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ELECTRONIC INFORMATION LITERACY
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ELECTRONIC INFORMATION
LITERACY
—Vishal V.Jadhav
Abstract
E-Information Literacy has become a crucial issue today for
development & Progress of the Society. We are living in the information
era. Information in itself has no value, but its value lies in its style of
communication and its use. E-Information Literacy is the key
competency for the information age. Electronic information literacy is
nothing but the ability to access, evaluate & apply information from a
variety of e-resources in appropriate context to construct Knowledge.
Information literacy is vital features of lifelong learning and an essential
element of higher education. This chapter discusses the concept of
information Literacy, E-information Literacy and role of Library &
information science in promoting electronic information literacy in digital
era.
Keywords
Information Literacy, Electronic Information Literacy,
Information Resources, Methods of information literacy, Information
communication Technology, Lifelong learning, Collaboration
Introduction
Although the term “Information Literacy” was first used in the
United States in the late 1970’s the basic definition developed at
that time is now shared at least to some degree by almost all regions
of the world. The first reported use of the term “Information Literacy”
was by the president of the Information Industry Association, Paul
Zurkowski who stated that information literate person where “People
trained in the application of resources to their work” term first used
in relationship to workplace.
354 | Transformation of Knowledge Resource Centers in Collaborative Era
In this digital era, users need to more information literate than

ever before, while internet, email, www can contain valid and accurate
information; its very nature encourages quick and easy self
publication. Without editorial or academic review the content is often
low quality and there is a need for users to be able to recognize and
access authentic and useful resources. Many users fail to properly
locate, evaluate and use internet based information due to lack of
understanding of issues surrounding the nature and structure of
internet. Further more users need to be able to precisely identify
and communicate their information needs to clarify a subject or
area. Information users may be wildered by a digitized variety of
information the process of identifying & selecting of information has
become complex. It is critical to promote electronic information
literacy (EIL) in the digital era. High level skills in the use of
information and communication Technologies (ICT) are essential for
Society.
Why need of information Literacy

Rapid increase in the stream of information due to information
revolution
Advent of information & communication technologies
Vast variety of information Sources
Changing shape of libraries
Wide dispersal of information
Increase in number of users
Research on complex and interdisciplinary topics.
Information Literacy
Information Literacy is an intellectual framework for recognizing
the need for understanding, finding, evaluating and using
information. Information literacy initiates, sustains and extends
lifelong learning through abilities that may use technologies but are
ultimately independent of them. Information literacy related with
other key concepts such as lifelong learning, critical thinking and
information technology fluency. Information literacy also is
increasingly important in the contemporary environment of rapid

technological change and proliferating information resources.
Developing lifelong learners is central to the ‘mission of higher
education institutions. By ensuring that individuals have the
intellectual abilities of reasoning and critical thinking. and by
helping them construct a framework for learning how to learn,
colleges and universities provide the foundation for continued
growth throughout their careers, as well as in their roles as
informed citizens and members of communities. Information
literacy is a key component of, and contributor to, lifelong Teaming.
Information literacy competency extends learning beyond formal
classroom settings and provides practice with self-directed
investigations as individuals move into internships, first
professional positions, and increasing responsibilities in all areas
of life. Because information literacy augments students’ competency
with evaluating, managing, and using information, it is now
considered by several regional and discipline-based accreditation
associations as a key outcome for college students.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland the society of college, national
and university libraries (SCONUL) in 1999 set up a group which
formulated “The Seven Pillars of information Literacy” published in
2004.The seven pillars which are also called basic skills or headlines
skills.
Seven pillars of Information Literacy

1. The ability to recognize a need for information.
2. The ability to distinguish ways in which the information “gap”
may be addressed.
3. The ability to construct strategies for locating information.
4. The ability to locate and access information.
5. The ability to compare and evaluate information obtained from
different sources.
6. The ability to recognize apply and communicate information
to others in appropriate ways.
7. The ability to synthesize and build upon existing information

contributing to the creation of new knowledge.
According to American Library Association’s 1998

To be Information Literate – a person must be able to recognize
when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate
& use effectively the needed information, information literate people
are those who have learned how to learn.
Information Literacy and Information Technology

Information literacy is related to information technology skills,
but has broader implications for the individual, the educational
system, and for society. Information technology skills enable an
individual to use computers, software applications, databases, and
other technologies to achieve a wide variety of academic, work-
related, and personal goals. Information literate individuals
necessarily develop some technology skills.
Information literacy, while showing significant overlap with
information technology skills, is a distinct and broader area of
competence. Increasingly, information technology skills are
interwoven with, and support, information literacy. A 1999 report
from the National Research Council promotes the concept of “fluency”
with information technology and delineates several distinctions
useful in understanding relationships among information literacy,
computer literacy, and broader technological competence. The report
notes that “computer literacy” is concerned with rote learning of
specific hardware and software applications, while “fluency with
technology” focuses on understanding the underlying concepts of
technology and applying problem-solving and critical thinking to
using technology. The report also discusses differences between
information technology fluency and information literacy as it is
understood in K-12 and higher education. Among these are
information literacy’s focus on content, communication, analysis,
information searching, and evaluation; whereas information
technology “fluency” focuses on a deep understanding of technology
and graduated, increasingly skilled use of it.
“Fluency” with information technology may require more

intellectual abilities than the rote learning of software and hardware
associated with “computer literacy”, but the focus is still on the
technology itself. Information literacy, on the other hand, is an
intellectual framework for understanding, finding, evaluating, and
using information—activities which may be accomplished in part by
fluency with information technology, in part by sound investigative
methods, but most important, through critical discernment and
reasoning. Information literacy initiates, sustains, and extends
lifelong learning through abilities which may use technologies but
are ultimately independent of them.
Information Literacy and Higher Education

Developing lifelong learners is central to the mission of higher
education institutions. By ensuring that individuals have the
intellectual abilities of reasoning and critical thinking, and by helping
them construct a framework for learning how to learn, colleges and
universities provide the foundation for continued growth throughout
their careers, as well as in their roles as informed citizens and
members of communities. Information literacy is a key component
of, and contributor to, lifelong learning. Information literacy
competency extends learning beyond formal classroom settings and
provides practice with self-directed investigations as individuals move
into internships, first professional positions, and increasing
responsibilities in all arenas of life. Because information literacy
augments students’ competency with evaluating, managing, and
using information, it is now considered by several regional and
discipline-based
Accreditation associations as a key outcome for college students.
For students not on traditional campuses, information resources
are often available through networks and other channels, and
distributed learning technologies permit teaching and learning to
occur when the teacher and the student are not in the same place
at the same time. The challenge for those promoting information
literacy in distance education courses is to develop a comparable
range of experiences in learning about information resources as are
offered on traditional campuses. Information literacy competencies
for distance learning students should be comparable to those for

“on campus” students.
Incorporating information literacy across curricula, in all
programs and services, and throughout the administrative life of
the university, requires the collaborative efforts of faculty, librarians,
and administrators. Through lectures and by leading discussions,
faculties establish the context for learning. Faculty also inspire
students to explore the unknown, offer guidance on how best to
fulfill information needs, and monitor students’ progress. Academic
librarians coordinate the evaluation and selection of intellectual
resources for programs and services; organize, and maintain
collections and many points of access to information; and provide
instruction to students and faculty who seek information.
Administrators create opportunities for collaboration and staff
development among faculty, librarians, and other professionals who
initiate information literacy programs, lead in planning and budgeting
for those programs, and provide ongoing resources to sustain them.
Information Literacy and Pedagogy

The Boyer Commission Report, Reinventing Undergraduate
Education, recommends strategies that require the student to engage
actively in “framing of a significant question or set of questions, the
research or creative exploration to find answers, and the
communications skills to convey the results...” 4 Courses structured
in such a way create student-centered learning environments where
inquiry is the norm, problem solving becomes the focus, and thinking
critically is part of the process. Such learning environments require
information literacy competencies. Gaining skills in information
literacy multiplies the opportunities for students’ self-directed
learning, as they become engaged in using a wide variety of
information sources to expand their knowledge, ask informed
questions, and sharpen their critical thinking for still further self-
directed learning. Achieving competency in information literacy
requires an understanding that this cluster of abilities is not
extraneous to the curriculum but is woven into the curriculum’s
content, structure, and sequence. This curricular integration also
affords many possibilities for furthering the influence and impact of
such student-centered teaching methods as problem-based learning,

evidence-based learning, and inquiry learning. Guided by faculty
and others in problem-based approaches, students reason about
course content at a deeper level than is possible through the exclusive
use of lectures and textbooks. To take fullest advantage of problem-
based learning, students must often use thinking skills requiring
them to become skilled users of information sources in many
locations and formats, thereby increasing their responsibility for
their own learning. To obtain the information they seek for their
investigations, individuals have many options. One is to utilize an
information retrieval system, such as may be found in a library or in
databases accessible by computer from any location. Another option
is to select an appropriate investigative method for observing
phenomena directly. For example, physicians, archaeologists, and
astronomers frequently depend upon physical examination to detect
the presence of particular phenomena. In addition, mathematicians,
chemists, and physicists often utilize technologies such as statistical
software or simulators to create artificial conditions in which to
observe and analyze the interaction of phenomena. As students
progress through their undergraduate years and graduate programs,
they need to have repeated opportunities for seeking, evaluating,
and managing information gathered from multiple sources and
discipline-specific research methods.
Use of the Standards

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
provides a framework for assessing the information literate
individual. It also extends the work of the American Association of
School Librarians Task Force on Information Literacy Standards,
thereby providing higher education an opportunity to articulate its
information literacy competencies with those of K-12 so that a
continuum of expectations develops for students at all levels. The
competencies presented here outline the process by which faculty,
librarians and others pinpoint specific indicators that identify a
student as information literate.Students also will find the
competencies useful, because they provide students with a
framework for gaining control over how they interact with information
in their environment. It will help to sensitize them to the need to
develop a met cognitive approach to learning, making them conscious

of the explicit actions required for gathering, analyzing, and using
information. All students are expected to demonstrate all of the
competencies described in this document, but not everyone will
demonstrate them to the same level of proficiency or at the same
speed.Furthermore, some disciplines may place greater emphasis
on the mastery of competencies at certain points in the process,
and therefore certain competencies would receive greater weight
than others in any rubric for measurement. Many of the competencies
are likely to be performed recursively, in that the reflective and
evaluative aspects included within each standard will require the
student to return to an earlier point in the process, revise the
information-seeking approach, and repeat the same steps.To
implement the standards fully, an institution should first review its
mission and educational goals to determine how information literacy
would improve learning and enhance the institution’s effectiveness.
To facilitate acceptance of the concept, faculty and staff development
is also crucial.
Information Literacy and Assessment

In the following competencies, there are five standards and
twenty-two performance indicators. The standards focus upon the
needs of students in higher education at all levels. The standards
also list a range of outcomes for assessing student progress toward
information literacy. These outcomes serve as guidelines for faculty,
librarians, and others in developing local methods for measuring
student learning in the context of an institution’s unique mission.
In addition to assessing all students’ basic information literacy skills,
faculty and librarians should also work together to develop
assessment instruments and strategies in the context of particular
disciplines, as information literacy manifests itself in the specific
understanding of the knowledge creation, scholarly activity, and
publication processes found in those disciplines.In implementing
these standards, institutions need to recognize that different levels
of thinking skills are associated with various learning outcomes—
and therefore different instruments or methods are essential to
assess those outcomes. For example, both “higher order” and “lower
order” thinking skills, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives, are evident throughout the outcomes detailed in this

document. It is strongly suggested that assessment methods
appropriate to the thinking skills associated with each outcome be
identified as an integral part of the institution’s implementation plan.
For example, the following outcomes illustrate “higher order”
and “lower order” thinking skills:
“LowerOrder”thinking skill:
Outcome 2.2.2. Identifies keywords, synonyms, and related terms
for the information needed.
“HigherOrder”thinking skill:
Outcome 3.3.2. Extends initial synthesis, when possible, to a
higher level of abstraction to construct new hypotheses that may
require additional information.
Faculty, librarians, and others will find that discussing
assessment methods collaboratively is a very productive exercise in
planning a systematic, comprehensive information literacy program.
This assessment program should reach all students, pinpoint areas
for further program development, and consolidate learning goals
already achieved. It also should make explicit to the institution’s
constituencies how information literacy contributes to producing
educated students and citizens.
According to the Council of Australian University Libraries
(CAUL) prepared an standards for information literate person
able to
1. Recognize a need for information
2. Determine the extent of information needed.
3. Access the needed information efficiently
4. Evaluate the information and its Sources
5. Incorporate selected information into their knowledge base.
6. Use information effectively to accomplish a purpose
7. Understand economic, legal, social and cultural issues in the
use of information.
8. Access and use information ethically & legally

9. Classify, store, manipulate and redraft information collected
or generated.
10. Recognize information literacy for lifelong learning.
In information literacy people learn how to identify, locate,
evaluate and use information effectively and responsibility.
Association of college and Research Libraries (ACRL) which is
division of ALA. The ACRL Information literacy competencies
standards for higher education are first defined in 1989.
According to ACRL Standards information Literacy-
1. Determine the nature and extend of the information needed.
2. Access needed information effectively and efficiently.
3. Evaluates information and its sources critically and
incorporates selected information into his/her Knowledge
base and value system.
4. Individually or as a member of a group, users information
effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
5. Understands many of the economic, legal and social issues
surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses
information ethically and legally.
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) 2007
Standards for the 21stCentury Learner were predicated on the ideas
articulated in this paragraph. The term “information literacy” occurs
in just one paragraph, noting only that it has become more complex:
“Multiple literacies, including digital, visual, textual, and
technological, have now joined information literacy as crucial skills
for this century” Interestingly, the International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions (2011) has adopted the wording of
“media and information literacy” to capture the idea of content and
format. Even the term “information” can be tricky to define, let alone
“data.” Is a sunset data or information? The American Association
of School Librarians (2007) cleverly sidestepped the problematic term
“information literacy” when it used learners as its linchpin; they

stated that “learners use skills, resources, and tools to:
1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.
2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge
to new situations, and creat New knowledge.
3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively
as members of our democratic society.
4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.
Each standard is then parsed into specific indicators that
demonstrate learner skills, dispositions in action, responsibilities,
and self-assessment strategies. Frankly, Farmer Lesley preferred
the ACRL information literacy standards to the old and new AASL
versions. Nevertheless, the older AASL standards were easy to
articulate. That said, the new AASL standards can help ACRL
librarians rethink their stance on the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions that post-secondary students should develop and
achieve by the time they graduate. Building on the typical academic
model, some competencies should be expected of all students, as it
is with general education requirements. Students with a major should
be able to apply those competencies at a deeper level within their
area of specialty.
Electronic Information Literacy

Electronic Information Society is the ability to recognize need
for to access and to evaluate electronic information. Electronic literate
can confidently use, manage, create, quote and share sources of
electronic information in an effective way. The way in which
information is used created and distributed demonstrates an
understanding and acknowledgement of the cultural, ethical,
economic, Legal and social aspect of information. The electronic
literate demonstrates openness, the ability to solve problem, to
critically reflect with technical capability and willingness to
collaborate and keep up to date.
The ability to understand and use information in multiple formats
from a wide range of sources when resented via a computer. (Glister)
The electronic information literate students will then able to

Understand a problem and develop a set of questions that
will solve the information need
Solve the problems by using information search methods
which allow the students access to digital information on the
web
Evaluate the sources by making informed judgments about
what is found online
Consolidate the identified resources into a broader package
of information: gather from a variety of media sources, for
example the web.
Develop critical thinking skills and use web tools such as
search engine, listing of favorite sites, mailing lists etc.
Electronic information literacy will therefore be defined as
follows-
“A set of digital abilities requiring individuals to recognize when
digital information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate,
organize and effectively use the needed digital information in an
ethical and legal way.”
“Digital or Electronic Information Literacy is also called as Digital
Information Fluency. Digital Information Fluency (DIF) is the ability
to find, evaluate and use digital information effectively, efficiently
and ethically. DIF involves knowing how digital information is
different from print information having the skills to use specialized
tools for finding digital information and developing the dispositions
needed in the digital information environment.”(21st Century Digital
information Fluency (DIF) project and model 2011)
In 2013 the American Library Association Office for
Information Technology Policy’s Digital Literacy Task Force
(Task Force) examined various efforts to provide digital literacy
instruction and explored the potential for such instruction before
making recommendations for public policy, ALA, and individual
libraries to further digital literacy efforts. This Task Force stated
that
A Electronic literate person

possesses the variety of skills-cognitive and technical-required
to find, understand, evaluate, create, and communicate digital
information in a wide variety of formats;
is able to use diverse technologies appropriately and effectively
to search for and retrieve information, interpret search results,
and judge the quality of the information retrieved;
understands the relationships among technology, lifelong
learning, personal privacy, and Appropriate stewardship of
information;
uses these skills and the appropriate technologies to
communicate and collaborate with peers, colleagues, family,
and on occasion the general public;
Uses these skills to participate actively in civic society and
contribute to a vibrant, informed, and engaged community.”
E-Information Literacy role of LIS Profession

1. To Bridge gap of digital divide
2. Encounter to complexities
3. To enable people as informed citizens
4. To encourage independent learning
5. Create awareness of lifelong learning
6. To manage knowledge capital.
Component of E-Information Literacy

1. Information literacy as spoke
2. Media, visual, ICT, digital & Computer network
3. Computer literacy
4. Information Communication Technology
5. Digital Literacy
6. Visual Literacy
Methods of Imparting E-information literacy

Programs
1. Cross Institutional Collaboration for e-information
literacy
The academic libraries have made in building cross institutional
collaborations, focusing in particular on three collaborative areas.
a) National collaborative efforts through professional
organizations
b) Multi type local cross institutional collaborations such as k-
12 academic library partnerships and
c) Cross institutional collaborative efforts between peer
institutions. We close with observations on how library
administrators can foster collaborative initiatives through
support, advocacy and leadership.
2. Teacher training Curriculum

Elementary education faculty at teacher training institutions in
Ohio designed to explore attitudes towards library instruction in
teacher training programs. Result indicated strong support for
teaching of library skills to future teachers but also some ambiguity
concerning the relationship of critical thinking skills to the library
research process.
Challenges of Electronic information Literacy

Libraries of different types—school, academic, and public—are
influenced by similar trends, such as downturns in the economy
and associated funding cuts and the continued development of new
information and communication technologies. This report has
described in detail some of the challenges related to digital literacy
faced by all libraries include the following:
1) The role libraries play in digital literacy is not always
recognized and valued, even within
Institutions or communities in which libraries are embedded—
an issue of invisibility.
2) Libraries are facing budget cuts, staff cuts, and even closures,
which impact their ability
To support digital literacy.
3) The profession needs to continue to ensure that new librarians
are prepared for leading
Digital literacy programs and that those in service receive
training in this role.
4) Some libraries lack sufficient staff and/or their staff lack the
subject area or technical
Expertise needed to adequately support the digital literacy
needs of users.
Conclusion
Information literacy and Electronic or digital literacy are not
competing concepts; they are complementary areas for students in
higher education. Further, digital literacy concepts and skills can
provide the fundamentals of managing digital environment that
student need to succeed in information literacy and their other area
of study. What is required of ACRL is to recognize that this
relationship exists between information literacy and Electronic
Literacy, to define relationship more clear for its members, and to
see the existence of digital literacy concept as an opportunity to
reengages academic colleagues in the meaningful discussion of the
knowledge and skills students need today Librarians have an
obligation to their institutions to inform broader discussions of
curricula whenever we have significant input to offer, and this is
such a time. Let’s employ both digital literacy and information literacy
in our efforts to provide rich educational experiences for students
in higher education
References
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understandings and Practice.”Computer and Education,Vol
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01/2012_OITP_digilitreport_1_22_13.pdf
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among Research Scholar
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Wu, Yuhfen.D.”Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning
“Journal of Library and
STATUS OF INSTITUTIONAL
REPOSITORY AS A KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT TOOL:
A STUDY OF NORTH EASTERN HILL
UNIVERSITY, SHILLONG
—Sudhir Kumar Jena and Nirmali Chakraborty
Abstract
Purpose – The study aims to investigate the role of institutional
repository as a knowledge management tool in an academic set
up.Design/methodology/approach – A self administered questionnaire
was distributed among the randomly selected 110 faculties of North
Eastern Hill University.
Findings – Institutional repository is an innovative concept for
collecting, managing, disseminating, and preserving scholarly works
in digital form, created by faculty and students in individual universities
and colleges. Thus, the concept of a repository is directly related to
the knowledge management philosophy: collecting, managing,
disseminating, and preserving scholarly works created in individual
institutions. Indeed, the study has come with the finding that the
institutional repository and the knowledge management processes are
interconnected and they feed one another. As such, it is the time to
conceptualize institutional repositories around three main roles: an
electronic scholarly communication forum, a digital library, and a
knowledge management system.
Keywords
Knowledge Management, Institutional Repository, Knowledge
Repository, North Eastern Hill University
Introduction
Knowledge Management (KM) is the most powerful means for
any organizational success. It is a management attitude, which unites
streamline information management with the culture of
organizational learning spirit. Knowledge management needs a
systematic approach to develop the evolution of knowledge into a
key organizational resource. Most importantly, effective knowledge
management is now acknowledged as the key driver of new knowledge
and ideas. Therefore, knowledge management has become a
significant issue in all type of organizations across the world
irrespective of profit-making or not-for-profit organizations. Academic
institutions can also follow knowledge management practices to
support every part of their goal. An institution’s wide approach to
knowledge management can direct enormous improvements in
creation and sharing of knowledge within the academic fraternity.
In fact, the greatest knowledge creators are the academics. Knowledge
creation is best performed by universities or higher academic
institutions. Therefore, the application of knowledge management
in academic sector is as important as it is in the corporate sector.
Knowledge management is a debatable term. Therefore, it is
difficult to find a well accepted definition of knowledge management.
Different scientists have defined it in different perspectives. Some
of the popular definitions are tabulated in Table 1.
Table 1: Definitions of Knowledge Management (KM)
Author(s) Yr. Definitions of Knowledge Management
Hannabuss 1987 KM is the knowledge and attitudes of

information users, and their decision
making when interacting with others
(Hannabuss, 1987).
Gopal and 1995 KM includes categories of knowledge
Gagnon needed to support the overall business
strategy, assess the firm’s current
knowledge, transfer the knowledge base
to be more powerful, and to fill gaps
(Gopal and Gagnon, 1995).
OPQC 1996 KM involves strategies and processes of

identifying, capturing, and leveraging
knowledge (Ohio Perinatal Quality
Collaborative, 1996).
Bair 1997 KM aims to capture the knowledge that
employees essentially need in a central
repository and filter out the surplus
(Bair and O’Connor, 1998).
Demarest 1997 KM forms a systematic underpinning of
observation, instrumentation, and
optimization of a firm’s knowledge
(Demarest, 1997).
Davenport 1997 The only thing that gives an organization
a competitive edge and sustainability,
is what it knows, how it uses what it
knows, and how fast it can know
something new (Davenport, 2008).
Skyrme 1997 KM is the explicit and systematic
management of vital knowledge and
comprises processes of creating,
gathering, organizing, diffusing, using,
and exploiting (Skyrmie, 1999).
Broadbent 1998 KM is about enhancing the use of
organizational knowledge through
sound practices of information
management and organizational
learning (Broadbent, 1998).
Choo 1998 The essential goal of KM is to harness
the organization’s information resources
and capabilities to enable to learn and
adapt to its changing environment
(Choo, 1998).
Knapp 1998 KM is the art of transforming

information and intellectual assets into
enduring value for an organization’s
clients and its people (Knapp, 1998).
Oxbrow and 1998 The ultimate corporate resource has
Abell become information, the ultimate
competitive advantage is the ability to
use it, and the sum of these two is
knowledge management (Oxbrow and
Abell, 2002).
Newman 1999 KM is the collection of processes that
govern the creation, dissemination and
utilization of knowledge in an
organization (Newman and Conrad,
1999).
Quintas 1999 KM enables the creation,
communication, and application of all
kinds of knowledge to achieve business
goals (Quintas, Lefrere, and Jones,
1997).
Davenport 2000 Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed
experiences, values contextual
information, and expert insights that
provides a framework for evaluating and
incorporating new experiences and
information. … in organizations, it often
becomes embedded not only in
documents or repositories but also in
organizational routines, processes,
practices, and norms (Davenport, 2008).
Holsapple and 2000 KM make needed knowledge available
Joshi to appropriate processes effectively and
timely to perform activities (Holsapple
and Joshi, 2000).
Tiwana 2000 Management of organizational

knowledge for creating business values
and generating a competitive advantage
(Tiwana, 2000).
Kochikar 2002 KM initiative is to move towards a
culture where knowledge sharing is
built into the organizational fabric.
Creating such a culture of sharing is
governed by principles that have much
in common with Metcalfe’s Law—as
more people get convinced of the
benefits of participating in the
knowledge-sharing movement
(Kochikar, 2002).
Bergeron and Bryan 2003 KM has the ability to selectively
capture, archive, and access the best
practices of work-related knowledge and
decision–making from employees and
managers for both individual and group
behaviours (Bergeron and Bryan, 2003).
Darroch 2003 KM is the process that creates or locates
knowledge and manages the sharing,
dissemination, and use of knowledge
within the organization (Darroch, 2003).
Ron Young 2005 KM enables individuals, teams,
organizations, and communities more
collectively and systematically to
capture, store, share, and apply their
knowledge to achieve their objectives
(Young, 2005).
Park 2006 Identification and sharing of the
required knowledge that is controlled
and protected, and fulfilling the
organizational objectives (Park and Kim,
2006).
NASA 2009 KM is getting the right information to

the right people at the right time, and
helping people to create knowledge and
share (NASA, 2009).
Thus, knowledge management is nothing, but managing the
knowledge effectively with the processes of identification, creation,
sharing, and storage. It is the utilization of organizational knowledge
to improve the abilities of the human resources and to enhance
their productivity, and competitive excellence.
Knowledge Management through Institutional

Repository
Academic institutions are the aura of knowledge. Teachers and
researchers at academic institutions collect and interpret data,
generate new ideas, and expand human knowledge. These knowledge
are often published as research papers, technical reports and books
etc. These publications are very difficult to find out and even more
difficult for library professionals to gather systematically, manage
and preserve. But the application of ICTs and the advent of open
source software have changed the scenario. Now-a-days, a variety
of web-based systems are becoming available for deposition of these
knowledge. These systems make the research output of an institution
easier to discover as well as manage and share. They also make it
possible to preserve for future utilization in organizational decision
making. Moreover, universities and research institutions are the
major centres of research and consequently the major generators of
research based data, information and knowledge. The scientific and
technological information and knowledge which they are generating
should be easily accessible to all, and for that the creation and use
of institutional repositories should be the first step in this process.
An Institutional Repository (IR) is a web-based database of the
scholarly output of an institution, owned and maintained at either
departmental or institutional level. It is a digital repository of the
research output of an institution. Institutional repositories are one
of the most promising developments that utilize new web technologies
to offer a viable and sustainable alternative to the current model of
scholarly publishing. In the words of Crow (2002), “an institutional

repository is a digital archive of the intellectual product created by
the faculty, research staff, and students of an institution and
accessible to end users both within and outside of the institution,
with few if any barriers to access.” Similarly, Clifford A. Lynch (2003)
presents a working definition of institutional repository namely, “A
university-based institutional repository is a set of services that a
university offers to the members of its community for the
management and dissemination of digital materials created by the
institution and its community members. It is most essentially an
organizational commitment to the stewardship of these digital
materials, including long-term preservation where appropriate as
well as organizational; access or distribution.” In Wikipedia
institutional repository is defined as - “an online locus for collecting,
preserving and disseminating in digital form, the intellectual output
of an institution, particularly a research institution”. On the other
hand, Hayes (2005) expresses institutional repositories in a new
trend. In his words, “Repositories help faculties to self-archive their
own material, act as a central archive for heir work, representing a
CV that provides a complete list of their research over the years and
being open access it increases the dissemination and impact of work.
Repositories will help the faculties to enhance their visibility and
academic accolade.” Again Jones (2006) describes an institutional
repository as “an organized collection of digital objects, pertaining
to a particular research or educational organization.”
Thus an institutional repository is a digital repository of the
research output of an institution that captures preserves and
provides access to the intellectual products of a community. It is
the exhibition of an institution to the world where institution displays
its valuable research programs, projects and initiatives to the world.
Some Institutional repositories focus on particular subject domains
or documents like a research articles, before (preprints) and after
(post prints) undergoing peer review, and digital versions of thesis,
dissertations etc, but it may also include other knowledge assets
generated by normal academic life, such as administrative
documents, annual reports, course notes, learning objects, class
room lectures, speeches of dignitaries, institutional newsletters,
institutional magazines, old question papers etc.
As such, the concept of a repository is directly related to the

knowledge management philosophy: collecting, managing,
disseminating, and preserving scholarly works created in individual
institutions. A repository offers a set of services including content
submission, organization, access, distribution and preservation. Kim
(2007) argues that institutional repositories can be conceptualized
around three main roles: an electronic scholarly communication
forum, a digital library, and a KM system. The approach to KM is
relevant to the implementation of institutional repositories that
manage a wide range of digital information created in a university
(Branin, 2003). This study outlines how an institutional repository
can act as a knowledge management tool in an academic
environment.
Indeed, the study is trying to show that the institutional
repository and the knowledge management processes are
interconnected and they feed one another. But they additionally
form part of an institutional strategy that relies on the use of
technology as the driving force of educational innovation and the
open dissemination of the institutional knowledge.
Objectives of the Study

The study aims to investigate the status of institutional repository
as a knowledge management tool in an academic set up.
Research Questions
The study is motivated with the following research questions -
Does IR motivate users to create new knowledge?
Does IR enable users to share their knowledge?
Does IR facilitate more efficient storage and management of
knowledge?
Does IR enable users to discover knowledge shared by others?
Does IR help in maximum utilization of institutional
knowledge?
Does IR help on the organization decisions making?
Methodology
A self administered questionnaire was distributed among the
110 faculties of North Eastern Hill University from three disciplines:
humanities, social sciences, and science and technology. Moreover,
a personal interaction was done with the deputy librarian,
information scientist and the other concerned staff of the institutional
repository under this study.
North Eastern Hill University

North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is counted as one of the
most reputed institutes of India. It was established in 1973 and
right from its inception NEHU is showing its intellectual excellence
in education and research. It was bestowed the title ‘University with
Potential for Excellence’ by the University Grants Commission (UGC)
in 2006. In spite of serious constraints of communication and the
general lack of infrastructure facilities in the region, NEHU has
established itself as an institution of higher learning and research
of very high quality. It has been able to attract persons of proven
academic excellence from almost all parts of the country to serve in
its faculty; and its student community is drawn not only from the
different parts of North-East but also from other parts of the country
as well as from abroad.
A number of departments of the University now receive special
grants from University Grants Commission under its Special
Assistance Programme. Four of the Science departments including
Geography also receive grants under the UGC’s SAP/COSIST
Programme. Some of the departments have also received grants
under the UGC’s Departmental Research Support Scheme. In
addition, a huge number of research projects have been awarded to
individual members of faculty notably by the CSIR, DST, DAE, UGC,
ICSSR, Ford Foundation and DBT, DF & E, and MoEF. The University
was also chosen for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Chair for research
into protective discrimination. Several individual members of the
faculty have been honoured with the highest academic awards in
the country. Many of the teachers are also involved in collaborative
research projects with Universities of Europe and Asia. One of the
basic ways in which the University endeavours to fulfil its ‘local’
responsibilities, as enshrined in its Act is by focussing its attention

on the North-East in its curricular programme including research.
The fulfilment of its ‘global’ responsibilities, as a member of the global
academic community, is evident from the number of research
publications by its teachers in journals of high international repute
and the national and international seminars and conferences which
are a regular feature of the University’s academic life. In a short
span of about 40 years NEHU has matured into an institution with
a serious academic and social and cultural agenda and a clear vision
for its future growth.
One more achievement that added a feather to the hat was the
establishment of an institutional repository under the UPE
(University with Potential for Excellence) project in 2007. This step
was taken as a measure to preserve and disseminate the research
outputs of NEHU.
The Digital/Institutional Repository

The ongoing institutional repository project of North Eastern
Hill University is known as UPE (University with Potential for
Excellence) project, funded by University Grant Commission. In the
planning stage of the repository a committee was formed. This
committee had various meetings on necessary architecture for
institutional repository. The committee took suggestions from outside
experts, went through relevant literature and visited other
institutions where institutional repository had already been planned
and implemented. Even the committee decided about the software
to be used, space for the lab, training of staffs and selection of
documents to be digitized etc. It reflects that the institutional
repository of NEHU is well planned in its beginning stage.
The institutional repository lab of NEHU was established by the
computer professionals and the hardware and software suppliers.
High speed of Internet connectivity is a basic requirement, failing
which inputting, editing of records are not possible. It seems that
NEHU has established a well developed infrastructure. At the time
of installation of the institutional repository software, extensive
training was provided to the concerned library staff regarding basic
administrative procedure and keeping data back-up. As such, the
concerned library staffs of North-Eastern Hill University are well

trained for handling the repository. Technical expertises were
developed from in-house staff. Still there is a need of technical
professional, who could take care of hardware maintenance and
taking care of regular back up.
The collection of the institutional repository of NEHU is growing
day by day. The uploading of items in full fledging to the NEHU
repository started from February 2010. Publications of the faculty
members are collected in hard copies or in PDF format which are
scanned/stored in files, these files are later uploaded with the
bibliographical data to form a single record with uploaded file. Before
archiving the records, proper editing is done. After acceptance and
approval of the text it is placed in the appropriate community and
collection. At present (till March, 2014) the institutional repository
of NEHU maintains the documents of 30 departments and 3 centres.
The total strength of the collection is 9208 out of which 26 and 756
are the number of M.Phil and Ph.D. dissertations respectively. The
total collection also include 2238 North- East book collection, 2923
administrative documents, 46 question papers and 119 NEHU
journals. Here it is seen that Department of Chemistry has maximum
number (511) of contributions followed by Department of Library
and Information Science with 472 contributions. Again Botany,
Zoology, and Biochemistry are in 3rd, 4th and 5th position
respectively. It reflects that the faculties from various departments
are showing interest to deposit their publications in the repository.
Ofcourse, it is difficult to make involve all faculty members in
collaborating in the collection development of the repository. Those
authors who don’t want to allow open access of their publications,
the administrator blocks such publications to be accessed without
authorization. In such cases users can only access the metadata.
As such, the repository is not fully open to all. During library
orientation, the institutional repository of NEHU is being explained.
It is planned to organize some special user awareness programmes
basically on the use of institutional repository. It seems library
authority have felt the need of some precise user awareness
programmes to make users known about the repository. The
institutional repository of North-Eastern Hill University is still in its
adolescence stage. It is too early to evaluate the impact of the

repository. It will take time to see its impact on the user community.
Following is a list of communities and the collections of the
institutional repository of NEHU given -
Administrative Documents [2923]
o Academic Council Meetings [256]

o Annual Accounts [29]
o Annual Reports [225]
o Executive Council Meetings [2186]
o Finance Committee Meetings [23]
o Ordinances (Subject to amendments) [95]
o Regulation and Rules [61]
o The North Eastern Hill University Act, 1973 [1]
o The Statutes of the University [46]
o Examinations [1]
Central Library [2269]
o North-East Book Collection [2238]

Centre for Adult and Continuing Education [3]
Centre for Cultural and Creative Studies [5]
Centre for Science Education [1]
Cultural Studies [0]
Department of Anthropology [191]
Department of Basic Sciences and Social Sciences [9]
Department of Biochemistry [262]
Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics [33]
Department of Botany [436]

Department of Centre for Applied Statistics [1]
Department of Chemistry [511]
Department of Commerce [60]
Department of Computer Center [2]
Department of Distance Education [1]
Department of Economics [235]
Department of Education [65]
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

(ECE) [7]
Department of English [90]
Department of Environmental Science [151]
Department of Geography [113]
Department of History [68]
Department of Information Technology [1]
Department of Khasi [120]
Department of Library & Information Science [472]
Department of Linguistics [20]
Department of Mathematics [40]
Department of Nanotechnology [1]
Department of Philosophy [63]
Department of Physics [256]
Department of Political Science [95]
Department of Sociology [31]
Department of Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation

Facility (SAIF) [8]
Department of Statistics [1]
Department of Zoology [334]
Examination Question Papers [46]
Memorial Lecture and Symposium [0]
NEHU JOURNAL [119]
NEHU, Tura Campus [1]
Study Material [2]
Data Analysis
A total number of 312 faculties (Annual Report 2011-12) of North
Eastern Hill University are the total population of this study. During
the survey, a self administered questionnaire was distributed among
the randomly selected 110 faculties from various departments. Out
of which 85 faculties had responded by giving a response rate of
77.27%. However, the non respondents constitute 22.73% in total.
The data were tabulated for analysis in accordance to the objective
of the study. Some respondents furnished some valuable comments
in the space provided for the purpose; those comments were
incorporated in the study at the appropriate places.
1. Basic Information of the Respondents

The Table 2 furnished below gives a brief account of the basic
information of the respondents of the study. Here it is seen that out
of 85 respondents 47 are male and 38 are female. Similarly among
the respondents majority come under 40+ age group and majority
are Associate Professor. Again majority of the respondents are having
PhD degree. In case of teaching experience, majority fall under more
than 10 years of experience and in case of research publication,
majority of the respondents have more than 30 publications.
Table 2: Basic Information of the Respondents

Gender Male (47) Female (38)
Age Group 30+ (21) 40+ (45) 50+ (19) 60+ (–)
Designation Assistant Associate Professor (21)
Professor Professor
(23) (41)
Highest Master M. Phil. Ph.D. (67)
Edu. Qua- Degree (7)
lification (11)
Teaching 1+ (19) 10+ (49) 20+ (17) 30+ (–)
Experience
Number of 1+ (-) 10+(8) 20+ (12) 30+(39) 40+(21) 50+(5)
Publication
2. Knowledge sharing
Knowledge is worthless until and unless it is shared. Here
knowledge refers to the scholarly publications of the faculties. At
this point, faculties are asked whether they are ready to share their
teaching and scholarly materials with their students and colleagues
or not.
Table 3: Modes of Knowledge Sharing
Modes of Knowledge No of Respondents Percentage
Sharing
Only with Students 11 12.9%
Only with Colleagues 7 8.23%
With All 62 72.94%
Don’t Want 5 5.88%
Table-3 points that out of the 85 respondents, 72.94% are ready

to share their knowledge with all and 12.9% are ready to share with
students only. Again, 8.23% respondents are wanted to share only
with their colleagues. On the contrary, 5.88% are not at all willing
to share their scholarly publications. This indicates that a large

number of faculties are willing to share their teaching and scholarly
materials with others.
3. Problems in Depositing Articles in NEHU-IR

Majority of the respondents (94.55%) expressed that they are
not facing any problem in depositing their scholarly works in the
repository as uploading of articles in the repository is done by the
administrator and other repository staffs. Ofcourse, some of the
faculties belong to the science stream express that they are having
problem in contributing their publications in the repository due to
copy right problem, as they already have come under bonding with
publishers.
4. Importance of IR for Contributors/Users

In this section, a descriptive statistical analysis is given in order
to provide a richer understanding of the importance of IR for the
contributors as well as users. Table 4 accompanied with Graph 1
summarizes the percentages of the respondents’ perceptions with
respect to the importance of IR for them. As can be seen that majority
of the respondents are strongly agree that IR is important to facilitate
more efficient storage and management of knowledge. Again majority
of the respondents tend to agree that IR can increase the involvement
in the scholarly activity cycle and it creates a collaborative work
space for research projects. Similarly, majority of the respondents
believe that IR enables teachers to share their knowledge with others
and thus it helps users to discover knowledge created by others.
Ofcourse, majority of the respondents tend to be a bit more neutral
in terms of their perception that IR is helpful to motivate to create
new knowledge. Thus respondents are assertive regarding the status
of IR in creation, sharing, storage and utilization of organizational
knowledge.
Table 4: Importance of IR for Contributors/Users

Importance of IR Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
for Contributors/ Disagree Agree
Users
to increase the – – 32% 63% 5%

involvement in the
scholarly activity
cycle.
to motivate to create – – 57% 39% 4%

new knowledge.
to create a – – 34% 61% 5%

collaborative work
space for research
projects.
to enable teachers – – 11% 51% 38%

to share their
knowledge.
to facilitate more – – 9% 41% 50%

efficient storage and
management
of knowledge.
to enable users to – – 13% 48% 39%

discover resources/
knowledge created
by others.
to help in maximum – 6% 36% 58%

utilization of insti-
tutional knowledge.
Graph 1: Importance of IR for Contributors/Users
5. Importance of IR for the Institution

Table 5 along with the Graph 2 provides a descriptive analysis
of the respondents’ perceptions regarding the importance of IR for
the particular institution in terms of knowledge management. It
appears that the respondents tend to be strongly agreed that IR is
very much important for helping the institute to maintain and
preserve its historical records as well as to store administrative
documents. Moreover, majority of the respondents are agreed that
IR helps to overcome the challenges of collecting, maintaining and
sharing the knowledge of the institution. Similarly, most of the
respondents agree that IR is useful to capture and store theses and
dissertations electronically. Again majority of the respondents agree
that IR is helpful for organizational decisions making.
Table 5: Importance of IR for the Institution

Importance of IR Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
for the Institution Disagree Agree
to overcome the – – 13% 63% 24%

challenges of
collecting,
maintaining and
sharing the
knowledge of
the institution.
to help the – – 5% 41% 54%
institution to
maintain and
preserve its
historical records.
to capture and – – 4% 61% 35%
store theses and
dissertations
electronically.
to store – – 1% 41% 58%
administrative
documents related
of the institute.
for better control – – 12% 54% 34%
and access to born
digital records.
to help on the – – 3% 58% 39%
organization
decisions making.
Graph 2: Importance of IR for the Institution
6. Rating of the Institutional Repository of NEHU

Table 6 along with the Graph 3 displays the respondents’ rate of
satisfaction regarding the institutional repository of North-Eastern
Hill University. Here the five-point rating scale ranged from ‘Very
Poor’ (1) to ‘Excellent’ (5) is used. Out of 85 respondents, 74.12%
have remarked the repository as ‘Good’ and 3.53% have graded as
‘Excellent’. Only 22.35% have commented it as ‘Average’. Remarkably,
no respondent has remarked the repository as ‘Poor’ or ‘Very Poor’
Rating Total Number Percentage
Very Poor – –
Poor – –
Average 19 22.35%
Good 63 74.12%
Excellent 3 3.53%
Graph 3: Rating of NEHU IR
Findings
After due analysis of the data, the following major findings were
drawn –
All the respondents are aware about the ongoing project on
institutional repository at their university.
Majority of the respondents are ready to share their knowledge
with all.
Most of the respondents have graded the repository as ‘Good’.
Majority of the respondents are not facing any problem in
depositing their scholarly works in the repository as uploading
of articles in the repository is done by the administrator and
other repository staffs.
Ofcourse, some of the faculties viewed that they are having
problem in contributing their publications in repository due
to copy right problem, as they already have come under
bonding with publishers.
Majority of the respondents strongly agree on the importance
of IR in facilitating efficient storage and management of
knowledge.
Most of the respondents tend to agree that IR can increase
the involvement in the scholarly activity cycle.
Majority of the respondents are agreed that IR can create a

collaborative work space for research projects.
Most of the respondents believe that IR enables teachers to
share their knowledge with others and thus it helps users to
discover knowledge created by others.
Majority of the respondents tend to be a bit more neutral in
terms of their perception about the role of IR to motivate in
creation of new knowledge and to help in organization in
decisions making.
Most of the respondents tend to be strongly agreed that IR is
very much important for helping the institute to maintain
and preserve its historical records as well as to store
administrative documents.
Majority of the respondents agreed that IR helps to overcome
the challenges of collecting, maintaining and sharing the
knowledge of the institution.
Most of the respondents have the same opinion that IR is
useful to capture and store theses and dissertations
electronically.
Most of the respondents granted that IR is very much essential
for maximum utilization of organizational knowledge.
Thus respondents are assertive regarding the status of IR in
creating, sharing, storage and utilization of organizational knowledge.
Suggestions
Based on the above findings, the study has come with the
following suggestions for the development and management of an
institutional repository as a KM tool:
There should be provision of clear policies on ownership, IR
contents, quality standards, copyright issues, etc.;
IRs should be considered as ongoing projects not once done
and dust;
Institutional repository should be open to all anywhere
anytime. There should not be any barrier in accessing of the

repository by any user. Because, ultimately it is the user who
will add value to the repository.
It should be mandatory for each faculty to submit their
publications or other scholarly outputs in the repository.
Moreover, faculties should voluntarily deposit their articles
in the repository.
Researchers should be mandated to deposit their theses or
research report in the repository. As many research students
are funded by public money, and their output should therefore
be publicly available.
A direct link to the SHERPA/RoMEO list of journals
publishers’ self-archiving policies (http://remeo.eprints.org/
) should be provided in the repository webpage itself to assure
faculties regarding copyright issues.
Library should introduce special user education programme
focusing on institutional repository. It serves to instruct,
inform and persuade university members about the benefits
of the repository.
Faculty should be given proper training for self achieving in
the repository and they should be well informed in advanced
about these types of trainings.
The library should motivate for using the institutional
repository as well as to contribute to the repository. Some of
the possible mechanisms for promotion and advocacy include-
seminars and presentations, leaflets, posters, newsletters and
other printed literature, links from library web pages,
including a link to the repository home page from the library
home page, as well as appropriate links from the library
catalogue to individual items, network with the repositories
of other national and international universities etc.
There should be provision of a full range of academic and
research support services including e-mail e-print request,
closed access deposit through IRs to serve academia and
researchers;
Incentives should be introduced to encourage academia to

create and publish through IRs.
Conclusion
Institutional repositories can help institutions in developing their
own resource base and subsequently new areas of resource sharing
with other institutions under the open archive initiatives. It is a
valuable vehicle to disseminate research articles of an individual to
the worldwide as well as to expose the institution through electronic
devices. In the age of technology, the traditional library concept has
been changed, and digital library and electronic library concepts
are being popularized. Now a day, libraries are not only the store
house of printed documents but also the hub of digital information
and knowledge. With the development and application of information
and communication technology, the services and the collections of
the libraries are globalized. The prime objective of libraries is to
keep their clientele up-to-date in their areas of interest. It can be in
any format, e.g. preparing bibliographies of the latest literature
published in their area of research in a broad way or simply providing
them with the information published in the newspapers, websites,
personal blogs etc. on the subject of their interest. Due to information
explosion, sinking library budget, space problem, high information
demand and increasing fees of journals have forced the libraries to
seek other ways; by which we can collect, store and disseminate
information and knowledge among the users. To solve these types
of problems, the concept of institutional repository is started among
the academic institutions. Now the academic institutions have started
to build their own repositories.
The study have tried to explore the strategies for current and
future institutional repository developments in the context of
knowledge management. We need to view repositories as part of the
knowledge processes of an institution. This includes:
creating, organizing, sharing, storage and utilization of organizational
knowledge.
As the service demands are growing higher and become more
complex, it is now time to re-assess the strategic and functional role
of institutional repositories. A good way to do this assessment is to
look at the next stage in terms of knowledge management. A key

role for the future evolution of repositories is in the support of
communities of practice where knowledge is created and shared in
a trusted environment. In the words of Windey White, new semantic
technologies can add value to repository services through such
expert-identifier services, end-user mash-up tools and web 2.0 social
network support. Indeed, repositories need to link to developing
virtual and physical research environments to support knowledge
cycle. Therefore it is suggested that institutional repositories should
have a collaborative approach to avail social and networking
functions. For that portal technologies can also be introduced
incorporating with institutional repositories.
Moreover, repositories can also create knowledge management
culture in academic environment by supporting open access. It can
act as a catalyst in the changing technical infrastructure and cultural
environment. It can help in drawing information together to improve
the quality of decision making. This includes feeding back outcomes
effectively to identify new research collaborations, supporting
innovative organic activity, and providing an overall framework for
quality assurance (Windey White). Indeed, the status of IRs is further
confounded by the fact that they can be conceptualized as three
different entities: electronic scholarly communication forums; digital
libraries; and knowledge management systems (Kim, 2007).
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DATA MINING IN LIBRARY AND

INFORMATION SCIENCE:
APPLICATION, PROCESS AND
TECHNIQUES
—Anil Kumar Jharotia
Abstract
Data Mining or Knowledge Discovery is the partially automated
process of extracting patterns, usually from large data sets. Library
and information services in schools, colleges, universities, corporations
and communities obtain information about their users, circulation
history, resources in the collection, and search patterns. Now-a-days
many libraries have taken advantage of these data as a way to improve
customer service, manage acquisition budgets, or influence strategic
decision-making about uses of information in their organizations. The
paper tries giving an overview on data sources and possible
applications of data mining techniques in the library.
Keywords
Bibliomining, Data Mining, Mantra, Technique, Knowledge
Management.
Introduction
Data Mining refers to the extraction or “Mining” knowledge from
large amount of data or Data Warehouse. To do this extraction data
mining combines artificial intelligence, statistical analysis and
database management systems to attempt to pull knowledge form
stored data. This paper gives an overview of this new emerging
technology which provides a road map to the next generation of
library. And at the end it is explored that how data mining can be
effectively and efficiently used in the field of library and information

science and its direct and indirect impact on library administration
and services.
Knowledge is the prime mover of human activity and social
progress. Knowledge leaps over the geographical limitations and
defies the physical boundaries of physical sciences. Knowledge can
even enter the neural sets of reasoning. Knowledge discloses its
beginning, when appropriately linked, but not its end; it is dynamic
and vibrant.
In the present technological era, the information overloading
and the rapid increase in the amount of data results in the rapid
change in information communication and retrieval process. The
ubiquity of databases in every domain of knowledge has resulted in
the large amount of data. For e.g.:-Wal-Mart, the chain of over 2000
retail stores, daily uploads 20 million sale transactions to AT & T
with 1000 processors.
Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) are
the emerging areas of research. The term data mining and knowledge
discovery in databases is used as a synonym for the process of
discovering useful information. There is an urgent need to convert
this hidden, implicit and previously unknown data into potentially
useful information and knowledge from databases, data warehouses
or other such data repositories.
The data mining is an interdisciplinary field that combines data
visualization, machine learning, mathematic algorithms, statistics,
artificial intelligence and database management. This technology
provides different techniques for decision making, problem solving,
analysis, planning, diagnosis, detection, integration, prevention,
learning and innovation.
Piatetsky-Shapiro et.al (1996) defines KDD as “… the non-trivial
process of identifying valid, noble, potentially useful, and ultimately
understandable patterns in data.”
Data is collected from different sources. It is integrated and store
in common data store. It is then pre-processed into standard format.
This prepared data is then entered to a data mining algorithm which
produces an output in the form of patterns, associations and

relationships. The outcomes are then interpreted to provide-the Holy
Grail for knowledge discovery-interesting and potential knowledge.
Guidelines for Successful Data Mining

Lavrac et.al (2004) described some guidelines for data mining
process to be successful. These guidelines are discussed below:
Availability of data
Relevant, adequate and clean data
Problem should not be solved by means of ordinary query or
OLAP tools
Results must be actionable.
Well defined problem
How Does Data Mining Work?

