLA is working with the state Department of Education to develop a model library curriculum, and would like to see a dedicated line item for school library funding in the state budget. 
    
The results of a new survey on 2012-13 library cuts and staffing should be available next month, along with a study correlating PSSA scores and quality of school library programs. The information will be provided to a state House education committee studying library funding. 
    
Deb Kachel, PSLA co-chairwoman of the legislative committee, said school libraries are the most economical and efficient way to centrally provide resources to teachers and students. 
    
“What we’re seeing in our state right now is a huge gap between the haves and have-nots,” Kachel said. “Wealthy parents can buy their kids e-books on Kindles and take them to the library and bookstores, and we have a huge amount of kids where the only library they ever know is a school library,” Kachel said. 

Read more news at:

Friday, September 21, 2012

Hindi library at Post Master General office (Allahabad)

ALLAHABAD: To let Hindi thrive, we have to develop interest towards it among people and libraries have an important role in this, said Lt Col Ashok Kumar Gupta at the inauguration of the newly constructed Hindi Library at the Office of Post Master General Allahabad. He said books on various subjects should be compiled in the library. Presiding over the function director postal services Krishna Kumar Yadav said books are like oxygen that refreshes the environment. Some time spent in the library between the busy hours will refresh the minds of employees and interest make them interested in knowledge and research. The library has a collection of more than 2,000 books along with the four 'Vedas'. Assistant director (Raajbhasha) R N Yadav delivered the welcome address and assistant director Madhusudan Prasad Mishra extended the vote of thanks. Senior postmaster T B Singh, along with Ram Surat, Nand Kishore, assistant superintendent Prabhakar Tripathi and other employees were also present.

Body building champs: Gold and silver medals were won by contestants from Allahabad in the senior Eastern UP Body Building championship held at Ghazipur recently. While Navin Sonkar of the city won gold medal in the 0-50 kg category, in the 70-75 Kg category Rishabh Malviya of Allahabad bagged the silver medal, informed president, Allahabad Body Building Association Sheikh Tauqeer Ahmed.
Majlis: A majlis will be organised at Imambara Husain Khan at Rani Mandi on Thursday. Zaigham Abbas will perform sozkhani while Maulana Hasan Raza Saheb will address the majlis. Followers of Dast-e-Abbasia will perform nauhakhani and seenazani. The majlis is being organised in memory of Karrar Husain.

The man who turned his home into a public library



Nanie Guanlao's library

If you put all the books you own on the street outside your house, you might expect them to disappear in a trice. But one man in Manila tried it - and found that his collection grew.
Hernando Guanlao is a sprightly man in his early 60s, with one abiding passion - books.
They're his pride and joy, which is just as well because, whether he likes it or not, they seem to be taking over his house.
Guanlao, known by his nickname Nanie, has set up an informal library outside his home in central Manila, to encourage his local community to share his joy of reading.
The idea is simple. Readers can take as many books as they want, for as long as they want - even permanently. As Guanlao says: "The only rule is that there are no rules."

It's a policy you might assume would end very quickly - with Guanlao having no books at all.

But in fact, in the 12 years he's been running his library - or, in his words, his book club - he's found that his collection has grown rather than diminished, as more and more people donate to the cause.
"It seems to me that the books are speaking to me. That's why it multiplies like that," he says with a smile. "The books are telling me they want to be read… they want to be passed around."
Guanlao started his library in 2000, shortly after the death of his parents. He was looking for something to honour their memory, and that was when he hit upon the idea of promoting the reading habit he'd inherited.
"I saw my old textbooks upstairs and decided to come up with the concept of having the public use them," he says.
So he put the books - a collection of fewer than 100 - outside the door of his house to see if anyone wanted to borrow them. They did, and they brought the books back with others to add to the collection - and the library was born.
Guanlao's library
Such is the current turnover that Guanlao confesses he has no idea how many books are in his possession, but there are easily 2,000 or 3,000 on the shelves and in the boxes stacked outside his front door.
And that's before you move inside, where books are rapidly encroaching into every available space. You can hardly get into the front room, the car has long since been moved out of the garage, and books are even stacked all the way up the stairs.

Start Quote

You don't do justice to these books if you put them in a cabinet or a box”
Nanie Guanlao
The library is not advertised, but somehow, every day, a steady stream of people find their way there.
On the day we visited, some shop assistants came to browse during their lunch break, a local man borrowed a weighty tome about the history of St John's Gospel, and some schoolchildren picked up some textbooks - although I noticed they were taking some fashion magazines as well.
But it's people like Celine who sustain the library. She lives down the road from Guanlao, and she arrived with two bulging bags of books - some of which she was returning, others of which she was planning to donate.
She says she loves the concept of the library, because Filipinos - certainly those who are not particularly wealthy - have limited access to books.
Nanie Guanlao with some of his readers
Guanlao gave up his job to run the library
"I haven't been to any public libraries except the national library in Manila," she says, explaining that it is quite far away - and it is not possible to borrow any books.
If she wants to buy a book, the average price is about 300 pesos (£4.50, $7), she says. Imported books - especially children's books - could easily be twice that amount.
"Considering the income here, I think parents have other priorities," she adds.
To help the poorest communities in Manila, Nanie Guanlao does not wait for them to find him - he goes to them, on his "book bike", which has a large basket piled high with books.