While large-scale information technology has been evolving
separate transaction and analytical systems, data mining provides
the link between the two. Data mining software analyzes relationships
and patterns in stored transaction data based on open-ended user
queries. Several types of analytical software are available: statistical,
machine learning, and neural networks. Generally, any of four types
of relationships are sought:
Associations
Data can be mined to identify associations. The beer-diaper
example is an example of associative mining.
Classes
Stored data is used to locate data in predetermined groups. For
example, a restaurant chain could mine customer purchase data to
determine when customers visit and what they typically order. This
information could be used to increase traffic by having daily specials.
Clusters
Data items are grouped according to logical relationships or
consumer preferences. For example, data can be mined to identify
market segments or consumer affinities.
Sequential patterns
Data is mined to anticipate behavior patterns and trends. For
example, an outdoor equipment retailer could predict the likelihood
of a backpack being purchased based on a consumer’s purchase of
sleeping bags and hiking shoes.
Data Mining Process

Data Mining is defined by discovery through either automatic
or manual methods. It is a supportive effort of humans and
computers. The data mining process involves two goals: Predication
and description. Prediction includes the use of variables to find out
the unknown. Description, on the other hand concentrates on finding
the patterns describing the data that can be understood by humans.
From this finding, it is possible to put data mining into two categories:
predictive data mining, which creates the model of the system
described by the given data set,
Descriptive data mining, which develops, new, valuable and
nontrivial information based on the available data set.
Data Mining Software

There is number of data mining softwares available in the market.
The software’s are available in commercial and open source category.
Commercial Software
ANGOSS’ Suite: Vendor-Angoss Software Corp.
(www.angoss.com)
ANGOSS’ Suite entails of Knowledge STUDIO and Knowledge
SEEKER. Knowledge STUDIO is used for predictive analytics for all
phases of the model development and deployment cycle-profiling,
exploration, modeling, implementation, scoring, validation,
monitoring and building scorecards. Knowledge SEEKER is Client/

server tool depend on decision tree based approach.
BayesiaLab: Vendor: Bayesia (www.bayesia.com)
It is based on Bayesian networks, data clustering and supervised
and unsupervised learning.
DataEngine: Vendor: MIT GmbH (www.dataengine.de)
DataEngine is a multiple strategy tool with fuzzy technology,
neural networks. It works on the Windows platform.
Oracle Data Mining Vendor: Oracle (www.oracle.com)
Oracle Data Mining (ODM) builds integrated business
intelligence applications and develop predictive information.
KnowledgeMiner:Vendor-KnowledgeMinerSoftware
(www.knowledgeminer.com)
KnowledgeMiner uses GMDH neural sets and AI to identify
knowledge from data.
Synapse Vendor: Peltarion (www.peltarion.com)
Synapse provides application for neural networks and supports
the entire development cycle from data import and processing,
evaluation and deployment as. NET components.
Viscovery Data Mining Suite: Vendor- Viscovery
(www.viscovery.net)
The Viscovery Data Mining Suite provides predictive analytics
to report the needs of technical and business users. It comprises
the modules i.e. Profiler, Predictor, Scheduler, Decision Maker, One
(2) One Engine-for the realization of predictive analytics and other
data mining applications.
Open Source Softwares

DataLab
Publisher- Epina Software Labs (www.lohniger.com/datalab/
en_home.html)
DataLab is equipped with data exploration process, with

emphasis on marketing and interoperability with SAS. Public version
for students is also there.
GenIQ Model
Publisher-DM STAT-1 Consulting (www.geniqmodel.com)
GenIQ Model practices machine learning for regression tasks,
variable selection automatically, variable construction.
RapidMiner: Publisher- Rapid-I (http://rapid-i.com)
Rapid-I provides applications in the field of predictive analytics,
data mining and text mining. The focus is on automatic intelligent
analyses on a large scale base like database systems and
unstructured data like texts. Rapid-I develops base for other
companies to use the cutting edge technologies for data mining and
business intelligence.
TOOLDIAG: Publisher-http://sites.google.com/site/tooldiag/
Home TOOLDIAG consists of programs in C for statistical pattern
recognition and primarily slanted towards classification. It is publicly
available tool for data mining.
Weka
Publisher- University of Waikato (http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/
ml/weka/)
Weka is software that provides machine learning tools within a
common framework and a uniform GUI. Weka supports data mining
tasks of classification and summarization.
MANTRA: To Manage Digital Data Research Data MANTRA is a
free, online course with guidelines on how to manage the data we
collect throughout our research. The course is particularly
appropriate for those who work or are planning to work with digital
data. Have experience in using data in software packages such as
R, SPSS, NVivo, or ArcGIS. Recognise the importance of good research
data management practice in own context. Be able to devise a
research data management plan and apply it throughout the projects
life. Be able to organize and document data efficiently during the

course of project.
MANTRA is maintained by Data Library staff in Information
Services, University of Edinburgh.
Data Mining Techniques

Data Mining employs following techniques:
Association Rules Mining: Association rulesdiscover the
correlation in a set of objects that occurs simultaneously in a
database. For e.g.:-When a customer buys bread, he also buys
milk (breadmilk) is an example of association rule in a
supermarket database.
Classification: Involves the grouping of data according to
pre-defined attribute.
Cluster Analysis: It is a process in which data sets are
gathered in clusters. Clusters are having many characteristics
divided into meaningful disjoint subgroups so that each group
is more similar to each other than that of those among groups
(clusters).
Prediction: This technique helps to forecast trends, pattern
matching and classification. Prediction involves the analyses
of past event; on that basis predict the success or failure of
the forthcoming event, product or process.
Text and Web Mining:Web mining techniques involves the
use of data mining techniques to automatically extract the
useable information from the vast ocean of the web.
Application of Data Mining In Library and

Information Science
Most people think of libraries as the little brick building in the
heart of their community or the big brick building in the center of a
campus. These notions greatly oversimplify the world of libraries,
however. Most large commercial organizations have dedicated in-
house library operations, as do schools, non-governmental
organizations, as well as local, state, and central governments. With

the increasing use of the Internet and the World Wide Web, digital
libraries have proliferate, and these serve a huge variety of different
user audiences, e.g., people interested in health and medicine,
science and technology, industry and world news, law, and business.
With this expanded view of libraries, two key insights arise. First,
libraries are nearly always embedded within larger institutions.
Corporate libraries serve their corporations, academic libraries serve
their universities, and public libraries serve the general public.
Second, libraries play a important role within their institutions as
repositories and providers of information resources. In the provider
role, libraries represent in microcosm the intellectual, learning, and
knowledge management activities of the people who comprise the
institution.
Conclusion
There is enormous data generated in the organizations due
to number of applications. It is essential to handle this data due to
its dynamic nature. The process of using library data more effectively
begins by discovering ways to connect the disparate sources of data
most libraries create. Connecting these disparate sources in data
warehouses can facilitate systematic exploration with different tools
to discover behavioral patterns of the libraries primary
constituencies. These patterns can help enhance the library
experience for the user, can assist library management in making
decisions and setting policies, and can assist the parent organizations
or communities to understand information needs of their members.
The data mining techniques have wide applications in e-commerce,
analysis of scientific data, banking and finance, healthcare and
telecommunications. It opens wide avenues for research in these
areas.
References
Ahamed, Syed V. (2009). Computational Framework for
knowledge: Integrated behavior of machines. New Jersey: John
Wiley.
Bramer, Max (2013).Principles of data mining., 2nd ed. London:
Springer.
Data Mining Techniques-IBM Retrieved from: http://
www.ibm.com/developerworker/library/ba-data-mining-
techniques/
Gupta, G.K. (2012). Introduction to data mining with case
studies, 2nded. New Delhi: PHI.
http://datalib.edina.ac.uk/mantra/
http://ir.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/1944/375
Kantardzic, Mehmed (2011) Data Mining: Concepts, Models,
Methods and Algorithms; 2nd Ed. New Jersey: Wiley.
Piatetsky-shapiro, G., Fayyad, U., and Smith, P. (1996). From
data mining to knowledge 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. discovery:
an overview, In: Fayyad, U., Piatetsky-Shapiro, G., Sdmyth ,
P., and Uthuruswamy, R. (eds) Advances in Knowledge
discovery and data mining AAAI/MIT Press, Cambridge, MI,
1-35.
Sikora, Riyaz and Piramuthu, Selwyn (2007). Framework for
efficient feature selection in genetic algorithm based data
mining. European Journal of operational Research. 180 (723-
737).
Thuraisingham, Bhavani (2000). A Primer for understanding
and applying data mining. IT Professional 2(1):28-31.
Zhang C., Wang P., Zhao Y., Lai Q., Kong L.(2003) Network
information resources management system based on
knowledge mining. Online Information Review, vol. 27, no. 2,
pp. 129-135(7).
LIBRARY AUTOMATION:
A NEED OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIES
—Dhanaji N Lavate
Abstract
In this paper discuss the important of Library Automations needs
in today’s changing environment describes the explosion of information
and shortage of space, growth of clientele, enhancement of library
funds, cost hike of printed as well as electronic materials and benefits
of resources sharing. Mentions the concepts of automation of library
activities, areas and services such as acquisition, database
management, classification and cataloguing” circulation, serial
control, information retrieval, communication networks, .and
documentation services etc. Simplify the steps of software selection
with the comparison in between some leading software’s helps in
training and assistance for library professionals.
Keywords
Information Technology, Library Automation, Resource Sharing,
Library Software
Introduction
Library Automation refers to use of computers, associated
peripheral media such as magnetic tapes, disks, optical media etc.
and utilization of computer based products and services in the
performance of all type of library functions and operations.
Computers are capable of introducing a great degree of automation
in operations, functions since they are electronic, programmable
and are capable to control over the processes being performed.
The utilization of computer and related techniques make the
provision to provide the right information to right reader at the right
time in a right form in a right personal way. Automation of library

activities provides the services very efficiently, rapidly,
effectively, adequately and economically. The modem libraries and
information a center facilitates free communication because access
to information has become a fundamental right of the clientele.
The automation is economically feasible and technologically
required in modem libraries to cope up with the requirements of
new knowledge, the enormous increase in the collection of
materials, problems of their acquisition, storage, processing,
dissemination and transmission of information. The capabilities
of computer associate peripheral media and its application in library
activities and services led to a highly significant quantitative and
qualitative improvement especially in online technology.
Definition
According to Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences,
Library Automation is the use of automatic and semiautomatic data
processing machines to perform such traditional library activities
as acquisitions, cataloguing, and circulation. These activities are
not necessarily performed in traditional ways, the activities
themselves are those traditionally associated with libraries; library
automation may thus be distinguished from related fields such as
77 information retrieval fields such as information retrieval,
automatic indexing and abstracting and automatic textual analysis.
Needs for Library Automation

The Need for Automation is emphasized Because of the Following
Factors:
1. The growth rate of information is too high & width the result
a bulk of information is available in libraries & it is difficult
to handle & arrange the information with traditional methods.
2. Resource sharing among libraries can be handled easily by
library automation with hope of achieving some savings
3. Automation gives the advantages of high speed more accuracy
and vast storage capacity.
4. Library automation improves our efficiency of work and

provides consistency and impresses our work control.
Objectives of Library Automation

a. To maintain bibliographical records for all the materials
b. To reduce the repetition in the technical process to library
work
c. To provide accurate information at fast rate
d. To share the resources in the networking project
e. To improve precision and scope of research activity
f. To improve new IT Process to provide high quality information.
Library Automation Planning & Process

The Library Automation focus on following areas;
1. Automated Acquisition System
– To receive records of items to be acquired
– To establish whether Items requested are already in stock
or on order
– To print orders
– To maintain a file of records of item on orders
2. Automated Circulation System
– Tracing of the documents on loan and identify with whom
the particular book is issued
– Keeps the records of the reserved books
– Renewal of documents
– Calculation of fine, printing of fine receipts
3. Serial Control System
– Imputing essential serial Data
– Renewal of already subscribed Serials
– Accessing individuals Issues as and when the issues are

received
– Amount spent on serials subscription, binding etc.
4. Cataloguing System
– Catalogue card production.
– On-line cataloguing.
– Duplication checking of catalogue cards.
– Production of duplicate catalogue cards.
– Preparation of authority file subject heading list.
– OPAC
5. Reference System
– Ready reference queries can easily and quickly be
answered as dictionaries, encyclopedias and other factual
documents are also available on internet
– Easy preparation of subject bibliographies
– General and background information is available on
internet
Preparing for Automation

Preparing for an automated library system needs system
evaluation and planning before implementation.
Need Assessment
Routine library activities such as issue and return of the books
take a lion’s share of the total time of the library. The librarians
were not getting enough time to do added services. So, for acquiring
required time for a functional library, automation was necessary.
Control over the stock was not adequate. Annual stock
verification and generation of monthly library statistics were not up
to the standards. An automated system will make the things better.
Finding a book from the stack room was time taken. There was
no standard classification or cataloguing schemes. Books were
arranged unscientifically. Card catalogues were absent and the users
had to go through all the collection to find the wanted one. There
was no system to find whether the book was present, issued, if yes,
to whom it was issued or when will it return.
Cost evaluation
The cost contained in every library activity was higher in the
case of a manual system. The human cost was many times greater
than an automated environment. In the long run, the cost of work
done by a librarian in manual system for routine activities will
become less and that can be utilized in giving programmed or
individualized information services.
Budget allocation
Library automation needs a huge initial investment.
Administrators should be informed about the urgency and usefulness
of the process. The fund for the process was earmarked in the annual
budget and extracted from the library allotment. Since it was a
onetime investment, it will not hamper the routine book and
periodical accession in coming years.
System Selection (software and hardware)

Selecting the right integrated library management software
package is very important. The strength of the automation is mainly
depended on the quality of the system software. A number of software
is available in the market. Some have special school library
modules. For the selection certain things should be
remembered.
Selection criteria
i) User friendliness
ii) Portability
iii) After service
iv) Cost
v) Proper documentation
Leading Software
LIBSUITE
This Software Developed by SOFT – AID Computer Ltd Pune. Is
Based on Web Centric Architecture and designed to Work with
Different Media. LIBSUITE is Based o n the Three Tire Web Centric
Architecture in which server machine use Window NT/2000 and
Internet Information Server (IIS) as web Server. The Database Server
relies on oracle 8i and Clients use web interface for accessing the
server through internet or intranet. LIBSUITE extensively use latest
technologies like Active Server Pages (ASP) and component object
Modeling (COM).
E- GRANTHALAYA
This LMS was developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC)
Bangalore centre to suit the requirement of small and medium sized
libraries. It is easy to use software packages and supports all the
routine library operation. The package includes functional models
for administration, serials Controls, acquisition, Circulation, OPAC,
reports and index. It available free of cost it takes only installation
charges.
SLIM 21
SLIM (System for library Information Management) a Software
From Alogrhythms Consultants Pvt Ltd, Pune is module based LMS
that Offer wide range of functionally for library management. SLIM
21 is the latest product of the series that succeeded SLIM, SLIM++,
SLIMEX and SLIMLX. Slim supports multiple operating System and
backend database.
SOUL
The SOUL (Software for University Libraries) developed by
INFLIBNET , Ahemdabad in collaboration with DESCIDOC. Software
for University Libraries (SOUL) is an state-of-the-art integrated library
management software designed and developed by the INFLIBNET
Centre based on requirements of college and university libraries. It
is user-friendly software developed to work under client-server
environment. The software is compliant to international standards

for bibliographic formats, networking and circulation protocols. .
The software is suitable not only for the academic libraries, but also
for all types and sizes of libraries, even school libraries. The first
version of software i.e. SOUL 1.0 was released during CALIBER 2000.
The database of the SOUL 1.0 is designed on MS-SQL and is
compatible with MS SQL Server 7.0 or higher. The latest version of
the software i.e. SOUL 2.0 will be released by the end of the year
2008. The database for new version of SOUL is designed for latest
versions of MS-SQL and MySQL (or any other popular RDBMS). SOUL
2.0 is compliant to international standards such as MARC 21
bibliographic format, Unicode based Universal Character Sets for
multilingual bibliographic records and NCIP 2.0 based protocols for
electronic surveillance and control.
LIBSYS
Most widely used in India, fully integrated multi-user system
design to run on super, micro, mini, computer under UNIX/ VMS/
LAN platforms. Micro libsys, a subset of libsys is also available for
PC’s under DOS/ XENIX. It can be modified to operate on any
preferred database such ORACLE, INGRES etc.
Conclusion
In undertaking library automation one should keep in mind not
only what is needed by the library but also what is described by the
users. For this purpose it is necessary to study the use pattern of
the readers because the libraries which are going for automation
are not new ones but already exist. Though a chain of steps are
involved in library automation, there are simple options in developing
hardware, software, hum aware.
References
http://www.inflibnet.ac.in/soul/about.htm
http:librarykvpattom.wordpress.com/category
http: drtc.isibang.ac.in/bitstream/handle/1
http : shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/dxml/handl
LIBRARY AUTOMATION
AN OVERVIEW
—Gadalwad Shailesh Ganpatrao
Abstract
Traces briefly the history of library automation India. Tries to
analyze the various factors that directly or indirectly affect the progress
of library automation such as History of library automation,
Development library automation, Need of Library automation,
availability of suitable software, Objective, special future, Basic
Requirement, Advantages and disadvantages of Library Automation.
Also discusses the real in which automation has taken place and why.
Role of INDFOC and NISCAIR has also been discussed. Concludes
those things are changing for the better as library automation in
academic libraries in now being regarded as an urgent need.
Keywords
Library Automation, Academic Libraries, Library software, future
advantages
Introduction
Latest advancements in the field of information technology have
compelled libraries to embrace automation as the facilities provided
by automated by automated libraries go far beyond the activates of
traditional libraries. In developed countries computerization of
libraries started in 1940. The first use of computers in library and
information centers in India was reported in 1965 at INSDOC, new
known as National Institute of Science Communication and
Information Resources (NISCAIR), New Delhi. INSDOC initially
computerized the author and subject indexes of Indian Scientific
and Technical Translators using computers. Later on, several Indian
Libraries particularly those attached to scientific and industrial

research organizations used mainframe computers of their parent
bodies in 1970. The 1980 witnessed a gradual increase in the use of
computers in library operations.
Library automation gathered momentum in 1990 driven by the
sharply dwindling prices of hardware, increasing availability of library
software packages and also ever increasing enthusiasm on the part
of library professionals to embrace information technology along with
other factors. There are number of library automation packages in
India. Some of the wll-known library software of foreign origin are
Alice for windows, virtua, Techlib Plus etc. among the indigenous
library software packages libsys is the widely used software. Other
library software packages developed in India are Granthalaya,
Maitreyi, Sajay, DELMS (Defense Library Management System),
Librarian, WYLYSYS (Wipro Library System), DELDOS, TLMS,
Libsuite ASP+ etc. Few of them have been developed by the software
companies.
Though developed world has taken a clear cut lead in the field
of library automation, the scenario in developing nations such as
India is not encouraging. The selection of relevant software is an
important step in the library automation process. In any library
automation system, cataloguing module is an important module as
it caters to the needs of data base creation of library holdings.
Library Automation Definition

1. Library automation is the application of computers and also
connected tools to the processing of data in a library or
libraries. The automation might also be applied to some office
procedures.”
2. Through computer technology and software, library patrons
have rapid and more user-friendly access to the latest
information. They are also to remotely access a library’s
collection”
3. Encyclopedia of library and information Science,
“automation is the technology concerned with the design and
development of process and system that minimize the

necessity of human intervention in operation.”
4. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of English
Languages, automation is, “the techniques of making an
apparatus, a process or a system operate automatically.” In
other words, it is the machinery that mathematically
manipulates information storing, selects, presents and records
input data or internally generated data. Mechanization of
library house-keeping operations predominantly by computers
is known as library automation.
5. McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology: It
defines automation as “a coined word having no precise
generally accepted technical meaning but widely used to imply
the concept, development, or use of highly automatic
machinery or control systems.”
Meaning of Library automation

The word “automaton” has been derived from Greek word “
automose” means something, which has power of spontaneous
motion or self-movement. The term “automation” was first introduced
by D.S. Harder in 1936, who was then with General motor company
in the U.S. He used the term automation to mean automatic handling
of part between progressive production processes.
Automation is technology of automatic working in which the
handling method, the process and design of professional material
are integrated. This is the effort to achieve an automatic and self-
regulating chain of processes.
History of Library Automation

Punched cards were invented by Hollerith in 1880 and used in
tabulating the US census data. The library at the University of Texas
was perhaps the first to use punched cards in 1936 for circulation
control. The library of congress used the unit record machines for
the production of catalogues in 1950. Many libraries in the US
followed the system for automating their activities.
Library automation entered into its second era is 1960 with the
advent of computers. The notable ventures were MEDLARS, MARC,
etc. Until the early 1990 “automating the library” involved generally
the same features as those in place since the advent of machine
readable cataloguing record in the late 1960 Libraries created
integrated text based systems using micro/mini computers in which
traditional library housekeeping operations were computerized using
the library’s database as the foundation.
In the last decade, library automation has undergone a
transformation that reflects changing definitions of library service
in general and access to resources in particular. The introduction of
global networking such as internet, cheap availability of technology
and new media technologies made information more accessible.
Today’s integrated library systems must not only provide modules
which automate traditional library functions but also capable of
connecting through the local systems into systems of other
information or knowledge suppliers, databases and internet.
Library Automation
1. Automation is process of using the machineries for easily
working and saving the human power and time
2. The main purpose of library automation is to free the librarians
and library staff and to allow them to contribute more
meaningfully to spread of knowledge and information.
3. In the simple language “When we use machineries for
collection, processing, storage and retrieval of information
and do another works of library with the help of machineries
the called library automation.”
Development of Library Automation

Development of library automation is expressed in following
points:
1930s Punch card for circulation (IBM)
1950 Information and Documentation Center America
1961 Invention of IC by Rober Noyce (Intel) and jack kerby

(Texas)
1961 KWIC H. P. Luhan IBM
1966 MARC – I and in 1968 it was converted in MARC – II by
Henriette Avram
1965 Indian Science Abstract : Author index by INSDOC
1970 Many library networks establish in India
Need of Library Automation

Following are the essential reasons behind library automaton:
From the above definitions, we can say that the need of library
automation has several reasons. Need of computers in present in all
areas depending upon its usage. They range from acquisition control,
serial control, and cataloguing and circulation control. They are also
used for library manager’s evaluation of reports, statistics, etc. For
the good administration of the library computers are used in all
levels of work. Above all, the unique characteristics of computer
made it the right choice for the library world. Computers right from
the beginning are considered to aid man, in doing various operations.
1. Information explosion
2. Availability of information in various formats (Print, Non-Print,
Graphical, Audio-Visual etc.)
3. Different approaches and needs of user
4. Limitation of library (time, space and human power)
5. Duplication in housekeeping operation
6. To well management and retrieval of information
7. To search national and international database
8. Impact of communication technology
9. Increasing numbers of users
10. To obtain increased operational efficiencies
11. To improve the quality, speed and effectiveness of services

12. To improve access the resources on other networks and
systems, including the web
13. To improve the management of their physical and financial
resources
14. To facilitate wider dissemination of their information products
and services
15. Enable their participation in resource-sharing library network
Objectives of Library Automation

1. Speedily disposal of library work
2. Establishment of a well storage and retrieval system
3. Time and human power saving with qualitative services
4. Suitability for library cooperation and coordination
development
5. Simplicity in library management to meet the objectives
6. Proper use of human resources
7. Development of the new library services
8. Preparation of report and correspondence
9. Suitability for resource sharing and networking
10. Development of human resources
Special Features of Library Automaton

1. It is an electronics based activity which is carried out by
human beings
2. It is helpugul to providing library services
3. Standardization in library work
4. Accuracy in work
5. Speedily communication of information
6. Avoid duplication in the library work

7. Trained staff
8. Availability of information
9. It is a time saving system3
10. User friendly system
11. Networking
Basic Requirement for library Automation

1. Financial assistance
2. Hardware
3. Software
4. Trained staff
5. User training
1. Financial Assistance : While the library’s general goals and
objectives are concerned with programs, services, technology, and
staff development, its financial goals and objectives are concerned
with the funding to provide these library services.
It is assumed that financial stability is a function of adequate
and dependable revenues from diverse sources. As a public services
organization, most of these revenues should provide benefits and
services to the citizens; however, some fund balances are allocated
to reserves to cover unexpected expenses, such as automation
upgrades, revenue shortfalls or unbudgeted expenses. It is assumed
that no sudden major changes will take place that will substantially
change the revenue sources or governing structure of the library.
2. Hardware : When automating the library, the hardware to be
procured should also be given a thought. Today, different types of
hardware are available in the market and due to new kinds of
hardware available in the market; the earlier ones are getting
outdated soon. Also, while procuring the hardware, it should be
seen whether the software which will be implemented will be
compatible with the hardware procured.
3. Software : The term software refers to a set of computer

programmes, procedures, and associated documents (flow charts,
manual, etc.) that describe the programme and how they are to be
used. To be precise, software is a collection of programmes to enhance
the working capabilities of the hardware. Software is a set of
programmes written or developed to enable the computer to do
desired operations.
It is one of the most important components which should be
taken notice of, while automation. Today, a number of application
software are available in the market manufactured by different
companies of India and abroad with distinct feature and hence while
selection software.
To determine the best package for out library, analyze and
identify our needs and match it with the features and functions of
integrated library aystems.
At present lot of library software’s are available in the market.
In which we can choose and software that will be fulfilled the vision
or objectives of library automation.
4. Trained Staff : The librarian should be well trained in the
overall management and maintenance of the automated system. He
will get initial training from the software vendor and has to
continuously update in according to the changing user needs and
technology. In this case the librarians got the training form the
company.
Training sessions on the automated library system (mainly, OPAC
search, finding the book, circulation, etc.) are conducted for the
users. These skill development programmes can be organized during
the library periods. For staff members special time slots should be
planned.
5. User training : The librarian should be well trained in the
overall management and maintenance of the automated system.
He will get initial training from the software vendor and has to
continuously update it according to the changing user needs and
technology. In this case the librarians got training from the company.
Training sessions on the automated library system (mainly, OPAC

search, finding the book, circulation, etc.) are conducted for the
users. These skill development programmes can be organized during
the library periods. For staff member special time slots should be
planned.
Advantages of Library Automation

1. Easily searching of information
2. Time saving
3. Speedily Communication
4. Helpful in stock verification
5. Easily working with the help of automation
6. Helpful in resources sharing
7. It motivate to library staff
8. Development of human resources
Disadvantages of Library Automation

1. It is long term and time consuming process
2. Financial expenses
3. Continuous staff training are required for it
4. Security problems
5. It is totally depended on the electricity
6. Costly maintenance
7. Untrained users
Suggestions for Library Automation

1. Economical help should be provided by central, state, local
govt. and library authority according to library and information
policy.
2. Libraries should be conducted training program time to time
for the development of library staff.
3. Librarian should be selected best hardware and software for

automation
4. All the data or information should be secure with the help of
different security tool such as use of anti-virus, firewall and
taking a backup of data time to time.
5. Inverter should be used for power.
Conclusion
Library automation is the process which needs proper planning,
timely implementation and periodical evaluation. The librarian with
the administrators has to set the priorities after analyzing the current
status and future requirement. Selection of the suitable integrated
library management package according to the needs of the users
and the library is important. Retrospective conversion, OPAC,
circulation and serials control, etc. should be conducted with care.
Staff training and user education are keys to the success of the
process. Library automation invites realistic approach. Here, those
institutions which freed their visions from the traditional shackles
of financial insecurities and fears of making proper decisions can
only set the pace of journey to excellence.
Academic achievement of a student is closely related to his/her
ability to find, evaluate and use the required information according
to the curriculum needs. An automated college and University library
with a variety of resources and user oriented services can lead them
to the goals.
References
Cohn, John M. et al (1997).; Planning for library automation:
a practical handbook, London: Library Association Publishing,
Kent, Allen., (1997), Encyclopedia of library and information
science, new York: marcel dekkar. 19
Pandey, S. K. Sjarma., (1995), Fundamental of library
automation, New Delhi : Ess Ess Publication 131.
RE-ENGINEERING OF LIBRARY:
A STUDY OF PRESENT SCENARIO OF
LIBRARY COMPUTERIZATION OF
ACADEMIC LIBRARIES IN NCRD
INSTITUTE, NERUL, NAVI MUMBAI
—Rajshree Autade
Abstract
As the traditional concept of library is changing towards digital
library, the existing manual system should be re-engineered to cope
with its changing environment. Re-engineering is very popular modern
management techniques. Application of reengineering is present day
need. Computerization of Library & Information is the primary step of
re-engineering of Library and Information Services in Digital Era..
Hence, present paper high lights how this techniques is applicable to
college Library. Here, an effort is made to reflect the present scenario
of Library Computerization of Academic Libraries of NCRD Institute,
which includes college libraries of the Institute.
Keywords
Academic Library, Computerization, Re-engineering,
Automation, Library Professionals, Information etc.
Definitions of Re-engineering
1} Reengineering does not mean the using new computer
systems in the existing system (i.e. replacing manual system).
Rather, it is the modification of the existing system by the
computer based system or a new human based system, and
can even replace an existing computer based system with a
human based system.
2} Microsoft Computer Dictionary defines the term ‘Reengineer’

(vb) as ‘To rethink and redefine processes and procedures.’
3} Encyclopedia of Information Technology defines
reengineering as ‘the examination and modification of a system
to reconstitute it in a new form and the subsequent
implementation of the new form’.
4} Daniel P. Petrozoo and John C. Stepper in their book
‘Successful reengineering’ define the term ‘Reengineering’ as
‘ Reengineering is the concurrent redesign of processes,
organizations, and their supporting information systems to
achieve radical improvement in time, cost, quality, and
customers’ regard for the company’s products and services.’
Though this definition is based on the company environment;
in Library and Information Services and System also it is
applicable more or less. Here, in the LIS environment, the
term Customer is replaced with term User and term Company
will be replaced with Library and Information Centre.
Objective of Re-engineering
To satisfy the Customer’s (users’) need and expectation
Achieve improvement in the performance
To satisfy the organization’s strategic goals
Remove the non essential aspect of the library which are not
necessary and running its functions
Challenges of Re-engineering
Resistance to changes of management style and reporting
structures
Politics
Fear of Jobless
Declining Library Budgets
Need of successful leadership for successful implementation
of Reengineering
Characteristics of Reengineering
With an existing system only because the reengineering
concept means the replacement of the existing system with a
new or a modified system.
Another thing is that the reengineering is not a solution or
an immediate answer to a specific problem rather it is
applicable to a long term problem and it should Reengineering
is applied in an existing user-oriented organization to make
it more users friendly. It means, the concept of reengineering
is applicable be noted that the full benefit of reengineering
can be realized after years
Reengineering of Library and Information System

When we discuss about the reengineering of Library and
information system in a digital era, the application and utilization of
computer comes automatically, because the computer is the basic
element of the digital environment. With the computer technology,
now the library professionals do their work digitally and the users
are also searching their information digitally. The library documents
are now available digitally both in online as well as offline forms,
which make it easier both for the library staffs and users working
their job digitally. For shifting from the traditional ‘printed books
environment’ to the ‘digital environment’ the library system should
be reengineered.
Already in the discussion about the characteristics, it is clear
that re-engineering does not imply replacing the existing system
completely, but to include new methods and technologies to the
existing system to revamp it. And for this purpose, we have to first
study the existing system and find out its feedbacks. After that, we
can suggest the necessary changes that can improve the existing
system. It is not that the process is over here. The system after the
changes has to be tested and to find out whether it is working
efficiently or not. The concept of System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) can be applied here. Information technology strongly
influences information system development. We can use a more
engineering approach such as the System Development Life Cycle
(SDLC) which is a systematic procedure of developing an information

system through stages that occur in sequence.
System development is done in stages which include:
Problem recognition and specification
Information gathering
Requirements specification for the new system
System design
System construction
System implementation
Review and maintenance
Computerization of Library and Information

Center
Computerization of Library and Information Center means the
use of the use of automatic machines or processing devices in
libraries. The computerization may be applied to library
administrative activities, office procedures, and delivery of library
services to users. The main objective of computerization of library &
information centers is not the replacement of manual system, but
to make the regular house keeping operations of a library &
information centers. Ultimately this will save the time of the reader
and the user, which will fulfill the 4th Law of Library Science. The
application of computer in library & information centers started with
preparing bibliographic databases, then one step ahead to house-
keeping operation, then to digital library, library 2.0 and now the
library may be at your hand with 3G technologies. With the advanced
application of information & communication technology, the library
is now becoming a global information hub, available and accessible
to the users with a single mouse click on the computer monitor, 24
hours round the year sitting at the most remote places too.
Need of Re-engineering of Library with

Computerization
With passes of the time and as a result of the ongoing research
and development on the application of science and technology, the
library once which was the repository of books and manuscripts
only for the ruler & scholar class of the society are now turned to
the people’s information center. With the mushroom of growing of
the literature both in printed and digital form, now the library and
information centers are flooded with the various forms of documents
which creates problems both for the staff and the users in its proper
organization and utilization and this leads us to think about the
reengineering of manual library system. For this the first and
foremost step is the library computerization which leads the whole
library system to a computerization stage.
The following factors necessitate the computerization a library
system.
Capacity to handle any account of data and information;
Speedy processing of information and flexibility in information
search and its retrieval;
Standardization of library procedure;
Participation in network programming and resource sharing;
Provide better bibliographic control at local, regional, national
and international Level;
Avoid/eliminates duplication of work;
Economic implications of latest information technology;
Overcome geographical and other barriers to communication
and
Improve the quality of existing services and to reduce routine
and time consuming clerical works.
Library Computerization of Academic Libraries of

NCRD Institute
Objectives
The basic objective of the paper is to show the present status of
the computerization of the academic libraries of NCRD Institute.
Along with this objective, we have tried to explore the following basic
things related to an academic library.
Collection of the libraries.
Library services.
Manpower & their training for library computerization. etc.
Scope
NCRD Institute runs various courses under one management,
out of these; in our present study we have included only 4 College
Libraries.
Methodology
Interview method has been used for collecting the required
information related to our study.
General Information
National Centre for Rural Development (NCRD) a registered
public charitable trust was founded in 1991. During the course of
its various activities aimed at the up liftment of rural youth, NCRD
realized early on that true rural development was not possible without
the basic education for the rural folk. With this view in mind, in the
year 1991 it established a school in Ambegaon in Pune district which
was then a very backward area. This educational voyage has
continued and now the trust has to its credit no. of schools, degree
colleges, and professional courses like pharmacy, management,
computer applications etc.
In the Year 2004-05, NCRD widened its educational activities
and established the Sterling Institute of Pharmacy. It is located in
Nerul which is the biggest residential node of Navi Mumbai. It is
situated in a serene and peaceful environment and is easily accessible

by rail from the sea wood station on the harbor line between CST-
Panvel and by road from NH-4 or the Palm Beach road providing
easy connectivity with all areas of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. As
the Institute is affiliated to University of Mumbai and approved by
A.I.C.T.E. people come with the desire to obtain University degree.
The Institute has a spacious computerized library with multiple
editions of National and International books. It also subscribes
National & International journals, periodicals, and magazines to keep
the students abreast with the recent developments in field of
pharmacy. The complete information is included in the following
Table.1
Table 1 (a) Name of College Library with the year of
establishment
Sr. Name of College Name of Library Year of
No. Establish-
ment
1. NCRD’s Sterling SIMS MMS Library 2004
Institute of management
Studies
2. NCRD’s Sterling Institute SIMS MCA Library 2007
of management Studies
3 NCRD’s Sterling Institute SIP Library 2004
of Pharmacy
4 NCRD’s Sterling Institute IOP Library 2003
of Pharmacy
Collection of the Libraries

The Table 2 shows the collection of the college libraries of NCRD
Institute All the college libraries have a good collection of document.
From our survey, we have come to know that SIMS MMS Library
has the highest Library collection among the four college Libraries
and IOP Library is having lowest collection.
Table. 2 (b): The collection of the college libraries

of NCRD Institute
Sr. Name of the Printed Non-printed Total
No. College Library Collections
1 SIMS MMS Library 8000 150 8150
2 SIMS MCA Library 4000 120 4120
3 SIP Library 5506 110 5616
4 IOP Library 2700 15 2715
Table 2.1: Access to e-journals Subscription

Sr. Name of the e-journals No. of available
No. College Library vendor computers for
users access
1 SIMS MMS Library 1] Proquest 10
2] J-gate
2 SIMS MCA Library IEEE 10
3 SIP Library 1]Elsevier Science 10
Direct Pharmacy
collection
2]Bentham Science
(Pharmacy)
4 IOP Library NIL NIL
Table 2.1 reveals that all the libraries except IOP library have
subscribed e-resources from respective publishers as prescribed in
AICTE’s Norms 2013-14 and made accessible to the library users as
sufficient number of computer systems are available in almost all
the libraries.
Library Services
The libraries under the study are having library facilities of
different levels. The traditional services such as issue and return
and reference service are being common to most of the libraries;
apart from this some additional services are being provided by the NCRD’s Libraries.
The Table-3 reveals the different services being offered by the academic Libraries of NCRD Institute:
Table-3: Services Offered by NCRD’s College Libraries

Sr. Name of User Circu Refere Internet Documen CAS Access Repro
No. the college educa lation nce and tation to e- graphic
Library tion/ (Manu Servi e-mail resour service
Orien al) ce ces
tation
1. SIMSMMS YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

2. SIMSMCA YES YES NO YES YES NO YES YES
3. SIP YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
4. IOP No YES NO NO YES NO NO YES
Manpower for Library Computerization

The following tables show the existing position of different
professional and non-professional in the college libraries.
Sr. Name of the Professional Non-Professional Total
No. College Library
1 SIMSMMS 01 01 02
2 SIMSMCA 01 01 02
3 SIP 01 01 01
4 IOP 01 00 01
The Table 4 reveals that SIMS Library has maximum library

staff including professional staff. The college librarians are well
qualified; as all the librarians have completed MLISc course from
recognized universities.
Library Computerization
Out of 4 libraries 3 are partially automated, Library automation
is at initial stage. Data entries of the library resources are done in
the library management system. All the libraries have the Library
Management Software”Libraria”. College has not fulfilled hardware
requirements necessary for automation of various library services
and functions such as bar code technology or RFID technology till
today; as a result the automation process is not started.
Table 5 (a): The Automation status and software used in the
Libraries of NCRD Institute
Sr. Name of the Fully Initial Name of the
No. College Library Automated Stage Library Software
1 SIMSMMS Partially YES Libraria

2 SIMSMCA Partially Yes Libraria
3 SIP Partially YES Libraria
4 IOP NO NO NO Software
It is found that except IOP Library computerization of all other 3

libraries is at initial stage. This information reflects that the present
scenario of college library automation of NCRD Institute is in initial
stage.
Manpower Training
The Librarians besides being professionally qualified have
acquired special skills such as technical skills of library automation
by attending different short-term courses, orientation, workshops
and seminars etc.
Conclusion & Suggestions

From the above study, it is clear that, the NCRD Institute’s
libraries are lagging behind in case of library automation as out of 4
colleges only three libraries are having Library management software
and they are at initial stage. The academic libraries of NCRD Institute
can also try the open source library automation software like D-
space, New Gen Lib, Koha e-Granthalaya etc.,which are freely
downloadable from the Internet.
As the automation is the need of hours for reengineering of library
information system and services, therefore the authority of the NCRD
Institute should give proper importance in library automation as
well as the recruitment and training of professional staff for their
libraries. Parent institute should provide sufficient funds for
transformation of the traditional library to automated library.
Library Professionals must upgrade their skills in order to meet
the growing expectations of users from libraries. They need to change
their outlook, have to broaden their scope and vision, going for
rigorous training and update their knowledge base.
References
Ali, Amjad. Encyclopedia of information technology. New Delhi,
Galgotia, Vol 2(M-Z) 2005.
Daniel P. Petrozoo and John C. Stepper. Successful
reengineering. Mumbai, Jaico Publishing House,1998.
Dickinson, Brain. Risk –free business re-engineering.
Mumbai, Jaico Publishing House, 2004.
MICROSOFT CORPORATION. Microsoft computer dictionary.
5th Ed. New Delhi, Prentice Hall of India, 2002.
Kumar, P.S.G. (1987).Computerization of Indian Libraries.
New Delhi: B.R.Publishing Corporation.
LIBRARY CONSORTIA: NEED OF TIME

—Darshana.P.Wade
Abstract
Consortium of libraries is well known for sharing of resources all
over the world. The increase in prices of the electronic resources and
scarcity of resources has forced the libraries to explore the alternative
means of subscription. The revolution in information technology in past
few years has surpassed the ability of individuals and institutions to
cope with it. Expectations of the users from the libraries have also
increased rapidly. The phenomenon of consortia or group of libraries
buying e-information together has become very important in the last
few years. This new scenario, along with new forms of purchasing
and selling e information, has led to new pricing models that have not
yet been fixed. Publishers and vendors find it convenient to
communicate to a group collectively rather than transacting with
individual libraries.
The Phenomenon of consortia or group of libraries maintaining
information resources together has become very common these days,
In India, during last few years we witnessed many consortia based
subscription where Various issues related to consortia like
uninterrupted online access, perpetual access to back issues, pricing,
licensing, copyright and archival solutions etc are pinpointed and need
to be strategically tackled and well addressed to get the best out of
the consortia. The paper discusses the meaning, need, advantages,
disadvantages, consortia models and various initiatives in India.
Keywords
Library Consortia, Resource sharing, and Library services
Introduction
The idea of consortium is not new. There were instances of several
libraries coming together Voluntarily for the mutual benefit of
respective users just like cooperatives, it was the earliest Stage of
library cooperation. In the second stage, computerized networks come
into vogue for Sharing of resources. Till this period, the library
resources were mainly in traditional printed format. The networks
created their bibliographical databases. The users of the participating
libraries could get the required documents from other libraries
through document delivery services. With the advent of e-resources,
the concept of consortia has been mooted mainly for acquisition of
e-journals. As the resources that are procured today through the
consortium are mainly e-resources, it has become possible for the
users to access and download the required materials without even
going through the elaborate process of inter library lending. Though
library consortia have been created with narrow purpose, these can
be turned into efficient instruments for sharing all types of library
resource.
Definitions
“The term consortium is derived from the field of economics and
refers to the grouping together of different independent companies
in order bring together financial or material resources under a single
managing body for the joint performance of specific operations. A
consortium may comprise an informal group with reciprocal
agreement between partners or it may constitute a separate legal
entity in itself. A purchasing group may be considered as an example
on an informal consortium.” (Ghosh,M, Biswas,S.C. and Jeevan V.K.J
2006).
According to Webster’s new International Dictionary “Library
consortia is an agreement, combination, or group formed to
undertake and enterprise beyond the resources of any one member”
Need of Consortium
Access to resources is now considered more important than the
collection building. The consortium facilitates the libraries to get
the benefit of wider access to electronic resources at affordable cost

and at the best terms of licences. A consortium, with the collective
strength of resources of various institutions available to it, is in a
better position to resolve the problems of managing, organising and
archiving the electronic resources.
To organize the shared programs for the development of
research and educational promotion...
To serve as a clearing house for the exchange of information
To sort out the problems related to education and research.
To work for the overall development of education and research
Conduct cooperative programs to make the people aware of
the benefits of consortia
Issues related to library consortium

Various factors to be taken for an effective functioning of a
successful consortium. The major issues of consortia approaches
are
Selecting a coordinating agency to deal on behalf of the entire
group of participants and executing and monitoring the work.
Sources of funding to meet the subscription cost
Identifying and negotiating the potential publishers / vendors
or aggregators to provide access under consortia purchase.
Source of funding to meet the subscription cost
Legal issues involved in contracts and usage of material within
the consortia.
Identification of libraries interested in participating and
agreeing on common terms and conditions.
Identifying the necessary infrastructure from electronic access
to resources
Issues related to backup and archival of database
Documentation and training to staff
Last but not least, designing and launching a library

consortium should be long run substance and robust models
towards achieving the above goals.
Advantages of consortia
1. To leverage resources by sharing existing resources or
collection though virtual union catalogue and sharing of
Collections and collaborating on collection development;
each library is able to contribute unique titles to the
consortium – avoid duplication
Electronic resources including the creation of digital
collections-sharing among consortium members need not
be just in terms of licensing products- it can also include
sharing in the creation of digital collections.
Storage of resources – Space is an issue for many libraries
Sharing the archiving of resources
Sharing staff expertise- a consortium provides

opportunities for staff members to develop new skills and
interact with a varsity of people who would not have had
the opportunity to meet otherwise
Sharing risk- by sharing risk, members of a consortium
can undertake projects that are larger than one institution
can safely take on its own.
This form of cooperation enables the consortia libraries to
borrow books, periodicals, articles, and scientific journals,
which are not available locally.
Electronic access enables the user initiate their own search
of remote catalogues and make requests for information.
Sharing catalogues—to enable user’s greater access to
larger collection
CD-ROM union catalogue that provides access to books,
videos and recording for each institution.
Union List of Serials that provides access to the journal

holdings of all member libraries.
2. To reduce the cost of library operations by obtaining a group
purchased price for information product.
3. To bring pressure on, providers especially publishers to reduce
the rate of rise in the cost of purchasing information.
Thus, library consortium are commonly formed to negotiate joint
purchases (e.g. of equipment, software, books, library materials and
licensed electronic databases and resources) and to share resources.
Disadvantages of consortia
Consortia take time to be properly developed; and where
hastily thrown together, may not be as effective as a well
developed supply chain. Consortia quite often require more
resource intensive management during the contract delivery
period, to ensure that consistency and quality are maintained
across the range of organisations involved.
If one of the consortium partners fails to deliver, then there is
a risk that the other consortium partners might be tainted
by a ssociation in terms of future tendering or, indeed,
exposed to legal and/or financial liab ilities, depending upon
the consortium arrangements in place; the lead partner may,
in fact, be responsible for 100% of the liabilities (and would
then need to pursue claims against each of the other partners,
as appropriate).
Where a consortium partner is further down the supply chain,
there can be cash flow difficulties, especially where the lead
partner is experiencing delays in payment.
There may not be “brand recognition” for an individual
organisation within the consortium.
There can be friction within a consortium arrangement where
there are differing views among the partners, especially if
the decision-making structures are unclear and untested
(and it might be worthwhile considering making provision
for mediation to support conflict resolution)
There are also a number of strategic issues which should be

considered before getting involved in a consortium:
What is the impact of an organisation’s decision to join a
consortium on its stakeholders? What degree of alignment is
there between the organisation’s mission/purpose and the
mission/purpose of the consortium?
What skills/experience is the organisation lacking i.e. what
skills/experience is it looking for the other partners to
provide? How will sharing the risks and expertise help an
organisation to deliver the contract more effectively? What
decisions will be made by the consortium as opposed to being
made by the individual partners, and how does that impact
on the organisation’s ability to manage risk?
What is the duration of the consortium contract? What effect
will delivery of the consortium contract have on an
organisation’s existing operations? What other potential
opportunities will it open up?
What financial systems are in place to deal with the contract?
Will one of the partners take responsibility for this? What are
the implications for the consortium generally of this approach
? What are the potential cash flow implications for the
consortium? How will responsibilities/liabilities be managed/
allocated?
What are the risks related to delivering the contract via a
consortium? What are the implications of performance failure
by the consortium?
What will happen to the consortium when the contract comes
to an end? What is the exit strategy?
Consortia initiatives in india

Indian National Digital Library of Engineering, Sciences,
and Technology
(INDEST), is a consortium set up and funded by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development (MHRD) in India. The ministry
provides funds required for providing differential access to electronic

resources subscribed to the members. It has its headquarters at IIT
Delhi. Its members include 38 core institutions viz., Indian Institute
of Science, IITs, IIMs, IIITs. NITs and a few other centrally funded
Government institutions. The membership is open to all other
educational institutions under its self supported category. The access
to the resources is being provided directly from the publishers
websites. The consortium offers a price advantage on subscription
to e resources that exceeds 80%. Electronic resources subscribed
by INDEST consortium are full text e-resources like (ASCE) American
Society of Civil Engineers , ACM Digital Library, EBSCO databases,
Elservier’s science, Emerald full-text etc. and bibliographical
databases like INSPEC, J-Gate, MathSciNET, Web of Science,
Scifinder Scholar etc.The consortium is also a member of
International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC).
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

(CSIR) has also formed a Consortium for which National Institute
of Science, Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR),
a constituent establishment of CSIR formed with the merger of
INSDOC and NISCOM, has been identified as the nodal agency. To
agument CSIR research and development activities, NISCAIR
implemented an agency for the process of providing access to globally
available electronic journals to the entire S&T staff of CSIR. On behalf
of CSIR, it has entered into an agreement with Elesvier science to
access its odd 1,500 ejournals and intends to strengthen further its
information resources base by subscribing access to more journals
published globally. CSIR consortium extended its access by creating
approprate on consortium basis with the other providers of e-
journals.
UGC-INFONET
The University Grants Commission (UGC), India has launched
a consortium of e-journals for its member universities to provide
access to journals through its nationwide communication network,
UGC-INFONET. It is overlaid on Education and Research Network
(ERNET) infrastructure to provide assured quality of service and
optimal utilization of Bandwidth resources. On behalf of the UGC,
the INFLIBNET is executing the UGC-INFONET project in

collaboration with the ERNET. This Consortium aims to promote
the use of electronic database and full text access to journals by the
research and academic community in the country. Information and
Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre, is the nodal agency for
coordination of the UGC-INFONET. It facilitates linkage between
UGC, ERNET and universities and coordinates the programme. It is
also administering the entire programme including monitoring of
bandwidth utilization and releasing the annual recurring cost of
149 universities. This Consortium subscribes to journals published
by American Chemical Society, American Institute of Physics/
American Physical Society, Institute of Physics, Annual Revies,
Cambridge University Press, Project MUSE, Royal Society of
Chemistry, etc. In all areas of learning like Science, Technology,
Medicine, Social Science and Humanities. UGC-INFONET is a boon
to the higher education system in the country. The programme helps
in mitigating the severe shortage of periodicals faced by university
libraries due to the ever widening gap between the growing demand
for literature and the shortage of available resources. The consortia
model gets the discount of 85% to 90% of list price. As per 2006
statistics, it offered e-resources from 25 major publishers/ vendor
aggregators content to 100 universities and the consortia members
have downloaded 2945074 full text articles in 2005. In the year
2006, there is tremendous growth in over all usage of e-resources.
Besides these, many consortia are being run successfully by different
organization also These include:
FORSA (Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy)

FORSA Introduction In the early 1980s, due to proliferation of
information, library professionals working in the Institutes where
astronomy was one of the main thrust areas of research felt the
need to come together and to form a forum, which can act as a
springboard for sharing and exchange of information. The sheer
necessity brought all like minded astronomy librarians in the country
together and a first meeting was held on July 29 1981 at Raman
Research Institute, Bangalore and informally launched “FORUM FOR
RESOURCE SHARING IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS”
(FORSA) with a vision and mission to share resources held in each
library. Since 1989, FORSA members meet every year, in conjunction

with Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of India. A
noteworthy feature of such meetings is that FORSA members interact
with the astronomers in the Joint Session, in which developments
in library and information handling activities in the field of
astronomy/astrophysics are presented and comments from users
are solicited to improve and expand library services. At present,
there are eleven institute members, viz. ARIES, Bose Institute,
Nizamiah Observatory, HCRI, IIA, IUCAA, NCRA (TIFR), PRL, RRI,
SINP, SNBNCBS and TIFR
IIM Consortia
Six Indian Institutes of Management have formed a consortium
and jointly approached the publishers of e-journals and databases
in the area of Management, Social Behavioral Science source. They
have been giving IP enabled access to e-journals. Well renowned
publishers like Elsevier (247 titles), Blackwell (268 titles), Kluwer
(33 titles), Wiley (3 titles) provide their resources online to the
members of the IIM Consortium. Apart from 25 titles free against
print subscription, 2,300 titles as a part of EBSCO databases and
800 titles as part of ABI Inform database have been made available
to users of IIM libraries electronically.
ICICI Knowledge Park
The Knowledge Park at Hyderabad has signed an agreement
with Informatics India Ltd provide access to J-Gate Custom Contents
for Consortia service to four Hyderabad based and one Pune based
R & D Institutions. Initially this service is free for the members with
the objective of making it self-sustaining in the later stage.
ICMR
As part of modernization the Indian Council Of Medical research
has under taken many new initiatives like subscribing to JCC@ICMR
and Full Text Electronic Databases i.e. ProQuest. To keep pace with
the rapidly changing information technology scenario, the Council
entered into the e-joumal arena through developing an e-journal
consortium. The ICMR has identified five core bio-medical journals
and subscribes for e-version in consortia mode to all ICMR institutes.
These include Lancet, Science, BMJ, NEJM, and Nature. This e-

journal consortia will be beneficial for cross sharing of information
among the ICMR Institutes.
ICICI Knowledge Park
The Knowledge Park at Hyderabad has signed an agreement
with Informatics India Ltd provide access to J-Gate Custom Contents
for Consortia service to four Hyderabad based and one Pune based
R & D Institutions. Initially this service is free for the members with
the objective of making it self-sustaining in the later stage.
DAE Library Consortium

As part of modernization the Indian Council Of Medical research
has under taken many new initiatives like subscribing to JCC@ICMR
and Full Text Electronic Databases i.e. ProQuest. To keep pace with
the rapidly changing information technology scenario, the Council
entered into the e-joumal arena through developing an e-journal
consortium. The ICMR has identified five core bio-medical journals
and subscribes for e-version in consortia mode to all ICMR institutes.
These include Lancet, Science, BMJ, NEJM, and Nature. This e-
journal consortia will be beneficial for cross sharing of information
among the ICMR Institutes
HELINET (Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences,

Karnataka)
Health Science Library and Information Network is a successfully
implemented consortium which is first of its kind in the country.
The consortium was started with a vision to improve the quality of
education and research in the Health Science institutions of the
country through enhanced access to high quality medical
information. HELINET’s goal is to deliver information to users desk-
top with round-the-clock access. The major benefit of this consortium
is expanded access to core international e-journals. Before the launch
of the consortium, access to foreign medical journals by each college
was limited to around 100. HELINET has made it possible for each
college to access and share the contents in more than 600 journals,
increasing the access provision by 6-times.
Conclusion
The advent of e publishing has brought a revolution in journals
publication, subscription as well as access to the scholarly literature.
Library consortia are really helping the researchers, faculties and
the students to retrieve the information and save their time. It benefits
the libraries to procure more electronic resources in the library with
limited library budget and this is what the libraries require in the
present scenario The age of library consortia is at the doorsteps to
prove the library cooperation locally, regionally, nationally and
internationally. It is the one of the emerging tool kit for the maximum
libraries to survive if the libraries have to provide information to
their users.
References
Arora Jadgdish & Agarwal Pawan (2003). Indian Digital Library
in Engineering Science and technology (INDEST) Consortium:
“Consortia-based subscription to Electronic resources for
Technical Education System in India: A Govt. of India
initiative” proceedings from International CALIBER ‘03 ,
Ahmadebad: INFLIBNET
Bisen, Rajesh Singh (2005). E-Journals Aggregators: A
consortia approach for effective access to full-text journals
database. IASLIC Bulletin, 50 (2), 96-99.
Chakravarty Rupak & Singh Sukhwinder (2005). e-Resource
for Indian Universities: new Initiatives, SRELS Journal of
Information Management, 42, No.1, pp57-73
Cholin, V.S., Thiyam, Satyabati., & Muthry, T.A.V. (2006).
UGC-INFONET E-Journals consortium: Access to scholarly
journals and databases for Indian academic community- A
study. In T.A.V. Murthy et.al..(Ed.$) Dynamic Interoperable
Web Based Information System. Ahmedabad:
Francis, A. T. (2005). Library consortia model for country wide
access of electronic journals and databases. In T.A.V. Murthy
et.al.(Ed.$) Proceedings of International Conference on

Multilingual Computing and Information Management in
Networked Digital Environment, Cochin.
Kaliammal, A., & Thamaraiselvi, G. (2005). Role of ICTs in
library and information
Murthy,T.A.V. (2002). “Resource sharing and consortia for
India Information Management in e-libraries” pp.14-15.
Proceedings from National Conference on Information
management in E-libraries, Kharagpur pp.570-588
Proceedings from International CALIBER ’07: Convention on
automation of libraries in education and research institutions.
Ahmedabad: INFLIBNET.
Prem Chand , Prakash K., Satyrbati, Thiyam., Chuhan, Suresh
K., (2007). “Access to scholarly literature in higher education
institutions under INFLIBNET consortium” science.Delhi:
Authors Press.
Shachaf, Penia, (2003) Nationwide library consortia lifecycle.
Libri, 53, pp..94-102.
LIBRARY CONSORTIA:
A SMART WAY FOR
EMINENCE EDUCATION
—Govind Prasad Gupta and Sunil Bhatt
Abstract
Resource sharing has become the most useful and beneficial way
of gaining various information to enhance knowledge power. The
consortia system is the ultimate weapon for effective resource sharing
process. In the context of 21st century, there are number of consortia
offering quality services to its users. The present study highlights the
concept, objectives, advantages, drawbacks of library consortia
system. Further, it also covers different consortia models and brief
introduction of few important consortia in Indian context.
Key words
Consortia, Resource Sharing, E-Journals, Library Cooperation
etc.
Preamble
Higher education system comprises many universities, colleges,
technical institutions, research and development institutions. Every
institution has its own library, where information and knowledge
resources are kept. Library is a heart of educational institution. It
plays a vital role of in support of all activities such as teaching,
research and publication. Without a proper information and
knowledge infrastructure, education system can not sustain and
achieve its goals and objectives. Today libraries face numerous
challenges due to exponential growth of knowledge, increasing
growth of students and researchers, increasing demands for services,
lack of proper and adequate infrastructure, high cost of library

materials, shrinking of budget and much more.
In an effort to address these challenges, libraries have turned to
various collaborative endeavors such as library networking, resource
sharing etc. Due to emergence of Internet, particularly the World
Wide Web, the libraries have gone under a transformation form print
based environment to digital environment. The World Wide Web as
a new media of information delivery triggered proliferation of web-
based full text e-resources. E-resources offering tremendous
possibilities and advantages over print resources; ease of use,
“anywhere-any time”, accessibility, share ability, hyperlink to related
text or multimedia content. At present, the more accepted system of
library networking and resource sharing is called library consortia.
The phenomenon of consortia or group of libraries buying e-
information together has become very important in the last few years.
It has the ‘state of art’ in library cooperation in recent years. The
consortia facilitate the libraries to get the benefit of wider access to
electronic resources at lower rates of subscription.
Library Consortia
Library consortia are not new. Library cooperation in America
has existed for over a century. Weber (1976) studied the history of
library cooperation and identified three areas of earliest cooperation.
Outstanding developments in those areas were:
Catalogs: In 1876, the newly created American Library
Association formed the Committee on Cooperation in Indexing and
Cataloguing College Libraries and in 1901, the first regional union
catalog was developed at the California State Library.
Inter-library Loan (ILL): In 1898, the University of California
Librarian announced his willingness to lend to any other libraries
willing to reciprocate with UC.
Acquisitions: The first South American ‘expedition’ for
cooperative purchasing took place in 1913–14.
In the late 1980s, OhioLINK was established. This was the first
statewide consortium. Katherine (2009) states, “a significant
development occurred in 1996 when the Consortium of Consortia,

now known as the International Coalition of Library Consortia, or
ICOLC, was formed.” Several years later many consortia emerged in
all over the world. In present, GALILIO, OhioLink, TexShare, VIVA
and SUNNYConnect in USA, CURL in UK, CALIS in China, CONSERT
in Taiwan, INDEST-AICTE Consortium, UGC-INFONET Digital
Library Consortium and NKRC (formerly CSIR E-Journals
Consortium) in India are some of the well known library consortia.
According to Oxford English Dictionary “Consortium means
temporary cooperation of a member of powers, companies etc. for a
common purpose. It is an association of similar type of organization
who are engaged for providing services for a specific purpose of its
users.” Library consortium is an association of a group of libraries
to achieve mutually the common objective.
Library consortium is a new term used but not a new concept.
Library consortium has its root in interlibrary loan and library
cooperation. Traditionally, the primary purpose of library cooperation
is to share physical resources including books and periodicals
amongst members. Due to emergence of Internet, particularly the
World Wide Web, the mode of cooperation has gone under a
transformation form print based environment to digital environment.
Library Consortium is simply an extension of a resource sharing
and library networking in digital media. Library consortia facilitate
the libraries to get the benefit of wider access to electronic resources
at affordable cost and the terms of licenses. A library consortium
formation can be local, regional, state, national and inter institutional
level.
Objectives
The objectives of library consortia are as follows:
To promote access to a high-quality and scholarly e-resources;
To control and reduce the subscription cost of e-resources;
To promote rapid and efficient access to scholarly e-resources;
To promote inter-library cooperation among the member
libraries;
To increase use of e-resources;

To bring qualitative change in teaching, learning and research;
To increase the research productivity in terms of quality and
quantity;
Merits of Library Consortia

The consortia-based subscription to e-resources is a viable
solution for increasing the access to electronic resources across
institutions at a lower rate of subscription. Major benefits of library
consortia are as follows:
Library consortia act as a single-window service for
participating institutions with their diverse research and
academic interest;
Library consortia improves the existing library services and
reduce the subscription cost;
Improves the research productivity of the participating
institutions with increase access to e-resources.
Library consortia expected to trigger remarkable increase in
sharing of both print and e-resources amongst participating
libraries.
Library consortia have been offered better terms of agreement
for use, archival access and preservation of subscribed e-
resources, which would not have been possible for any single
libraries.
Demerits of Library Consortia

Some of the disadvantages of the library consortia are as following
below:
Consortia require high initial investments in proper
infrastructure.
Require training of staff and users in handling on-line journals.
Unreliable telecommunication links and insufficient
bandwidth.
Users are not accepting e-journals as per with the print

journals.
Consortia Models
The types of consortia identified are generally based on various
models evolved in India in variety of forms depending upon
participations affiliation and funding sources. Patil and Savanur
(2006) have listed the following models:
(a) Open Consortia: This type of consortia is very flexible and
provides the facility for the participating libraries to join and
leave according to their interest. INDEST Consortium is an
example of open consortia.
(b) Closed Group Consortia: This type of consortia is rigid and
stays exclusive with in a defined group. This is emerges either
by coalition, affiliation, collaboration among them. CSIR, DAE,
IIM are working as close group consortium.
(c) Centrally Funded Model: In this model, consortium will solely
depend on the central funding agency. UGC-Infonet by UGC,
ICMR, CSIR by DSIR are example of this model.
(d) Shared Budget Model: In this model, the participating libraries
take the lead and form the consortium. There are no role of
funding agency. IIM and FORSA are example of this model.
(e) National Consortium: This model is national level. UGC-
Infonet and INDEST are example of this model.
(f) Publisher Initiatives: India has seen publisher initiated
consortia models too, coming up in the recent years. The
Emrald Full-Text Library published by the Emrald Publishing
Group is an example to this.
Library Consortia in Indian Context

India has a large educational system. There are 571 Universities
and about 33 thousands colleges that provide higher education in
all disciplines. The member of faculties is 8.17 lakhs and 16.97
million students are enrolled in higher education.
The College, university and institutional libraries play an

important role in teaching, research and publication. These libraries
have many problems such as increasing growth of students and
researchers, exponential growth of knowledge, lack of proper
infrastructure and funds. But in the past two-decade, lot of efforts
have been taken in past to overcome the problem such as resource
sharing, library networking etc. The UGC of India is helping college
and universities to communication network among the libraries
under INFLIBNET programme. After launched of the “Indian National
Library in Engineering Sciences and Technology (INDEST)
Consortium set-up by MHRD in 2003 and “UGC-Infonet Digital
Library Consortium” set-up by UGC in 2004, availability and
accessibility of e-resources increased in technical institutions like
IITs, IISc, IIMs, IIITs and universities. In India, a number of library
consortia have emerged in past ten years. Some of the consortia are
described below:
Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy and

Astrophysics (FORSA)
The Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy & Astrophysics
(FORSA) came into existence in the year 1982, for sharing the
resources available in astronomy libraries in the country. In 2004,
this group has extended its membership to Physics and Mathematics
libraries in the country who have common interests to carry forward
the aim of FORSA and its activities. Currently FORSA has eleven
members, viz. ARIES, Bose Institute, CASA-OU, HCRI, IIA, IUCAA,
NCRA, PRL, PRI, SINP, and TIFR.
National Knowledge Resource Consortium

(Formerly CSIR E-Journal Consortium)
The National Knowledge Resource Consortium (NKRC),
established in year 2009, is a network of libraries and information
centers of 39 CSIR and 24 DST institutes. NKRC’s origin goes back
to the year 2001, when the CSIR set up the Electronic Journals
Consortium to provide access to journals of Science Direct (Elsevier
Science) to all its users. The extent of the CSIR E-Journals
Consortium was restricted to only one publisher till 2005. In 2005,
has entered in to agreement with 11 publishers to access about

3316 international journals across all its users. The Consortium is
wholly funded by the CSIR and is monitored by NISCAIR.
In 2009, autonomous institutions and professional bodies under
department of Science and Technology (DST) are also joined the
consortium for accessing information resources. Today, NKRC
facilitates access to 5,000+ e-journals of all major publishers, patents,
standards, citation and bibliographic databases. Apart from licensed
resources, NKRC is also a single point entity that provides its users
with access to a multitude of open access resources. The Consortium
envisions emerging as a leader to serve the R&D sector with much
needed information to strengthen the research and development
system in the country.
INDEST-AICTE Consortium
In 2003, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)
has set up the “Indian National Digital Library in Engineering
Sciences and Technology (INDEST) Consortium” on the
recommendation made by the expert group appointed by the Ministry
under the chairmanship of Professor N. Balakrishnan. The Ministry
provides funds required for subscription to electronic resources for
57 institutions including IISc, IITs, NITs, IIMs and few other centrally
funded government institutions through the consortium
headquarters setup at the IIT Delhi. Besides, 60 government and
government aided engineering colleges and technical departments
in universities have joined the consortium with financial support
from the AICTE. Moreover, the INDEST-AICTE Consortium as an
open ended proposition, welcomes other institutions to join it on
their own for sharing benefits it offers in terms of highly discounted
rates of subscription and better terms of agreement with the
publishers. All e-resources being subscribed are available from the
publishers’ website. The consortium has an active mailing list and a
website hosted at the IIT Delhi.
The INDEST-AICTE Consortium is the most ambitious initiative
taken so far in the country. The benefit of consortia based
subscription to e-resources is not confined to 57 major technological
institutions in the country but is also extended to all AICTE accredited

and UGC affiliated institutions.
UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium

The UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium is major initiatives
of UGC that formally launched in December, 2003 by Honourable
Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, the President of India. The Consortium is
providing the Internet connectivity to the universities under the UGC-
Infonet programme. It is a national initiative for providing access to
scholarly electronic resources including full text and bibliographic
databases in all subject disciplines to academic community in India.
The programme is wholly funded by the UGC and executed by the
INFLIBNET (Information and Library Network) Centre, Ahmedabad.
The consortium provides current as well as archival access to
more than 7000+ core and peer-reviewed journals and 10
bibliographic databases from 26 publishers and aggregators in
different disciplines including arts, humanities, social sciences,
physical sciences, chemical Sciences, life sciences, computer
sciences, mathematics and statistics, etc.
The programme has been implemented in phased manner. In
the first phase that began in 2004, access to e-resources was provided
to 50 universities who had Internet connectivity under the UGC-
Infonet Connectivity programme of the UGC. In the second phase,
50 more universities were added to the programme in the year 2005.
It has now been extended to 181 universities in three different
phases. The benefit of subscription to e-resources would also be
extended to the colleges, to begin with the College for Potential with
Excellence (CPE) and autonomous colleges. The Consortium has
also launched its “Associate Membership Programme” wherein
private universities and other research organizations are welcomed
to join the Consortium for selected e-resources.
Health Science Library and Information Network

(HELINET)
This consortium conceived by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health
Sciences and successful implemented which is first of its kind in
the country. The consortium started to improve the quality of

education and research in the Health science institutions in
Karnataka. The major benefit of consortium was more access to
core international e-journals. Currently the consortium is providing
access and shares the contents in more than 600 core international
e-journals.
Several other consortia such as MCIT Library Consortium (2005),
DAE Consortium, ISRO Library Consortium, Consortia for e-
Resources in Agriculture(CeRA) also providing resource sharing
facilities in India. Francis (2005) observes that library consortia in
India is a separate effort and the present system of formation and
maintenance of different library consortia for each group of academic
and research institutions is unscientific. He suggested that instead
of establishing separate library consortia by different groups of
educational and research institutions, it is better to form one
consortium for all educational and government research institutions
with countrywide access to all online journals and databases.
Role of Library Consortia in Higher Education

Higher education system has many universities, colleges,
technical institutions, research and development institutions. Every
institution has a library, where information and knowledge resources
are kept. Library function is an essential integral component in higher
education system. Without a proper information and knowledge
infrastructure, education system can not sustain and achieve its
goals and objectives. Our higher education system is passing through
lot of problems such as exponential growth of knowledge, increasing
growth of students and researchers, increasing demands for services,
high cost of library materials, shrinking of budget and much more.
To solve this problem, libraries are buying together e-information
through consortia. Consortia prove to be one of the major solutions
to the existing problems of budget crunches among the libraries
and information centers. It facilitates the libraries to get the benefit
of wider access to e-resources at affordable cost and the terms of
licenses. It is an excellent way in the process of collection, digitizing,
organizing and making accessible the e-resources. Important
advantage of e-journals is that more than one person can access,
download and print it at a time. E-journals also offering solution

to other major logistic problems faced by libraries such as missing
issues, binding, shelving etc. Library consortia play a vital role in
higher education activities such as research and publication.
Several consortia are working at different level in India such as
UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium, INDEST-AICTE
Consortium, FORSA, HELINET, CSIR E-Journal Consortium etc. All
consortia are providing number of thousands online journals to
higher educational institutions at lower rates of subscription. UGC-
Infonet Digital Library Consortium providing document delivery
service also through JCCC (J-Gate Custom Content Consortia).
Conclusion
Library cooperation is a very old practice amongst the various
academic institutions by sharing physical resources amongst the
members. Now the scenario of resource sharing has become totally
different. The mode of resource sharing has gone under a
transformation with infusion of latest information technology from
printed to digitized environment which has elicited proliferation of
Web-based full-text online resources. The concept of cost
effectiveness can be easily formulated through consortia based
subscription of online resources. It is a doable solution for increasing
the access to e-resources across the institutions at a lower rate of
subscription. In India, the existing consortia are providing large
number of scholarly journals to its users in very effective and efficient
manner. However, there are few drawbacks of consortia system but
these can be eliminated very easily. The fact is that the system of
library cooperation has gained more popularity through consortia-
based services.
At present, library consortia is more accepted system of library
cooperation and resource sharing. Library consortia facilitate the
libraries to get the benefit of wider access to e-resources at lower
rates of subscription and the terms of licenses which would not
have been possible for any single library and since the subscribed
resources would be accessible online, the beneficiary institutions
would have not space requirements for storing and managing print
based library resources. Moreover all problems associated with print
media such as shelving, binding, missing, organizing etc., would

not be an issue for e-resources. The main objectives of library
consortia are better resource sharing to reduce information costs,
for speedy delivery of documents to keep abreast of new developments
and also coordinate in development of library facilities and services.
Library consortia are gaining momentum in the India and in
future more and more consortia would emerge to serve to higher
educational institutions. The consortia should take lead role in the
development of a national strategy for information provision for
research in higher education. Government should provide the
necessary infrastructure such as high speed networks connections
to access the online resources. Also it should conduct training
programs for the librarians on current trends in library and
information sector.
References
Bhatt (R K). and Madhusudan (M). University libraries in India
and electronic journals: The role of consortia-based
subscription of e-journals for the effective use of financial
resources, 2nd International CALIBER-2004, New Delhi, 2004.
Francis (A T). Library consortia model for country wide access
of electronic journals and databases in Murthy, T.A.V. (Ed.),
Proceedings of the International Conference on Multilingual
computing and Information Management in a Networked Digital
Environment, Cochin, 2005.
http://ejournal.niscair.res.in/
http://paniit.iitd.ac.in/indest/
h t t p : / / w w w . i n f l i b n e t . a c . i n / e c o n /
guidelineforugcinfonetdlc.pdf
http://www.ncra.tifr.res.in/library/forsaweb/index.htm
http://www.rguhs.ac.in/HELINETHOSTCONSORTIUM/
homehelinethost.htm
Jaya Prakash (A). Role of e-journals consortium in 21 st

century, 3rd Convention PLANNER-2005, Assam University,
Silchar, 2005.
Katherine (A Perry). Where are library consortia going ? Results
of a 2009 survey, Serials, Vol.22(2), 2009, p. 125-130.
Kinner (Laura) and Crosetto (Alice). Balancing act for the
future: How the academic library engages in collection
development at the local and consortia levels, Journal of
Library Administration, Vol.49(4), 2009, p.419-437.
Moghaddam (G G) and Talwar (V G). Library consortia in
developing countries: An overview, Program: Electronic Library
and Information Systems, Vol.43(1), 2009, p. 94-104.
Patil (Y M) and Savanur (Kiran P). Consortia approach to e-
resource sharing- A case study”, 5th Conference of the Asian
Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Banglore,
2006.
Sudhir (K G). E-journal consortia and Indian consortia
initiatives: An overview, PEARL-A Journal of Library and
Information Science, Vol.5(2), 2011, p. 39-49.
Weber (D C). A Century of cooperative programs among
academic libraries, College and Research Libraries,
Vol.38(206), 1976, p. 205-221.
LIBRARY CONSORTIA IN INDIA

—Neelima Balachandran
Abstract
The article deals with the importance of library consortia with
reference to India.It talks bout the need for consortia , the various
factors to be considered while forming consortia.The advantages and
disadvantages have also been discussed.Some of the well know library
consortia in India have been highlighted .The article finally concludes
with the unavoidability of consortia & their inevitable role in the growth
and development of libraries.
Keywords
Self sufficiency, information explosion, consortia in India,
harness electronic resources.
Definition of Consortia
A Consortium could be described as a group of organizations
who come together to fulfill a combined objective that usefully
requires co-operation and the sharing of resources. And need to
have a clear mutual goal in order to ensure their success. The aim
should be to deliver “more than the sum of the individual parts”. A
library Consortium formation can be local, regional, state, national
and inter institutional level.
Need for library consortium

The consortium is needed for libraries because of :
1. Information explosion
2. Diversity of user needs
3. Financial crunch
4. Impossibility of self-sufficiency
Factors To Consider Before Consortia Formation

Various factors to be taken for an effective functioning of a
successful consortium.like resources identification on the basis of
usage and usability, longrun planning of the technology
infracture,access to back runs of periodicals will have to clearly spelt,
copyright and licensing, archival issue, price issue should be
economically favouable. Last but not least, designing and launching
a library consortium should be long term sustenance and robust
models towards achieving the above goals.
Advantages of Consortia
1. Consortia-based subscription to electronic resources provides
access to wider number of electronic resources at substantially
lower cost
2. Optimum utilization of funds.
3. Facilities to build up digital libraries
4. Helpful to provide better library services like CAS and SDI
5. Cost Sharing for Technical and training support
6. Elctronic Journls demand neither library space nor shelving
costs nor can they be stolen from the library
7. The consortium have been offered better terms of licenses for
use, archival access and preservation of subscribed electronic
institution; and
8. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
9. Economy in maintain
Disadvantages of Consortia
1. Absence of a printed copy of Journals
2. Require training of staffs in handling electronic documents
etc.
3. Consortia requires high initial investments in licensees and

information and communication technology.
4. Copyright problems
5. Unreliable telecommunication links and insufficient
bandwidth
6. Lack of archiving and back files avlability
7. Internet Access id necessary
8. Users are not accepting e-journals as per with the printed
Journals.
Need For E-Consortia

Technological developments, electronic publishing of scholarly
journals, prizing models of publishers for consortia gives new
opportunities for libraries to provide instant access to information.
Following factors justifies the need of consortia development for the
management of electronic resources:
1. Overloaded Budgets: Libraries are committing larger portions
of their budgetary allocations for either procuring or assessing
electronic resources while the allocation keeps on diminishing.
The libraries with their diminishing or at best static financial
allocations have to consider new ways to consolidate globally
accessible electronic resources. Consortia are formed with
an objective to enhance the purchasing power of the
participating institutes in this critical situation of major
financial crunch faced by the libraries and information
centres. A consortium facilitates the member libraries to get
the benefit of wider access to electronic resources at affordable
cost and at the best terms of licenses.
2. Information explosion: There has been the sudden
onslaught of new materials and electronic versions of old
materials resulting in the availability of information in
numerous forms. This flood shows no signs of abating. Full-
text electronic scholarly and popular books are becoming
available in online form, and a deluge of such materials and
providers over the next few years is expected. A consortium,

with the collective strength of resources of various institutions
available to it, is in a better position to address and resolve
the problems of managing, organizing and archiving the
electronic resources.
3. Impossibility of self-sufficiency: With the proliferation of
information in myriad forms, it is difficult for any library to
be fully sufficient to cater to the information needs of its user
community. Financial constrains, space curb, human
resources inadequacy also stress upon the need for the
libraries to opt for the consortia approach.
4. Willingness of publishers: This approach has helped to get
attractive discounted rates and most of publishers responded
positively to the call of consortia and are enthusiastic to give
the best possible offers. Another reason for the eagerness of
publishers to enter the Indian market, which holds very high
future potentials.
5. Diversity of user needs: The technology has changed
expectations of researchers, their patience, and their
willingness to accept services that are available on demand.
The Web-based electronic resources are an apt answer to the
expectations of users. Library users want to have access to
that material as quickly as possible, and many of them want
information at their computer screens.
6. Quick Access: The technology provides an unparalleled media
for delivery of information with greater speed and economy.
Academic and Research users can now hope to have access
to their learned journals articles in electronic form as the
electronic access is comparatively cheaper. Users are
beginning to expect electronic delivery that is speedy and
accessible at remote.
7. Improving quality standard of research: The research
productivity of all institutions is expected to improve with
increased access to international e-databases and full-text
resources, so libraries are willing to add electronic resources
to their collection and opting for consortia approach.
8. Professionalism of Library Science: This concept has

tremendous influence on the consortia initiatives. The
changing role of librarian as a conservator to a navigator/
disseminator of information has enhanced the value of library
consortia.
9. Future developments: One of the important issues related
to technology is stability of the systems that they deploy to
store, retrieve and deliver the electronic resources. Consortia
help to have a watchful eye on coming latest technological
changes in publishing industry and associated legislations
which can affect the libraries directly or indirectly.
Library Consortia in India

Library & Information system networking in India have come
into existence more than two decade ago. For so many years the
term “Interlibrary loan or Exchange” has been in focus in the parlance
of library management. This scenario has extended from its limited
basis to become fully grown Consortia of various kinds. Since India
is a developing country, we constantly work towards improving our
infrastructure and technology to meet the demands of our scientists
and researchers by taking the lead from the developed countries.
By utilizing the support of the regional & national level networking,
libraries in India should cooperatively establish library consortia
for offering and sharing electronic resources. Many libraries,
especially research libraries in India, have their own network existing
within their own locations. These networks can be expanded to
enhance the access to the information resources through
collaborative partnerships, in the form of Consortia. Since this
Consortia idea is still at a nascent stage in Indian libraries, it is
essential to have some ideal Consortia models for our libraries to
adhere to for optimum utilization of their resources and services.
Today Consortium’s purpose is shifted from mere sharing of
resources to sharing of expertise between libraries and also to explore
the need for libraries to make the most effective use of their funds
collectively. This is an essential future aspect to be considered
seriously in libraries of India.
Consortia approach to harness electronic

resources in India
The Library and information Centers, in India, are increasingly
being called upon to provide more relevant, up-to-date and timely
information to a wide range of users. To satisfy the varied user needs,
libraries require availability and accessibility to a variety of electronic
resources. Users expect their libraries to build and maintain a
collection of electronic resources while simultaneously maintaining
and growing traditional print collections. To cope with thorny
problems of tremendous explosion of information, financial
constraints, availability of information in different forms etc., the
resource sharing networks has emerged as important alternatives.
The advent of e-journals and e-databases coupled with high speed
data communication facilities has paved the way for the present
form of library consortia. Cooperation in form of e-consortia has
emerged as an essential facet of modern library management in most
developed countries of the world, but in our country it is still in the
normative stage. The most important developments for academic
libraries during the late 20th century is the move from organizational
self-sufficiency to a collaborative survival move supported by the
growth of library consortia. With the emergence of consortium
concept, the libraries in developing countries like India are at the
verge of self sufficiency by endowing with electronic resources at
deeply discounted prices. The concept of consortia is slowly picking
up in India also. Few ventures like INDEST, UGC-INFONET, FORSA,
CSIR Consortium, HELNET etc are successfully working in India
and helping the librarians to expand the number of electronic
resources. These transpire as a major source of cost saving endeavors
for Indian libraries. Some of the Indian consortium initiatives are
briefly discussed below :
UGC-INFONET initiative
The UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium was formally
launched in December, 2003 by Honourable Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam,
the then President of India, soon after providing the Internet
connectivity to the universities in 2003. It is an innovative project
launched by UGC to facilitate scholarly e-journals to Indian
academics through a joint partnership of UGC, INFLIBNET and

ERNET. It was launched to bring about a qualitative change in the
academic infrastructure, especially for higher education. Under this
initiative, UGC is modernizing the university campuses with state
of the art Campus Wide Networks and has set up its own nation-
wide communication network named UGC-Infonet.
INDEST-Consortium
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) set up
the “Indian National Digital Library in Engineering Science and
Technology (INDEST) Consortium” in 2003. The Ministry provides
funds for access to electronic resources subscribed for the
consortium to the 37 core members through the consortia
headquarters setup at the IIT, Delhi. The members includes 8 IITs
and IISc, 20 NITs , ISM, SLIET and NERIST, 2 IIIT and IIITM, 7 IIMs
and NITIE. AICTE provides funds for access to e-resources to (60)
Government engineering colleges or technical institutions. 230
engineering colleges and institutions have already joined the
consortium on their own. Recently, 461 engineering colleges and
institutions joined under self support- new scheme with financial
support from the AICTE. It subscribes to over 4000 e-journals from
a number of publishers and aggregators. The INDEST consortium is
the most ambitious initiative taken so far in India.
Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA)

The National Agricultural Innovation Programme (NAIP) has
established the Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA)
with the support of Indian council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) at
the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. The
establishment of CeRA under NAIP is a part of the ongoing activities
of the unit of simulation and informatics (USI) set up in November
2003 by merging the unit of Applications System Simulation (UASS),
the Bioinformatics Centre and Internet Facilities. The work plan of
CeRA comprises the establishment of a Co-ordination cell,
appointment of project personnel, installation and commissioning
of a dedicated server for the Consortium, enhancing the bandwidth
of Internet leased line, etc., installation and development of
networking, development/adoption of a suitable software,

identification of e-journals/publishers/ vendors, organization of
workshops and trainings, monitoring, and impact analysis of CeRA
functioning. Currently CeRA-Consortium has 123 members.CeRA-
Consortium provides access to 2000+ journals
CSIR Consortia
National Institute of Science Communication and Information
Resources (NISCAIR), New Delhi along with other laboratories of
CSIR formed a consortium called “Consortium for CSIR Laboratories
for Accessing E-journals”. The consortium started working in June
2002 after an agreement with the Elsevier Science for a period of
four years for 1200 journals. CSIR has taken the major initiative in
10th five-year plan to form E-journal Consortium. The objectives
behind this consortium are to strengthen the pooling, sharing and
electronically accessing the CSIR library resources, to provide access
to world S&T literature to CSIR laboratories and to nucleate the
culture of electronic access resulting into evolution of digital libraries.
Its activities range from creation to monitoring the accessibility of
scientific periodicals published by the leading international
institutions. NISCAIR, that has been entrusted the implementation
of this project, aims at providing access to 4500 world class e-journals
to all S & T personnel of CSIR through pooling and sharing resources.
Finally agreements have been made with 20 publishers, facilitating
access to 4500+ world-class e-journals; Patent databases such as
Derwent Innovation Index, Delphion; Web of Science Biblographic
database, Indian standards and ASTM to all CSIR S&T staff, as
against their print base of 20-200 journals.
FORSA Libraries Consortia

Forum for Resource sharing in Astronomy and Astrophysics
(FORSA) was established in 1981. Members of FORSA include Indian
Institute of Astrophysics, Inter University Centre for Astronomy and
Astrophysics, National Center for Radio Astrophysics, Physical
Research Laboratory (PRL), Raman Research Institute, etc. It was
formed for sharing of resources in areas common to R&D activities.
It is to subscribing 25 electronic journals to Indian Astrophysics
Consortium (Kluwer journals 2002+) and Nature Online (Nature