Literacy in the Philippines

  • The Philippines has one of the highest literacy rates in the developing world
  • Approximately 93% of the population 10 years of age and older are literate
  • Filipino (based on Tagalog) is the official national language, English is the language of government and instruction in education
Source: US State Department
He's also started to set his sights outside Manila. He's already given several boxes of books to a man trying to set up a similar venture in Bicol province, a 10-hour drive from Manila, and his latest plan is to help a friend who wants to start up a library in the far south of the country.
She wants to set up a "book boat", travelling around the islands of Sulu and Basilan - an area better known as a hideout for separatist rebels than for any great access to literature.
As we sat outside Nanie Guanlao's house in the midday sun, watching people browse through his collection, he tells me why he thought it was worth spending all his time - even to the point of giving up his job and surviving purely on his savings - to maintain the library.
"You don't do justice to these books if you put them in a cabinet or a box," he says.
"A book should be used and reused. It has life, it has a message.
"As a book caretaker, you become a full man."
Nanie Guanlao's story was featured on the BBC World Service programme Outlook.

Library on a Click: Rajasthan Patrika


Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Social Library: How Public Libraries Are Using Social Media by RICHARD MACMANUS


Like many of you, I'm connected to the Internet virtually every waking hour of my day - via computer, tablet and mobile phone. Yet I still regularly visit my local public library, in order to borrow books, CDs and DVDs. Which made me wonder: are these two worlds disconnected, or is the Social Web being integrated into our public libraries? In this fourth installment in ReadWriteWeb's Social Books series, I aim to find out!
The American Library Association (ALA) released a report earlier this year entitled The 2012 State of America’s Libraries. The report states that "Facebook and Twitter in particular have proven themselves useful tools not only in publicizing the availability of online collections, but also in building trusted relationships with users."
According to a survey conducted by the South Carolina State Library, 88% of respondents (all library workers) claimed to use Facebook in their work. Twitter was second most popular, at 46.8%.
So what are libraries using Facebook for and what does "building trusted relationships with users" mean? The ALA report elaborated:
"Social networking is used to publicize library events such as gaming nights; to alert users to additions to collections; to provide links to articles, videos, or Web content that might prove relevant or helpful to patrons; and to provide a conduit for community information. Social media also play an important role in fostering relationships with the community by allowing patrons to ask questions or provide feedback about library services."
This is precisely how my own local library, Wellington Library, uses Facebook. It's on a raft ofother social media platforms too - including Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. Wellington Library even updates its Facebook page using IFTTT, a syndication service beloved by Web geeks.

Enhanced Catalogs & Mobile Apps

But there's more that libraries can do to create a social experience for their patrons, other than being active on Facebook. LibraryThing for Libraries is a set of services offered by the companyLibraryThing. It features catalog enhancements (such as user-generated book reviews and recommendations) and a customizable mobile app called Library Anywhere.
In June, LibraryThing for Libraries had 800,000 "professionally vetted reviews." While library users could just go and get reviews and recommendations from Amazon or Goodreads, it does seem useful to have them integrated into a library's catalog.
In a discussion in Branch, Portland librarian Justin Hoenke called LibraryThing "the ultimate social reading tool for libraries." Although Sarah Houghton, Director of the San Rafael Public Library in California, cast some doubt on whether library patrons use the reviews regularly.

Reimagining The Library Book

Some libraries are experimenting not just with socializing the library catalog, but the reading process itself. New York Public Library has released an interactive website called Candide 2.0, a community annotated version of Voltaire's 1759 book called Candide. The NYPL version is described as an "experiment in public reading and communal annotation."
It'll be fascinating to track how libraries continue to bring the Social Web to their organizations. I haven't even touched on the increasing prevalence of e-books inside libraries - another trend that potentially creates a more social experience for library patrons (for example, with social book highlights).
How about you, do you still go to your local library? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how Web technologies are being deployed by your public library.

In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Beyond Access invites you to Local Alternatives for Global Development: Rediscovering Libraries on October 3, 2012 in Washington, DC.


Invite: Local Alternatives for Global Development: Rediscovering Libraries



Beyond Access
With the rapid expansion of new technologies and emerging perspectives on what works, the global development community is looking for new thinking on solving development challenges.  Join the conversation with a community of development professionals who are interested in a fresh perspective on information and development.

We can’t promise ready-made answers for achieving development goals. But we can promise thoughtful discussion in a non-traditional format about local approaches and innovative alternatives – all in a PowerPoint-free, coffee-charged setting that challenges the convention of typical DC conferences. The event features:
 USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah joining 33rd President of Chile Ricardo Lagos for a candid armchair discussion on Development in the 21st Century: Information, Technology and Local Institutions
• An afternoon armchair discussion on The Future of Information and Development, including:
Esther Dyson, chairwoman of EDventure Holdings and leading technology entrepreneur
Jon Gosier, co-founder MetaLayer, TED Senior Fellow Alum, and one of CNN's top African tech voices
Suneet Singh Tuli, founder, Datawind
Moderated by Deborah Jacobs, Global Libraries Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
 First-hand government perspectives on finding the resources and strategies that match public development priorities, featuring officials from Colombia, Peru, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan and Kenya moderated by Melanie Walker, Deputy Director fo Special Initiatives at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
• Development coffee lounges led by subject experts on how new technology and information models impact:
Civic participation
Non-formal education
Gender and ICT
Youth engagement
Open government
Economic opportunity
Health information
Access to technology
Agricultural information
Innovation spaces
  1. • A dynamic Innovation Fair showcasing the work of communities partnering with libraries on development efforts, with delegations from government, NGOs and public libraries from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Hosted by Beyond Access, this one-day event at Arena Stage aims to explore the “how” of information access, and its connection to development across the spectrum rooted in local priorities and partnerships. The event brings public libraries into discussions of development for the first time.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
• International NGOs looking for new ways to tap into local resources
• Development professionals and donors looking to leverage existing infrastructure and  resources
• ICT4D professionals looking for outlets to address international challenges

For more information about the event and to register, please visit beyondaccess.net/conference2012. For the latest on confirmed speakers and attendees, join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.