Publishing 2002+).
Health Sciences Library and Information Science

Network Consortium (HELINET)
In 2001, the library of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences
realized that the resources like journals and books are expensive
and building a comprehensive collection in every medical college is
unaffordable. Thus, the birth of HELINET took place with the motto
to network all the libraries under RGUHS for minimizing the cost of
acquisition and maintenance of learning resources and maximizing
their utilization among the faculty, students and researchers in the
colleges and institutions affiliated to the university. About 600
scholarly international biomedical journals from 24 leading
publishers, at about one-third price of their print subscription, have
been procured online and are provided to all medical colleges in
Karnataka. Moreover, the member colleges can get all time access
to the current journals as well as archives, i.e., the back-volumes of
journals for a period of seven to 10 years. The university has spent
about two crore rupees for establishing the consortium on a
cooperative e-access model and is subscribing to Elsevier’s Science
Direct, Ovid Biomedical Collection , Annual Reviews Biomedical Suite
, J – Gate Custom Content for Consortia and J – Gate.
Benefits of E-Consortia
The present system of consortia has lot of merits over the earlier
pattern of individual subscription to electronic resources. The main
advantage of library consortia is resources enhancement and general
cost savings. Few benefits are mentioned below:
1. Consortia-based subscription to electronic resources provides
access to wider number of electronic resources at substantially
lower cost. When subscribed through a consortium the cost
per library can be significantly lower than what each library
would pay in an independent agreement. The consortium,
with its collective strength of participating institutions, has
attracted highly discounted rates of subscription with most
favorable terms of agreement.
2. The consortium usually offer better terms of licenses for use,

archival access and preservation of subscribed electronic
institution.
3. Since the subscribed resources would be accessible online in
electronic format, the beneficiary institutions would have less
pressure on space requirement for storing and managing
print-based library resources. Moreover, all problems
associated with print media such as their wear and tear,
location, shelving, binding, organizing, etc. would not be an
issue for electronic resources.
4. Availability and monitoring of usage statistics, which helps
libraries in accomplishment of future strategy.
5. Library consortia act as means to achieve electronic resources
access to more users for a lesser price. For the library it is
more-for-less bargain strategy.
6. By developing common e-resources databases libraries can
have access to otherwise un-subscribed electronic resources.
7. A single interface and access point providing scope for
electronic archive searching always provide an edge to the
needy user.
8. Pooling of expertise in the resolving of complicated tasks e.g.
in the implementation of modern technological applications
is an added benefit.
9. The gateway portals provide customized solution not only to
access the resource online but also access resources of other
libraries participating in the consortium.
10. Cost of establishing digital library is reduced. Digital libraries
are more near to the tech savvy users’ mind and electronic
resources paves bridges between sea of information and user
community.
Conclusion
For providing the information services in the 21st century, it
is the best way to subscribe information resources through consortia
so that more and more libraries will get maximum information
resources at lesser prices. The consortium directly or indirectly has
benefited a number of institutions in India. With the launching of
consortia approach in India, it has become possible for almost all
the higher education institutions to get access to various electronic
databases having quality journals in a wide range of disciplines.
Thanks to the initiatives in forming “consortium arrangements”,
access to e-journals is increasingly facilitated. But this development
is yet to be made for the public libraries and school libraries. Libraries
have to realize that working together can accomplish far more than
they can do individually. Any set of objectives will only be attained,
if there is a willingness to unite together and to believe that more
will be achieved through the hard work of the whole than at the
individual level. In India, we are yet to get into the mainstream of
consortia development for all kinds of libraries, which entail changes
in attitudes and functions on the part of library professionals. By
utilizing the support of the regional & national level networking,
libraries in India should work cooperatively towards establishing
library consortia for offering and sharing electronic resources.
Establishment of better consortium for integrating intellectual access
will be a remarkable step in moving towards the electronic libraries.
By working with consortia as strategic partners, libraries can find
highly effective solutions to help them answer the information
question of the users. In the nutshell, consortia have pivotal role to
play in management of electronic resources for Indian libraries.
Indian libraries must seriously think, proceed and commence
consortium movement for maximum utilization of electronic
resources at a reduced cost, time and space.
References
Ghosh, Maitrayee Indian Academic library consortia (IALC): A
proposal for electronic resource sharing., 2002 . In Cremia-
2002 International conference, Sudak (Ukraine), June 8-16th
2002. [Conference paper] eprints.rclis.org/17504/
Implications of Library Consortia : How the Indian libraries
are benefitted ? – Seema Vasishta , Senior Librarian
eprints.rclis.org/.../Implications%20of%20Library%20
Consortia.pdf
Indian Academic library consortia (IALC): A proposal for
electronic resource sharing
Library Consortia: benefits and models of E-journals Consortia
-Ramesh Yernagula, & P. K. Kelkar -Library IIT Kanpur,
www.isical.ac.in/~serial/consortia/CBSOR-11.pdf
LIBRARY NETWORKING AND

RESOURCE SHARING
—Anuradha A. Kumbhar
Abstract
The world has been witnessing a knowledge and information
explosion during the past few decades. Over 10 million journal articles
are published every year besides news items, editorials and articles
that are appearing in popular print media. Information professionals
who would be the leaders in the twenty-first century depend on
information for their work. Access to information holds the key to
development. Libraries which are store houses of knowledge and
information, and information centers which disseminate knowledge
and information, form two important components of present day society.
Library Cooperation / Resource Sharing / Networking / Consortia all
denote a mode of cooperation among a number of libraries whereby
the library collection, function or services are shared by a number of
libraries. According to Allen Kent the goals are to provide a positive
net effect on the library user in terms of access to more material or
services and or on the library budget in terms of providing level service
at less cost, increased service at level cost or much more service at
less cost than if undertaken individually.
Keyword
Library Network, INFLIBNET, CeRA, UGCINFOMET
Introduction
A major force in the field of library networking, this valuable
journal provides a forum for ideas on the basic theoretical and
practical problems faced by planners, practitioners, and users of
network services. Articles from professionals in all types of libraries—
academic, public, school, and special—will keep librarians informed

of the most recent developments in the area of interlibrary
cooperation. Resource Sharing & Information Networks focuses on
topics appropriate to local, state, regional, national, and international
networks and their associated activities, such as interlibrary loan,
cooperative collection development, document delivery including
telefacsimile, and transborder data flow. Recent issues of this exciting
journal have included articles on acceptance of innovation/
automation; personnel policies and practices; new training
procedures; evaluating present services; preparing supporting
budgets; selecting new services; network costs and financial
planning; participation in governance and advisory functions;
extension of network facilities as a direct user service through home
computers and public terminals; adoption of new technologies such
as videodisc, laser satellite, and other emerging developments;
complete text and graphics transmission;
Theoretical Bacground
The sharing of library resources started with the concept of inter
library loan, under which a library can get a document from another
library on loan for a certain period. It was followed by the term
“Library Cooperation”, but now in its revised and improved form it
is called as “Resource Sharing”. Today, it is called “Library Network”
or “Library Consortia”, which is one of the cooperative ways of sharing
online resources. The inter library loan means sharing of the
resources of one library by the other libraries on demand, when
they are needed by its user i.e sharing one’s assets with others.
Indian information professionals, education specialists and
scientists have realized that the time has come to share the
information resources and to coordinate mechanisms. Looking from
the participant’s side, it is common to find an institution participating
in more than one network. The ultimate goal of information/library
networks is to interlink information resources in a metropolitan area,
so that users could access information irrespective of its location,
format, medium, language, script etc. Further, the development of
such networks requires actions in several areas such as training,
rationalization of information resource acquisition, diffusion of
standards, preparation of union lists, and generation of database

services apart from setting up hardware, software and
communication facilities. The concept of library networking to aid
information resource sharing and support activities in libraries has
become a real necessity.
Resource sharing
No library is able to satisfy all the needs of its clientele. This
gave rise to the concept of Library Cooperation. The concept is now
known as Resource Sharing Library Cooperation remained confined
to inter-library loan. Even inter-library loan was not being practiced
widely. Internet and other local and national networks have facilitated
resource sharing. E-resources have further facilitated information
exchange. Emergence of library consortia is a promising development.
Advent of ICT has opened up new opportunities for greater
cooperation among libraries. Emergence of Library Consortia is a
promising development for Resource Sharing. The concept of
Information Resource is often not defined properly. Library
documents are called Information Sources as they provide
information. They are also called Information Resources. But the
terms Information Source and Information Resource are not
interchangeable. A Source is one that makes something available,
but a Resource helps in creating something new. As a library
generates all its services on the basis of its information sources
they can also be called information resources. So long libraries were
having printed resources. Now resources are available in various
other formats, such as AV, digital, etc. E-resources are more popular
these days because of their distinct advantages. Resource sharing
does not merely mean mutual sharing of information sources among
libraries. It will mean utilizing information resources of one library
for generating services of another library. Information Resources
and Library Resources are not synonymous. Library Resources may
include other resources, besides information resources, like staff
and equipment. Thus Resource Sharing may mean sharing of all
these resources for the mutual benefit of libraries and their users.
In this sense connotation of Library Cooperation and Resource
Sharing will be almost same
Networking
Networking involves the sharing of computers, peripheral
hardware, software and switching all interconnected with
communications channels used to establish a connection between
network users. Computers and telecommunications may be the tools
used for facilitating communication among them. A network mainly
consists of three components viz. transmission media, mechanism
of control and interface unit to the network. Communication from
the source host to the link or destination host occur through the
interaction of two machines through their interface units under a
structured set of operation referred to as a protocol.
Library network: definition

UNISIST II working document defines Information network as ‘a
set of interrelated information systems associated with
communication facilities, which are cooperating through more or
less formal agreements in order to implement information handling
operations to offer better services to the users.
The National Commission on Libraries & Information Science in
its National Programme Document (1975) defines a network as ‘Two
or more libraries engaged in a common pattern of information
exchange, through communications for some functional purpose’.
Objectives of library network

1. To improve resources utilization and service levels to users
at the individual libraries by providing automation facilities
in acquisition, serial control, cataloguing, circulation, user’s
services and funds accounting.
2. To enhance resource sharing by providing individual libraries
access to composite databases like union catalogues, CAS
and SDI.
3. To provide efficient and reliable means of resource sharing in
areas such as inter library user services, document delivery
services, manpower training, access to national and
international databases, and communication link through
publication and inter personal communication and

procurement of micro documents.
4. To facilitate exchange of duplicate publication.
5. To establish referral centers to monitor and to facilitate
catalogue search and maintain a central online union
catalogue of books, serials, non-book materials of all the
participating libraries.
6. To implement computerized operation and electronic services
in the libraries for fast communication of information.
7. To evolve standards and uniform guidelines in techniques,
methods, procedures, hardware and software, services and
promote their adoption in actual practice by all libraries in
order to facilitate pooling, sharing and exchanging resources
and facilities towards optimization.
8. To coordinate with other regional, national and international
networks for exchange of information and documents for the
use of libraries and users.
Need for networking

1. The rate of growth of information and knowledge is faster
than before and it is ever increasing. Hence it has become
impossible for each and every library to procure every
document that is published in the library.
2. Another problem is the rising prices of publications, which
has affected collection development in libraries.
3. The budget of the library is not increased and this makes it
difficult for the individual library to provide services from its
own collection.
4. Due to the emergence of new subjects, readers require pin-
pointed information that may be available in other libraries.
Contributions by various international

networking associations and institutions
Efforts and contributions are made by various associations at
international level :
UNESCO
(United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
In promoting the development of electronic network UNESCO lays
emphasis on policies and strategies to develop the most appropriate
methodology to meet specific need of different communities. It has
developed a software CDS/ISIS in 1986 for library automation.
UNESCO provides certain standards for software to develop library
automation system so that it has suitable qualities as a ‘documentary
database’ system. It has developed data exchange format like
Common Communication Format (CCF). (http://www.unesco.org/
webworld/index.htm)
IFLA
(International Federation of Library Association and Institutions)
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
(IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of
library and information services and their users. It is the global
voice of the library and information profession, Founded in
Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1927 at an international conference; it
celebrated 75th anniversary at the conference in Glasgow, Scotland
in 2002. It now has 1600 members in approximately 150 countries
around the world. IFLA was registered in the Netherlands in 1971.
The Royal Library, the national library of the Netherlands, in The
Hague, generously provides the facilities for it headquarters. IFLA
has a Information Technology section which serves to promote and
advance the application of information technology to library
information services in all societies through activities like standards,
training, research etc. It supports updating of databases and
initiating information technology workshops. It has been promoting
dissemination of standards, open source software, MARC, digital
preservation and metadata, promote data standards and protocols
that will improve interoperability between systems and facilitate data
exchange between library and other sectors of information creation.

(http://www.ifla.org/en/)
ARPANET
(Advanced Research Project Agency Network) In 1971 the
Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) created ARPA Network
(ARPANET). This network was created to connect military
installations and universities. Packet-switching was the technique
used then. In 1983 it was divided into separate networks. The Defense
Data Network (DDN) and a new ARPANET. Today ARPANET is
completely phase out paving way to Internet.
INTERNET
(International Network) The Internet is a world wide internet
works of computer and communication networks. It connects a
variety of computers with distinctive software and hardware. These
computers worked to allow them to communicate by translating
messages into a mutually understandable language, referred to as
communication protocols such a TCP/IP, HTTP/IP etc. Internet works
are multiple networks connected in such a manner that data can
pass between the various networks. The internet is the only current
global-scale internet work. Now Internet connects millions of people
worldwide and offer tremendous amount of information that can be
shared. It allows user to transfer files between incompatible
computers, send messages across the globe, and log into databases
thousands of miles away. Internet provides many services such as
E-mail and Telnet. INTERNET celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary
in 1994.
Contributions by various national networking

associations and institutions
A lot of efforts and contributions are made by various associations
in India have contributed whereas on national level, NISSAT,
INFLIBNET, INSDOC, IISC, DESIDOC, DELNET, CALIBNET, NICNET,
INDONET, ERNET, VIKRAM, CSIRNET, BONET etc.
NISSAT
(National Information System for Science and Technology)
NISSAT was launched in 1977 and since then it has been encouraging
and supporting a variety of short term courses in the area of
information science and technology such as application of computer
in library and information centers. It has been promoting information
resource sharing in science and technology through city based library
and information networks with emphasis on web based information
content development. It has developed and promoted CDS/ISIS based
co-products like SANJAY; NISSAT has established NACIDS (National
Access Centers to International Database Services) for providing
online facility to access international database services. NISSAT has
been organizing various training programs from time to time about
how computers can be applied to library and information activities.
The main function of NISSAT has been to strengthen information
services through information centers to international database
services, CD-ROM database facilities etc. (htpp/itt.nissat.tripod.com/
iit0102/mpdo102.htm)
INFLIBNET
(Information Library Network) Information and Library Network
(INFLIBNET) Centre is an autonomous Inter-University Centre of
the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India. It is a major
National Programme initiated by the UGC in 1991 with its Head
Quarters at Gujarat University Campus, Ahmedabad. Initially started
as a project under the IUCAA, it became an independent Inter-
University Centre in 1996. INFLIBNET is involved in modernizing
university libraries in India and connecting them as well as
information centers in the country through a nation-wide high speed
data network using the state-of-art technologies for the optimum
utilization of information. INFLIBNET is set out to be a major player
in promoting scholarly communication among academicians and
researchers in India. (http://www.inflibnet.ac.in/)
INSDOC
(Indian National Scientific Documentation Center) It is now
known as NISCAIR (National Institute of Science Communication
and Information Resources). It has access to 1500 international

database on CD-ROM like LISA, current content, Indian Standards,
and US Patents etc. It has computerized databases, which help in
organization of data and its retrieval. In addition it has designed
and developed databases for other organization. Some databases
are available on CD-ROM as well as online like NUCSSI (National
Union Catalogue of Scientific Serials in India), Indian Patent Database
(INPAT), and Indian Science Abstracts (ISA). It has been providing
training in library automation, resource sharing and database
creation etc. (http://www.niscair.res.in/)
IISc
(Indian Institute of Science) Indian Institute of Science was
started in 1909. It is one of the oldest and finest centers of its kind
in India and has very high international standing in academic world.
It provides computing facilities, catering to increasing demand of
high performance computing. This facility is a symbiosis of computing
network, graphics, and visualization. It consists of supercomputing
environment housing computing systems with sophisticated software
packages, connected by powerful high-speed network. It has online
catalogue databases of books and journals which the users can
access. It also comprises of digital libraries with collection like
technical reports, standards, patents, theses etc. (www.iisc.ernet.
in)
DESIDOC
(Defence Science Information Documentation Center) DESIDOC
stated functioning in 1958 as scientific information bureau. It
produces library services like OPAC, CD-ROM search service,
document supply service, resource sharing. It has also developed
and maintained bibliographic databases like OPAC, bibliographic
databases of books, reports, conference proceeding in defence, full
text databases etc. It provides training in the areas of library
automation, database development, online search, email, internet
use, technical communication, multimedia development etc. It has
developed integrated library management software called SUCHIKA.
DESIDOC took initiative and started providing email and internet
access to DRDO laboratories spread over the country through VSNL
line connection. (http://www.drdo.org/labs/compser/desidoc/

index.5html )
DELNET
(Developing Library Network) DELNET was started at the India
International Centre Library in January 1988 and was registered as
a society in 1992. It was initially supported by the National
Information System for Science and Technology (NISSAT),
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of
India. It was subsequently supported by the National Informatics
Centre, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology, Government of India
and Ministry of Culture Government of India. DELNET has been
established with the prime objective of promoting resource sharing
among the libraries through the development of a network of libraries.
It aims to collect, store, and disseminate information besides offering
computerized services to users, to coordinate efforts for suitable
collection development and also to reduce unnecessary duplication
wherever possible.
DELNET has been actively engaged with the compilation of
various Union Catalogues of the resources available in member-
libraries. It has already created the Union Catalogue of Books, Union
List of Current Periodicals, Union Catalogue of Periodicals, CD-ROM
Database, Database of Indian Specialists, Database of Periodical
Articles, Union List of Video Recordings, Urdu Manuscripts’
Database, Database of Theses and Dissertations, sample databases
of language publications using GIST technology and several other
databases. The data is being updated in each of these databases
and is growing rapidly. All the DELNET databases have been resident
on DELSIS, in-house software developed on BASIS Plus, an RDBMS,
the product of Information Dimensions Inc. of USA which has been
provided to DELNET courtesy National Informatics Centre, New Delhi.
(http://www.delnet.nic.in/)
CALIBNET
(Calcutta Library Network) CALIBNET has launched its library
network program facilitating remote online access to holding data
of Calcutta Libraries and other specialized databases as well which

is a step towards bibliographic resource sharing amongst Calcutta
Library. It has provided electronic access to globally available
information. It has developed and launched multi user storage and
retrieval software ‘SANJUKTA’ to support CALIBNET centralized
database and to provide online access to it form remote location. A
conversion software package ‘PARAPAR’ to support inters change of
bibliographic data between US MARC, UNIMARC and CCF files and
also from nonstandard formats to standard ones. It has been
providing consultative services on Library and Information Sciences
automation and also manpower development for operating and
manning automated Library and Information Science environment
through wide range of graded training programs and courses for
individuals or groups.
(http://www.itt.nissat.tripod.com/itt9904/calibnet.htm)
NICNET
(National Information Network) NICNET is a government data
network of National Informatics Centre, New Delhi. It was set up to
link government departments for decision optimization. It was
established in 1975. NIC established NICNET in 1977 having regional
nodes at New Delhi, Pune, Bhubaneshwar and Hyderabad, 32 nodes
at state and union territory levels and 700 earth stations at districts
headquarters. This network helps flow of information among all these
nodes. The information flow various from agriculture, water
resources, customs, media, socioeconomic conditions to auditing
elections etc.
INDONET
INDONET is a commercial computer based network
commissioned by the Computer Maintenance Corporation Ltd.
(CMC), with nodes at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, which are
connected to other cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi and Pune.
The Bombay node of INDONET is connected to the international
gateway of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited. There by facilitating entry
to public data networks of other countries.
ERNET
(Education and Research Network) The Education and Research
Network (ERNET) is a project of the Department of Electronics,
Government of India. It connects a large number of teaching and
research institution in the country. It has nodal centres at the five
Indian Institutes of Technology (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur
and Madras), Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) and National
Centre for software Technology, Bombay and the ERNET group at
New Delhi.
VIKRAM
It is a packet-switched public data network established by
Department of Telecommunications. The initial network would
consist of 8 switching nodes and 12 remote access points with its
network management centre at Delhi.
CSIRNET
(Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in planning to set up a
computer communication network for exchange of information
among its 40 research centers. It organizes online database services
on subjects such as drugs, toxicology, food technology, medical
plants etc. It would provide electronic mail and have access to
international databases through networking.
BONET
(Bombay Library Network) Bombay Library Network (BONET)
was inaugurated in 1992 in order to facilitate access to the resources
of many libraries in and around Bombay. About 50 libraries were
covered by this network. Using computer facilities provided by NCST,
any member of BONET can get network access. This access covers
electronic mail and on-line access to remote data-bases, both Indian
and foreign.
Functions of library networks

Library Networks have been established with the main purpose
of sharing resources so that unnecessary wastage of limited finance
with them can be avoided. However, not all networks conform to the
essential functions of library networks. It is noted that the essential
functions should include the promotion of resource sharing, creation
of resource sharing tools like union catalogues, rationalization of
acquisitions and adoption of international standards for creation of
records uniformly and delivery of documents. Keeping these things
in view, functions of a typical library network might fall into the
following three categories:
(i) Information services to users
(ii) Technical services to member libraries
(iii) Management service to the network administration
Information and technical services are goal-oriented, i.e. to fulfill
the primary goal of the network. Functions that serve the users
directly, i.e. information services to users are:
Information services
1. Inter-library loan service – it means that each member library
may require to have the facility to photocopy for delivering
the documents.
2. Reference and Referral – each member library may require
the facility of having dedicated telephone and/or E-mail
service.
3. Access to databases – to prepare retrospective bibliography
for the purpose of browsing to know whether or not a
document is available.
Technical Services
Functions that serve the libraries i.e. the technical services are:
Co-operative collection development programme
Technical processing involved in acquisition
Cataloguing and other means of resources to identify and to
locate documents
Circulation control system
Management services
The management services, i.e. functions that support the
network administration are:
Establish an operational system that implement the functions
mentioned above
Evaluation of the networks. This is done through
Collection of statistics
Analysis of performance of the network
User studies
Training activities. These are done through
Staff development programmes

User oriented programmes
Cost analysis It involves
Determination of costs, fees to be collected, etc.

Allocation of budgets
Communication of activities such as
– Holding of meetings
– Publication of newsletters, etc.
Conclusion
The earlier stated functions of a network can be implemented in
different models of networks. The structure of a network will depend
upon the purpose for which libraries use it. A number of libraries
should join the network that offers the facilities to make their
functioning simpler, better and more cost effective. For instance,
university libraries in a state may choose a model which is of totally
decentralized type. However, the affiliated colleges in a university
system can be linked to the respective university library, such a
model may be known as distributed type. The public library system
may choose a model of hierarchical type. Special libraries in a city
may choose a model, which is of totally decentralized.
INFLIBNET, DELNET, and other metropolitan networks are

providing training facilities for computer applications. The Indian
Library Association, IASLIC, and NISSAT have jointly helped
academic libraries in the choice of software, hardware and in
manpower training. Every year, INFLIBNET organizes a conference-
CALIBER (Convention of Automation in Libraries) – to discuss issues
related to the computerization of academic libraries. In the first
convention of CALIBER, held at Ahmedabad in February 1994, the
Chairman of INFLIBNET, Professor Yashpal, said that the
Government of India should provide more funds for the speedy
networking of higher education, research and libraries. According
to him, the progress of INFLIBNET is far from satisfactory, and so
the UGC should provide funds for hardware and software to
accelerate the pace of library automation and networking.
References
Franklin David Jebaraj, Fredrick Robin Devadoss, Library
and Information Networks in India, Library Philosophy and
Practice Vol. 6, No. 2 (Spring 2004), ISSN 1522-0222
http://pawankumarjha.tripod.com/dissertation/
chapter2.html
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/5661/
9/09_chapter%204.pdf
IGNOU MLIS Study Material
ir.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/1944/196/3/03cali_27.pdf
Kar, Debal C., Parha Bhattacharya, and Subrata Deb. Library
Networking in India for Resources Sharing: Present Status
and Prospects. World Libraries 9, no. 1 (1999)
Lata Suresh, Resource Sharing and Networking of Libraries
in Rajasthan : A Proposal, 2011
S.M. Mannan 1 and Manik Lal Bose RESOURCE SHARING

AND INFORMATION NETWORKING OF LIBRARIES IN
BANGLADESH: A STUDY ON USER SATISFACTION Malaysian
Journal of Library & Information Science, Vol.3, no.2, December
1998: 67-86
Sangeeta Kaul, (2010) “DELNET – the functional resource
sharing library network: a success story from India”,
Interlending & Document Supply, Vol. 38 Iss: 2, pp.93 – 101
www.netugc.com/library-resource-sharing-and-networking
N-LIST CONSORTIA:
USEFUL E-RESOURCES FOR
ACADEMIC LIBRARIES IN INDIA
—Shilpa S. Waghchoure
Abstract
Emergence of the internet, particularly the World Wide Web, as a
new medium of information storage and delivery in the 21st century.
In the age of information explosion, the most challenging tasks for the
information professionals and information centers all over the world
is to supervise the huge information that are being produced and
developed in the world. Consortium of libraries is well known for
sharing of resources all over the world. Several libraries in the world
have formed consortia to share their human and electronic resources.
‘Consortia’ is the plural form of ‘consortium’ but is often used in place
of singular form. The term is delivered form the Latin word for
‘fellowship’; the meaning emphasizes the coming together of separate
groups for a purpose. Homogenously it is used as, ‘alliance’ ‘coalition’,
‘collaboration’, ‘cooperation’, ‘partnership’, etc. Consortia are
complicated organizations. It is “an association” in the sense that s
not commonly understood; i.e. a consortium is not a library association,
although some association of libraries engages in consortial activity.
The present paper highlights the N-List Consortia in detail.
Keywords
ICT, Internet, Resource sharing, Consortia.
Introduction
The Project entitled “National Library and Information Services
Infrastructure for Scholarly Content (N-LIST)”, being jointly executed
by the UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium, INFLIBNET Centre
and the INDEST-AICTE Consortium, IIT Delhi provides for i) cross-

subscription to e-resources subscribed by the two Consortia, i.e.
subscription to INDEST-AICTE resources for universities and
UGCINFONET resources for technical institutions; and ii) access to
selected e-resources to colleges. The N-LIST project provides access
to e-resources to students, researchers and faculty from colleges
and other beneficiary institutions through server(s) installed at the
INFLIBNET Centre. The authorized users from colleges can now
access e-resources and download articles required by them directly
from the publisher’s website once they are duly authenticated as
authorized users through servers deployed at the INFLIBNET Centre.
N-LIST: Four Components

The project has four distinct components, i.e. i ) to subscribe
and provide access to selected UGC-INFONET e-resources to
technical institutions (IITs, IISc, IISERs and NITs) and monitor its
usage; ii) to subscribe and provide access to selected INDEST e-
resources to selected universities and monitor its usage; iii) to
subscribe and provide access to selected e-resources to 6,000 Govt./

Govt.-aided colleges and monitor its usage; and iv) to act as a
Monitoring Agency for colleges and evaluate, promote, impart training
and monitor all activities involved in the process of providing effective
and efficient access to e-resources to colleges.
Current Status
As on Jun 5 2014, a total number of 3772 colleges have registered
themselves with the N-LIST programme including 3424 Govt. / Govt.-
aided colleges covered under the section 12 B/2F of UGC Act as
well as Non-Aided colleges . Log-in ID and password for accessing e-
resources has been sent to the authorized users from these 3424
colleges. All e-resources subscribed for colleges under the N-LIST
Project are now accessible to these 3424 colleges through the N-
LIST website
State wise list

Sr. State Registered Access
No. Enabled
01 Andaman and 3 2
Nicobar Islands
02 Andhra Pradesh 208 176
03 Arunachal Pradesh 7 7
04 Assam 129 125
05 Bihar 37 35
06 Chandigarh 18 17
07 Chhattisgarh 63 57
08 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 2 1
09 Daman and Diu 1 1
10 Delhi 49 45
11 Goa 25 24
12 Gujarat 489 415

13 Haryana 55 48
14 Himachal Pradesh 70 60
15 Jammu and Kashmir 46 44
16 Jharkhand 14 13
17 Karnataka 449 419
18 Kerala 287 255
19 Madhya Pradesh 100 90
20 Maharashtra 766 705
21 Manipur 33 33
22 Meghalaya 26 25
23 Mizoram 11 10
24 NA 18 16
25 Nagaland 16 16
26 Odisha 53 52
27 Orissa 5 5
28 Pondicherry 59 44
29 Punjab 110 104
30 Rajasthan 47 39
31 Sikkim 5 5
32 Tamil Nadu 311 283
33 Tripura 23 21
34 Uttar Pradesh 85 76
35 Uttarakhand 14 11
36 West Bengal 153 148
Beneficiary Colleges
All college covered under section 12B/2F of UGC Act and Non
Aided Colleges (except Agriculture, Engineering, Management,
Medical, Pharmacy, dentistry and Nursing ) can access to electronic
resources subscribed by the UGC-INFONET Digital Library
consortium as well as few selected e-resources that were found most
appropriate for colleges including e-journals and e-books. These
resources include more than 6000+ e-journals and 97,000 + e-books.
All Non-Aided (except Agriculture, Engineering, Medical, Pharmacy,
dentistry and Nursing )/ Colleges are requested to register themselves
online.
Governance
The N-LIST is being jointly executed by the UGC-INFONET Digital
Library Consortium, INFLIBNET Centre and the INDEST-AICTE
Consortium, IIT Delhi under the overall guidance of a National
Steering Committees of the two Consortia that guide and steer the
activities of the N-LIST programme. Decisions on policy issues are
taken in the joint Meeting of the NSCs of two Consortia under overall
policy direction of National Mission on Education through ICT. The
Joint Committee of the NSC takes decision on e-resources to be
subscribed from various publishers and their accessibility to
beneficiary institutions. The INFLIBNET Centre acts as a Monitoring
Agency for implementation, monitoring and execution of the entire
programme. Besides National Steering Committees, a Joint
Negotiation Committee, with representations from both the
Consortia, is constituted for negotiating rates of subscription to e-
resources with publishers.
E-Resources@N-LIST
E-Journals (Fulltext)
American Institute of Physics (18 titles) http://journals.aip.org/
American Physical Society (10 titles) http://publish.aps.org/ browse.html
Annual Reviews (33 titles) http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/
Cambridge University Press (224 titles) http://journals.cambridge.org/
Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) http://www.epw.in/
(1 titles)
Indian Journals (150 titles) http://www.indianjournals.com/
Institute of Physics (46 titles) http://www.iop.org/EJ/
JSTOR (2000 titles) http://www.jstor.org/
Oxford University Press (206 titles) http://www.oxfordjournals.org
Royal Society of Chemistry (29 titles) http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/
H. W. Wilson (1420 titles) http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml
E-Books
Cambridge Books Online (1800 titles) http://ebooks.cambridge.org
E-brary (83000+ titles) http://site.ebrary.com/lib/inflibnet
EBSCoHost-Net Library (936 titles) http://www.netlibrary.com/
Hindustan Book Agency (65+ titles) http://hindustan.igpublish.com
Institute of South East Asian Studies http://iseas.igpublish.com
(ISEAS) Books (382+ titles)
Oxford Scholarship (1402+ titles) http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/
Springer eBooks (2300 titles) http://www.springerlink.com.
Sage Publication eBooks (1000 titles) http://knowledge.segepub.com.
Taylor Francis eBooks (1800 titles) http://www.tandfebooks.com.
Myilibrary-McGraw Hill (1124 titles) http://lib.myilibrary.com/
ICT Requirement for Accessing Electronic

Resources
A minimum level of hardware and software infrastructure is a
pre-requisite for a user or subscribing institution desirous of
subscribing e-resources so as to achieve efficient and effective
interaction with subscribed resources. Basic hardware and software
requirement for accessing electronic resources is given below:
1. Minimum Hardware Requirement

Since all e-resources subscribed by the Consortium are web-
based, subscribing institutions should have full-featured and
configured system with high speed Internet connectivity to get better
access to e-resources. Most publishers prefer to make their e-
resources accessible on campus network of subscribing institutions
on dedicated IP addresses / range of IP addresses. Subscribing
institutions should have campus network (preferably fibre ptics back
bone) spread over their entire campus including residences and
hostels so as to maximize the usage of e-resources. Moreover,
institutions subscribing to e-resources should have adequate
number of PCs on the campus LAN available to faculty, researchers
and students. The minimum configuration of PCs available on the
campus network should be as follows:
Windows PC with P-4 CPU @3.0 GHz (HT) or above
512 MB DDR 400 MHz RAM
HDD: 40 GB
CDROM Drive (optional)
Monitor: 15" /17"
Windows OS
Any UNIX workstation capable of running a graphical Web

browser with Internet connection can also be used.
Laser Printer: For greyscale printing for most of the articles.
Colour printer may be required to print coloured figures.
2. Internet Connectivity
Subscribing institutions should have minimum of 528 kbps
(preferably 2 Mbps) or more connectivity to Internet for improved
access depending upon the total population of users. Moreover, most
publishers prefer providing access to their e-resources on IP
addresses assigned to institutions by Internet Service provider.
Several publishers do not even offer password-based access to their
resources. As such, institutions desirous of subscribing to e-
resources should have static IP address / range of IP addresses
with leased line, VSAT or other available options through a standard
ISP.
3. Minimum Software Requirement

Web Browser
Most e-resourced offered through the Consortium require an
Internet-enabled multimedia PC equipped with an Internet Browser
like Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator as their clients. Most
digital collections are accessible without any problem with the web
browsers mentioned below:
IE: 5.x or later
Firefox Mozilla
Netscape: 4.79 or later (no lower)
Opera (Java version required): 6.0 or later
Browser Configuration
The web browser being used to access e-resources should be
enabled for:
JavaScript/Java
Acceptance of cookies
Cascading Style Sheets
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Security (128-bit

encryption minimum)
Most browsers are generally configured for the above-mentioned

features.
4. Viewing and Printing Documents

E- resources are offered in different file formats. The client-side
PCs may, therefore, require the following software packages to
download format-specific deliverables from a digital collection:
PDF Documents: Adobe’s Acrobat Reader (5.x or later): for
viewing and printing pdf documents.
PostScript Documents: AFPL Ghostscript Package 8.00 or GNU
Ghostscript Package 7.05 or later
TIFF Documents: TIFF Viewer to view and print TIFF Images
Conclusion
In the age of information explosion, no library satisfies all the
needs of its user due to various constraints. It is because of this
phenomenon that the concept of library consortium has developed.
Consortium of libraries is well known for sharing of resources all
over the world. Information explosion, emergence of internet and
particularly World Wide Web as a new medium of information storage
make the concept more come into sight than earlier. N-List consortia
of INFLIBNET has given tremendous access of e-resources which
helps the users in their studies in India.
References
Chaterjee, Amitabha. (2002). Resource sharing among
libraries in digital era: Role of consortia, Jadavpur University,
Kolkata, Electronic address:
Nfila, R.B & Darko-Amphen. (2002). The development in
academic library consortia from the 1960’s through to 2000:
a review of literature, Library Management, 23(4): 203-212.
Rao, Siriginidi S. (2001).Networking of libraries and
information centers: challenges in India, Library Hi Tech, 19(2).
Rona, Wade. (1999). The very model of a modern library
consortium, Library consortium management: An international
journal 1(1): 5-18
www. http://nlist.inflibnet.ac.in
www.isical.ac.in/~serial/consortia/CBSOR-02.ppt.
LIBRARY CONSORTIA:
AN USEFUL TOOL FOR
INFORMATION SERVICES
—Shrinivas M. Athalye
Abstract
As more and more library users are turning to their desktop
computers for information, the libraries are also redefining their role
by adapting to new technology, like digital resource sharing etc.
However libraries are facing complex issues that relate to the ability
of the library to allocate and make maximum use of insufficient
resources. Information services and databases vendors are continually
offering new possibilities of access using databases. Databases that
were available on CD-ROM are now accessible online via internet.
Consortium provides a lot of databases of a specific subject on a click
of computer mouse. Library Consortia is a group of libraries who are
joined together and agree on the basis of legal terms and conditions to
share their information resources to satisfy the need of information
seekers of those participating libraries.
Keywords
Consortium, Library Consortia, Aims, Features, Advantages &
Disadvantages, Development in India.
Introduction
Improvements in IT are transforming the whole world into fast-
moving information intensive universe and globalizing production
and competition, in many industries and services. As more and more
library users are turning to their desktop computers for information,
the libraries are also redefining their role by adapting to new
technology. However libraries are facing complex issues that relate
to the ability of the library to allocate and make maximum use of

insufficient resources. Information services and databases vendors
or aggregators are continually offering new possibilities of access
using databases. Databases that were available on CD-ROM are
now accessible online via internet. There is an increasing number
in full-text documents and e-journals which have print equivalents.
Research and academic libraries spend the largest part of their
financial resources on journals. This problem can be solved by
associating into consortia. (Kurup, 2008)
Consortia provide 3 basic functions. These include (1) sharing
physical resources, (2) providing connections to the internet and
the www and (3) providing access to E-Resources. The consortium
may act as a collective purchasing agent to obtain the best quantity
price for electronic products that can be selected by individual
libraries at will as long as the minimum quantity is purchased.
Another popular approach is for the consortium to purchase an
electronic product for the group, mount it on a local server, and
provide dial-up or internet access to the entire member base. The
third and increasingly popular method is for the consortium to license
the product for the entire member base and provide a gateway to
the third party product or member access directly to the product’s
website (Kalistha, 2013)
What Are Consortia?

1) A consortium could be described (as cited by Yernagula and
Kelkar, 2006), as a group of organizations who came together
to fulfill a combined objective that usefully requires
cooperation and the sharing of resources. And need to have a
clear mutual goal in order to ensure their success (Kurup,
2008).
2) A consortium is commonly an association of two or more
individuals, companies, organizations or governments, with
the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling
their resources for achieving a common goal.
3) Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary describes consortium
as: A group of people, countries, and companies etc. who are
working together on a particular project.
4) According to Jagdeo (2014) Consortium means temporary

cooperation of numbers of institutions, companies etc for a
common purpose. It is an association of similar type of
organizations who are engaged for producing and servicing
the common things to achieve common goals.
What Is Library Consortia?

A Library consortium is a group of libraries who partner to
coordinate activities, share resources, and combine expertise
(en.wikipedia, 2014)
Library Consortia is a group of libraries who are joined together
and agree on the basis of legal terms and conditions to share their
information resources to satisfy the need of information seekers of
those participating libraries. This means it is a formal association of
libraries but usually restricted to geographical boundary, number
of libraries, subject interests, which is formed to share information
resources, money and manpower. It is a joint venture of libraries to
achieve the pre-determined goals (Biswas, 2008).
The Library Consortia being the associations of like - minded
libraries help in resource sharing and cooperation to provide access
to e-journals, databases, and other E-Resources. A library
consortium can be formed at inter institutional, local, state and
national level.
Goal of Library Consortia

A consortium may have its own structure of governance and
can act as a corporate body on behalf of all members. Its goals can
be integrated as mentioned below.
1) To increase he access base, i.e. more E-Resources.
2) To ensure continuous subscription.
3) To share Qualitative resources.
4) To serve effective document delivery.
5) To share cost for technical and training support.
Aims for Establishing Library Consortia

The primary aim for establishing Library Consortia is to
encourage and develop interlibrary communication, individual
collection building, and education, research progress etc. through
resource sharing within its diverse multi-group library users. The
following are some another fundamental aims for establishing Library
Consortia.
1) Population Explosion
The tremendous growth of population and their diversification
of information demands also led to understand the need of education
and to fulfill that need where library acts as a vital role to serve the
user community.
2) Information Explosion
Through research, information is generated in different subject
fields which is called information explosion. The basic sources of
information generation pockets are: research institutions,
universities, industrial and commercial organizations, government
organizations etc. The rate of generation of new information is very
high as compared to the past.
3) Document Explosion
The newly generated information published in different forms,
like printed and non-printed documents i.e. electronic media, and
these documents are called document explosion.
4) Lack of Self Sufficiency

All the documents published from all over the world are very
much essential to the group of library users’ community, specially
the research scholars who are fully engaged in doing research in
research centers as well as their individual labs. Though libraries
are considered as an information centers from where they get
adequate newly generated information on their specific field of
interest. It is quite impossible to those libraries to hold all the
published documents in different forms, due to lack of space,
insufficient number o staff etc.
5) Limited Budget
Finance is obviously the blood of a library which acts as an
oxygen for developing all the activities, functions and ultimately
services. The shrinkage of library budget every year led to hamper
to collect all the required documents for the users. The other
important factors are: high inflation, rising trend of currency
conversion etc.
6) Language Barrier
The majority of the primary documents are being published by
the developed countries of the world in their own languages. Though
English is considered as an international language, some developed
countries do not follow it. They prefer mostly the national languages
or even their mother languages also.
7) Diversity of Users Need

The users of a library can be categorized in a different group
according to their needs and demands of information. The group of
user’s community demand various information. No library alone can
meet the needs and demands of all these categories of users.
Features of Library Consortia

Following are the features of Library Consortia.
1) The Library Consortia provide each organizations and
institutions with the capacity to share their resources without
sacrificing the individuality of each member library.
2) The collection of the consortia libraries enables each member
library to support scholarly research for its users.
3) Cooperative research and development in application of ICT
enhances services and realizes cost effectiveness.
4) It is the cooperative task to reduce the cost of purchase
consortia. As a result, end users can take benefits of more
resources than would be available through one library.
5) Uncertainties in legal issues are handled with more
confidence.
Advantages of Library Consortia

Some of the important advantages of the library consortia are
as given below.
1) Consortia-based subscription to E-Resources provides access
to wider number of E-Resources at substantially lower cost.
2) Optimum utilization of funds.
3) Cost sharing for technical and training support.
4) E-journals demand neither library space nor they can be
stolen from the library.
5) The Library Consortia have been offered better terms of
licenses for use, archival access and preservation of
subscribed E-Resources.
6) Less economy expansion.
7) Facilities to build up digital libraries.
Disadvantage of Library Consortia

Some of the important disadvantages of library Consortia are as
under.
1) Absence of a printed copy of journals.
2) Require training of staff in handling e-documents etc.
3) Consortia require high initial investments in licensees and
ICT.
4) Copyright problems.
5) Unreliable telecommunication links and insufficient
bandwidth.
6) Lack of archiving and back files availability.
7) Internet access ID necessary.
8) Users are not accepting e-journals as per with the printed
journals.
Library Consortia: Issues

Following are some of the issues of Library Consortia specific to
Indian libraries.
1) Slow acceptance of e-information by the users.
2) Difficulties in changing the mind-set of the librarians.
3) Maintenance and balancing of both physical and digital
library.
4) Economic constraints, inadequate funds.
5) Rigid administrative, financial and auditing rules.
6) Pay-per-view procedure is not well accepted.
7) Lack of infrastructure for accessing electronic resources.
8) Unreliable telecommunication links and insufficient
bandwidth.
9) Lack of trained personnel for handling new technologies.
Development of Library Consortia in India

In Indian scenario, the concept of establishing e-libraries is
coming forward. These libraries are also having traditional collections.
Besides the common online E-Resources, they are procuring
bibliographical and full text databases in CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
format. All these resources also are accessed over the internet on IP
based identification of users.
The urgency of resource sharing among a group of libraries is
the result of E-Resources Consortia. The scenario about the E-
Resources Consortia or Library Consortia in India is still under work-
in-progress as compared to the developed countries. India is
developing country. The concept of Library Consortia has come into
existence in India merely 20 years ago. Due to the development of
new disciplines, cost of documents, reducing trends of budget,
shortage of storing capacity, lack of professional staff etc., librarians
in India are coming forward to join together to establish Library
Consortia. As a result few consortia have been set up to obtain license
and it access to knowledge to scholarly E-Resources, like e-journals,
e-books, digital databases through internet. Some examples of

Library Consortia are us under.
(1) FORSA Consortia

FORSA stand for Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy and
Astrophysics which come into existence in the year 1982, for sharing
the resources available in Astronomy Libraries in the country. In
2004, this group has extended its membership to Physics and
Mathematics, which have common interest to carry forward the aim
of FORSA and its activities.
(2) INDEST
Indian national Digital Library in Science and Technology -
INDEST has set up a ‘consortia - based subscription to e-resources
for Technical Education System in India’ under the MHRD in India.
It is not benefited to 38 major Indian Technological Institutions, like
IITs, NITs etc., but also to all the AICTE accredited and UGC affiliated
institutions in India.
(3) J-GATE
J-Gate is an electronic gateway to global e-journals which was
launched by Informatics India Ltd. in 2001. It provides seamless
access to millions of journal articles available online. J-Gate also
helps to support online subscription to journals, electronic document
delivery, archiving and other related services.
(4) NISCAIR E-Journal Consortia

NISCAIR is the prime agency who has developed a ‘Consortium
for CISR Laboratories for accessing E-Journals’. All programs are
monitored by the NISCAIR in access to scientific journals published
by leading international institutions. The scientist of CISR can easily
access o those journals and download material for research and
development purpose.
(5) N-LIST
The MHRD, under the National Mission on Education through
ICT takes initiative for National Library and Information Services
Infrastructure for Scholarly Content (N-LIST), executed jointly by

UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium and INDEST-AICTE
Consortium. The N-LIST provides access to e-resources to students,
researchers and faculty members from colleges, universities and
other beneficiary institutions through servers installed at the
INFLIBNET Centers. User’s names and passwords are created for
authorized users, as per the list submitted by the institutions. The
resources in N-LIST service include more than 5000 e-journals and
83000 e-books at present.
(6) UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research

It is an autonomous institute under UGC for DAE. It was formerly
known as Inter University Consortium for DAE and established in
1990, in Indore (MP). It was established to promote interaction among
scientists working in the research centers of the DAE and the faculties
from the universities and other institutions of higher learning.
(7) UGC-INFONET
The UGC-INFONET project has provided enormous facility for
all higher learning institutions to produce quality research output.
The UGC-INFONET e-journal consortium has been set up for
promoting the use of electronic database and access to full text e-
journals by the students, faculty members and research scholars of
higher learning institutions under the affiliation of UGC are the
primary beneficiaries and ultimately this opportunity will go up to
the college levels in near future.
Summary
Consortia mean sharing the resources with the participated
members of consortia and it is also called as cooperation and
cooperatively shares the resources print as well as non-print material.
Consortia help to increase collective strength of all consortia members
and also get highly discount on databases, with good terms and
conditions as per the consortia tool (Jaytakar, 2014)
Due to tremendous explosion of information, financial
constraints, information in different formats etc, have created more
complexity to provide adequate services by a single library to its
users in e-environment. Library Consortia are at the doorsteps to

prove cooperation at local, regional, national and international levels
for utilizing maximum resources among a group of libraries a reduced
cost, time, space and energy.
Abbreviations
AICTE: All India Council for Technical Education.
CSIR: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
DAE: Department of Atomic Energy
FORSA: Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy and
Astrophysics.
ICT: Information and Communication Technology.
INDEST: Indian National Digital Library in Science and
Technology.
INFLIBNET: INFormation LIBrary NETwork
MHRD: Ministry of Human Resource Department.
NLIST: National Library and information services
Infrastructure for Scholarly contenT.
UGC: University Grants Commission.
References
Biswas, Bidhan Chandra (2008). Developing Library
Consortium in India for Information Resource Sharing in
Digital Era: Some Issues. In R. Kumar (Ed.). Recent
Technological Trends in Management and Library System:
issues and Challenges (pp.365-372). Delhi, ND: Wisdom
Jagdeo, Gajendra (2014). Library Consortia: A Tool for
Resource Sharing. In R. Mendhe et.al. Emerging Trends,
advancement and Challenges of Academic and Public Libraries
(pp. 24-25). Pune, MH: Atharva
Jaytakar, Sarika (2014). Library Consortia: A Study. In R.

Mendhe et.al. Emerging Trends, advancement and Challenges
of Academic and Public Libraries (pp. 94-97). Pune, MH:
Atharva
Kalisdha, A. (2013). The Roles of Librarians and Library
Consortium for Impact of Electronic Resources on Collection
Development, In P. Arulpragasam (Ed.), Changing Paradigm
of Academic Libraries in the E-Environment (pp. 117-126).
Ulhasnagar, MH: Seva Sadan
Kurup, Dhanya Balachandra (2008). Library Consortia: The
New Resource Sharing Paradigm. In R. Kumar (Ed.). Recent
Technological Trends in Management and Library System:
issues and Challenges (pp.160-167). Delhi.
USE OF OPEN ACCESS RESOURCES

IN PRESENT SCENARIO OF
SHRI V. S. NAIK COLLEGE LIBRARY
RAVER
—Mukhyadal B. G., Khandare R. B. and Dhapse S. D.
Abstract
The papers deals with definitional analysis of the terms, Scope &
limitations, objectives, hypothesis, methodology use for the study and
the data was analyze with Gender wise Distribution, Purpose of using
open Access resources, ICT facilities preferred, Time Spent for using
open access resources, Frequency of using/ browsing open access
resources and User Satisfaction.
Keywords
Open Access, Information Resource, E-Journals, Information
Browsing, Shri V. S. Naik College Library.
Introduction
The library is obviously the source of power of knowledge. In
higher education and research, the use of library is a matter of
concerns to students, teachers, and researchers. The exponential
growth of literature often creates problems for them to access
appropriate literature and their use. The problem has, however,
considerably been resolved with the help of information and
communication technology (ICT). The use of information technology
for management and handling of information and data has grown
significantly even in many least-developed countries, despite their
economic constraints.
Definitional Analysis
Open Access
The Open Access research literature is composed of free, online
copies of peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers as
well as technical reports, theses and working papers. In most cases
there are no licensing restrictions on their use by readers. They can
therefore be used freely for research, teaching and other purposes
(Swan, 2005).
Information Resource
The data and information assets of an organization, information
resources are the various means by which information is recorded
for use by an individual or organization.
Shri V. S. Naik Arts, Commerce and Science College

Library, Raver:
Raver Parisar Shikshan Prasarak Mandal’s Shri. Vitthalrao
Shankarao Naik Arts, Commerce & Science College, Raver,
Dist.Jalgaon was established in the year 1978. The Institute provides
Bachelor degree courses and diploma courses, this College is a
pioneer institute, and they have good faculties and also provide good
infrastructural facilities too. The college has advanced library facility.
Scope and Limitations

The scope of the study is limited to the students, as well as
faculties of Shri V. S. Naik Arts, Commerce and Science College
Library Raver.

The objectives of the study are:
1. To understand the purposes for using Open access resources
2. To know the approach of using Open Access Resources.
Hypothesis of the Study

1. Male users more dominate to Females user.
2. Unsatisfied user make satisfied
Methodology
Survey method will be used with the help of questionnaire for
the present study.
Data Analysis
The data is the important step in research process. It is link
between raw data and significant result. The present study reports
the analysis of data collected through structured questionnaire
designed for students as well as teachers of Shri V. S. Naik Arts,
Commerce and Science College Raver Dist. Jalgaon.
The data was analyzed by using the following parameters:
Gender wise Distribution
Purpose of using / Browsing Open Access Resources
ICT facilities preferred
Time Spent for using Open Access Resources
Frequency of using Open Access Resources and
User Satisfaction
Gender wise Distribution

The data which was collected from the 280 respondents. The
question were ask about their Gender, responses received have been
presented in table No.1
Table No. 1: Gender wire Distribution
Gender U. G. Faculties Total Percentage
Male 200 24 224 80.00
Female 56 0 56 20.00
Total 256 24 280 100.00
It can be observed from the table No. 1 that out of 280

respondents 224 (80%) respondents are male and 56 (20%)
respondents are female. It indicates that Male users more dominate
to Female user.
Purpose of using / Browsing Open Access

Resources
Respondents were asked about their purpose of using open
access resources/ browsing open access resources. The responses
received have been presented and tabulated in table No. 2
Table No. 2: Purpose of using / Browsing Open Access Resources
Purpose No. of Respondents Percentage
Teaching 18 6.43
Research 6 2.14
Study 163 58.21
Mail 55 19.64
Entertainment 38 13.57
Total 280 100.00
It can be revealed from the Table No.2 that 163 (58.21%)
respondents use open access resources / browsing open access
resources for the purpose of study and 55 (19.64%) respondents
using open access resources for the purpose of teaching as well as
competitive exams, while 38 (13.57%) respondents using open access
resources for entertainment purpose.
ICT facilities preferred

Respondents were asked about their preference to use ICT facility
for browsing open access resources. The responses received have
been presented in table No. 3
Table No.3: Preference of ICT facilities

ICT facilities No. of Respondents Percentage
Computer 91 32.50
Internet 186 66.43
Scanner 1 0.36
Fax 2 0.71
Total 280 100.00
The Table No. 3 revels that the 186(66.43%) respondents

preferred Internet facilities for browsing open access resources, while
91(32.50%) respondents preferred computer facilities for access
information. Only few respondent preferred scanner and fax for
getting information.
Time Spent for using /Browsing Open Access

Resources
Respondents were asked about time spending for using /
browsing Open access resources. The responses received have been
presented and tabulated in table No. 4
Table No.4: Time spent for using /Browsing Open Access
Resources
Time Spent Response Percentage
One Hour 162 57.86
Two Hours 56 20.00
Three Hours 34 12.14
Four Hours 16 5.71
More than four hours 12 4.29
Total 280 100.00
It can be noted from the Table No.4 that the majority of

respondents 162 (57.86%) spent one hour daily for using / browsing
Open access resources, 56(20%) respondents spent two hours in

every day for using / browsing Open access resources, while
34(12.14%) respondents spent three hours for using / browsing Open
access resources and 16(5.71%), 12(4.29%) respondents spent their
four hours and more than four hours for using / browsing Open
access resources
Frequency of using / browsing Open access

resources
Respondents were asked about frequency of using / browsing
Open access resources. The responses received have been presented
and tabulated in Table No. 5
Table No.5: Frequency of using / browsing Open access
resources
Frequency Response Percentage
Daily 211 75.36
Once in week 34 12.14
Twice in week 21 7.50
Once in month 14 5.00
Total 280 100.00
It can be noted from the Table No.5 that 211 (75.36%) respondent
were using / browsing Open access resources daily, while 69(24.64%)
respondent using / browsing Open access resources in once and
Twice in a week and once in month.
User Satisfaction
Respondents were asked about satisfaction level of using /
browsing Open access resources. The responses received have been
tabulated in Table No. 6
Table No .6: User Satisfactions

Time Spent Response Percentage
Fully 95 33.93
Partially 126 45.00
No Comments 59 21.07
Total 280 100.00
It was observed from the Table No. 6 that 126(45%) respondents

are partially satisfied with using / browsing Open access resources,
and 95(33.93%) respondent are fully satisfied with using / browsing
Open access resources, while 59 (21.07%) respondents have not
commented on satisfaction of using / browsing Open access
resources.
Conclusions
80% respondents are male and 20% respondents are female;
58.21% respondents using / browsing Open access resources for
the purpose of study; 66.43% respondents preferred Internet facilities
for browsing open access resources; 57.86% respondents spent their
one hour in everyday for using / browsing Open access resources;
75.36% respondent daily using / browsing Open access resources
for their work and 45% respondents are partially satisfied with using
/ browsing Open access resources provided by Shri V. S. Naik Arts,
Commerce and Science College Library Raver.
References
Ahmad N. and Fatima N. (2009). Usage of ICT Product and
services for research in social science at Aligarh Muslim
University. DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information
Technology, 29 (2), 25-29.
Asemi, A. (2005). Information searching habits of internet
users: A case study on the medical Science University of
Isfashan. http://www.whebology.ir/2005/v2n1/a10 .
(Accessed on 5. 2.2012
Hawking, R.J. (2002). Ten lessons for ICT and education in
the developing world. Now York: World Bank
Meadow, C. T., Boyce, B.R. and Kraft, D. H. (2000) Text
information retrieval systems, 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic
Press.
Nwalo, K. I. N. (2000). Collaboration in the provision and
utilization of IT facilities for library and Information science
education in Nigerata. A paper presented at the 16th Biennial
conference of the National Association of library and
Information Science Education (NALISE), held at University
of Ibadan, Ibadan: 43.
Ogboma, M. O. and Ogbomo, E. F. (2008). Importance of
Information and communication Technologies (ICT) in making
a healthy Information Society: A case study of Ethiopia East
local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. http://
wnllib.unl.edu/lpp/ogbomo 2.htm . Accessed on 5th Feb, 2012
Seetharama, S. (1999). Information Management: Tools and
Techniques. In: National Workshop on Information
Management including ISO 9000 QMS, held at Documentation
Research and Training Centre, Banglore on 6-8 January 1999.
Papar No. BA.
Swan, Amla (2005). Open Access. http://www.jisc.ac.uk/
uploaded_documents/JISC-BP-OpenAccess-v1-final.pdf.
Accessed on 7th July, 2014
Thioune, R. M. (2003). Information and communication
Technologies for development in Africa: Opportunities and
challenges for community development. http://www.idrc.ca/
en/ev-33000-201-1-D,TOPIC.html. Accessed on 5th Feb, 2012
SUBJECT GATEWAYS IN
AGRICULTURE
—P.A. Shinde and R.N. Ingale
Abstract
One of the many requirements to improve scientific research in
the country is the easy access to scientific literature. Fortunately the
information technology (IT) revolution has brought information to our
doorsteps. Due to advancement of Information and Communication
Technology, revolutionary changes are taken place in accessing
information through Internet by using Search Engines. One of the major
problems in accessing information through search engines is that it is
very difficult and time consuming to get reliable and relevant
information in the limited time In order to save time of user
(Ranganathan’s Fourth Law), it is necessary to make awareness of
ideas and tricks and tools for proper use of internet information.
Institutional and individual access to Internet in the country is
expanding rapidly, published information is not within easy reach of
most of the scientists in universities and other research institutions.
An effective and efficient way to provide easy access to quality
information on internet is through subject gateways in specific areas.
To meet the information requirement of the scientific and academic
community in the digital era, various departments have developed
Subject Gateways in their respective areas and some are in developing
process. Some agriculture Subject Gateways are introduced in this
article.
Keywords
Subject gateways, agriculture gateways, novagate, agrigate.
Introduction
What is Subject Gateways?

Subject gateways are nothing but the facility that allows easier
access to networked-based resources in a definite subject area. The
emergence of a subject gateway as an Internet service resulted from
a reaction of information professionals to the poor performance of
search tools on the Web. As is widely known, most search engines
index only a fraction of total Internet resources. Despite the ongoing
development and increasing sophistication of some of the popular
search engines they are still not reliable for finding relevant items
quickly. So what is a subject gateway and what are some of its key
features? According to one authoritative source, “a subject gateway
is a Web site that provides searchable and browsable access to online
resources focused around a specific subject.” It provides a resource
discovery mechanism for accessing “a collection of high quality,
evaluated resources identified to support research in a particular
subject discipline.” The resources are evaluated and described by
information specialists in the field, for example science librarians or
educationalists, and are often made freely available via the World
Wide Web. Some subject gateways also offer access to print resources.
The issue of provision of integrated access and access to resources
which are not freely available online has been debated in Australia
in the last few years.
Aim of subject gateways

To help users locate relevant and high quality resources on the
Internet.
Difference between a ‘Subject Gateway’ and a ‘Search

Engine’?
Search Engines Subject gateways
Built by robots Built by humans
Exhaustive indexing Selective catalogues
Automatically generated Human generated
metadata metadata
Features of subject gateways

1. Each resource selected is evaluated against explicitly defined
quality selection criteria.
2. Resources are classified using a range of schemes, e.g.-DDC,
MESH
3. Metadata ( standard resource description) are provided based
on a particular standard e.g. Dublin Core
4. Written resource descriptions are provided for each resource,
often by library subject specialists.
5. Currency of resources is checked by link checking software
(e.g. ROADS), databases such as OMNI.
6. Institutional commitments are the vital component for
continued development of a subject gateway.
Benefit of gateways
Don’t Search, Find it
–What’s where?
–What’s what?
–-What’s good?
* Diverse resources brought together Spectrum of resources
on Internet
* Description -Research, learning, leisure, and enrichment-all
brought together
Some Agriculture Subject Gateways

Agricultural Economics/Extension/Marketing
http://www.ageconsearch.-umn.-edu
AgEcon Search is a free-to-user Web site that contains the full
text of working papers, conference papers and journal articles in
applied economics, including the subtopics of agricultural, consumer,
energy, environmental, and resource economics. Contributors

include academic institutions, government agencies, professional
associations, and non-government organizations. AgEcon Search is
maintained at the University of Minnesota by the Dept. of Applied
Economics and University Libraries, and the Agricultural and Applied
Economics Association is also a main sponsor.
Department of Agriculture http://www.agricoop.nic.in
& Cooperation
Ministry of Agriculture Portal http://www.dacnet.nic.in
Nafed http://www.nafed-india.com
IFFCO http://www.iffco.nic.in
Kribhco http://www.kribhco.net
NCUI http://www.ncui.net
Agro e-commerce Portal http://www.agroecommerce.com
HAFED http://www.hafed.nic.in
NCCF http://www.nccf-india.com
NCDC http://www.ncdc.nic.in
NDDB http://www.nddb.org
ITC http://www.itcibd.com
FIEO http://www.fieo.org
Digital Mandi, IIT Kanpur http://www.digitalmandi.net
National Multi Commodity http://www.nmce.com
Exchange
NCDEX Commodity http://www.ncdex.com
Exchange
MCX Commodity Exchange http://www.mcxindia.com
Department of Fertilizers http://www.fert.nic.in
Agri. Market Rates website http://www.agmarknet.nic.in
(NIC)
Fertilizer Association of India http://www.faidelhi.org

Krishi World Website Portal http://www.krishiworld.com
Ikisan Portal http://www.ikisan.com
Agronet Website http://www.indiaagronet.com
Mahindra Kisan Website http://www.mahindrakisanmitra.com
Agriwatch Portal http://www.agriwatch.com
Commodity Portal http://www.indiancommodity.com
Uttam Krishi Portal Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Kisan Ayog Website http://www.kisanayog.org
www.indg.in/agriculture/
www.indg.in aims to disseminate useful information about
improved technology to the farming community and service providers
in the rural areas.
www.naarm.ernet.in/index.php?option=com_content&view
The Agricultural Gateway to India is a website designed to satisfy
the information needs for agriculture in India.
Internet Directory for Botany

Subject coverage: Botany and Ecology
The Internet Directory of Botany is an index to botanical
information available on the Internet. It consists of two parts, an
alphabetical directory and a categorical directory.
http://www.botany.net/
Seed Science & Technology

http://www.seednet.gov.in
It is a comprehensive source for seed, seed statistics, National
seed plan, seed acts, seed rules, New seed policy etc.
e-Learning in Agriculture
http://tnau.ac.in/eagri/index.html
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University initiated E-learning in
teaching as an attempt to improve the learning process, encourage
knowledge transfer and compliment their existing learning
environment. For a vast country like ours, with a large population,
limited resources and remote geographical regions, E-learning holds
the key to better education and provide better access to knowledge
resources for the student community.
e-Courses
http://ecourses.iasri.res.in/
Under financial support of NAIP, all the e-Course Contents
available on this website have been developed by subject matter
specialist of the respective disciplines at State Agricultural
Universities in India and Deemed Universities of ICAR, New Delhi.
The courses material is prepared as per ICAR approved syllabus for
the benefit of under-graduate students already enrolled in Indian
Agricultural Universities.
AGRIGATE
A subject information gateway for resources, both online and

offline, identified as valuable to those participating in agriculture
research. The purpose of Agrigate is to support the identification
and dissemination of high quality research materials.
Subject coverage: Agriculture, Forestry, Environment, Food,
Science, Horticulture
http://www.agrigate.edu.au/
NOVAGate
It is a gateway to selected Internet resources in the fields of

forestry, veterinary, agricultural, food and environmental sciences.
Subject coverage: Forestry, Veterinary, Agriculture, Food
Sciences and Environmental Sciences
http://novagate.nova-university.org/
Statistical Information Gateways

a) http://www.indiastat.com (access on subscription basis)
b) http://mahades.maharashtra.gov.in
(For District Socio Economic Reports of Maharashtra)
c) http://agricoop.nic.in/Agristatistics.htm
d) http://eands.dacnet.nic.in
e) http://www.fao.org
f) Govt. of India Portal (http://india.gov.in)
g) Govt. of Maharashtra Portal http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/
Lot of socio economic indicators, statistical information of
Maharashtra’s economy, general information and agricultural
figures are available on this portal free of cost. One can
download latest Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2011-12
in pdf format.
h) National Horticultural Board : http://nhb.gov.in/
i) IASRI, New Delhi portal http://www.iasri.res.in/
j) District Information http://www.districts.nic.in/
k) APEDA www.apeda.com
l) Census of India http://censusofindia.gov.in
m) http://www.worldstat.com/ www.worldstat.com is an
educational site that gives you access to updated statistics
for a fact-based education in order to ensure a greater
understanding of the .
n) agcensus.nic.in
MAPS/ATLASES
a) www.mapsofindia.com/
Maps of India is the largest resource of maps on India. This site
provides all types of India map Outline maps, Physical maps, Political
maps, Reference maps ...
b) http://wikimapia.org
Wikimapia is an online editable map - you can describe any
place on Earth. Or just surf the map discovering tonns of already
marked places.
c) http://maps.google.com/
d) http://www.mapquest.com/
e) Other URLs for Atlas and Maps
http://maptown.com/
http://www.mapsofworld.com/
http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/world.htm
http://www.flags.net/
NEWSPAPERS
A) INDIAN NEWSPAPERS :
i) http://www.indiapress.org/
ii) http://newspapers.com/
iii) http://www.newspapers.co.in/
iv) http://epapergallery.com
B) INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPERS
i) http://allyoucanread.com/
ii) http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/
iii) http://www.world-newspapers.com/
iv) http://www.epapercatalog.com/
WEATHER
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/
Directory of Cities and Towns in India
http://www.weather-forecast.com/maps
http://www.weather-forecast.com/maps/India
The India Weather Map shows the weather forecast for the next
10 days. Control the animation using the slide bar found beneath
the weather map. Select from the other forecast maps (on the right)
to view the temperature, cloud cover, wind and precipitation for this
country on a large scale with animation. You can also get the latest
temperature, weather and wind observations from actual weather
stations under the live weather section.
References
G.Naga Ratna Mani-e-resources in agriculture and allied
subjects: a study Indian J. Agril. Library and Information
Services, ol.29(2),2013:17-23pp
http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/Resource-
Description-Framework
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/Internet.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_resources
http://www.icar.org.in/en/universities.htm
LIBRARY MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARES: LIBSYS 7 & KOHA
—Govardhan Aute and Shivshankar Ghumare
Abstract
Present paper describes the LIBSYS & KOHA library management
software package. Acquired result reveal that both software packages
are usefull. LIBSYS library software brings you a high level of certainty.
The solutions offered by company are delivered on-time, are within
your budget, and come with high quality, better efficiency, and
responsiveness. Open source package KOHA are found most usefull
and highest level of satisfaction to their users. Both packages providing
best services. On the basis of evaluation criteria, KOHA is most useful
for library automation.
Keywords
Open Source Software, KOHA,LIBSYS
Introduction
Library software has become the most powerful tool for changing
the scenario of libraries from traditional to automated, from
automated to electronic, from electronic to digital, and from digital
to virtual. Software has become increasingly more powerful and the
introduction of new applications has increased. Producing
customized programs has become easier with software development
packages. A number of software packages have been developed for
use in the management and dissemination of information in libraries.
Some have been developed by commercial agencies; others have
been developed indigenously by institutions for in-house use; and
there is yet another class where customized applications have been
generated on the basis of existing software some are the open source
code, which allows it to be freely modified by everyone.
All over the world, even in India several commercial firms have
developed the library softwares, but they are expensive. Present paper
tries to describe the open source library management software
packages Koha and commercial package LIBSYS.
Objectives of Research
1. To collect and compile necessary information to describe open
source and commercial library softwares and its operations.
2. To find out best open source software and to set priorities for
software selection.
3. To evaluate LIBSYS & KOHA Library Management Softwares.
4. To point-out views of librarians & users about softwares which
is used for automation.
Hypothesis of Research
1. Koha is the best compatible to library needs.
2. Priority for software selection as KOHA , LIBSYS.
3. Most of librarians are satisfied with Koha.
Scope & Limitations

1. Present study focused on only LIBSYS & KOHA softwares for
evaluation.
2. For identifying, evaluating a packaged software for library
the following criterias suggested by GAROOGAIN are adopted,
a) Capabilities b) Maintenance support c) User friendliness
d) Documentation e) Cost f) Flexibility g) updating and revision.
3. Present study confines itself to academic libraries.
Research Methodology
Present research is a survey research in which random sampling
method is used while collecting data. Primary and secondary
information sources also used for research work. To select

questionnaire as a tool for data collection. Structured questionnaires
analysed with the help of SPSS (version 16.0) .
Data collection Procedure

Automated libraries were chosen as a sample for data gathering
against questionnaires. Thus automated libraries were chosen for
questionnaire and mail by online . The sample included academic
libraries in India. Due to mailing questionnaires by online, the
response against the questionnaire was 32 libraries. Sections of this
questionnaire was consist general questions about the library and
different aspects of software being used. Questionnaire also entitle
‘Your Opinion about the library Software package’ was designed for
data collection its includes 58 attributes about software with
responses made as EXCELLENT (Creadit point-3 ), Good (Creadit
point-2 ),, Poor (Creadit point-1 ), & Not Applicable(Creadit point-
o), it is also calculated as per SPSS 16.0.
LIBSYS SYSTEM 7
LIBSYS team is highly knowledgeable, experienced, committed
and believes in complementing our robust products with reliable
services and support. company passion for continuous growth is
reflected in R&D efforts which have lead to the incorporation of latest
technology features and globally accepted standards from time to
time.
LIBSYS is an integrated library management s/w package
designed and developed by LIBSYS Corporation New Delhi. It was
initially developed in COBOL language but now converted into C
language and covers all the activities of library related to acquisition,
circulation, cataloguing, serial control, articles indexing, abstracting,
OPAC etc. LIBSYS follows international standards such as CCF,
MARC etc. LIBSYS has been installed at about 70 libraries in the
country. It has following special characteristics; Interactive and
screen oriented, menu driven, powerful editing facilities, user defined
security, help and multilingual etc. the package available under
UNIX, VMS, PCAT and minis.
The cataloguing system makes available various catalogues/

index’s online for instant references. It has powerful data entry facility
which also provides option to accept data in standard machine
readable format such as CCF (ISO : 2709), MARC (ANSI-Z39), etc.
The circulation system maintenance up to data membership
records and the latest status of collection meant for circulation. It
performs all the functions related to circulation providing suitable
checks at every stage. It takes care of infrequent but routine functions
such as bindery record management, display of recent additions,
and so on.
The Serial system provides control of periodical subscription
and subsequent of the schedule arrival of individual issue. It
maintains record of budget sanctioned for serials under different
categories, amount encumbered and expended, thus providing
complete budgetary control. This also handles serials which may be
received on grants or exchange.
Criteria wise Evaluation :
Table 1 : Means and SDs of Evaluation criteria of LIBSYS.
Evaluation criteria Mean Std. Deviation N
Capabilities 2.21 .66 32
Maintenance 2.13 .61 32
Userfriendly 2.03 .54 32
Documentation 2.28 .46 32
cost 1.59 .50 32
Tech.support 1.53 .51 32
Updation 1.28 .81 32
Table 01 and Figure 01 present the mean & S.D. values of the
evaluation criteria of LIBSYS for various library management
Software packages. It can be observed from the table that the mean
score of Documentation (2.28) is significantly higher than Capabilities
(2.21), Maintenance (2.13), Userfriendly (2.03), cost (1.59),
Tech.support (1.53) and Updation (1.28) on LIBSYS. On this
observation it can be concluded that the difference between these
means is sufficiently large to expect that the groups might differ
significantly from each other.
KOHA
Koha is the most advanced open-source Integrated Library
System in use today by hundreds of libraries worldwide. The
development of Koha is steered by a growing number of libraries
throughout the world. These libraries, either on their own, or
collaborating in groups, sponsor the development of new features to
support their workflows. Koha’s impressive feature set continues
to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its sponsoring libraries.
Everyone may not use the same features. This freedom to pick and
choose from features, through the administration of system
preferences, offers librarians the opportunity to tailor their Koha
instance to match their specific workflow needs.
Since the original implementation in 1999, Koha functionality
has been adopted by thousands of libraries world wide, each adding
features and functions, deepening the capability of the system. With
the 3.0 release in 2005, and the integration of the powerful Zebra
indexing engine, Koha became a viable, scalable solution for libraries
of all kinds. Koha is built on this foundation. With its advanced

feature set, Koha is the most functionally advanced open source ILS
on the market today.
Easy-to-use circulation policies, strong patron management,
intuitive navigation, and extensive permissions for staff
accounts.
Parent-child relationship for patron records, as well as a ‘copy’
patron feature to quickly add families.
A Clubs and Services feature that allows libraries to manage
reading groups, book clubs, and other other community
outreach programs. This feature is easily managed by library
staff.
Extensive support for holds, including an option to ‘suspend’
and ‘reactivate’ a hold, an option to place holds from a patron’s
OPAC account, an option to allow staff to re-organize the holds
queue, and an option to place holds at either the title or item
level.
Enhanced matching policy rules for the 001 and 035 tags,
allowing libraries to update older records with a newer version.
Libraries to ‘undo’ entire import batches from the catalog in a
single click, rather than having to delete on a one-by-one
basis.
SIP2 configuration for a wide variety of vendors and their
products, including ITG, 3M, Envision Ware, Talking Tech,
Overdrive, Tech Logic, and Librarica. Koha also works with
Ez Proxy as a dual authentication source for remote database
access.
OPAC, staff, administrative features and self-checkout
interfaces are all based on standards-compliant World Wide
Web technologies—XHTML, CSS and Javascript—making
Koha a completely Web-based solution.
Support for industry standards and guidelines - Z39.50, SRU,
and SIP2 XML-tagged MARC record storage provide quick
access to data
Fully developed ILS functionality - including Course Reserves,

Acquisitions, Serials Control, etc.
Support for third party Debt Collect, Telephone Notices, etc.
Criteria vise Evaluation
Table 2 : Means and SDs of Evaluation criteria of KOHA
Evaluation criteria Mean Std. Deviation N
Capabilities 2.47 .51 32
Maintenance 1.00 .95 32
Userfriendly 2.59 .50 32
Documentation 2.66 .48 32
cost .00 .00 32
Tech.support 1.81 .74 32
Updation 1.28 1.20 32
Table 2 and Figure 2 present the mean & S.D. values of the
evaluation criteria of KOHA for various library management Software
packages. It can be observed from the table that the mean score of
Userfriendly (2.66) is significantly higher than Updation (1.28),
Tech.support (1.81), Documentation (2.66), Capabilities (2.47),
Maintenance (1.00) and cost (0.00), on KOHA. On this observation
it can be concluded that the difference between these means is
sufficiently large to expect that the groups might differ significantly
from each other.
Purpose of preference this Software package

KOHA
1. Easy to access.
2. Source code is available.
LIBSYS
1. Customer care and all over Indian based software,
2. User friendly software.
3. Network base Support,
4. It is best for higher user strength.
Problems faced while using the software packages

KOHA
1. Indepth training is required,
2. Installation in LINUX; lot of changes will be required.
LIBSYS
1. MARC 21 sheet and Z39.50 protocal,
2. Report not generated as per requirement,
3. Problem in Uploding user photo in member record and user
searching.
4. Migration of data.
Best Things Noticed

LIBSYS
1. Cataloguing, userfriendlyness,
2. Database and Circulation,
3. Data import facility from OCLC,
4. Technical support.
KOHA
1 Easy to access.
2 Source code is available.
Suggestions about changes and replacement of software

packages
LIBSYS
1 Information retrival protocol (Z39.50) flexibility.
2 MARC 21 sheet as per requirement.
KOHA
1 Concentrate on Acqusition section.
2 It should be install in any operating system.
Conclusions of the study

Following conclusions are based on the literature review and
findings of the study:
1. A variety of softwares are being used by the libraries in India.
2. LIBSYS is the best library management software for
automation.
3. Commercial library software LIBSYS and open source
software KOHA is also efficient.
4. Most of the libraries are using open source software, due to
high cost of standard software. KOHA as available free of cost
but not providing all desired software modules, such as
updation and Technical support and LIBSYS are best for
cataloguing module. Therefore both softwares has high priority
on the basis of cost or efficiency. As per priority list, priority
for software selection is as LIBSYS , KOHA.
5. KOHA open source software are more popular than
commercial software package.
6. OPAC service is available in both softwares.
7. Most of librarians are satisfied with LIBSYS.

8. Serial control module of Koha is also effective.
9. Librarians found difficult, to enter the bibliographical details
of entire collection and shared cataloging is not found.
Acquired result reveal that software packages fulfilling needs of
client and it is found that open source package KOHA are most
usefull and highest level of satisfaction to their users. All packages
providing OPAC service. On the basis of evaluation criteria Technical
support and Updation, LIBSYS is most useful for library automation.
References
Bhardwaj, R.K. and Shukla, R.K. 2000, A Practical Approach
to Library Automation, Library Progress, 20(1).
Busha,C.H.& Harter, S.P.1980, Research methods in
librarianship; Techniques and Interpretation. Academic Press
Inc. Newyork.
Cohn,J.M.&Kelsey,A.L.1997, Planning for library
automation:A practical handbook, Library association,
London.
Galhotra,M.K.2008, Information Technology in Library and
Information Science Services., Ess Ess Publication, New Delhi.
Kochar & Sudarshan 2007 , Library Automation; Issues and
Systems, APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi.
Kochtanek,T.& Matthews,J 2004, Library information to
distributed information access solution, Libraries unlimited,
Westport.
Kumar,Sunil 2009, Some Perspectives of Integrated Library
System. Rajat Publication, New Delhi.
Nair,R 1995, Academic Library Automation. Ess-Ess
Publication, New Delhi.
Phophalia, A.K. 2010, Modern Research Methodology; New

trends and techniques., Paradise publisher, Jaipur.
Rowley,J.E 1998, The electronic library, Library
association,London.
Shafique,Farzana 2011, Use of Integrated Library Software:
A Survay.,VDM Verlag,Germany.
Sinha,S.C. & Dhiman, A.K. 2002, Research methodology. Ess-
Ess publication, New Delhi.
Vasant, N and Mudhol, M.V. 2000, Software packages for
library Automation., Ess-Ess Publication, New Delhi.
OPEN SOURCE LIBRARIES

SOFTWARE’S
—Mahesh Deeliprao Sonawane and Rathod Navalsing
Dalpatsing
Abstract
Open source software are those which permit execution,
copy, read, distribution and improvement of the software without
any restrictions. Library Management Software (LMS), is an enterprise
resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned,
orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed. Commercial
library management software is very expensive. Therefore, open source
library management system can be appropriate alternatives for
automatic library systems. This paper discusses features of open
source library management software, criteria of selection of best open
source library management software, their , advantages and
limitations. Open source library management software is a solution to
reduce that cost. The paper describes in brief about the feature of
some of the open source library management software like Koha,
NewGenlib, Evergreen, SENAYAN, ABCD, and BiblioteQ.
Keywords
Open Source Software, Library automation, Library Management
Software.
Introduction
Library automation is concerned with managing, controlling and
automating library activates, and services. In an automated library,
computers are used in most of the activities, such as acquisition,
cataloguing, circulation control and periodical management. Library
automation not only does housekeeping activities, but it also
provide the current and relevant information to the users,

according to their demands. Libraries do not have huge funds
to experiment, and they don’t usually purchase additional
resources. The need for library management software, its installation,
training and the lack of financial resources have forced many
libraries to stand for themselves when it comes to staying up to
date with the latest technology. Unless, of course, they adopt the
open source movement and use a few of them available to overcome
these problems. Most software that we all use every day is known
as “proprietary”, which means that it costs money and that the
actual code of the software is restricted, in which the code of the
software cannot be modified, copied, or changed from its
original construction. The code is “unreadable” and pretty much is
what it is. Open source software (OSS), on the other hand, is quite
the opposite. The open source mentality revolves around sharing
and collaboration, and these two important elements describe open
source software perfectly. First and foremost, open source software
is free for anyone to have; more importantly, not only is the software
free, but it is also free for anyone to copy, hack, modify, etc. This
increases the possibilities of a software program’s potential because
of this freethinking model. There are many different kinds of
open source library management software solutions out these
days that could be embraced by the library.
Advantages of Open Source Software

The availability of the source code and the right to modify, it is
very important to enable us to improve and extend the lifetime of a
software product. Source code availability also makes it much easier
to identify errors, and to fix them The right to redistribute
modifications and improvements to the code, and to reuse other
open source code, permits all the advantages due to the
modifiability of the software to be shared by large communities.
For continuous improvement does not require users to pay for it.
There is no single entity on which the future of the software depends.
This is a very common concern with proprietary software. There are
fewer conflicting priorities due to marketing pressures. Usually open
source software is delivered “when it is ready”, and when the
development team feels that its quality is good enough. This means
that software usually does not need as many “service packs”, updates
as such thereby reducing the maintenance cost. It provides a new
forum for democratic action, collaboration, mutual benefit without
geographical or any other barrier/bias. It forces commercial software
vendors to keep their product price at a reasonable level.
Limitations of Open Source Software

For any up gradation/change in the OSS, the library needs
support. In case of OSS, there is no body to solve problem, either
one has to hire some expert to solve the problem or library should
make arrangement with some company. Open source products
require technical expertise to operate and maintain open source
costs more to support because the software is typically self-
supporting. Generally, a commercial software company will
immediately respond on customer requests for any problem. With
OSS, if one doesn’t do it himself, he/she is at the mercy of a disjoint
community of developers.
Selection of Library Management Software

Selection of library management software is not a simple task.
Sometimes librarians go with either renowned software or maximum
number of usage of the library. Selection of LMS may require the
following points/steps, which might help the librarians to select
the right software for their housekeeping operations as well as
information retrieval. There are many LMS, which are very popular
and being used by number of libraries. Librarians may have to do
the comprehensive study about them before taking decision in this
regard. While examining the software, librarian must have the
following information about the software which might help them to
select the right software for housekeeping operations as well as
information retrieval:
How it matches the library’s requirements
Product quality
Features and functions
Staff training and support service
Operating system Hardware and software requirements

Functionality: What modules are available, value additions
to existing functions?
User interface: Navigation, error alerts, intuitive,
customization
Design: Flexibility, switching from one module to another,
multifunction modules, does it enhance the Productivity
Conforming to standards: MARC, Z39.50, ISO-2709, etc.
Scalability: Single user-multi user network. Can it be used in
client server LAN architecture or fully web browsing
architecture
User-controlled customization
Reports that help to take decisions
Security levels migration of data or data transfer
Library Management Software’s

Library Management Software is capable of managing all the
functionalities of a library. It is suitable for small to big libraries viz.
Schools, Colleges, Universities, medical libraries, legal libraries,
corporate houses, charitable trust and others. There are quite a few
open sources library management software available. One has to
select the right kind of package depending on their specific
need. Examples of some of these are as follows:
1. KOHA
2. NEW GENLIB
3. EVERGREEN
4. SENYAN
5. BIBLIOTEQ
1. Koha
Koha is a promising full featured open source ILS (Integrated
Library System) currently being used by libraries all over the world.
For those of you who are unfamiliar of what an ILS is, well, it is a
system of keeping track of the operations of a library - payroll,
expenses, purchases, and most importantly, keeping track of the
various media being checked out by the librarians patrons. Many
smaller libraries cannot afford to purchase, install, and maintain
an ILS. For then Koha is a perfect alternative. Koha is built using
library ILS standards and uses the OPAC (open public access catalog)
interface. In addition, Koha has no vendor-lock in. So libraries can
receive technical support from any party they choose.
Features
Koha is web-based ILS, with a SQL database (MySQL preferred)
backend with cataloguing data stored in MARC and accessible via
Z39.50. The user interface is very configurable and adaptable and
has been translated into many languages. Koha has most of the
features that one expects in an ILS, including:
Simple, clear interface for librarians and members (patrons)
Various Web 2.0 facilities like tagging and RSS feeds
Union catalog facility
Customizable search
Circulation and borrower management
Full acquisitions system including budgets and pricing
information (including supplier and currency conversion)
Simple acquisitions system for the smaller library
Ability to cope with any number of branches, patrons,
patron categories, item categories, items, currencies and
other data
Serials system for magazines or newspapers
Reading lists for members
2. NewGenLib
NewGenLib (New Generation Library) is an Integrated Library
Automation and Networking Solution Developed by Verus Solutions
Pvt Ltd and The Kesavan Institute of Information and Knowledge

Management, India. In March 2005, NewGenLib version 1.0 was
released and versions 2.0 and 2.1 came up later. On 9th January
2008, NewGenLib has been declared Open Source Software under
GNU GPL Licence by the Verus Solutions Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad, India.
Currently, NewGenLib 3.0.4 is the latest running version. It is
estimated that 2,500 libraries across 58 countries are using
NewGenLib as their Primary integrated library management
system.
Features
Functional modules are completely web based. Uses Java
Web Start™ Technology
Compatibility - Complies with international metadata and
interoperability standards: MARC-21, MARC-XML, z39.50,
SRU/W, OAI-PMH
Uses chiefly open source components
Scalable, manageable and efficient
OS independent - Windows and Linux flavors available
z39.50 Client for federated searching
Internationalized application (I18N)
Unicode 4.0 complaint easily extensible to support other
languages
Data entry, storage, retrieval in any (Unicode 3.0) language
RFID integration
Networking – Hierarchical and Distributed networks
Automated email/instant messaging integrated into different
functions of the software
Form letters are configurable and use XML-based Open Office
templates
Extensive use of set up parameters enabling easy

configuration of the software to suit specific needs, e.g., in
defining patron privileges
Supports multi-user and multiple security levels
Allows digital attachments to metadata
3. Evergreen
Evergreen ILS is another option when researching open source
ILS options. Evergreen was developed by the Georgia Public Library
Service (GPLS) to support 252 public libraries in the Public
Information Network for Electronic Services (PINES) consortium.
Development began in June 2004 when state librarian Lamar Veatch
announced in an open letter that after reviewing options available,
GPLS decided to develop its own library automation system. GPLS
believed it could develop a system customized to fit it needs better
at a lower cost than the fees currently being paid. Programmers in
the GPLS developed the project for two years, and PINES
successfully completed the transition to Evergreen in September
5, 2006. In the next two years, the PINES consortium increased to
over 270 libraries and five other systems in the United States and
Canada implemented Evergreen.
Features
Development priorities for Evergreen are that it be stable, robust,
flexible, secure, and user-friendly. Evergreen’s features include:
Circulation: for staff to check items in and out to patrons
Cataloging: to add items to the library’s collection and
input information, classifying and indexing those items.
Online public access catalog (OPAC): a public catalog, or
discovery interface, for patrons to find and request books,
view their account information, and save book information in
Evergreen “book bags.”
The OPAC received a makeover in early 2009 with the new,
optional skin, Craftsman.
Acquisitions: for staff to keep track of those materials

purchased; invoices, purchase orders, selection lists, etc.
Statistical Reporting: flexible, powerful reporting for retrieval
of any statistical information stored in the database.
SIP 2.0 support: for interaction with computer management
software, self-check machines, and other applications.
Search/Retrieve via URL and Z39.50 servers
Evergreen also features the Open Scalable Request Framework
(Open SRF, pronounced ‘open surf’), a tasteful, decentralized service
architecture that allows developers to create applications for
Evergreen with a minimum of knowledge of its structure.
4. SENAYAN
Senayan is an open source Library Management System. It is
built on Open source technology like PHP and MySQL. Senayan
provides many features such as Bibliography database, Circulation,
Membership and many more that will help “automating” library tasks.
As a complete Library Managements System, SENAYAN has many
features that will help library and librarian to do their job done
easily and quickly.
Features
Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) with thumbnail
document image support (can be use for book cover), Simple
Search and Advanced Search mode
Documents record detail in XML format
Bibliographic/catalog database management with book cover
image support
Document items database management
Master Files management to manages document referential
data such as GMD, Collection Types, Publishers, Authors,
Locations, Authors and Suppliers
Circulation support with following sub-features :
Loan and Return transaction

Collections reservation
Quick return
Configurable and flexible Loan Rules
Membership management
Stock Taking module to help Stock-taking process in library.
Reporting and Statistics
System modules with following sub-features:

Global system configuration
Modules management
Application Users and Groups management
Holiday settings
Barcodes generator utility
Database backup utility
Data import/export
Z39.50 support, including SRU
MARC import ( SLIMS5 )
5. ABCD
ABCD (Automation of Libraries and Documentation Centers) is
a fully integrated library automation system based on ISIS-technology
as the underlying database. It encompasses all main functions of
ILS: cataloging, OPAC, Loans, Acquisitions, Statistics, but adds a
‘Site’ (with CMS built in) for easy production of a library website
with integrated meta-search. As a special feature it is to be mentioned
that ABCD allows creation by system managers but using the ABCD-
interface itself to create any bibliographic structure along with the
pre-defined ones (MARC21, UNIMARC, CEPAL). This makes the
system very flexible and versatile for use in documentation centers
with non-standard database-structures or for non-bibliographical

applications such as events or experts databases. Both the standard
loans-module and the ‘Advanced Loans’ module (which adds external
links with SQL databases) can deal with several catalogs and catalog-
structures. In an upcoming version 2.0 of ABCD
Also a ‘digital library’ feature will be included, offering
possibilities to build collections of documents (PDF, DOC...) with
full-text indexing.
Features
ABCD is built with such technologies as ISIS database, ISIS
formatting language, CISIS, ISIS Script, ISIS NBP, Java Script, Groovy
and Jetty, PHP, MySQL, Apache, and YAZ. Here is a list of major
features of ABCD:
The software is fully web-based, so, it can be used and
managed from any current web-browser.
All main functions of the library management are integrated
by using the same interface and databases.
Bibliographic records can be imported from external library
catalogs / servers through Z39.50 facilities.
Full MARC 21 compatibility with fields, indicators, and
subfields defined by Library of Congress.
OPAC with simple Google-like search as well as advanced
search with Boolean operators, truncation, and field-limitation
for all kind of databases, locally created or external.
Access to both physical and electronic documents (local or
on the internet) with the same interface.
Library staff can define, copy or edit any new database
structure with existing ISIS-applications such as MARC,
CEPAL, UNIMARC, and Dublin Core.
Available in many languages like English, French, Spanish,
Portuguese while more language versions are on the way.
Import and export data in ISO-2709 format or text-format.
Contents and bibliographic resources, both local and external,

can be added easily without HTMLprogramming.
The basic loan module offers detailed definition of objects
and users categories and policies for each combination, fine
calculation and calendar definitions, etc., while the advanced
module adds reserve, “my library” page, multiple loan policy
definitions, and access to external SQL-based user-data.
Excellent serials management with a fully implementation of
the ISSN standard and union catalog function.
Statistical report generation with graphical presentation of
any defined set of variables in the databases.
6. BiblioteQ
BiblioteQ strives to be a professional cataloging and library
management suite, utilizing a Qt 4.x interface and providing
connectivity to PostgreSQL and SQLite. The Z39.50 protocol is used
for retrieving data for books, journals, and magazines. The software
is available for all major operating systems and should be compatible
with any system that supports Qt.
Features
Administrator roles.
Cataloging of books, DVDs, journals, magazines, music CDs,
and video games.
Cover images with drag and drop support.
Customizable displays.
Customizable item data, pricing information, and currencies.
Embedded hyperlinks for localized searches of similar items.
Exporting of views to CSV files.
Free and Open Source technology.
Front cover image retrieval via Amazon.
Internationalization (translation) support. BiblioteQ currently

supports the Czech, Dutch, English,
German, and Greek languages.
Item reservation histories for patrons.
Item reservation.
Listings of overdue items, requested items, and reserved items.
Patron information.
PostgreSQL accounts with various privileges.
Print support.
Rich search capabilities, including custom SQL queries.
Support for multiple Z39.50 sites.
Support for requesting unavailable items.
Threaded data retrieval via the standard Z39.50 protocol for
books, journals, and magazines.
Transactional database queries.
True PostgreSQL and SQLite pagination.
Uniform functionality across various platforms.
Conclusion
The Library & Information Science (LIS) professionals should
keep eyes on development in order to choose appropriate technology
depending upon Institution’s needs. Since, numbers of libraries
worldwide are using OSS for managing their library systems more
economically and effectively. Librarians and programmers should
worked together in order to implement open source integrated library
systems and at the same time, library professional are also required
to acquire new skills for developing and managing the library by
using open source LMS. For taking benefit from OSS additional
technology, education, and training of the professionals is essentially
required.
References
Lochhaas, Sherry. & Moore Melisa. Open Source Software
Libraries. Retrieved Form http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/
viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=bsides
Randhawa, Sukhwinder. Open Source ibrary management
software’s. Retrieved Form https://
arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/bitstream/10150/
299575/1/Open%20Source%20Library%20Management%
20Softwares.pdf
Sukhwinderm Randhawa. Open Source Software and
Libraries. Retrieved Form http://eprints.rclis.org/13172/1/
Open_Source_Software_and_Libraries.pdf
SourceForge . An Overview of Software for Libraries. Retrieved
Form http://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/tech/opensource/
open.pdf
IS OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE AN

IMPENDING THREAT TO CUSTOMIZE
SOFTWARE IN THE FIELD OF
LIBRARY AUTOMATION?
—Nilaranjan Barik and Rekha Singh
Abstract
Emergence of Open Source Software is a new ray of hope in the
field of library automation. It can be a gift to those libraries that have
financial constraints to procure customized software to automate their
libraries as per the changing demand of users and library environment.
This paper discusses the concept of OSS, how it differs from commercial
software which is widely available. Also discusses why and how OSS
can be a threat for customized software, particularly in the area of
library automation.
Keywords
OSS, NPL, PHP, GNU-GPL
Introduction
The popularity of open source software has captured the
imagination of developers, library information professionals and
computing enthusiasts across the globe. Open source software are
available free of cost and the users have freedom to use, contribute
the software without any restriction. Open source software is
beginning to have a long term effect on libraries. Smaller and medium
size libraries, which can not afford to buy commercial software due
to high price for library automation, now have the option to explore
open source library management software. The Linux operating
system, Apache web server, My SQL database management system
and PHP scripting language are leading examples of freely available

software that are used by LIS professionals to explore open source
library management software in the field of library automation.
Recently dozen of active OSS projects are engaged in development
of library management systems around the world.
Open Source Software: Concept

The free software definition was published in 1986 by Richard
Stallman, the then president of the free Software Foundation (FSF).
The definition codifies four essential freedoms that computer software
user should be entitled to:
The freedom to run the program for any purpose
The freedom to study how the program was and adapt it to
your needs
The freedom to redistribute copies , so you can help your
neighbor
The freedom to improve the program and review your
improvements to the public, so that the whole community
benefits
The Open Source Initiative in 1998 gave the definition of Open
Source Software, describing the following 10 criteria to be considered
as open source Free redistribution- The license must allow end users
to redistribute the software, even as part of larger software package
and may not charge royalties for this right.
Source Code- The distributer must make the source code
freely available to developers.
Derived Works- The license must permit modifications to be
made to the software for re distribution under the same
license.
Integrity of the Author’s source code- The license may require
that modified distribution be renamed, or that modifications
be made via patch files rather than modifying the source code.
No discrimination against persons or groups.
No discrimination against fields of endeavor- This includes

commercial or controversial endeavors.
Distribution of License- The same license must be passed on
to others when the program is redistributed.
License must not be specific to a product- A program may be
extracted from a larger distribution and used under the same
license.
License must not restrict other software- The license can not
prescribe the terms of other software with which it is
distributed.
License must be technology – neutral- The license can not
restrict the use of the program to any individual interface or
platform.
Though its source code is open to everybody, distributed without
royalty and license fee there is possibility of a library or any
organizations to avoid buying of a commercial software package.
Why Open Source Software

Open source software is freely distributed with the right to modify
the code and on the condition that redistribution is not restricted.
The emphasis on a collaborative and open effort is the key and more
important than the fact that the software itself may be free. Severe
budget cuts, increased demand for services, lack of adequate staffing
are the day to day problems and challenges in every library systems.
On the other hand it is no doubt adoption of software may lessen
the time and manpower employed in library operation, so the
alternative is open source software. Open source has been a
buzzword in the library community for several years now. We have
heard that open-source software is free, more reliable, more secure,
boasts faster development cycles, and is just plain cooler than
proprietary software. Here are just a few of the reasons why open
source is an especially attractive solution for libraries.
Reduce Costs
Open-source software is free. You pay only for the product
support and training (if any) that you need. When an open-source
user sponsors development of new functionality, the whole
community of users benefits. Open-source software extremely cost-
effective. Libraries using open-source software benefit from many
advanced technology solutions that they otherwise could not afford
to develop themselves yet they still have the option to steer
development if they. Moreover, since open-source software developers
like LibLime use a business model that relies on providing support
and training for software rather than selling the right to use the
software, the per-library support costs go down. Just think how you
can reallocate monies currently tied up in high annual licensing
fees.
Innovate and collaborate

Open source empowers libraries to innovate and collaborate.
Not only you can download and use open-source software for free,
you’re free to alter it in any way you see fit, and distribute the result
for free. This isn’t just a theoretical model: as you read this, libraries
worldwide are actively involved in improving open-source software.
In early 2002 NPL determined that in order to switch to Koha, an
open-source ILS, they would need to sponsor development of two
lacking features: MARC support and a Z39.50 server. At the time,
NPL didn’t have the resources to develop the MARC support in-
house, so they hired a professional software developer, Paul Poulain
(who was also the release manager for Koha 2.0). On the other hand,
NPL did have the means to develop the Z39.50 server for Koha.
Since NPL’s contributions, many libraries have benefited from the
MARC support as well as the Z39.50 server for Koha. In turn, NPL
would never have been able to sponsor those improvements had the
stable code-base not been available. If libraries like NPL are
collaborating together to develop software that suits them. Why not
we.
Choose your support

In a proprietary software development model, you pay high
license fees to use the software. If the vendor isn’t providing you
with adequate support or isn’t allowing you the freedom to customize
and improve the software to meet your needs, switching vendors
means switching software. And then there’s the matter of migrating
your data from one vendor to the next: with open-source software,
since all you’re paying for is support, switching to another service
provider or migrating to an in-house solution is simple. In fact, at
LibLime, if managing your library software in-house is an eventual
goal we can help you achieve that goal. Further, an open-source
software development model means that your data is YOUR data.
Our customers have unregulated access to all of their data all of the
time in standard formats at no additional charge.
The future is ‘open’

Open source in libraries has its challenges as well. Till now,
library software vendors have built their businesses around a
proprietary software development model, and, as a result, libraries
have been slow to adopt open source. Many libraries simply do not
have the in-house expertise to support open-source software
development, and also don’t have the ability to train staff on the use
of the new technologies. They rely on software vendors to provide
them with solutions. This is where LibLime comes in. We’re informing
libraries about the superiority of the open-source development model
so they can provide their patrons with better technology services,
faster and cheaper. And we make it possible for vendor-reliant
libraries to use open-source software by providing them with
outstanding support and training options.
Difference between Open Source Software and

Customized Software
A Customized Software refers to any software that is designed
for sale to serve a commercial need. It is usually a proprietary
software. Commercial software programs typically come in a physical
box, which is what you see displayed in retail stores. While it’s true
that the software boxes are not as big as they used to be, they still
contain the software CD or DVD and usually a “getting started”
manual along with a registration key used for registering the product.
Most commercial software programs ask that the user register the
program so the company can keep track of its authorized users.
Some commercial software programs, such as newer versions of
Microsoft and Adobe programs require the user to register the
programs in order to continue using them after30 days. While most
commercial software programs are sold in the physical box, many
software titles are now available as downloads. These downloads
are typically made available from the company’s website. The user
pays for the program directly on the website and instead of receiving
the software in the mail; the user downloads it to his computer.
Another popular way of purchasing commercial software online is
simply paying for a registration key, which unlocks the features of a
shareware program. This upgrades the shareware program to the
commercial version. But Open Source Software is quite different
from this. We can adopt it to overcome the limitations like severe
budget cuts and increased demand of services.
Lacuna Inherent In Open Source Software

Most open source software applications are not reliable
Although big multinational companies like IBM and Sun
Microsystems are backing the open source software movement there
are no great financial stakes involved and the motivation mostly
originates from a prevalent anti-Microsoft feeling. So there is no
clear-cut discipline in this field and everything is emotion driven.
Most of the developers and promoters of free source software believe
in an obscure, idealistic world where intellectual property rights do
not exist and software companies do not sell commercial software.
Hence most of the applications are not reliable and we cannot run
critical business operations on them.
No support exists for open source software

Once you decided to use open source software you try your own
to install and run it. You may get lots of help available on the internet
and there are many self-motivated forums that can help you .But
there is no physical qualified support available for you. You have to

figure out on your own how to install and use applications without
sabotaging your data and hardware. There is doubt you may loose
the years of data trying to make the sift from Window to Linux. Also
no help documents and manuals are made available since the
software is being changed every second week.
Higher installation costs

It is a total misconception that you save money by switching
over to open source software. More than 99% of PCs and laptops
come with Windows operating system preinstalled and very few open
source software applications adjust well with Windows. I don’t mean
to say that once we are stuck with Windows we shouldn’t try another
operating system; the incompatibilities are there just because nobody
cares for the quality of the software. After the installation — if at all
you can install it without destroying your digital resources — you
have to put lots of effort into integrating the applications and make
them give some decent output. Further, many open source software
applications depend on the whims and fancies of the developers
and they are not specifically developed by keeping the end user in
mind; so once you decide to use it you have to really figure out how
to excess various things. Sometimes even the menu conventions
are not followed.
Another great problem is that most of the open source
applications are incompatible with the present day gadgets. For
instance if you use some open source operating system you can
forget about the cool plug and play hardware that you have been
using for so many years. Sometimes people can’t even get their
modems working with open source operating systems.
Technical support too is costlier compared to commercial
software because people who provide support for free source and
open source software expect to earn lots of money providing support
and in fact this is the only revenue model perceived in favor of the
open source software movement.
No guarantee of updates
Since you are not paying for the open source software nobody is
bound to give you regular updates. You can get stuck with the same
old version for years without ever getting an update, on the other
hand logic says some buggy software is better than no software. For
instance, OpenOffice.org with all its quirks is far better than Microsoft
Office for those who cannot afford Microsoft Office and hence wouldn’t
have such a product if it were not for the OpenOffice.org providers.
Project taken by Indian libraries

In India Koha is gaining momentum. Kerala state is forefront in
using Koha for govt. libraries. Delhi public library has also adopted
Koha. A very important factor in the adoption of Open Source LMS
products by libraries involves the role of commercial companies.
IIM Ahmadabad is working closely with private partner to implement
Koha, which is a very significant development. It is a bold decision,
but once IIM Ahmadabad successfully implemented the Koha, others
will follow in replacing the commercial software and it will definitely
percolate to other major libraries in the country. In order to do so
professional in the country expect IIM A to share the customized
version of Koha which should be free to download to the entire library
community.
Similarly the demo version of the SOUL software with restriction
to create limited number of records is free. The new catalogue version
of SOUL 2.0 is freely downloadable from INFLIBNET website. So
Indian libraries are taking the benefit of open source software in the
field of library automation. But before we going to install in our
library system we must have competency to install other required
software (LAMP) LINUX, Apache and My SQL PHP. Also various
companies are providing support to install open source software
http://www.osslabs.biz/
OSS packages Available

These followings are the list of some freely available packages
along with website
1. Koha Open Source Library Systems (www.koha.org)

Claimed as world’s first free Open Source Library System made
in New Zealand by the Horowhenua Library Trust and Katipo
Communications Ltd. The Koha system is a full fledge system having
OPAC, circulation and acquisitions system.
To successfully use Koha one may need some additional software:
A web server (It was built to work with Apache, but there is no
reason it shouldn’t work with any other web server) Perl, MySQL
(You could instead use Postgres, or another SQL based database)
Perl Modules::Date::ManipDBIDBD::Mysql (or whatever database
system you use) Authen-DBI (if you want to use Database based
authentication)CDK (for the Telnet interface)Which in turn depends
on the CDK libraries, http://www.vexus.ca/products/CDK
2. NewGenLib (www.verussolutions.biz/web)
The most widely used free software license, GNU General Public
License (GNU GPL) v3. The software NewGenLib, an Integrated
Library Management System, is freely available as open source which
was developed over a 4 year joint effort between a professional
charitable trust, Kesavan Institute of Information and Knowledge
Management (KIIKM) and a fledgling software development company,
Verus Solutions Pvt. Limited (VSPL), both in Hyderabad, India. Before
becoming an open source product at the end of 2007, it was already
in use in 122 libraries, mainly in India but also including installations
in Syria, Sudan and Cambodia. However, after licensing the software
commercially since 2003, KIIKM and VSPL decided that the software
should be made open source.
3. Evergreen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Evergreen_(software) or (www.open-ils.org)
Evergreen, the highly scalable software for libraries that helps
library patrons to find library materials and helps libraries to manage
catalog and circulate those materials. It was first launched in
September, 2006 in Georgia’s PINES Consortium, now powers over
300 libraries of every type public, academic, special, school, and
even tribal and home libraries in over a dozen countries worldwide.
Evergreen has been freely licensed under the GNU GPL.
4. PMB (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMB)
PMB is an open-source integrated library system available in
several languages (French, English etc.). It makes use of Apache,
MySQL and PHP. It can be hosted on Windows, Mac OSX or Linux
computer. Users only need a web client. PMB v2 provides the
following modules: catalogue, circulation (loan), authorities, D.S.I.,
OPAC web). PMB is UNIMARC compliant. Falcon provides complete
support & Services for PMB library Information System.
5. Athenaeum Light (www.sumware.co.nz/athenaeum/

athlight.htm)
Athenaeum Light can handle large catalogues and manage
borrower lists easily. As per its developer it is meant for school
libraries. As of now its limit of records is 50000. It is available for
both Windows and Macintosh. It can even be used in the multi-user
environment.
6. Avanthi Circulation Systems (www.nslsilus.org/

~schlumpf/avanti)
The Avanti circulation system is a simple, scalable, net workable,
client/server circulation system that can be deployed in small to
medium scale libraries. The end product will be modular: consisting
of a system core, circulation module, minimal OPAC, and network
and user interfaces. The entire system is written in Java. Avanti
0.3.1 was developed using the Blackdown JDK v1.1.7 on a Linux
system with the Servlet classes being developed using the Apache
Jserv Servlet engine.
7. Emilda (www.emilda.org)
Emilda is a complete Integrated Library System that features
amongst others an OPAC, circulation and administration functions,
Z39.50 capabilities and 100% MARC compatibility. is achieved using
Zebra in conjunction with MySQL.
8. FireFly (http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/firefly/)
FireFly is a Complete Public Library System. It is being written
in Python, Perl, with all data being stored in XML. The driving force
behind this project is to give public libraries a Free-Software set to

run and maintain library systems.
9. Java Book Cataloguing System (www.sourceforge.net/

projects/jbiblioteca)
This software is primarily to create a Book Catalog using barcode
data from the freely available cuecat(tm) bar code reader. It will use
a RDBMS backend database, and allow synchronization between
different library branches.
10. ITIL Library Management System

(www.groupware.itil.com/lib-mgmt.htm)
Library Management System is a workflow application which
aims at automating various library functions encompassing Member
Registration, Requisitions for New Items & their Approval, Accession
& Cataloging of library items, Reservation/ Issue / Return of library
items, Order Generation and maintenance of details pertaining to
Inter-Library Loans, Bills, Orders and Vendors. It requires Lotus
Notes Domino server.
11. My librarian (www.sourceforge.net/projects/

mylibrarian)
This is a integrated suite of school library books management
software targeted at secondary schools. The language used is totally
Microsoft Visual BASIC 6.0 and Microsoft SQL 2000 server.
12. My library (www.dewey.library.nd.edu/mylibrary)

My Library is a user-driven, customizable interface to collections
of Internet resources-a portal. Primarily designed for libraries, the
system’s purpose is to reduce information overload by allowing
patrons to select as little or as much information as desired for their
personal pages.
13. OpenBiblio (www.obiblio.sourceforge.net)

Open Biblio is a open source library software written in PHP
containing OPAC, Circulation, Cataloguing and Staff administration.
It is good for small school and public libraries. It requires MySQL,

PHP and works on both Linux and Windows platforms.
14. Open Book Open Source Library System

(www.trfoundation.org/projects/openbook.htm)
Open Book is full feature open source library system developed
for use of small school and public libraries. It has been developed
based the original Koha open source library system of New Zealand.
At present it consists of three modules viz. OPAC, Cataloguing and
Circulation. In future includes Acquisition module too. All the
modules are web-interface based. It works on Linux O/S with Apache,
Perl and MySQL.
15. Open-ILS (www.open-ils.org)

It is website of an open source Integrated Library System (ILS),
named Evergreen. This software is being developed and maintained
by the Georgia Public Library Service for use by the Georgia Library
PINES Program, a consortium of 249 public libraries. This software
can be downloaded for free, and anyone can contribute to
development efforts.
16. PhpMyLibrary (www.phpmylibrary.sourceforge.net)

Php My Library is a open source web-based library software
having cataloguing, circulation, webopac, file management modules,
etc. It also supports import of data from ISIS databases. It requires
PHP and MYSQL.
17. Sean soft Library Loan Management System 1.17B

(www.seansoft.co.uk)
Useful software for something like a school library. Each student
can have a login, from which they loan books. Keeps track of weeks
loaned and will alert a supervisor of overdue books. Has a mail merge
facility to produce letters to individuals or a list for a notice board.
Also features backup and basic repair facilities for the database. It
requires VB5 Runtimes, DAO.
Conclusion
Though Open Source concept is one or two decade’s origin it
has taken a special place in the field of library automation. Most of
the small and financially weak libraries are taking front step to
accommodate this software. Like customized software it is most user
friendly and flexible. All or part of whole operations of a library can
be automated using it. More over 10 countries around the globe has
taken initiative to develop the software and run it at their own way.
Though it is not compatible in any environment librarian or the
organization has to take some pain and financial requirement to
setup this. Over all it can be a threat or challenge to customized
software in near future.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/open_source_software
http://www.infolibrarian.com/soft.htm#libra
http://blog.ecomsolutions.net/
http://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/docs/hacking.html
http://www.catb.org/~esr/open-source.html.
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-
point.html
Sharma, Srinarayan; Vijayan Sugumaran and Balaji
Rajagopalan (2002). “A framework for creating hybrid-open
source software communities” (PDF).
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR

LIBRARIES
—Sharad Kumar Sonker
Abstract
Due to advent of Information communication technology, scarcity
of budget, paucity of library resources, diverse expectations of users
related to access of information. The libraries are facing problems to
fulfil the diverse information requirement of the users. Internet has
treated the most important tool for finding information in the real world.
To provide relevant, exhaustive, expedite information related to query
of library users, one has to have knowledge, skills and implementation
techniques of information communication technology and its
components. To cope up with these problems and fulfill the diverse
information need of the users. The library and information centres
can be modernised their libraries activities and services using open
source software and electronic resources. The open source software
and e-resources offers tremendous opportunities to library and
information science professionals as well as computer science
professionals to contribute and utilised it. Open source software can
be used for the library automation; development of library portal, Digital
library, digital repository, etc. This paper describes the electronic
resources and most relevant open source software’s like KOHA,
Greenstone, e-print, D-space, Drupal, Moodle, Joomla etc which are
presently implemented in various institutions for performing diverse
activities related to library and information centres.
Keywords
Open Source Software, KOHA,DSpace,Drupal.
Introduction
Those documents which are in electronic form are said to be
electronic resources. These e-resources include e-books, e-journals,
e-periodicals, e-newspapers, e- conference proceedings, patents,
standard, manuals, portals, directories, subject gateways, software’s
etc. in the various formats. The development of e-resources happened
to enhance the print version and support online access. The
electronic resources are developed on the open source and
commercial platform. Internet supports to the development of library
and information centre in terms of library automation, online access,
database development, content management, archiving and
preservation through open source and commercial electronic
resources. Internet and open sources are providing an opportunity
to the software developers or programmers to utilize their skill and
knowledge in creation or enhancement of intellectual works available
on internet. It also facilitates library and information centres to
develop an open access environment through the open source
software’s such as Linux, Apache, KOHA, Drupal, Greenstone digital
library software, D-space, E-print, etc. Libraries are utilizing various
electronic resources to modernize their activities and services. They
are generally subscribing information sources in print as well as in
electronic forms. Most of the libraries are utilizing various open
source software and learning materials which are available on the
web to fulfil the user’s need. The open source concept started in
1998 instead of free. An open source resource contains the source
program with the original software so that the user community can
freely download, modify, distribute and charge for it. All open source
electronic resources come under the GNU/GPL license. It allows to
use, modify, and distribute or share free of cost without
discrimination of age, sex, group, nationality etc.
What is an Open source?

Those resources which come under the GNU/GPL (general public
license) are known as open source. It allows to general public to use
and modify and redistribute the source code or program to the
community under the same license.
According to Ken Coar the open source software should comply

with the following criteria.
It allows free redistribution.
The program should include source code.
It should allow to modifications and drive works.
Product should have integrity of author’s source code.
It should not bias against persons or groups.
No discrimination against fields of endeavour.
Distribution of license.
License must not be specific to a product.
License must not restrict other software.
License must be technology-neutral.
Neal Stephenson defined “open source”: Linux is “open source”
software meaning, simply, that anyone can get copies of its source
code files.
The state of Kansas published a similar definition:
OSS is software for which the source code is freely and publicly
available, though the specific licensing agreements vary as to what
one is allowed to do with that code.
List of Open Source Software

The various open source software’s are available on the internet
but some of them are listed in the following table.
Sr. No. Product Utility

1 Linux For Operating system
2 Open office For office work
3 PSPP For Statistical analysis
4 ClamWin Antivirus for System security
5 Amiti Antivirus for system security
6 Tesseract For OCR
7 PDF creator For converting PDF
8 PDFlight For converting PDF
9 Apache For Web server software
10 Mozilla Firefox For Web browser
11 W3C-Amaya For Web browser & editor
12 KOHA For Library Automation
13 Open Biblio For Library Automation
14 NewGenLib For Library Automation
15 Apache Lenya For Content management
16 Drupal For Content management
17 Joomla For Document management
18 Mysql For Database management
19 MediaWiki For Online Publishing
20 Open Journal Systems For Online publishing
21 Moodle For Course management system
22 ATutor For Learning Management system
23 Greenstone For Digital Library software
24 D-space For Repository system
25 e-print archive For Repository system
26 Fedora Commons For Repository system
27 Metadot Portal Server For Development of a Portal
28 eNdonesia 8.4 For Development of a Portal
29 DotNetNuke For Development of a Portal
Open office
Open office software is originally developed by sun micro system
and later it announce open source in the year 2000. It is free and
open source software which includes bundle of software for the day
today office needs. It includes word processing, spreadsheets,
database, graphics, and presentation and supported for multiple
language, and other vendors’ office software.
Linux
Linux is open source operating system software developed by
the Linus Torvalds. It is available on the internet. It can be
downloaded, used, modified and redistributed without any charges.
Some distributors are provided on CD-ROM and associated nominal
charges for it. Linux software is available in various flavours like
Red Hed, Fedora, ubantu etc. It is very powerful and secure open
source software which provides platform for the various programs
like web server, email server, database, word processor, spread sheet,
and many more.
PSPP
PSPP is software basically designed for statisticians, social
scientist and students for analysis of sampled data. It is stable,
reliable free and open source software which is substitute for the
SPSS programme. “It can perform descriptive statistics, T-tests,
anova, linear and logistic regression, cluster analysis, reliability and
factor analysis, non-parametric tests and more.” You need not to
worry about the purchase of additional software for the running
and advanced functions. This software provides graphical interface
and support multiple platform, never expires or deliberately stops
working in the future. it support a syntax and data files as compatible
with SPSS. The data can be import form the various file formats like
spretseet, text file, and data source etc. which can be received in
the various file format like text, postscript, pdf, open document or
html output formats.
Claim win
Clam win is free and open source antivirus software build for
Microsoft Windows 8/ 7 / Vista / XP / Me / 2000 / 98 and Windows
Server 2012, 2008 and 2003.it used by more than 600,000 users
worldwide and can be download by any one free of cost. It includes
many features like, High detection rates for viruses and spyware,
Scanning Scheduler, Automatic updated Virus Database, Standalone
virus scanner etc. It does not include real-time scanner so that one
need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware.
Amiti
Amiti is free and open source software distributed under GNU
GPL license. I t is used to protects against viruses, worm and
malware. It includes various features like real-time memory shield,
scheduling, automatic update, institutive interface, skin and
Multilanguage support etc.
Tesseract
Tesseract is probably the most accurate open source OCR engine
available. it support multiple platform. It can read a wide variety of
image formats and convert them to text in over 60 languages. Most
of the work on Tesseract is sponsored by Google.
PDF Lite
PDF lite is free and open source software which is used for PDF
viewer and PDF printer. You can convert word to PDF, JPG to PDF,
Images to PDF & more. It is support Multilanguage like used in
English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, Dutch, Japanese, and
many more languages.
PDF Creator
PDF Creator is Open Source software and licensed under the
terms of the Affero General Public License (AGPL) to give you the
maximum freedom, it an be download for the home, office and
workplace. It convert any printable document into the PDf , JPG,
PNG, TIFF and many other format. it allows you to control output to
achieve the required result.
Apache
The apache is most utilised web server software which is used
to develop and maintain HTTP servers for hosting the website or
contents which we want to provide access form the intranet or
Internet. It is most popular web server software on the web which
can be downloaded and utilized.
Mozilla Firefox
It is award-wining open source software which supports to tabs,
themes, pop-up blocking and customization. It is faster, secure and
reliable software that supports more than 35 languages of the world.
W3C-Amaya
Amaya is a Web browser and hypertext editor which can be
used for the creation and updating of documents directly on the
Web. Browsing features are seamlessly integrated with the editing
and remote access features in a uniform environment. It is basically
designed for embedded objects, style sheets, math, structured
graphics, etc.
KOHA
Koha is the world’s first free Open Source Library System licensed
under GNU public license. Made in New Zealand by the Horowhenua
Library Trust and Katipo Communications Ltd. Koha is an Integrated
Library Management system wich includes modules of Cataloguing,
OPAC, Circulation, Member Management and Acquisition.
OpenBiblio
Open Biblio is an open source software Integrated Library
automation system with features like easy to use and understanding.
It is very much suitable for the small libraries. It includes modules
for OPAC, circulation, cataloging, administration and report. It offers
cost effective library solution foe school and public libraries.
NewGenLib (NGL) is an outcome of collaboration between Verus
and Kesavan Institute of Information and Knowledge management.
It is an integrated Library management solution which is developed
and maintained by Verus Solutions and Kesavan Institute has

provided the domain expertise. It has all the options which required
for automate library activities and services.
MySQL
MySQL is an open source relational database management
system developed by MySQL AB. It is a commercial company funded
by MySQL developers. MySQL is a most popular database in the
world which is very fast, reliable, free form bugs, safe and easy to
use. It is work on embedded systems that is and provides support
through email.
D-Space
D-Space is open source software built-in to make digital
repository for digital material. Institutional repositories are designed
to collect, manage, distribute, and preserve the digital assets of an
organization D-Space is a standards-based system that implements
both the Open Archival Information Systems (OAIS) reference model
and the Open Archives Initiative’s Protocol for Metadata Harvesting
(OAI PMH). D-Space system was designed to support interoperation
with both other D-Space installations and other OAI-compliant
archives3.
Drupal
Drupal is a content management software package which is
available in free of cost on the internet. It basically concerns to
publish, manage and organize a large diversity of content on a
website. This software consists content management system, blogs,
collaborative authoring environments, forums, peer to peer
networking, newsletters, pod casting, picture galleries, file upload
and downloads.
Joomla
Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS),
which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online
applications. It is used for the various purposes in all over the
world to power Web sites of all shapes and sizes. It can be utilized
for development of the web sites, portals, online magazines,
newspapers, publications and Personal or family homepages, etc.
MediaWiki
Midiawiki is an online publishing software which is used for
development of online training, information literacy and custom
contents for optimum utilization of electronic resources.
Open Journal Systems

Open Journal Systems (OJS) is a funded project developed under
the public knowledge project. It is a Journal publishing and
management system which provides step by step procedure for online
refereed publishing process. It can be customised according to your
requirements for your open journal website.
Moodle
Moodle is a course management system which offers learning
platform to educators, administrators and learner with a single
robust, secure and integrated system. It is free software which is
designed to fulfil the requirement of teaching and learning. It can be
downloaded and installed onto your server by the educators and
used for creation of effective online learning. It has various features
like simple interface, free of cost, Multilanguage, highly flexible, etc.
ATutor
ATutor is a Web-based Learning Management System (LMS) used
to develop and deliver online courses. The librarian can download
and installed and customise according to your requirement.
“Educators can quickly assemble, package, and redistribute Web-
based instructional content, easily import pre-packaged content,
and conduct their courses online.”
Greenstone digital library

The Greenstone digital library software is an open-source system
for the construction and presentation of information collections. It
builds collections with effective full-text searching and metadata-

based browsing facilities that are attractive and easy to use. Moreover,
they are easily maintained and can be augmented and rebuilt entirely
automatically. The system is extensible: software “plugins”
accommodate different document and metadata types. Greenstone
incorporates an interface that makes it easy for people to create
their own library collections. Collections may be built and served
locally from the user’s own web server, or (given appropriate
permissions) remotely on a shared digital library host. End users
can easily build new collections styled after existing ones from
material on the Web or from their local files (or both), and collections
can be updated and new ones brought on-line at any time[4].
E-Prints archive
Open source software is a flexible platform for building high
quality, high value repositories. It is recognised as the easiest and
fastest way to set up repositories of research outputs of literature,
scientific data, theses and reports or multimedia artefacts from
collections, exhibitions and performances [5].
Metadot Portal Server

This is open source software which facilitates easy creation of
web portal with out having good knowledge about programming. It
offers collaboration, content management, online database
applications, etc. basically it is used to create web portals, intranets,
extranets, organization and project websites.
eNdonesia 8.4
It is a free and open source portal software. It’s easy to install
and manage. Just in a few minutes, you can have your own portal,
whether on internet, intranet, or your own PC. The portal program
comes in various module such as catalogue module, published
module, extra module etc.
DotNetNuke
This is open source web application framework ideal for creating,
deploying and managing interactive web, intranet and extranet sites.
It is very easy, powerful and user-friendly software which offers

various comprehensive supports for the web applications.
Utility of electronic resources

1. Open source software can be used for Teaching, learning and
scholarly research.
2. Applications of the Open source software in the library one
can enhance library services and activities.
3. Open source software offers opportunities to users as well as
developers of it.
4. Electronic resources are having remarkable effect on
information value chain.
5. Electronic resources are used for the modernization of the
libraries.
6. It can be used for optimum utilization of library resources.
7. The open source electronic resources can be used for the
content management.
8. They are supporting in archiving and preservation of cultural
and heritage knowledge.
9. Electronic resources can be utilized for the electronic
publishing.
10. Electronic resources are facilitating Information storage and
retrieval.
11. It supports fully automatic indexing system.
12. User training programme can be developed.
13. Open sources software is initiated online learning.
14. It facilitated database development activities in the
organisation.
15. Open source software reduces the labour, time, money and
generates harmony.
Conclusion
Open source initiatives have boosted the development of libraries
and information services in fashionable manner. It provides
opportunities to the libraries and computer science professionals to
enhance their skills. It made a revolution in information technology
fields in generation of software which can be utilized for various
purposes. In the present scenario most of the servers on the web
are running on the various open source software. Therefore, we
should involve in the contribution of open source software in terms
of implementation of them in our working place.
References
Amaya [http://www.w3.org/Amaya/]
Amiti [http://www.netgate.sk/products/amiti-antivirus/]
Apache: [http://www.apache.org/]
ATutor [http://www.atutor.ca/]
Clam win [ http://www.clamwin.com/]
DotNetNuke [http://www.dotnetnuke.com/]
Drupal [http://drupal.org/about]
D-Space: [http://www.dspace.org/]
Endonesia [http://www.endonesia.org/]
E-print archives [http://www.eprints.org/]
Greenstone: [http://www.greenstone.org/]
Ian H. Witten, David Bainbridge, Stefan J. Boddie. Greenstone:
Open-Source Digital Library Software. D-Lib Magazine,
Volume 7 Number 10, October 2001. http://www.dlib.org/
dlib/october01/witten/10witten.html
Joomla [http://www.joomla.org/technical-requirements.
html]
KOHA (http://www.koha.org/about-koha)
Linux software: [http://www.linuxsoftware.org/]
MacKenzie Smith: DSpace: An Open Source Institutional
Repository for Digital Material. D-Lib Magazine, Volume 8
Number 10, October 2002. http://www.dlib.org/dlib/
october02/10inbrief.html
Metadot Portal Server [http://www.metadot.com/]
Moodle [https://moodle.org/]
Mozilla Firefox [http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/]
MY SQL [http://www.mysql.com/]
NewGenLib [http://www.newgenlib.com/]
Open Journal System [http://openjournalsystems.com/]
Open Source Links [http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd]
Openbiblio: [http://www.eifl.net/openbiblio]
Open-Source Software for Libraries
[http://creativelibrarian.com/library-oss/]
PDF lite [http://www.pdflite.com/]
Pdfcreator [http://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator]
PSPP [http://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/]
Richard Stallman, Why “Open Source” misses the point of
Free Software [http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-
misses-the-point.html]
Tesseract [https://code.google.com/p/tesseract-ocr/]
The open office: the Leading open source office software suite
[http://www.openoffice.us.com/]
OPEN SOURCE VIDEO

CONFERENCING SOFTWARE:
TOOL FOR DIGITAL REFERENCE
SERVICES IN LIBRARIES
—Vilas G. Jadhav
Abstract
In the age of information communication technology, librarians
are constantly exploring various ways and means of supporting users
through web-based services. One of the innovative services being
developed by libraries today is digital reference service (DRS) to satisfy
the virtual community. This paper discusses video conferencing as an
important tool for digital reference in today and comingfuture for the
library and information centres. DRS, with particular reference to video
conferencing are one of the services which connect users at different
geographical locations so they can communicate, interacts and gets
the required information virtually. The paper explains the video
conferencing solutions and open source software (OSS) tools of video
conferencing, Dimdim, Ekiga, BigBlueButton, VMukti, Openmeetings
etc., are applicable for digital reference. It is concluded that using
open source video conferencing software reference librarians can
communicate by simultaneous two-way video and audio transmissions
to answer the queries received through online. It will become a ‘visual
collaboration’ within librarian community and library users.
Keywords
Digital Reference Service, Open Source Software, Video
Conferencing, Video Conferencing Software.
Introduction
The rapid growth of information on the Internet can often be
confusing, and frequently offers too much choice. Web portals or
gateways alone do not help in the search for sources. Users looking
for a quick, clear path through what’s on offer require more direct
guidance from information professionals. Digital reference replicates
in the digital library environment what is most valued in the physical,
especially public, environment: personalized guidance in the
gathering and selection of the best resources. Although this new
type of service poses a challenge to more traditional library service
delivery, successful integration of the new and old models provide
users with the consistent support necessary in navigating the digital
environment (Berube, 2003).
Video conferencing is one of the technologies which, connects
users at different geographical locations so that they can
communicate, interact, and get digital reference service from any
corner of the world. This connection is accomplished through audio
and video links, which enable face-to-face and voice-to-voice
communication with information professionals and users.
Connections are made using specialized equipment and those
connections are carried over wiring using the Internet, satellite
connections, or microwave signals (Mahalakshmi and Nirmala, 2005).
Videoconferencing provides information professionals and users with
the opportunity to expand guidance in providing and selecting the
best resources from the library.
Digital Reference Services

One of the fastest growing and most innovative services being
developed by libraries today is digital reference (McClure et al., 2002).
Such services refer to a network of expertise, intermediation and
resources put at the disposal of a user seeking answers in an online/
networked environment. A digital reference transaction occurs when
a question is received electronically and responded to electronically.
The development and implementation of digital reference services
has received wide attention during the recent past. Many libraries
are now providing digital reference service, either as an integrated
component of their regular reference service, as a separate service,
or as part of a collaborative consortium.
Definitions of digital reference services (DRS)

The terms digital reference services, web-based reference services
and electronic reference services are used interchangeably as terms
with similar meaning (Su, 2002)). Following are some of the useful
definitions of DRS:
According to IFLA Digital Reference Guidelines (2003) “The terms
“virtual reference,” “digital reference,” “e-reference,” “Internet
information services,” “live reference” and “real-time reference” are
used interchangeably to describe reference services that utilize
computer technology in some way…”
Generally speaking, digital, virtual or live reference refers to
transactions in real-time, using chat and video-conferencing, for
example. Online, digital, electronic reference includes email and web
form transactions. However, these distinctions are quite often blurred
and overlap.
According to Berube (2003) the DRS have the following elements:
(1) The user,
(2) The interface (e-mail, web form, chat, videoconference, etc.),
(3) The library professional, and
4) Electronic resources (including electronic or CD-based
resources, web resources, local digitized materials, etc.), as
well as print resources.
Types of Digital Reference Services:

The digital reference services can be broadly divided in to three
main categories (Maharana and Panda, 2005). The following figure
exhibits the various types of digital reference services currently in
practice.
Figure 1: Topology of Digital Reference Services
DIGITAL REFERENCE SERVICES
Asynchronous Synchronous Collaborative

Network
E-mail Chat
Library
Consortia
Webform Video Conferencing
or Web-Cam Services
Ask a Service Digital Reference Robots
Online Path Finders Real Time Reference
Video Conferencing/Web-Cam Services

Videoconferencing uses audio and video telecommunications to
bring people at different sites together. This can be as simple as a
conversation between people in private offices (point-to-point) or
involve several (multipoint) sites in large rooms at multiple locations.
Besides the audio and visual transmission of meeting activities, allied
videoconferencing technologies can be used to share documents and
display information on whiteboards. Technological developments by
videoconferencing developers in the 2010s have extended the
capabilities of video conferencing systems beyond the boardroom
for use with hand-held mobile devices that combine the use of video,
audio and on-screen drawing capabilities broadcasting in real-time
over secure networks, independent of location. Mobile collaboration
systems now allow multiple people in previously unreachable
locations, such as workers on an off-shore oil rig, the ability to view
and discuss issues with colleagues thousands of miles away.
Traditional videoconferencing system manufacturers have begun
providing mobile applications as well, such as those that allow for
live and still image streaming (Wikipedia, 2014).
Video Conferencing or web cam service comes under the

synchronous transaction category, because it takes place in ‘real
time’ with an immediate response to the query. Video conferencing
uses telecommunications of audio and video to bring people at
different sites together for a meeting. This can be like conversation
between two people or with more than one person at different sites.
Besides audio and visual transmission of people, it can be used to
share documents and computer based information. In the library
and information centre, video conferencing can provide cross-library
links, and value-added services such as chat reference, web-cam
services for users. Video Conferencing is an excellent media for
sharing and effective usage of not only the digital reference service,
but also to share expertise of specialists in their respective subject
fields. A good example: videophones and 3G phones are now widely
used by deaf people in this country to communicate with each other
and with hearing people through video relay services. Here is the
videoconferencing layout in the Figure 2.
Figure 2: Video Conferencing layout
In the context of the digital reference scenario videoconferencing

is a platform, or an all-in-one solution which, made up of multiple
tools offering different ways for library professionals and clients in
different geographical locations to communicate, interact and work
with each other online. When we hear the word “online” nowadays,
we immediately think of the world of Web browsers, such as Internet
Explorer and Firefox. This adds another plank to our conceptual
videoconferencing platform. All the tools must work in Internet
Explorer, Firefox, and other popular Web browsers. There should
be no annoying wait times for software to download. Instead,
reference librarian and users must be able to join online anywhere
and anytime, using any computer with a web browser.
Capabilities of Video Conferencing

Videoconferencing enables virtual visits to the library users with
the opportunity to get information by participating in two-way
communication forums. Based on this understanding, the list of
capabilities of videoconferencing platform is made. The list includes:
Live video/audio conference
Online chat (Instant Messaging)
Remote presentation/annotation (PowerPoint, whiteboard)
Remote collaboration (Desktop sharing, software, documents/
projects)
File sharing (Share and present documents)
Video recording/archiving.
Tools Required for Video Conferencing

There are some special requirements for videoconferencing:
i. Hardware Requirements
Computer (PC) with fast processor speed and large RAM
Video camcorder (which requires a video capture card for PC)
Speakers
Microphone
ii. Internet Connection Requirements

ISDN or
ADSL or
Two-way cable modem or
Other high speed broadband connections
iii. Software
There are many softwares available in the market for
videoconferencing, some of them are commercial (CUSeeMe and
Microsoft NetMeeting) and some of them are open source. Some
leading open source videoconferencing softwares are being used over
the Internet and becoming popular are Dimdim, Ekiga,
BigBlueButton, VMukti and Openmeeting.
Open Source Video Conferencing Software’s

Basically open-source software (OSS) is computer software that
is available in source code form for which the source code and certain
other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided
under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve
and at times also to distribute the software.
In the context of open source video conferencing, this can provide
for several advantages which are realized when a significant user-
base collaborates to provide ongoing enhancements and support to
the community of users. In addition to potential cost benefits, there
are advantages in terms of reliability, scalability, stability, flexibility
and control.
Open Source Video Conferencing solutions

There are open source video conferencing solutions available
today and depending upon individual needs various features are
available in such software. Some of the open source video
conferencing software’s are described below:
1. Dimdim Open Source (www.dimdim.com)

Dimdim is an open source web meeting product with features
like application, desktop and presentation sharing with audio and
video conferencing and chat. No attendee installation – all features
are available through a web browser. Dimdim can be integrated with
Moodle. Moodle is acronym of Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic
Learning Environment which is a free and open-source e-learning
software platform.
Figure 3: Dimdim Open Source web meeting layout
2. Ekiga (www.ekiga.org)
Ekiga (formally known as GnomeMeeting) is an open source Voice
over Internet Protocol (or VoIP) and video conferencing application
for GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment). Ekiga is the
first Open Source application to support H.323 and SIP protocols
which, provides audio-visual communication sessions on any packet
network. Ekiga also supports to the commercial or Open Source IP
(Internet Protocol) PBX (Private branch exchange).
Figure 4: Ekiga video conferencing application layout
It supports many free audio and video codecs, and is

interoperable with other SIP compliant software and also with
Microsoft NetMeeting, Windows Messenger, SJPhone, Eyebeam, X-
Lite, etc. It supports all major features defined by those protocols
like call hold, call transfer, call forwarding, etc. It also supports
basic instant messaging, and has advanced support for NAT traversal.
Ekiga has been designed for the GNOME desktop but it works very
well with the KDE desktop too. For example, Ekiga provides an
animated icon automatically added in the KDE system tray.
3. BigBlueButton (www.bigbluebutton.org)
BigBlueButton is an active open source project that focuses on
usability, modularity, and clean design both for the user and the
developer. The project is hosted at Google code. BigBlueButton is
built by combining over fourteen open source components.
BigBlueButton supports sharing of slides (PDF and PPT), video,
whiteboard, chat, voice (using Asterisk or FreeSWITCH), and
desktops.
Figure 5: BigBlueButton video conferencing layout
It’s built using over fifteen open source components, runs on

Mac, Unix, and PC computers, and is supported by a community
that cares about good design and a streamlined user experience.
4. VMukti (www.vmukti.com)
VMukti is Social, Web 2.0, SaaS (Software as a Service), Peer-
to-peer, & VoIP Open Source multi-Party Conferencing (like video
and web conferencing) Broadcasting , Collaboration platform for Web
& Mobile users Video/ Audio/ Presence & Content. VMukti provide
facility for reference librarian and users to connect and meet virtually
for an online interactive discussion.The shared web conferencing
environment enables them to communicate synchronously using
video and audio streaming or through text chat, and to share
presentations, documents and images on an interactive whiteboard.
5. OpenMeetings (http://code.google.com/p/
openmeetings/)
OpenMeetings is free browser-based software that allows you to
set up instantly a conference in the Web. You can use your
microphone or webcam, share documents on a white board, share
your screen or record meetings. It is available as hosted service or
you download and install a package on your server with no limitations
in usage or users.
Figure 7: OpenMeetings layout
Conclusion
It is concluded that open source videoconferencing software are
cost effective tools that allows two or more locations to communicate
by simultaneous two-way video and audio transmissions. With
emergence of new technologies in libraries videoconferencing tools
will play a vital role in providing personal assistance in DRS . As the
videoconferencing software has made distribution, and sharing of
information much easier than what was a decade ago, it has
reeducated the time, processes and geographical limitations of the
library community and library patrons for accessing digital reference
service, which would otherwise have been taken very long time. This
paper has provided details and practices of the open source video
conferencing software for the purpose of reference service, which
has opened a world of face-to-face and voice-to-voice communication
and vast tracts of easily accessible information to the remote users.
Librarians as well as their institutions must be prepared to deal
proactively with these technological forces reshaping the reference
service environment.
References
Berube, L. (2003). ‘Digital reference overview: an issue paper
from the Networked Services Policy Task Group.’ Available at
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/public/nsptg/virtual/. Accessed
March 24, 2014.
BigBlueButton open source project’. http://
www.bigbluebutton.org. Accessed June 22, 2014.
Dimdim open source web meeting’. http://www.dimdim.com.
Accessed March 12, 2014.
Ekiga video conferencing application’. http://www.ekiga.org.
Accessed May 23, 2014.
IFLA digital reference guidelines.’ Available at
http:www.ifla.org/VII/s36/pubs/drg03.htm. Accessed March
23, 2014.
Mahalakshmi K. and Nirmala J. (2005) ‘Education through

Video Conferencing with Special Reference to Engineering
Colleges in Coimbatore District: A Proposal’ Available at http:/
/library.igcar.gov.in/ readit-2005/ conpro/info_mgt/s2-
11.pdf. Accessed March 24, 2014.
Maharana, Bulu and Panda, K. C. (2005). Virtual Reference
Services in Academic Libraries: a Case Study of the Libraries
of IIMs and IITs in India. Available at : http://eprints.rclis.org/
9358/ 1/virtual_reference_service.pdf. Accessed March 21,
2014.
McClure, C. R., Lankes, R. D., Gross, M. and Choltco-Devlin
(2002). Statistics, measures and quality standards for
assessing digital reference library services: guidelines and
procedures. New York: Syracuse University. Available at:
http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Publications/Books/
Quality.pdf
Open source software’. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Open-source_software. Accessed May 24, 2014.
Open source video conferencing’. Available at: http://
www.opensource-it.com/enterprise _solutions/
open_source_video_conferencing. Accessed March 20, 2014.
OpenMeeting free browser-based software’. http://
code.google.com/p/openmeetings/. Accessed April 24, 2014.
Su, S. S. (2002). ‘Web-based reference services: the user
intermediary interaction perspective.’ In Gorman, G. E. (2002).
The digital factor in library and information services. London:
Facet Publishing: 185-207.
Vmukti open source video conferencing software’ http://
www.vmukti.com. Accessed March 24, 2014.
Wikipedia ( 2014). Videoconferencing available at: http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videoconferencing#cite_note-13
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT (CRM) IN LIBRARY
AND INFORMATION CENTRES:
A STUDY
—D.Meher and S.K. Satpathy
Abstract
Earlier, the purpose of visiting libraries for people were mostly to
read or issue the library materials, hence they were termed as “ readers
of library”. Later on with the introduction of e-resources in libraries,
the term “reader” was changed to “user of library”. But with the
development of Internet and various Information Communication (IT)
tools, users could get their required information not only from libraries
but also from various informal and formal sources. Realizing users
are not dependents on library, marketing aspect of information came
into existence where the visitors to libraries remain no longer as readers
or users, and they became customers of library services. Accordingly
concept of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) entered into the
library environment. This paper defines Customer and CRM in the
context of library. Discusses the objectives of CRM. Critically analyses
the steps involved in CRM .Concludes with the remarks that that if
the library and information professionals would consider adopting
this management strategy in their Libraries and Information centers,
an era of customer-centric library services may be witnessed.
Keyword
Customer, Customer Relationship Management, Library
Management, Library, Library & Information Centers.
Introduction
Information has been recognized as a significant component for
the development of an individual, society and nation, which has
necessitated the libraries and information centres to use modern
information and communication technologies in its processing,
redesigning, storage and retrieval. All these activities in a library
are undertaken only to satisfy the users specified by the parent
body. Earlier, the purpose of visiting libraries for people were mostly
to read or issue the library materials, hence they were termed as “
readers of library”. Later on with the introduction of e-resources in
libraries, the term “reader” was changed to “user of library”. But
with the development of Internet and various Information
Communication (IT) tools, users could get their required information
not only from libraries but also from various informal and formal
sources. Realizing users are not dependents on library, marketing
aspect of information came into existence where the visitors to
libraries remain no longer as readers or users, and they became
customers of library services. To retain those customers as loyal
visitors to libraries and to promote the information products and
services, many strategies in management arena are being undertaken
by libraries and information centers. Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) is one of those strategies.
The Internet has emerged as a low cost, low latency and high
bandwidth customer communication channel. Its interactive nature
provides an organization the ability to enter into a close, personalized
dialog with individual customers. The simultaneous maturation of
data management technologies like data warehousing, and data
mining, have created the ideal environment for making customer
relationship management (CRM) a much more systematic effort than
it has been in the past(Srivastava, Wang, Lim, & Hwang, 2002).
Developing customer relationships has historical antecedents
going back into the pre-industrial era. Another force driving the
adoption of CRM has been the total quality movement. When
organisations embraced the TQM philosophy to improve quality and
reduce costs of goods and services they generated, it became
necessary to involve supplier and customers in implementing the
programme at all levels of the value chain. This created the need for
closer working relationships with customers, suppliers and other

members of the marketing infrastructure. Thus several companies
such as Motorola, IBM, General Motors, Xerox, Ford and Toyota
formed partnering relationships with suppliers and customers to
practice TQM(Charantimath, 2012).
Review of literature
Users in every generation and in every stage have always wanted
access to library resources. Kotler and Fox state that “the best
organization in the world will be ineffective if the focus on ‘customers’
is lost (Grant & Anderson, 2002) . It has been important to know
that libraries were there to be used when required, although it was
not necessary to visit them very often. The question facing us today
is whether the mission libraries have performed in the past is still
relevant in today’s world (Perng, Wang &Chieu, 2009).
The concept of the CRM perspective to the field of LIS includes
a marketing approach intended to improve library effectiveness,
instructions for increasing user satisfaction. Such notions have only
been utilized in the field of business administration, but not in the
target field (LIS). In our approach, we viewed library users as
“customers” who seek satisfaction from the marketplace, i.e., “library”
(Wang, 2012). Customer relationship management (CRM) has
emerged as a proactive business process that encapsulates people,
process and technology in unification to create an environment of
conjugal transaction between the service provider and the recipient,
which surpasses the transactional model of marketing. Automation
in service designing and delivery process has redefined the perceived
service quality dimensions and their significance to influence the
behavioral outcomes of the consumers, with specific reference to
attitudinal loyalty and propensity to switch (Bakshi & Parida, 2013).
Proactive institutions are now adjusting their practices by refocusing
their efforts externally, turning to technology and this time to CRM.
Some libraries have established liaison outreach programs in an
attempt to get to know users better while also providing them with
a greater amount of information about library program and services
(Udani 2013).Most libraries have several databases. They have a
basic database system that tracks their customers’ names, addresses,
phone numbers, and checkout history. They have one that tallies
fines and another tracks library holdings. At a very basic level, these
are beginning CRM solutions. However, more sophisticated single
CRM application can bring significant benefits to a library and make
data much easier to manage (Kroski, 2013).
Who is a customer?
Webster defines a customer as “one that purchases a commodity
or service”. This definition talks of an interface between the seller
and the customer who are two different entities. Here, customers
are beyond the bound of an organization.Customer is “recipient of a
product or service provided by a supplier,” Bauer, Duffy,
&Westcott(2006)make clear.
How powerful a customer is? It is well answered by Sam Walton,
the founder of Wal-Mart as “there is only one boss—the customer.
And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on
down simply by spending his money somewhere else” (Bauer, Duffy,
& Westcott, 2006).
An assembly line worker’s customer is the one to whom he
provides goods or services. A planning manager’s customer is the
production manager.
Commodity Purchase Transaction

or Customer
Service Provider
Figure 1 Traditional Company/Organisation and Customer

Relationship (Source: Joseph &Berk, 1995, p.23)
“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises; He
is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an
interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider
in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by
serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to
do so.”——Mahatma Gandhi (n. d.).
Above Mahatma Gandhi quote we understand value and
importance of customer. Now we are in 21st century here customer
are king. There is no monopoly in any type of organization. There is
a heavy competition of all kind of organization for promoting goods

and services, there are spend cores of rupees for advertisement and
customer relationship management.
Library is the organization based on users. We must keep our
reputation and getting loyalty from users. Now our ultimate aim is
keep our regular users and mobilizing new users of library and
optimum utilization of our library resources (Suresh).
In library pitch, we are very familiar of calling the persons who
coming to library for some purpose as readers, visitors, users and
clienteles for until it is end decade of twentieth century. ‘Viewing
users as customers and as an individual was mentioned first by
Millson-Martula and Menon in 1995’ (cited in (Perng et al).Anybody
who is coming to library for a purpose of reading; for the purpose of
having a visit, for taking some ideas on library; for having some
information for a given purpose; using library facilities—using an
electronic gadget; they were called clienteles from a client (receiver
of service) and server (library staff as necessary provider of service)
point of view. But, still the clienteles were to be satisfied with what
the servers provided. The term ‘customer’ that hails from corporate
world has changed the definition of library users. They have been
now necessary target of library, and indispensable goal for marketing
of library services and products.
Figure 2. The Continuum of Library Service (Source: Perng,

Wang &Chieu, 2009, p.13)
The figure 2 shows how from nineteen-eighties onward the

resources and attitude of library towards users have been changed
and ultimately the way for CRM has been welcoming one.
Concepts of Customer Relationship Management

(CRM)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a widely
implemented model for managing a company’s interactions with
customers, clients, and sales prospects. It involves using technology
to organize, automate and synchronize business processes—
principally sales activities; and also marketing, customer service
and support. The overall goals are to find, attract and win clients,
service and retain those the company already has; to entice former
clients to return; and reduce the costs of marketing and client service.
Customer relationship management describes a company-wide
business strategy including customer-interface departments as well
as other departments. Measuring and valuing customer relationship
is critical to implementing this strategy (Wikipedia).
One can consider as Srivastava et al.(2002) enumerate—
customer relationship management to consist of two parts as follows:
CRM = customer understanding + relationship management
CRM enables companies/organizations to provide excellent real-
time customer service through the effective use of individual account
information. Based on what they know about each valued customer,
organization can customize market offerings, services, programs,
messages, and media. CRM is important because a major driver of
organization profitability is the aggregate value of the organization’s
customer base (Lanning cited in Kotleret al., 2013).
The CRM methodology enables the organization to understand
customer needs and behavior in a better manner. It introduces
reliable processes and procedures for interacting with customers
and develops stronger relationships with them. The process helps
organizations in assimilating information about customers, sales,
marketing effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends. Then,
this information is used to give insights into the behaviour of
customers and the value of retaining those customers. The whole
process is designed to reduce cost and increase profitability by

retaining the loyalty of customers.
Although CRM is a new concept for libraries and information
centers,this management concept can be very well applied to provide
better library services to their customers.
CRM and Need for Retaining the Customer in

Libraries
It goes without saying that library customers have become more
knowledgeable and demanding in an era marked by an abundance
of information resources and services. As with any industry, libraries
too face growing challenges to continuously meet customer
expectations, and attract and retain users in light of plentiful
competition. The ability to understand customers, build relationships
and market diverse services is imperative when considering ways to
expand service offerings and improve Return on Investment (ROI).
Perng, et al. (2009, p.11) rightly narrate “numerous studies
have demonstrated that the importance of library service is users
oriented and the needs of meeting their demand and expectation.”
Need to satisfy customer has been the common slogan of the current
phase. But this need suggests that on dissatisfaction customer are
turning away from the library for some alternative service providers
available beyond traditional or affiliated libraries. Further,
development in IT sectoris bringing information and information
seekers nearer. The avid and devoted readers of library are also
getting captivated by the convinience, speed, timeliness delivery of
required information using IT/ ICT. In this obtaining new and
retaining the existing customers are important and juxtaposed; and
can be achieved through CRM.
In combination, the three aspects of CRM - customer
management, usage analysis and marketing - provide libraries with
an important tool to deliver services that are aligned with user needs.
Collections, after all, must reflect the prevalent and varied interests
amongst different constituents within the community. The online
experience furthermore should mirror a new paradigm of information
delivery, extending beyond search to involve collaboration and
community building. By deploying CRM solutions, libraries can

effectively communicate with customers, understand their needs in
today’s environment, and continuously deliver relevant services and
experiences. (Conderacrts, n. d.)
Objectives of CRM in Libraries

CRM as management strategy can be adopted in library and
information centres for achieving the following objective
Enrollment of new users to the library
Keeping the users high satisfaction level
Maximizing the usage of library resources and services
Providing world class library service
Having good loyalty from users
Provide round the clock customer care to the users.
Create benchmark in user relationship management in library
field
Diversification of revenues, but in a meaningful way
(Suresh, n d.)
Steps of CRM
At the action, CRM is what—is about an attempt to developing
the present ‘ less valuable customers’ into the future ‘valuable
customers’. It requires judicious data management to understand
the customer individually and in mass. May be with the strategy
alone or with the CRM application package the approach to
developing customer understanding are through customere
interactions, datamanagement and analysis aiming at more effective
relationship management.
The CRM process should fully support the basic steps of
customer lifecycle. The lifecycle may go down in the line of stages
Srivastavaet al. (2002) have enumerated, which can be fitted into
the library and information service sphere. The model has been
discussed in library context as below.
1. Knowing the Customer and Customer Segmentation

In library set up attracting new customer is the affair of public
libraries. The name and fame like their collections, coverage and
even its year of establishment, (say hundred years old), attract the
new customers to become a proud customer of the prestigious
organization. Reciprocally, the libraries also are to know the
customers better—of their age, qualifications, statures and statuses
in the society, and professions etc. In acquiring customer in Indian
context some public libraries have adopted free and open access
public, for examples Andhra Pradesh State Library and West Bengal
State Central Library; Some other have restricted access—one has
to become a registered member first to have access the libraries.
HKM State Library, Odisha is one of these sorts. The user has to
fulfill some criteria and produce some documents to get a bona fide
membership.
In case of academic and special libraries acquiring and knowing
the customer come at the time of admission into any of the courses
or programmes the institutions impart. A student becomes
automatically a bona fide customer of the academic library to the
institute it is attached and works as a support system. Then knowing
the customer: level of course, semester, department etc. arises.
Once acquired, the customer profiles are to be prepared
consisting of three categories of data:
(a) Identity—who the person is?
(b) Characteristics—what attributes do they have?
(c) Behaviour—how do they behave?
Profiles are to be segmented accordingly, gathered and database
is made.Then the segmentation is necessary. Customer segmentation
is the division of the entire customer population in to smaller groups.
The purpose is to identify groups of customers with similar needs
and behaviour patterns; so that they can be and offered more tightly
focus product and services. Segments should be identifiable,
quantifiable, addressable and of sufficient size of worth addressing.
2. Identify the Needs of Customer and Communication

Identifying the needs of customer is the starting point of serving
them properly. Unlike academic libraries the needs of public libraries’
customers are as varied as the customers themselves.In academic
libraries the customers are students, researchers or scientists whose
sole is to pursuit a programme. The public libraries entertain
children, students, researchers, neo-literate, housewife and what
not—people from every walk of life. A rickshaw puller to a high
academic is customer here. And their needs are also tremendously
diverse. “UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 1994 states public library
should act as a living force for education, culture and information,
and as an essential agent for the fostering of peace and spiritual
welfare through the minds of men and women.All age group must
find material relevant to their needs. Collections and services have
to include all types of appropriate media and modern technologies
as well as traditional materials.” And the community as customers
wants the above needs to be fulfilled. Identifying customers’ needs
is typically difficult job here.
Once needs are identified the next key element of CRM is
communicating with the customer. This comprises two components,
viz. (a) deciding what message to send to each customer segment,
and (b) selecting the channel or medium through which the message
must be sent. The selection of communication channel or medium
depends on a number of characteristics of each channel, including
cost, focus, attention and impact, etc. The medium may be print
mail, e-mail, mobile message, voice call, on the library Web site,
RSS, blog, social network, or print and broadcasting media if
strategically required.
Now it is time to measure the impact of communication,
otherwise called ‘response analysis. Library has to (a) determine
how effective the overall customer communication campaign has
been, (b) validate the goodness of customer segmentation, and (c)
calibrate and refine the models of various channels
used.Communication is the most vital element in CRM. It is pervasive
throughout the cycle and just never ending, overlap to the next
stages.
a. Serve the Customer

When the needs of customers are identified it is the service phase.
A library is known for its collections and services it offers to the
customers. Providing service as per the customer needs identified is
the foremost as well as ultimate job of a library. May be— a
housewife’s need is know how to prepare pickle; a student’s need is
to prepare a project for his classroom assignment; a youngster’s
need is to surf the Internet; an academic’s need is to get photocopied
a chapter on subaltern study; a common citizen’s need is to get a
print of form for a government programme; a blind reader needs a
particular book in braille; somebody inquires about new arrivals
books and some other needs to know the nascent documents on his
subject; a researcher’s need is to access an online resource; and
the needs are just relentlessly endless and diverse . And this depiction
is just a pinch out of a sea of challenges libraries face in providing
service to customers up to their satisfaction.
b. Retain the Customer and Customer Loyalty
Retaining the customer is the effort of an organization carried
out to ensure its customers do not switch over to other organizations
in competitions. A successful strategy for this is to identify the
opportunities to meet the needs of the customers in a timely and
desired manner.
Pernget al. have identified some problems the customer of library,
and library itself facing and solutions thereof. If there is:lack of
personal contact —need personal relationship; problem of resource
allocation and customer loyalty—listen to the voices of customers;
difficulties in retaining customer—improve service quality; lack of
human side of service—provide friendly, helpful and professional
guidance; customer not satisfied with information products and
service they received—well-development library management
method, for example TQM.
Retaining customer is a difficult task now a days when a plethora
of information, information providers and technology available
around them. However, this can be achieved if the customers can
find what they want that means good collection; they are treated
with humane touch and professional relationship is established;
and finally up to their satisfaction standard.A good loyal customer

base that persists for a long time is one of the best advertisements
for a business, creating an image of high quality. This helps in
attracting other customers who value long term relationships and
high quality products and services.
Figure. 3 Life-Cycle of CRM
Conclusion
Users or Customers are important part of libraries because for
them libraries are established and maintained .Here customer does
not necessarily mean a person who wants to purchase something.
In library context ,which are basically service organisations, users
are the customers and marketing means promoting their products
and services for the overall benefit of education, research and society.
So CRM is basically a management concept which can be successfully
applied to attract people(customers) towards libraries and use their
products and services.CRM can be better implemented in case of
public libraries and also in academic libraries.This will facilitate

maximum use of library collection and services by the users and
the basic objectives of maintaining libraries by spending huge
amount of money can be fulfilled. It can be said that if the library
and information professionals would consider adopting this
management strategy in their Libraries and Information centers, an
era of customer-centric library services may be witnessed.
References
Bakshi, A. K., & Parida, B. B. (2013). Exploring link between
automated service quality, customer satisfaction and
behavioural intentions with CRM performance indexing
approach. Siddhant, 13 (2), 84-107.
Bauer, J. E., Duffy, G. L., & Westcott, R. T. (2006). The quality
improvement handbook. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley .
Charantimath, P. M. (2012). Total quality management. Delhi:
pearson.
Conderacrts, E. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2012, from
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Gandhi, MK (n. d.). www.ssa-solutions.com/images/pdf/
14_june.pdf
Grant, G. B., & Anderson, G. (2002). Customer relationship
management: a vision for higher education. In R. N. Katz,
Web portals and higher education: technologies to make IT
personal (pp. 23-32). s. l.: Jossey-Bass.
Joseph & Berk, Susan (1995). Total quality management:
implementing continuous improvement. New Delhi: Excel Books.
Kotler, P., Keller, K. L., Koshy, A., & Jha, M. (2013). Marketing
management: a South Asian perspective. Delhi: Pearson.
Kroski, E. (2013). How libraries can benifit from customer

relationship management. Retrieved fromhttp://oedb.org/
ilibrarian/guest-post-how-libraries-can-benefit-from-
customer- relationship-management-crm/.
Mookerjee, A., & Shainesh. (2000). Developing measures
forthe service quality and relationship strength determinants
of customer loyalty. In Ranghavachari, & K. V. Ramani,
Delivering service quality:managerial challanges for the twenty-
first century. New Delhi.
n.d. Retrieved November 23, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_relationship_management.
Perng, C. P., Wang, S. L., & Chieu, W. C. (2009). A conceptual
framework of library reader service from customer relationship
management perspective. International Journal of u and e
Sservice, Science and Technology, 2 (1),11-20.
Srivastava, J., Wang, J.-H., Lim, E.-P., & Hwang, S.-Y. (2002).
A case for analytical customer relationship management. 14-
27. retrived from http://www.mis.nsysu.edu.tw/~syhwang/
Accepted-Paper/Conference-PDFs/PAKDD02.pdf.
Suresh, N. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
www.smartlibrarians.in/2011/10/customer-relationship-
management-best.html..
Udani, Niharika (2013). Application of CRM in academic
library.International Multidisciplinary Journal of Applied
Research, 1 (2), 68-69.
LIS EDUCATION:
A PLAY FOR VITAL ROLE IN LIBRARIES
—M.Muthu, P. Sivaraman and Kunwar Singh
Abstract
Today the changes occurred in Library Environment, the walls of
Library are giving way to electronic environments, the LIS Teachers
and Professionals should be acquaintance with different skills. LIS
Education intends to develop manpower for effective and efficient
management of Libraries & Information centers. In another words LIS
Education develops skills in acquisition and organization of information
sources. It develops service attitude and makes the learner
knowledgeable about the various aspects of Librarianship. This paper
is mainly highlights for Library & Information Science, Purpose of LIS
Education, Objectives of LIS Education & Courses, LIS Curriculum
Design, Components of Web Based Education, Flexible Learning,
Promotional Strategies, Existing Situation of LIS Education, New
Competencies, Training Modules, Required Skills, Continuing
Education, Challenges, ICT in LIS Education and their Impacts,
Changing Technology Landscape, Sources for Professional
Competencies Development, Practical soft skills and Users Expectations
in Libraries at Present, Solutions & Suggestions and so on.
Keywords/Descriptors
LIS Education, LIS Professionals Skills, Practical Soft skills and
Challenges, Users Expectations in Libraries at Present, Solutions &
Suggestions.
Introduction
Information technology is the modern science of assembling,
enhancing, processing and communicating desired types of
information in a specific environment. In Present System of
Education, Information Technology is used for communication
between student and teacher, in which different techno
communication devices like computer, internet and laptops are being
used to create variety of learning environments. On other hand new
trends and technologies are attract the users for learning
environment. New trend and technologies has become as essential
resources in the field of Library and Information Science and has
started revolutionizing the process of teaching and learning. Now a
class room has evolved from the days of chalk and talk to the use of
overhead projectors and Multimedia presentation techniques.
Teacher has to be trained to handle information technology and to
manage it effectively in the teaching learning system because the
introduction and the development of IT in education institute depend
only on the quality and ability of the teachers handling the education
system. The first American school for library science was founded
by Melvil Dewey at Columbia University in 1887.
From many studies and researches, it has become clear that;
Due to their changing environment library education
institution/department have to be defining clear and
comprehensive strategies for information technology and have
to make considered choices about the market they can and
wish to serve and by which type of technology use
Predict the different strategic pathways that library education
institution/departments may choose with respect to the use
of IT in higher education and the critical condition and
implementations at various levels that are related to them
Further developments and test scenarios on strategic choices
of the institution with respect to the use of information
technology in their education functions.
1. Library Science
Studying about Techniques and Methods of the Library is
called Library Science
2. Library & Information Science

The term Library & Information Science (LIS) is most often used.
Most Librarians consider it as only a terminological variation,
intended to emphasize the scientific and technical foundations of
the subject and its relationship with information science. LIS should
not be confused with information theory, the mathematical study of
the concept of information. Library and information science can also
be seen as an integration of the two fields’ library science and
information science, which were separate at one point. Library
philosophy has been contrasted with library science as the study of
the aims and justifications of librarianship as opposed to the
development and refinement of techniques.
3. Library
A place set apart to contain books, periodicals, and other
material for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference,
as a room, set of rooms, or building where books may be read
or borrowed
A collection of manuscripts, publications, and other materials
for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference
4. Librarian
A Person who is a Specialist in Library work
A Person who is responsible for a Collection of specialized or
Technical Information or materials, such as musical scores
or Computer Documentation
5. Librarianship
(Library Science & Bibliography) The professional
administration of Library resources and services also called
Library Science
A Profession concerned with acquiring and organizing

collections of books and related materials in Libraries and
servicing readers and others with these resources.
The Position or Duties of a Librarian
The Professional administration of Library Resources and
Services
6. Purpose of LIS Education

“The mission of the LIS Program is to educate individuals for
careers as Librarians and Information specialists and to undertake
instruction, research and service programs that meet current and
emerging Library, Information and Technology needs”. (University
of Hawaii, Manoa).
Objectives of LIS Education & LIS Courses

To enable the students to understand and appreciate the
function and purpose of the library in the changing social
and academic environment
To equip the products in the new specialized knowledge and
capabilities to enable them to scan and design information
systems, tools, products, services
To equip them appropriate research methodologies applicable
to the area of information services, studying other subjects
for information work and services
To equip them with the knowledge and skills of efficiently
and effectively designing, developing and working value added
information products and servicing to meet identified needs
To equip them with the required knowledge and skills for
operating the tools of the IT, such as computer,
telecommunication, reprographic technologies etc
To equip them with the required knowledge of scientific
management of library systems, information centres and so
on
To provide the students an understanding of the basic

principles and fundamental laws of LIS
To provide the students basic knowledge of the quantitative
techniques including statistical methods
To provide the students the basic knowledge of the application
of information technology to the information system and
services
To train the students in the techniques of librarianship and
management of the library
1. LIS Curriculum Design

Multidisciplinary Approach
Library & Information Science
Computer science
Management science
Industries & Organizations
Other allied disciplines
Ration between theory & practice sessions
Internship program
Components of Web Based Education

Committed faculty and learning resources
Digital library
Instructional technology support
1. Flexible Learning
Flexible learning is an educational response to the need for
lifelong learning generated by the learning society, and information
literacy provides essential skills in the context of flexible learning.
Many tertiary institutions are quite quickly moving from the bi-polar
mode of internal/external delivery of education to a model which
allows both internal and Distance students a great deal more choice
as to how, when and where they will pick up the course content.
Some models even go so far as to include all of the following tailored
to suit the needs of individual (or groups of) students:
Acknowledgement of previous educational attainment of the
individual
Acknowledgement of the culture of the individual student
Differing assessment methods
Differing content of courses and papers
Differing exit points
Differing paces of learning
Differing times of delivery
Differing use of resources (including different media)
Differing use of technology
Differing venues blurring the traditional choice of internal/
external
Strategic liaisons with other education providers (including
non-traditional and Community organizations)
Student resulting in different entry points
2. Promotional Strategies
Carrying out surveys and studies on the usefulness of
information literacy at regional, state, national level
Collaborating faculty, librarians and other staff to promote
information literacy programs
Conducting programs like training the trainer in order to
upgrade the information literacy knowledge and skills of both
librarians and faculty.
Designing the national information literacy policies, standards
and guidelines
Forming a national IL forum to enable people from all walks

of life to interact and discuss and bring out policy guidelines
to strengthen the information literacy movement across the
country.
Frequently conducting workshops/seminars/symposia in
order to enable broader and through discussion on the concept
of information literacy and bring out more literature of national
importance.
Implementing information literacy to fresh users in the
libraries
Integrating information literacy across the curriculum at all
levels of education
Organizing brainstorming sessions for wider discussion on
the concept of information literacy and bring out policy
statements.
UGC may take the proper steps to induct the component of
IL in higher education, so also the related bodies in
engineering and other professional societies, academics and
associations like ILA, SIS, IASLIC and IATLIS can make efforts
to bring together the professional expertise along with
academic and media experts to design develop the viable
curriculum for various levels of education.
3. Existing Situation of LIS Education

Continuing the traditional theoretical courses in spite of
several developments that are happening with the emergence
of IT tools
Insufficient faculty strength to handle newer courses and
present courses without adding latest developments
Lack of skill upgrading facilities to the faculty to handle new
IT related courses and using new teaching methods
Less or no interaction between the libraries and the
departments to study the needs to modify the focus in the
courses
Mismatch between teaching and practicing

More professional manpower with less job opportunities
More than 300 Universities and more than 100 departments
of LIS apart from several private colleges offering BLISc, MLISc,
MPhil & PhD courses and courses offered by open universities
and Distance Education Centres
No apprentice facilities to the graduate students to apply what
they studied to learn more in real situation
No practical skill upgrading facilities to the faculty to handle
IT based practical sessions to students
Poor publications by the faculty and researchers
Poor research facilities without adding new knowledge
Variations in instructions and the methods, non-availability
of minimum infrastructure
New Competencies for LIS Teachers

Developing new curriculum
Effective use of new technology in teaching
New management of time and space
Satisfying the new expectations of the society
1. Training & Training Modules for LIS Teachers

Developing transferable skills
Imparting practical skills
Knowledge of existing and emerging technologies
Methodologies to be adopted
Modern management techniques
Role of information in society
Role of IT applications
Sources of information
2. Required Skills for LIS Education

Communication skills, including meetings, personnel
supervision interdisciplinary research, writing, audiovisual
techniques, training for system users
Knowledge of designing and programming systems, cost
processing, profit and cost analysis strategies, the ability to
analyze theories in LIS and related fields
Knowledge of evaluation and assessment
Knowledge of the relationship between national information
systems and communication structures, and national and
international guidelines in the information field.
Skill in information technology
3. Continuing Education for LIS Teachers

In view of the fact that LIS today has become a fast growing
discipline, it is strongly emphasized here that there should be
facilities in the country for LIS teachers to attend continuing
education Programme compulsorily. Besides updating their
professional knowledge, these programmes should also educate them
in areas such as methods of teaching and evaluation, use of Audio
Video aids in teaching, computer assisted teaching methods and
communication.
4. Requirements for Change in LIS Programs

It is necessary to reform LIS education, creating new
interdisciplinary courses and teaching new methods of providing
information services. With continuously changing technology, the
need for reformation is crucial. We need new fundamental principles
for LIS education. The classical view has many shortcomings
including;
Creative thought not encouraged
Little attention to theory
Training programs did not lead to research activities
Librarians & Library Associations should consider the following

suggestions for LIS Education. They are such as;
Accepting social duties in a positive and responsible manner
Extending the boundary of intellectuality and reasoning
beyond mere recitation
Fostering skills in self-study as well as group study
Increasing the extent of studying and research
Respecting other notions and ideas
Thinking globally and act locally
Training in critical thinking, applying creativity in problem
solving, logical reasoning, and analyzing scientific information
Training in effective interview
5. Challenges to LIS Education

LIS faculty has many different kinds of training and skills,
but their training may not be appropriate for the current needs of
society. Many librarians who have completed an LIS program do not
consider this discipline an advanced and crucial field, but regard
librarianship as a simple duty. Instructors who lack expertise and
the lack of interaction between the computer colleges and
communicative sciences have also delayed the reformation of LIS
programs. Accepting students to LIS programs without an interview
or other rigorous screening is another challenging issue. LIS
programs have not responded to the expectations of the profession
or of the university community. It is necessary reform the
organization, curriculum, training material and equipment, and
instructor preparation.
Challenges Ahead
Web based education has confronted a number of challenges to
students, faculty, Administrator and new schools in terms of;
Access
Contents
Competencies
Cost effectiveness
As a New Student
Access to electronic courses
Acquaintance with different hardware and software
requirements
Navigating on line courseware
Navigating transfer credit policies
As a Faculty Member
New faculty and experienced students
New students and experienced faculty
Students finding problem in accessing course tool
As an Administrator
Dealing with different graduating policies
Different academic calendar
Different cost sharing
Different tuition fee
As a New School
Balancing resources (income and expenditure)
Creating demand for different courses
Setting an established platform
Therefore, the practitioners of online education should know
the most effective current practices and incorporate them to meet
the goals of the online learning. The discussion and feedback about
practices will be useful to online educators.
ICT in LIS Education

Information technology is dynamic in nature. It is worth nothing
that advocacy and educational reform as they relate to technology
are among the trends. Trends in LIS educational technology are
follows;
Advocacy for Educational technology
Computers in Departments/Institutions
Networking by internet
New delivery system for educational technology
Satellite broadcasting
Video conferencing
World Wide Web
1. Need for ICT in LIS Teaching

ICT has ushered a dynamic change in libraries which has
gradually led the transformation of libraries from tradition to hybrid
and virtual libraries. To cope up with the change the LIS teachers
have to develop their own capabilities and at the same time, make
the students and as well as practicing professionals to help
themselves to acquire knowledge in utilizing the potential tool of
ICT for enhancing the knowledge of the society. Utilizing the
opportunity to establish their own status in the same society.
2. Major Components of ICT Teaching

Computer
Networks
Internet and WWW
Telecommunications
Video conferencing
3. Five Major Issue for using ICT in LIS Education

Bridging the gap between the research and practice
Continuous learning
Digital divide
Digital solidarity action
Good teaching
4. Usage of ICT for LIS Students

Capacity to present information and knowledge resources to
all types of users to their satisfaction
Digital library skills
ICT skills to use internet and digital resources
Information skills
Knowledge management skills
Literacy skills
Multimedia handling and resources in other formats
Research skills including the capacity to inquire into new
issues
Skills to cull out knowledge from printed and digital resources
5. Issues & Trends

Accreditation
Continuing education for LIS teachers
Course contents
Employment opportunities
Levels of education
LIS literature
Research
Selection of students
Status and administrative organization of library schools
6. Impact of ICT on Librarians & LIS Education

Need for ICT knowledge
Need for ICT skill
Need for ICT tools
Need for continuous learning in the context of rapidly changing
ICT
Library schools must integrate ICT into their curricula and
short courses to produce graduates who can cope with the
changing work environment
7. The Future
The future of ICT will have a definite impact in teaching of LIS
and the following aspects will play a vital role. They are;
Any time, any place learning
Digital books/paper
Integrated technology
Personal/Mobile technology
Tele-collaboration
Wearable computers
8. Responsibilities of a LIS Teacher

Apart from classroom teaching a teacher has an obligation to;
Preparation of teaching material
Tutorial work and monitoring the students
Students’ assessment and grading
Curriculum design
Project design and guidance in research
Research proposal writing

Participation in professional activities
Changing Technology Landscape

The following are some of important items of new technologies
on which LIS Professionals need to seriously think about improving
their competencies for their effective utilization to deliver need based
high quality information services to the User and students
community.
Digital information resources
Digital rights management
E-learning
ICT trends
Information portals and Vortals
Metadata standards
Online information services
Search technology
Subject Gateways
Web technology
Wi-Fi and RFID technology
1. Sources for Professional Competencies Development

LIS Professionals have a wide range of channels and ways to
develop their professional competencies and mange changing
technologies effectively. The important methods/ways for improving
professional competencies are;
Acquiring formal qualifications
Affiliation to professional bodies
Attending induction programs
Attending professionals meetings, conferences and seminars

Attending staff training and development courses
Attending workplace programs
Distance and e-learning courses
Participation in specialist groups
Personal interaction with expert fellow professionals
Pursuing doctoral research
Reading professional literature
Tours and visits to well managed libraries
Undertaking research and development projects
Web resources
Writing papers in periodical and books
2. Skill requirements for LIS Professionals

Acquisition ok skills on the job and evolving innovative ideas
in line with the technology
Attending to the trouble shooting or getting the systems
rectified by appropriate persons on time to maintain online
access to resources
Caching and maintaining the CD/DVD resources using NAS
technology
Cataloguing the database standards, communication
standards for data exchange
Creation and maintenance of network (LAN) connectivity
Database creation and maintenance issues
Electronic publishing tools
Evaluating the information resources using user feedback
mechanism
Finding, processing and creating access facilities to relevant

digital resources other than internet resources
Improving the communication skills among the staff with
users and with top management and so on
Keeping in touch with the developments
Maintaining the UPS connectivity to support critical operations
of the library
Preservation and archiving the digital resources
Scanning, conversion, indexing and linkage issues to work
in the digital library environment
Tuning to the new environment using IT tools
Upgrading professional skills with practical approach
User awareness to the library resources and services
Web page designing and maintenance
3. What Skills are required to be a Librarian?

(By Veronica. C)
There are many skills and abilities that librarians need in order
to succeed. These can range from being trained to create or update
library websites to working successfully with coworkers and
interacting with users. Below are five main skills useful for librarians,
accompanied by brief overviews. The five main skills are;
Business Management
Education
Interpersonal Skills
Organizational and Evaluation Skills
Technical Knowledge and Training
4. Practical Soft Skills for Librarians

Communications skills
Customer service
Interpersonal skills
Leadership skills & Teamwork
Listening skills
Negotiating skills
Presentation skills
Project management skills
Public relations
Teaching skills
Writing skills
5. Challenges for LIS Profession

LIS Professionals are facing various Challenges in Libraries. Some
of them listed below;
Acquiring access rights to e-books and e-journals with proper
licensing agreements
Building and maintaining the campus-wide network facilities
with faster access
Changed users information behavior and reading habits
Consortia arrangements for Journal subscriptions or e-journal
access
Creating and maintaining large storage facilities and multi-
processing systems
Database creation and critical maintenance and authorization
issue
Demand foe web based products and services
Demand for effective monitoring and feedback system
Demand for quality based library and information products
and services
Demand for the creation of culture for creativity
Distributed database models for creation and maintenance

of e-resources
Diversity of programs and emerging thrust areas
E-mail, Internet browsing and access to online resources apart
from OPAC
Emergence of library networking and networks
Expectation for resource generation
Explosive growth of electronic information and products
Hardware raid for data security and auto back up facilities
Impact of ICT on library practices
Improving the bandwidth for internet access facilities
Increased and diversified users information thrust and need
Increased cost of information materials
Maintaining online real time library transactions with 24/7
access facilities to all the resources
Marketing of library and information products and services
Media convergence in digital resources with seamless access
to global resources
Need for effective and efficient users interface
Need for interaction with external environment
Need for the development of information infrastructure
Need to create specialized databases
Need to develop sustainable collection building strategy
New electronic information environment
New roles and responsibilities
New tools and techniques of information handling
Philosophy of information at door
Resource sharing and shrinking budgetary provisions to the

libraries
Responsiveness and dynamism in special library systems and
services
Shift from acquisition to accessing the resources anywhere,
anyone and anytime
Shift from paper based resources to electronic resources
Timely delivery of information materials to end-users
User demands for access facilities at their desk tops
Web page designing and electronic publishing issues
Wider and multi user access to CD/DVDs using the NAS
model
Working with RFID with self check out facilities
6. Users Expectations in Libraries at Present

The Expectations of Users vary from one environment to another
environment, Institutional programs, priorities, vision, activities and
specialization. Based on the experience and exposure in the area of
Libraries, it has been observed that the expectations of Users in
Libraries generally are;
Clear directions and way guides
Continual improvement
Continuous interaction
Disaster Management
Display and demonstration of information about staff
Effective & Efficient workflow
Electronic resources access and delivery
Information literacy
Proper communication facilities
Proper documentation of facilities and services provided

Quality initiatives and accuracy
Speedier service delivery mechanism
Web based initiatives and resources
Well organized collections
Well placed users complaints system
Well-designed forms for availing services
LIS Education for Modern Era

Access to information has improved and will continue to do
so in future
Effective management of libraries and information systems
and information resources
Information problems of today require flexible and readily
adaptable approaches
Libraries and information centres are changing significantly,
and they will continue changing ever over
New information systems and services have appeared with
more in the offing
The basic needs of information seekers have not changed,
but they have broadened, intensified and more become more
challenging
1. Solutions & Suggestions

Close linkage between the libraries and the LIS departments
for better out put of products to address user demands
Compulsory internship to the students as part of curriculum
Course content to be modular to focus on the present and
future requirements with high skill orientation and frequent
revisions
Decreasing the number of intake in the courses
Designing course outline focusing the new environment and

the needs to handle various works in the libraries using IT
skills
Education should be open ended and design oriented
Encourage students towards self-exploration
Identifying few LIS departments to equip them with IT
infrastructure, modern teaching aids to train the LIS teachers
in specific courses to make them experts (Continuous learning
and updating)
Introduce new methods of teaching and assessment, while
retaining the traditionally proven ones
Like in many other professionals’ disciplines, there should
be an apprenticeship period before and after formal teaching
in LIS
Necessity to have an accreditation body to evaluate the LIS
departments and closing or merging some of them
Necessity to improve the professional skills in the staff,
teachers and students to enable them to face the new
challenges
Proper arrangements should be made for all training of
teachers of LIS by establishing a central teachers training
college for LIS
Revamping the ASC courses in LIS
Screening the students with innovative methods and
evaluating their interest in the profession before they are
admitted in regular and distance learning
Starting highly focused short courses as add-on to cater to
the needs of different libraries (One semester or one year
duration)
Stopping the emergence of new departments without
infrastructure, manpower and accreditation
Teaching must be made interesting, learner centered and

students must not be made passive receivers
The course content need to focus on theories with more
emphasis in practices, IT applications including
communication skills, computing skills, electronic publishing
tools, networking, web designing, digital information sources
and service and so on
There should be full time teachers in all library schools
Tutorial, seminar and discussion methods also should be used
along with the lecture method
UGC should act as a central accrediting agency in the field of
LIS Education
2. Recommendations of the National Knowledge

Commission (NKC)
The working group on libraries (WGL) of the NKC (2005-2008)
has already made some recommendations on these lines. Indian
Institute of LIS recommended by it can be a path-breaking event in
the history of Indian LIS Education and Research. The group has
already identified some research areas and provides a roadmap;
Identify, sponsor and conduct R & D programs in the LIS
field
Develop techniques for database creation and retrieval in
Indian languages
Standardize forms and orthography of Indian names when
transliterated into Roman script for name authority
Formulate lists of subject headings for Indian subjects
Designs and develop Indian national digital libraries in various
sectors, disciplines and languages
Study information needs of different cultural academic and
professional groups
Intensity research in the reading habits of Indians and method
for promotion of book culture
Extend cooperation to and collaborate with institutions of

allied interests
Conclusion
Many Suggestions have been made by various Professional
Experts & Governmental Committees to improve the quality of LIS
Education. These are;
Active participation in user awareness and information literacy
programs
Continuing education/in-service training facilities should be
recognized as an essential part of manpower development
programmes and sufficient financial resources may be
allocated for this.
Developing special skills in repackaging information resources
Emphasis on practical in IT applications
Identifying emerging areas for PHD programs in LIS
Interaction between the practicing professionals or experts
with students
Introducing compulsory short developing training centers for
teachers
LAN with all the departments and Library staff to upgrade
skills in technology
Last but not the least, our country has no information policy
though we have already crossed more than half a century
after independence and so, setting up of a National
Information Policy is vital in the context of today’s globalization
and IT revolution. Right to Information should be recognized
as a fundamental right of the people
Libraries need to be automated with latest H/W and S/W
with databases in international standards
LIS departments and Libraries to work closely including the
possibilities of changing over both ways. Experience gained
to be considered in the recruitments
National centre for education and research should be

established to plan and coordinate cooperative programmes,
like exchange of personnel, curriculum planning, extension
lectures, continuing education programmes, and so on
Project reports on current issues
Screening the students while admitting them
Seminars, tutorials, assignments and field tours should be
effectively integrated with curricula involving outside experts
and agencies
The quality of teaching staff should be improved
The syllabus at all levels should be updated regularly and
areas of Information science should be correlated with those
of Library science
To improve quality of research, talented scholars should be
provided financial assistance by research organizations
Updating the course curricula with focus on emerging issues
It is an essential for the LIS Education to change its services,
facilities and curricula in accordance with the rapid changes in IT
and keep pace with it. In the developing countries like India where
paucity of budget does not help in coping with the latest
developments, providing services through the Internet and Intranet
is one of the best ways, which can fulfils the needs of the large
group of users. The proposed Indian Institute of LIS Education
provides a virgin and wide field to set new standards and re-portray
the academic scenario of LIS Education and services.
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VANDALISM PRACTICES IN
COLLEGE LIBRARIES
—Garad M.D.
Abstract
The present paper highlighted concept of vandalism in college
libraries and specified the objectives of the research, hypothesis,
limitations, methodology and conclusion of the study. The paper also
analyzed the disruptive behavior of the user inside and outside library
and studied the reasons of vandal activities and suggested the security
measures to prevent vandalism practices in college libraries.
Keywords
Vandalism, College Libraries, Dr.BAMU
Introduction
Libraries are quite peaceful and safe places for study, learning
and research, libraries are playing vital role by providing resources
and services to the faculty and students. As a working professional
in library and information science, it is observed that there is
noticeable growth in number of the students and faculty in the
colleges, It has ultimately resulted in the growth in library users,
hence college libraries are facing the problem to cope up with the
rising needs of the users and relevant library facility. The
infrastructure available in the library is resulting ultimately in the
dissatisfaction among the young users, which sometimes leads the
users to do vandalistic activities. The vandal purposely or ignorantly
destruct the beautiful, valuable reading material, library building,
furniture and equipment of the college libraries, Library is a social
institution preserving and disseminating knowledge in the form of
documents so any thing which defiles its sanctity, decorum,
discipline, beauty concerning library is called as vandalism in library.
Proposed Research
In the context of libraries vandalism occurs in various forms
which defiles its sanctity, decorum, discipline, beauty concerning
library. The research problem vandalism in library is recognized by
many information scientists, researchers, writers and information
professional as a major problem facing library managers.
Therefore it is necessary to secure the library buildings. Not
only library building but also furniture and equipments and
resources of library, which has deleterious effects on the academic
performance of the library. Although researchers in developing
countries have identified solutions to the problem of vandalism in
library, in third world countries such as India, more needs to be
done to solve the increasing wave of the vandalism of academic library
specially college libraries.
Explanation of the Concepts

Vandal
Vandal has been defined by Oxford Encyclopedic Dictionary
(1978) as “willful or ignorant destroyer of anything beautiful,
venerable, or worthy of preservation” while according to Concise
Oxford Dictionary (1998) defined “vandal means a person who
willfully or maliciously destroys or damages property etc. or
destroying many books and works of art”. It means the participation
of human beings as agent of destruction of library property not owns
one.
Vandalism
The term vandalism defined by Concise Oxford Dictionary (1998)
“vandalism is willful or malicious destruction or damage to property”
while “vandalism is an intentional act of destruction or defacement
of property not one’s own” (Blacks Law Dictionary 1990; Encyclopedic
Dictionary of Library Science and Information Technology 2002).
“Vandalism is an intentional, willful, deliberate and malicious
act of destruction, injury, disfigurement, defacement, and damage
to the property of others, without the consent of the owner or person
having custody or control by cutting, breaking, marking, painting,

drawing, covering, slashing, engraving and scratching with on
property” (FBI 1978, p217, Goldstein 1996, Cohen 1973, U.S.
Department of Justice December, 1998)
Review of Literature
Vandalism in libraries occurs in many forms. Lincoln (1984)
has enumerated six types of vandalism in libraries, including:
intentional damage to materials, vandalism outside the building,
vandalism inside the building, vandalism to vehicles, vandalism to
equipment and arson, apart from this theft, mutilation,
misplacement, un-authorized borrowing, non- return of books,
disruptive behavior of problem patron inside and outside library
also a form of vandalism. The vandal damages library property i.e.
building walls, windows, furniture, equipments, computers and
collection by draw cartoons, scratches, engrave and breakage. As
well as physical and verbal abuse with library staff and users, there
is evidence that it is dramatically increasing despite more strenuous
efforts to control its spread explained by (Dixit 2000, Vaishnav and
Dixit 2003, Sager 1975, Khan Khaisar and Ramesh 1986, Hart 2003,
Salaam and Onifade 2010). It was found that many information
scientists have used different terms for vandalism. These are crime,
theft, mutilation, problem patron behavior, book loss, arson,
delinquent reader, pilferage, misuse, over borrowing, misplacement
etc. The major studies on the vandalism have been conducted in
western countries. The studies on the problem from India have been
covered various sub-categories of vandalism by the researcher. The
study regarding the users attitude and behavioral pattern towards
theft and mutilation in the university library a case study of Andhra
university library have been completed by Tatarao (1994), he studied
several aspects i.e. theft, mutilation, misplacement and users
behavior which is one of the notable work in this field. Gavisiddapa
(2004), conducted study on the problem of use and misuse of reading
material in engineering college libraries in Karnataka State. Kale
(2004), surveyed university libraries in India & gave emphasis on
security care & maintenance of books in libraries, he also discussed
the major threat i.e. theft, mutilation, misplacement over borrowing
and vandalism in library & suggested security measures to prevent
such strenuous problem; Kumbhar (1994), surveyed users’ attitude

towards the resources and services of university libraries in
Karnataka. Gavisiddapa (2000), conducted survey at Gulbarga
university Gulbarga, the survey discussed attitude of the students
and librarians towards theft and mutilation and hiding of document’s
in engineering and technological college libraries affiliated to
Gulbarga University; Dixit (1999) has covered all the aspects of
vandalism; concerning the forms of vandalism, their definitions,
categories, types reasons & preventive measures, these studies have
covered user behavior towards mutilation, theft, book misplacement,
misuse of library material, library security etc. in engineering colleges
& university level.
Problem patrons were reported by 72% of the respondents.
Problem patrons were reported by ninety percent of the larger public
libraries surveyed. The professional staff was most often those who
bore the greatest responsibility in handling problem patrons
(Brashear and Thorton 1981
Salaam & Onifade (2010) Examined perceptions and attitude of
students in relation to vandalism in a university library the findings
shows that 48.6% respondents strongly agreed that vandalism is
inevitable in libraries which require urgent need to orient the
students in this matter. The reasons given on vandalism in the library
include limited library collection insufficient number of copies of
textbooks exorbitant cost of textbooks, high cost of photocopying &
less number of books allowed to be borrowed and duration of loans
respectively. Further the attitudes to vandalism were selfish as a
part, public property self survival strategy etc.

The present study has been undertaken with a view;
1. To identify different types of vandal activities.
2. To find out causes of vandal activities.
3. To undertake opinions of users on vandal activities.
Hypothesis
Following hypothesis were formulated for the study;
1. Unsatisfied users are root cause of vandalism..
2. Male users are more prone to vandal activities.
3. Urban the users more the vandalistic activities
Scope and Limitations of the Study

The present study is confined to vandalism in college libraries
affiliated to Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU)
Aurangabad.
1. Present study is limited to 104 Arts,Commerce & Science (ACS)
college libraries located in rural and urban areas of
Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed and Osmanabad district and
affiliated to BAMU Aurangabad,
2. The users study is limited to 1049 Under Graduate (UG) and
Post Graduate (PG) students of different faculties of the
colleges who are the members of the library.
Population Sample
The colleges affiliated to Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada
University and, located in urban and rural areas of Aurangabad,
Jalna, Beed and Osmanabad district, The 149 ACS colleges are
from these four districts. Of the total population of 149 college
libraries the researcher has randomly selected the sample of 108
college libraries while on the total 88644 users, researcher has
chosen 1500 users as per sample size given by (Karejcie and
Morgan 1970).
Methodology
The present study used survey method to collect the data from
Arts, Commerce & Science College Libraries affiliated to Dr. BAMU,
to find out the prevailing situations.
“The survey method is one of the most effective and sensitive
instrument of research……survey research can produce much
needed knowledge” (Kasyap 1969, p95).
Data Collection
“Data are raw materials of reflection until by comparison,
contrast an evaluation they are stepped up to successively higher
levels of generation”. (Das 1986, p2).
For collecting the data for the present study, the researcher
visited INFLBENT,And University Libraries of Maharashtra for
referring documentary sources on vandalism, viz.
Data Analysis
Collected data has been analyzed and presented in tabular as
well as graphical form. In graphical form, bar charts, line graphs are
used for presentation. For the purpose of analyzing the data collected,
the fixed variables were user’s place of residence, gender, age, and
income group, the statistical software package (i.e. SPSS) has been
used. In addition, some of the tools/techniques used for analyzing
data include weighted arithmetic mean (WAM), co-relation, chi-
square, Ti-Square etc.
Users Perception towards Vandal Act

Vandalism is an act of vandal who intentionally or maliciously
damages to library property; which can take the form of draw
cartoons, scratch and engrave on library property as well as the
disruptive behavior inside and outside the library by creating noise,
physical and verbal abuse with staff and sincere users etc, Therefore
in the present study an attempt was made to examine the prevalence
of various vandal acts in college libraries affiliated to BAMU, and
reasons thereof are discussed in this study. Hence the data is
represented in Table1.9
From the analysis of Table 1.9 It can be revealed that of the 573
rural respondents, 183 (31.94%) felt that they were aware about
vandal activities in college libraries, while 390 (68.06%) rural
respondents. never thought about vandalism in libraries. Of the 476
urban users, 431 (90.55%) were acquainted with the vandal activities,
while 45 (9.45%) urban respondents indicated that they never
involved in vandal activities. Therefore it can be stated that ‘Urban
the Users More the Vandalistic Activities’ (Hypothesis no.3) is
valid.
Gender wise analysis of the data shows that out of the total 635
male users, 394 (62.05%) and of the 414 female users, 220 (53.14%)
were acquainted with the vandal activities on library property. Where
as 37.95% male & 46.86% female were never think vandalism in
college libraries is a problem.
The collected data statistically tested on Pearson’s chi-square
and ® to find out Co-relation among gender and their place of
residence the value received shows that there is positive Co-relation.
As well as the value is found extremely significant at both the level
about vandal act among rural-urban and male-female users. Which
indicates that male users ‘Male users are more prone to vandal
activities’ (Hypothesis No. 2) is valid.
Amongst the younger age group of 17 to 25 age nearly 58% were
found more in number tempted in vandalism. While lower the income
group less than ‘20000/- were also noticed in the act of vandalism
to library property.
Vandal Activities on College Library Property

The problem patron mostly damages the library building, walls,
doors furniture, reading tables, chairs, computers, reprographic
machine, books, periodicals and other reading material of the library
by drawing cartoon, engraving, scratching, breakage, hence the the
responses collected analyzed and represented in Table 1 given on
next page.
The data represented in Table 1 focuses that 36.32 %
respondents had noticed damaging library building by drawing
cartoons mostly on walls, windows and doors, followed by furniture,
tables and chairs 32.60%; and 20.31% on books, periodicals and
other documents. Which collectively constitute 89.23% responses
for draw cartoons on library property, while 3.43%respondents draw
cartoons on computers and reprographic machine.
In case of engraving 15.54% respondents, most targeted the
library property was building, walls, windows and doors, followed
by furniture, tables and chairs 12.01%; While 4.96 % respondents
had noticed engraving on books, periodicals and other reading
material as well as computers, reprographic machine which was
noted very less targeted material for engraving.
Table 1. Vandal Activities on library property (N-1049)
Library Draw % En- % Scratch % Cause % Total %
Property Cartoons grave Breakage
Books, 213 20.31 41 3.91 129 12.30 17 1.62 400 38.13
Periodicals
& Other
Documents
Furniture 342 32.60 126 12.01 235 22.40 59 5.62 762 72.64
Tables,
Chairs etc.
Equipments 36 3.43 11 1.05 56 5.34 8 0.76 111 10.58
Computer,
Xerox
Machine
Building 381 36.32 163 15.54 248 23.64 103 9.82 895 85.32
Damages
Walls,
Windows,
Doors etc.
Any Other 18 01.71 7 0.67 31 2.96 12 1.14 68 6.48
*Multiple Reponses
As regards the scratch activity on library property, 23.64%

respondents had observed targeting scratching of library building
walls, windows and doors. While 22.40% respondents observed
scratches on furniture tables, chairs, and 12.30% respondents
observed scratches on books, periodicals and other reading materials.
Computers and Reprographic machine was targeted for scratch by
5.34% respondents.
The cause breakage vandal activity observed 15.44% on library
building and furniture. It is clear that drawing cartoons on library
property was the prominent activity for vandalism on library property,
followed by engraves, scratch and cause breakage. The study and
the results of (Dixit 1999, Vaishnav & Dixit 2003, Khan & Ramesh
1986, Sager 1975) are in the line of this study and found supported
to the present study.
While comparing the total responses it observed that 85.32 %
respondents observed damaging library building, 72.64 % furniture;
38.13% books and periodicals; and 10.58 % were damaging library
equipments by drawing cartoons, engraving, scratching, and cause
breaking.
Reason for Act of Vandalism

In the present study the researcher put forth many reasons in
justification of vandal acts, which have been formed for the base for
identifying distinct types of vandalism and the reasons. Users were
asked to tick more than one responses. The Table 2 (given on next
page) represents the opinions of the users regarding the reasons for
acts of vandalism.
The Table 2 reveals that of the total respondents, 89.23% had
given the major reasons for drawing cartoons were; to protest against
operating policies of library, to acquire something and for fun &
competition, 27.55% respondents had noted the same reasons for
engraving, while 65.87% respondents had given the reasons for
scratching were; to protest against operating policies of library, to
acquire something, as a part of group behavior. The reasons for
cause breakage were given by 32.97 % respondents; as a part of
group behavior, to protest against operating policies of library, to
assert that library property is self property.
Table 2. Reason for acts of vandalism (N-1049)
Reason for Draw % En- % Scratch % Cause % Total %
Vandalism Cartoons grave Breakage
For Fun & 213 20.31 41 3.91 129 12.30 17 1.62 400 38.13
Competition
To Acquire 342 32.60 126 12.01 235 22.40 59 5.62 762 72.64
Something
To Take a 36 3.43 11 1.05 56 5.34 8 0.76 111 10.58
Rest-Break
To Protect 381 36.32 163 15.54 248 23.64 103 9.82 895 85.32
against
operating
Policies of
Library
To Take 18 1.72 7 0.67 31 2.96 12 1.14 68 6.48
Revenge
against those
Library Staff
who had not
Behaved
Properly
Reason for Draw % En- % Scratch % Cause % Total %
Vandalism Cartoons grave Breakage
To give 51 4.86 22 2.10 16 1.53 31 2.96 120 11.44
Passage to
Individual
Frustration
or Anger with
the Society in
General
To Assert that 151 14.39 66 6.29 20 1.91 94 8.96 331 31.55
Library
Property is
Self Property
As a Part of 63 6.01 24 2.29 208 19.83 157 14.97 452 43.08
Group
Behavior
*Multiple Reponses
While comparing the reasons with total responses and vandal

activities it is clear that 85.32% respondents given the reasons for
drawing, engraving, scratching and cause breakages were; to protest
against operating policies of libraries. While 72.64% respondents
were given the reasons were; to acquire something, 43.08% as a
part of group behavior, 38.13% for fun and compactions and 31.55%
to assert that library property is self property. While 28.5%
respondents indicted the reasons for vandalism library property were;
to give passage to individual frustration or anger with the society in
general, to take a rest-break and to take revenge against those library
staff who had not behaved properly.
Disruptive Behavior
The problem patron of the college libraries disturb other users
of the library and staff by making noise, call, laugh and shout loudly,
by pulling tables and chairs, rustling pages, verbal and physical
abuse with staff, these disruptive behavior experiencing by the
librarians inside & outside the libraries and users were asked to
tick more than one responses, hence the researcher has made an
attempt to find out the various activities which vandals performs,
which is presented in Table 3.
Table 3. Disruptive behavior Inside the Library (N=1049)
Disruptive activities Respondents Percentage
To Spit Pan & Tobacco 359 34.22
Call Loudly to Your Friends 423 40.32
Shout & Laugh Loudly 367 34.99
Talking on Mobile 542 51.67
Posters Pasted on Walls 127 12.11
Paint Slogans 611 58.25
Announcements put on Walls 74 7.05
& Notice Board
Pulling Table & Chairs 104 9.91
Lifting of Statues, Flower Plots etc 31 2.96
Sleeping on Table 146 13.92

Putting Legs on Table 83 7.91
Nosily Rustling of Books 46 4.39
Verbal & Physical Abuse against 73 6.96
Library Staff
* Multiple Responses
It can be observed from the Table 3 that of the total respondents
58.25% were disturbing the inside environment of library by paint
slogans; another 51.67% respondents were talking on mobile; 40.32%
were calling loudly to their friends; Nearly 35% shout and laugh
loudly; 34.22% respondents were pertaining to spit pan and tobacco
these disruptive activities observed in more number in college
libraries by the respondents. while 12.11% users were committed
to paste posters on walls; nearly 20% respondents were putting
announcement on walls and notice board, pulling tables and chairs
and lifting statues, flower plots etc, while 26.22% responded that
they disturbed the inside environment of the college library by
sleeping on table and putting legs on table and nosily rustling of
books, 6.96% respondents disturb library staff by verbal and physical
abuse against library staff library. All these activities are the
continuous problem facing by library professional.
The problem patron disturbs other sincere users of the library
by making various noises in the library. Hence an attempt was made
to find out the major disruptive activities among different users
groups in side the college libraries presented in Table 4 (given on
pages 644-645).
The result from the Table 4 shows the gender wise analysis that
23.66% male respondents, indicated to spit pan & tobacco, 24.36%
female respondent indicated painting slogans, 21.20% talking on
mobile were the main activities among them which found highest in
rank, the male and female respondents are actively participates in
creating disturbance in academic environment of the college libraries.
Table 4. Disruptive Activities inside the Library and Co-relation with Users Group.
Disruptive RN= UN= Chi- MN= FN= Chi- Age Group Income Group
activity 573 476 Square 635 414 Square (In years) (In ‘)
R/U M/F
17 21 26 31 Less 5000 10K 15K 20KAbove
to to to to 5000 to to to to 30K
20 25 30 35 N= 10K 15K 20K 30KN=
N= N= N= N= 223 N= N= N= N= 34
317 529 184 19 317 176 208 91
To Spit Pan 149 210 10.365 317 210.657 42 111 136 103 9 73 96 52 83 42 13
& Tobacco ** **
Call Loudly 167 256 18.726 167 23.766 256 137 207 71 8 106 129 76 73 30 9
to Your ** **
Friends
Shout & 134 233 26.706 134 26.706 233 114 147 99 7 78 134 49 73 27 6
Laugh ** **
Loudly
Talking on 193 349 44.900 193 44.900 349 176 281 79 6 138 206 86 79 31 2
Mobile ** **
Posters 43 84 13.236 43 13.236 84 29 43 51 4 24 55 13 15 13 7
Pasted on ** **
Walls
Paint 210 401 59.707 210 59.707 401 193 296 119 3 149 227 103 101 28 3
Slogans ** **
Announce- 46 28 4.378 46 4.378 28 19 32 19 4 17 29 7 11 8 2
ments put * *
on Walls &
Notice Board
Pulling Table 67 37 8.654 67 8.654 37 32 43 21 8 21 19 33 18 9 4
& Chairs ** **
Lifting of 9 22 5.452 9 5.452 22 9 17 5 0 7 16 2 3 1 2
Statues, * *
Flower
Plots etc
Sleeping on 54 92 9.890 54 2.783 92 34 72 34 6 22 39 46 20 17 2
Table ** NS
Putting 37 46 .976 37 .976 46 27 49 5 2 27 35 17 1 1 2
Legs on NS NS
Table
Nosily 22 24 .087 22 .087 24 19 24 3 0 9 13 7 6 10 1
Rustling NS NS
of Books
Verbal & 41 32 1.110 41 1.110 32 14 41 16 2 11 19 7 26 7 3
Physical NS NS
Abuse
against
Library
Staff
* Multiple Responses *=0.01 Level significant, **=both the level significant (0.01, 0.05)
Disruptive Behavior outside the Library

The problem patrons not only disturb sincere users of the library
but also disturb library environment outside the library by damaging
staff & users vehicles parked and distracting the garden lawn lights
etc. Hence an attempt was made to find out the various disruptive
activities outside the library, the respondents were asked to tick
more than one response, which are presented in Table 5.
Table 5. Disruptive Behaviors outside the Library (N=1049)
Activity outside library Respondents’ Percentage
Removing Vehicles Parts 43 4.10
Sitting on Vehicles Parked 626 59.68
Moving of Vehicles Mirror 359 34.22
Breaking of Glasses, Lights etc. 107 10.20
Putting Fire & Looting Lib. 62 5.91
Property
Campus Riots 34 3.24
Devastation of Garden, Lawn etc 216 20.59
It can be observed from the Table 5 that of the total respondents

59.68% tempted in disturbing the outside environment of the college
library by sitting on vehicles parked, 34.22% by moving vehicle
mirror, 14.30% were pertaining to breaking of glasses, lights fitted
around library & vehicles & removing vehicle parts, while 9.15%
respondents disturbing outside environment by putting fire & looting
library property, campus riots & devastation of garden & lawn planted
in the campus.
Many vandal activities occur in the library sometimes it may be
inside the library & outside the library. An attempt was to observe
that vandal activity outside the library, and what is the Co-relation
with rural and urban users, male and female users and with specific
income group as well as age group. The data collected fro the various
respondents were analyzed and presented in the Table 6.
Table 6. Vandal activities outside library and Co-relation with users group
Activities RN= UN= MN= FN= Age Group Income Group
Outside 573 476 635 414 (In years) (In ‘)
the
Library 17 21 26 31 Less 5000 10K 15K 20K Above
to to to to 5000 to to to to 30K
20 25 30 35 N= 10K 15K 20K 30K N=
N= N= N= N= 223 N= N= N= N= 34
317 529 184 19 317 176 208 91
Removing Vehicles 19 24 37 6 13 6 21 3 9 14 5 4 11 0
Parts
Sitting on Vehicles 421 205 543 83 127 284 207 8 134 179 83 180 41 9
Parked
Moving of Vehicles 107 252 322 37 104 142 106 7 64 127 60 76 24 8
Mirror
Breaking of Glasses, 44 63 86 21 23 50 30 4 22 35 26 13 9 2
Lights etc.
Putting Fire & 13 49 57 5 6 28 23 5 19 7 23 9 4 0
Looting Lib.
Property
Campus Riots 9 25 29 5 11 8 12 3 3 11 2 7 7 4
Devastation of 19 197 192 24 53 119 38 6 48 94 17 34 19 4
Garden, Lawn etc.
It is revealed from Table 6 that of the total rural respondents

73.47% responded that sitting on vehicle parked and 18.67%
respondents were moving the mirror of vehicle parked, while 43.07%
urban respondents, were disturbing the outside environment by
sitting on vehicle parked, 52.94% by moving of vehicle mirror and
13.24% by breaking of glasses, lights etc.
Further it can be observed that 85.51% male users involved in
sitting on Vehicle Park,50.71% moving of vehicle mirror, 30.24%
were agreed in devastation of garden, lawn etc. and the 72.81%
female respondents were pertaining with vandal act outside the
library i.e. sitting on vehicle, 32.46% moving mirror,21.05% were
devastation of garden respectively.
Reasons of Disruptive Behaviors inside And Outside The
Library
There could be various reasons of disruptive behaviors in the
college libraries some of them may be the habit of the disruptive
user, for fun and competition, to acquire something, to take a rest
break, individual frustration, anger towards the library and staff,
nobody objects, behavior of staff, broken or older furniture, library
property is self property, as a part of group behaviors .Hence an
attempt was made to point out the various reasons of vandal activities
inside & outside the library. The respondents were asked to tick
more than one responses. The data collected was analyzed and
presented in Table 7.
Table 7. General Reasons for disruptive behaviors Inside &
Outside the Library (N=1049)
Reasons Respondents Percentage
Out of Habit 248 23.64
For Fun & Competition 163 15.54
To Acquire Something 382 36.42
To Take a Rest-Break 118 11.25
Individual Frustration or Anger 207 19.73
Because Nobody Object Doing 92 8.77
These
Library Staff who had not Behaved 337 32.13

Properly
Because Older & Broken Furniture 258 24.59
& Equipment
To Assert that Library Property 61 5.82
is Self Property
As a Part of Group Behavior 141 13.44
The Table 7 shows that the reasons behind vandal activities
inside and outside the library were given by 36.42% respondents, to
acquire something, 32.13% library staff who had not behaved
property, 24.59% responded that because older & broken furniture
& equipment, 38.18% out of habit, for fun & competition, nearly
31% respondents indicated for individual frustration or anger & to
take rest - break, 14.59% given the reasons were, because nobody
objects for doing these activity and to assert that library property is
self property and 13.44% were of the opinion that the reason for
this activities was as a part of group behavior.
An attempt was made to see the reasons for vandal activities
inside & outside libraries and Co-relation with rural-urban, male-
female users. The data collected was analyzed and presented in
Table 8.
Table 8. Reasons for Disruptive Activities Inside, Outside Library
Reasons of RN= UN= Chi- MN= FN= Chi- Age Group
Disruptive 573 476 Square 635 414 Square (In years)
Behaviour R/U M/F
17 21 26 31
to to to to
20 25 30 35
N= N= N= N=
317 529 184 19
Out of Habit 93 155 15.500 196 52 83.613 71 96 73 8
** **
For Fun & 74 89 1.380 127 36 50.804 37 49 69 8
Competition NS **
To Acquire 113 269 63.707 309 73 145.801 119 147 109 7
Something ** **
To Take a 26 92 36.915 78 40 12.237 29 53 30 6
Rest-Break * **
Individual 45 162 66.130 184 23 125.222 43 79 81 4
Frustration ** **
or Anger
Because 58 34 6.261 81 11 53.261 18 37 34 3
Nobody Object * **
Doing These
Library Staff 184 153 2.852 276 61 167.166 108 166 59 4
who had not NS **
Behaved
Properly
Because 137 121 .992 204 54 87.209 74 93 83 8
Older & NS **
Broken
Furniture &
Equipment
To Assert that 29 32 .148 48 13 20.082 16 34 9 2
Library NS **
Property is
Self Property
As a Part of 63 78 1.596 119 22 66.730 29 72 34 6
Group NS **
Behavior
* Multiple Responses*=0.01 Level significant, **=both the level significant (0.01, 0.05)
The Table 8 dictate that rural users mentioned reasons were;

out of habit, to acquire something, library staff who had not behaved
properly, older and broken furniture & equipment and out of habit
ranked in 1st,2nd.3rd and 4th respectively. While urban respondents
given the reasons were; to acquire something, individual frustration,
out of habit library staff who had not behaved properly ranked
1st,2nd,3rd and 4th respectively.
As pertaining to male the reasons among them were; to acquire
something, library staff who had not behaved properly, older and
broken furniture & equipment. And out of habit were the most ranked
reasons for vandal act. Where as remaining users opinion was that
for fun & competition, to take a rest-break, no body object, library
property is self property and as part of group behavior. Female user’s
opinions were also same as male responded In age group same
pattern is found in more percentage in 17 to 20 age group and 21 to
25 age group, as well as from all the income groups.
Conclusions & Implications

Some of the major findings and implications are given below;
1. In response to the Vandal acts, majority 58.53% users have
seen vandal acts on college library property, of the total rural
users 31.94% and of the total urban users 90.55% were aware
of vandal activities. Therefore, it can be stated that ‘Urban
the users more the vandalistic activities’ (Hypothesis No.
3) is valid. Further among the total male users 62.05% and
amongst total female users 53.14% respondents were
acquainted with vandalistic activity on library property, which
indicates that ‘Male users are more prone to vandal
activities’ (Hypothesis No. 2) is valid. Amongst the younger
age group of 17-25 nearly 58% were found more tempted in
vandalism, the income group of these users was below 20000-
2. Vandal acts of drawing cartoons, engraving, scratching and
breakage to library property were observed mostly on books,
tables, water coolers, walls, doors, fans, chairs, stack-racks,
Xerox machine, catalogue cards cabinets and typewriters,.
While the reasons there of can be as a part of group behavior,
to acquire something, to protest against operating policies be

it of library, college library, state or nation and to take revenge
against those library staff who had not behaved properly, for
fun or competition, individual frustration. To take a rest-break
/ or to get arrested / or to draw attention to real or imagined
grievance.
3. Regarding vandalism in college libraries 70.19% respondents
felt that. The vandal acts observed were drawing cartoons on
news papers, periodicals and books, while 50.58%
respondents observed on library buildings and walls. As
regards engraving 41.3% respondents noticed books and
periodicals and 36.53% on furniture and equipment, while
25% indicated on library building. Scratching and breakage
mostly found with tables, walls, catalogue card cabinets,
library buildings etc. The reasons thereof were fun or
competition and as a part of group behavior. It can be also
noted that 60.63% users were unsatisfied with the library
collection and services, it can be stated that ‘Unsatisfied users
are root cause of Vandalism’ (Hypothesis No.1) is valid.
4. Regarding disruptive behavior inside library building by
defacing of library walls, 12.11% respondents were tempted
to paste posters, 20% respondents to put up announcements
and 58.25% respondents tempted to paint slogans. While the
reasons there of were found to be central location of library,
habit of users, no objection and protest against operating
policies, and nobody takes objection from library staff.
5. Regarding external vandalism 59.68% respondents noticed
sitting on vehicles parked,34.22%respondents noticed vandal
acts of removing vehicle parts,14.30% respondents noticed,
breaking glasses and lights of vehicles of staff and users. While
the reasons there of were, no proper parking stand with a
gate provided by the library, no watchman appointed by the
library or if appointed is not doing his duty faithfully and a
part of group behavior.
Implications
1. UGC should make sufficient provision of funds to install
modern security systems in college libraries to prevent theft,
vandalism etc
2. Government should enact legislation on vandalism
3. Management should provide finance for installation of modern
security technology in college libraries like CCTV, RFID etc,
to prevent library property vandalism.
4. The principal and the authority should organize the state /
national / international seminars and conferences with the
financial assistance from UGC on library safety and security
5. Well documented Library policy and procedures should be
framed by the librarian as per the ACRL and ALA guidelines
6. A vigorous publicity campaign through posters on acts of
vandalism
7. Library staff should be more vigilant, committed to library
work, training on crime and vandalism prevention techniques
should be given to staff on regular intervals. Periodic
assessment of vandalism situation should be done
8. provide adequate visibility in parking and inside building,
proper parking facility with gate and watchman should be
provided.
9. Disciplinary measures relating to vandalism, disruptive
behavior, should be enforced.
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(1&2), P,95
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Academic Libraries : Library Herald, 25(1), 38-41.
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STOCK VERIFICATION PRACTICE OF

NESS WADIA COLLEGE OF
COMMERCE IN ICT ENVIRONMENT:
A STUDY
—Surekha R. Khare, Manojkumar Thakur and
Urmila L. Jagtap
Abstract
Stock verification is physical check up of library stock and is
essential for proper functioning of library. This paper is the case study
of Ness Wadia College of commerce Pune. The aim of this paper is to
share the experience of Stock taking with the help of Data Collection
Unit. Data required for the study was collected from various documents
and records of Ness Wadia College of commerce library. To avoid
human error and assured accurate data as well as to overcome the
problem of shortage of manpower for stock verification in limited time
period is possible with the help of DCU. The whole collection of library
must be barcode for effective use of DCU. The barcode technology
and DCU play a very significant role in the automated library systems.
Keywords
Stock taking, Stock Verification, Stock Inventory.
Introduction
Stock taking of the reading material in the library is a very
common practice of quality management to ensure proper
functioning of the library and it is also mandatory. The library has
to close for stock taking and the manual method of stock taking is
very time consuming. As all the libraries is facing the problem of
acute shortage of manpower, the readers were unhappy if the library
is closed for long time. Generally the stock taking is undertaken in

the vacation as there the demand for the reading material is less in
the vacation as the students as well as faculty members are on
vocation. As usual majority staff in the library wants to enjoy the
vacation; they are also taking leave in the vacation period. And the
final examinations were finished up to the last week of May, due to
all these reasons librarians get very less time for stock taking, in
such a critical situation computer aided stock taking is really
considered a boon.
Aim and objective

The aim of this paper is to share the experience of Stock taking
with the help of Data Collection Unit of Ness Wadia College of
commerce library, Pune.
Methodology
The present study is the case study of Ness Wadia College of
Commerce library. Data required for the study was collected from
various documents and records of Ness Wadia College of commerce
library.
Need of stock taking

Stock taking is done for various reasons.
Stock taking locates the missing / lost items and enable the
librarian to replace that book
Stock taking helps to make the space on the shelves for further
growth of the collection
Mis-shelved items will be traced and helps in reshelving those
books correctly as well as reclassify the books which have wrong
class numbers.
It helps in updating the OPAC or library Catalogue to provide
better service
It provides an opportunity to survey the book stock and worn
out and torn books and books of older editions which are no longer
in use can be withdrawn from the main sequence.
Frequency norms of stock verification

1. The frequency of stock taking depends upon the size of the
book stock of a library. As per General Financial Rules, Govt.
of India, Physical verification of books should be done every
year in the case of library having not more than 20,000
volumes and every after three years for those libraries having
more than 20,000 but not more than 50,000 volumes and
sample physical verification at intervals of not more than five
years may be done in the case of libraries having more than
50,000 volumes.
2. As per General Finance Rules, 2005 of Govt. of India, loss of
five volumes per one thousand books issued/consulted in a
year may be taken as reasonable provided such losses are
not attributable to dishonesty or negligence. However loss of
a book of a value exceeding Rs.1000/- and rare books
irrespective of value shall invariably be investigated and
appropriate action taken.
Stock taking methods

1. By accession Register
2. By using separate register with accession numbers
3. By preparing separate sheets containing accession numbers
4. By numerical counting
5. By the shelf list having special columns on the cards for stock
taking record.
6. By shelf list without any specific columns on the cards.
7. By duplicate set of book cards
8. By master record
9. By sample stock verification
10. By using computers
Stock taking methods in ict environment

1. RFID
2. Barcode technology With the help of Data Collection Unit
3. By using computer or library software
College profile
The Ness Wadia College of Commerce was established on 15th
July 1969. There are 9 departments and 101 faculty members. Our
college is recognized as Research Center for Ph.D. Courses Offered
and annual intake of Students
Sr. Particulars Courses Intake
No.
1 Undergraduates XI and XII 1632
2 Degree Courses B.com, 2223
3 Degree Courses BBA, BBM(IB), 958
BCA
4 Post Graduate Courses M.Com I and II 224
5 Post Graduate Diplomas PGDTL, PGDIB, 230
PG Diploma in
Banking and
Finance
Total 5267
Library
A college library well equipped with books and other resources.
Library uses SOUL 2.0 LIBRARY SOFTWARE Developed by UGC
INFLIBNET ENTRE, Ahmadabad.
LIBRARY’S STOCK OF READING MATERIAL

SR. NO. PARTICULARS TOTAL
1 BOOKS 49885
2 JOURNALS 103
3 NEWSPAPERS 21
4 BOUND VOLUMES 2001
5 THESIS/DISSERTATION/ 755
PROJECT REPORTS
6 AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIAL 354
7 E-Resources N-List
ICT based best practices applied in ness wadia

college of commerce
A. In House Barcode Printing System
B. Computerized Book Card Printing System
C. Computerized I-Card System
D. Computer Aided Stock Taking
Computer aided stock taking

Before automation
The library maintained shelf list with special columns on cards.
These cards had necessary information which is given for a main
entry of a book and also has some columns for recording stock taking
entries like year date etc.
The particular drawers were taken to the shelves and the staff
member of the library check the detail information like call number,
accession number, title and author of the book and tick mark in the
relevant column of the year and goes on pushing forward the cards
which have been checked. But it was lengthy process and the limited
number of columns can be drawn on the cards, so those cards
became useless after some years and again we had to prepared fresh
cards.
After Automation
The Library has to close for stock taking and the manual method
of stock taking was very time consuming. All these problems made
us to go for computerized stock taking. Ness Wadia College library
has purchased a DCU (Data Collection Unit) ARGOX PT 180. This
DCU has facility to read and store barcode, and this barcode can be
uploaded in excel file. This unit can charge like mobile and it has
also facility to fill the data manually. With the help of this DCU one
can do the stock taking work very speedily and accurately.
DCU are being used for data capturing or scanning of barcode

labels of documents as all the collection in the library is bar-
coded.
Putting the stamp of date, month and year at the inside of
the back cover of the document to ensure that the document
was physically checked.
The scanned data of accession number is loaded in excel file
which has the facility to reproduced the data in ascending
order and generate the report of stock taking.
Returned documents during the stock verification period were
also verified before shelving.
We also scan the data of issued books.
Damaged and worn out documents for repair, binding of
obsolete volumes and Re-arrangement and cleaning also be
done simultaneously.
Collection Development Policy

The Selection of the material at the ness Wadia College Library
is a coordinated effort of users and librarians. The staff, students,
Principal and vice principals are the users who participate in
building-up the collection.
The selection committee or team works according to the following
guidelines
Materials should be of the greatest relevance to the study
purpose.
Material should be qualitative in content.
The content should be authoritative and significant in subject
matter.
The usefulness of the material to be selected should be
evaluated in respects of the collection already available in
the library.
Cost may sometimes, but not always, be a deciding factor.
Policy for missing books

Make the list of missing resources for check the shelves again.
Then distribute the list to the staff and request them to search for
the resources. If resources are located follow the stock taking
procedure and if not, then it should be marked as missing and making
again such list of missing books for withdrawal from the database.
1. Loss of books shall be written off by the competent authority.
Weed out policy: Stock taking and weeding is complimentary
activities. The criteria used in weeding out policy are physical
condition, currency of information, duplication and new edition of
the book.
Policy for CD/DVD/VCD/Audio Cassettes

CD/DVD/VCD/Audio Cassettes purchased separately or comes
along with books were catalogue, classified and accessioned in
separate register. And arranged as per the accession numbers. The
stock taking is easily done as all the audio visual material is kept as
per accession number.
Report Generation/ Compliance Report

As the term stock verification implies only on stock, a list of
missing books accession numbers is generated against the captured
data file. After several cross checking the final verification report is
prepared.
Books purchased during the period form 1969-1970 to 1998-
1999 is
1. SENIOR COLLEGE 40118
2. JUNIOR COLLEGE 6719
3. DONATED/OTHERS 4614
51451
Stock Taking Report
Sr. No. Description Total No
1. Books Physically verified 32811
2. Books discarded due to 14619
outdated syllabus /donated to
other institutions
3. Books issued but not available 1211
at the time of verification
4. Books lost but cost paid by 2339
the borrower
5. Acc. No. Omitted 163
6. Books untraceable/misplace 308
51451
Books purchased during the period form 1969-1970 to 2008-
2009 is 41632
Stock Taking Report

1. Books Physically verified 36512
2. Books discarded due to outdated syllabus / 1064
3. Guajarati books donated to other institutions 563
4. Books issued but not available at the time of 201
verification
5. Books issued to the staff and students 2100
6. Books lost but cost paid by the borrower 8
7. Books to be discarded(due to change in the 620
syllabus)
8. Books untraceable/misplace 564
Suggestions/Things need to be implementation

1. Librarian should not be held responsible in loss of books, as
it is the collective responsibility of entire library staff.
2. Orientation Programs should arrange and focus be put on
library collection and its use.
3. One staff should be on Library entrance and exit to avoid
theft and loss of books.
4. Shelving of books made properly and regularly, it helps in to
find out misplace/missing books.
5. Reprographic service, scanning facility should provide within
library to avoid book loss.
6. Use CCTV and RFID Technology to control and decrease the
book loss.
7. Treat the users respectfully which will reflect that they respect
library staff as well as reading material.
Conclusion
Barcode Technology is reliable and easy to use. To avoid human
error and assured accurate data as well as to overcome the problem
of shortage of manpower stock verification with the help of DCU is

essential. The barcode technology and DCU played a very significant
role in the automated library systems. The decision to purchase
DCU for stock taking is proved to be a blessing for library staff.
References
Chaurasia, Neeraj Kumar., Chaurasia Pankaj (2011) Library
stock management: A Case study of stock verification of
Central Library IIT Delhi. International journal of Information
Dissemination and Technology, January-March 2011 Vol-I
Issue-I, ISSN-2229-5984
General Financial Rules, 2005, Government of India, Ministry
of Finance Dept. of expenditure Page. No 73-74, retrieved
from www.gndec.ac.in/Librarian/library rules.pdf. 21/4/
2014.
Mittal, R.L.(1984). Library Administration Theory and Practice.
New Delhi: Metropolitan Book Co.(Pvt)Ltd.
EVOLUTION OF WEB 2.0 AND ITS

APPLICATION IN LIBRARIES
—Mehnaz Siddiqui
Abstract
This paper gives a brief information about the web 1.0, web 2.0,
web 3.0 ,web 4.0 and its implication in libraries. The World Wide Web
(commonly known as the web) is not synonymous with the internet
but is the most prominent part of the internet that can be defined as a
techno-social system to interact humans based on technological
networks. The notion of the techno-social system refers to a system
that enhances human cognition, communication, and co-operation;
Cognition is the necessary prerequisite to communicate and the
precondition to co-operate. In other words, cooperation needs
communication and communication needs cognition. Web is the largest
transformable-information construct that its idea was introduced by
Tim Burners-Lee in 1989 at first. Much progress has been made about
the web and related technologies in the past two decades. Web 1.0 as
a web of cognition, web 2.0 as a web of communication, web 3.0 as a
web of co-operation and web 4.0 as a web of integration are introduced
such as four generation of the web since the advent of the web.
Keywords
WWW, Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0, Web services, Web
Technology, Web Application
Introduction
The WWW is more and more used for application to application
communication. The programmatic interfaces made available are
referred to as web services. Most people today can hardly conceive
of life without the internet. The web of documents has morphed into
a web of data. The semantic wave embraces three stages of internet

growth. The first stage, web 1.0, was about connecting information
and getting on the net. Web 2.0 is about connecting people putting
the “I” in user interface, and the “we” into a web of social participation.
The next stage, web 3.0, is starting now. It is about representing
meanings, connecting knowledge, and putting them to work in ways
that make our experience of internet more relevant, useful, and
enjoyable.
Web 1.0 is simply an information portal where users passively
receive information without being given the opportunity to post
reviews, comments, and feedback. It is the “readable” phrase of the
World Wide Web with flat data. Web 2.0 facilitates interaction between
web users and sites, so it allows users to interact more freely with
each other. Web 2.0 encourages participation, collaboration, and
information sharing. It is the “writable” phrase of the World Wide
Web with interactive data. Web 3.0 is a semantic web which refers
to the future. In Web 3.0, computers can interpret information like
humans and intelligently generate and distribute useful content
tailored to the needs of users. It is the “executable” phrase of Word
Wide Web with dynamic applications, interactive services, and
“machine-to-machine” interaction.
Web 1.0
Web 1.0 is the first generation of the web which according to
Berners-Lee, could be considered the read-only web and also as a
system of cognition. Web 1.0 began as an information place for
businesses to broadcast their information to people. The early web
provided a limited user interactions or content contributions and
only allowed to search the information and read it. “Web 1.0 is the
first state of World Wide Web which was in the basic Read Only
hypertext system.” Web 1.0 is a retronym which refers to the state
of the World Wide Web, and website design style before the Web 2.0
phenomenon, and included most websites in the period between
1994 and 2004. Web 1.0 pages have the following characteristics:
They use basic html (hypertext mark-up language) for
publishing content on the internet. These are static web pages.
They have Read-Only content.

The web master is solely responsible for updating users and
managing the content of the website.
They do not support mass-publishing.
Webmaster manually assigns all the hyperlinks to the content
of the web page.
The contact information provided by Web 1.0 is email, fax,
phone number and the address.
They use framesets.
The Web 1.0 pages can only be understood by humans (web
readers). They do not have machine compatible content.
Web 2.0
The term “Web 2.0” was first used in January 1999 by Darcy
DiNucci, a consultant on electronic information design (information
architecture). In her article, “Fragmented Future”, DiNucci writes:
“The Web we know now, which loads into a browser window in
essentially static screenfuls, is only an embryo of the Web to come.
The first glimmerings of Web 2.0 are beginning to appear, and we
are just starting to see how that embryo might develop. The Web
will be understood not as screenfuls of text and graphics but as a
transport mechanism, the ether through which interactivity happens.
It will [...] appear on your computer screen, [...] on your TV set [...]
your car dashboard [...] your cell phone [...] hand-held game
machines [...] maybe even your microwave oven.”
Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the
World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate
and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the
transition from static HTMLWeb pages to a more dynamic Web that
is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users.
Other improved functionality of Web 2.0 includes open
communication with an emphasis on Web-based communities of
users, and more open sharing of information. Over time Web 2.0
has been used more as a marketing term than a computer-science-
based term. Blogs, wikis, and Web services are all seen as
components of Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 is the term used to describe a variety of web sites and
applications that allow anyone to create and share online information
or material they have created. A key element of the technology is
that it allows people to create, share, collaborate & communicate.
Web 2.0 differs from other types of websites as it does not require
any web design or publishing skills to participate, making it easy
for people to create and publish or communicate their work to the
world.
The nature of this technology makes it an easy and popular way
to communicate information to either a select group of people or to
a much wider audience. The University can make use of these tools
to communicate with students, staff and the wider academic
community. It can also be an effective way to communicate and
interact with students and research colleagues. There are number
of different types of web 2.0 applications including wikis, blogs, social
networking, folksonomies, podcasting & content hosting services.
Many of the most popular websites are Web 2.0 sites such as
Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr.
Web 2.0 is defined by Tim O’Reilly (2005)

“Web 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning all connected
devices; Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the
intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a
continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it
consuming and remixing data from multiple sources, including
individual users, while providing their own data and services in a
form that allows remixing by others creating network effects through
an “architecture of participation,” and going beyond the page
metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver.
Characteristics of Web 2.0 can be summarized in the following
ten tips to better understand the Web 2.0:
1. The Web is a platform. We have gone from installable software
on our PC, to software-services that are accessible online. All
data and software is now available online.
2. The Web is functionality. The Web aids in the transfer of

information and services from websites.
3. The Web is simple. It facilitates the access and usage of web
services using user-friendly interfaces.
4. The Web is light. The models of development, the processes,
and the models of business become light. The lightness is
associated with the ability to share of information and services
with ease, and made possible through the implementation of
intuitive modular elements.
5. The Web is social. People create the Web, “populate the Web”,
by socializing and gradually moving members from the
physical world to the online world.
6. The Web is flow. The users are seen as co-developers, while
Web 2.0 remains in “perpetual beta”, where it remains at the
beta development stage for an indefinite period of time.
7. The Web is flexible. The software is on a more advanced
level because it enables access to previously unavailable digital
content. This idea is similar to the Long Tail concept, which
focuses on the less popular content that couldn’t previously
be accessed.
8. The Web is mixable. The expansion of codes in order to modify
web applications (like Google does with its Google Maps
application) allows individuals who are not necessarily
computer professionals to mix different applications in order
to create new ones. Web 2.0 gets its power through this
“mashup” capability.
9. The Web is participatory. Web 2.0 has adopted a structure
of participation that encourages users to enhance the
application while they use it, instead of keeping it rigid and
controlled.
10. The Web is in our hands. Its increased organization and
characterization of information emphasizes its user-friendly
interaction through deep linking. Thanks to phenomena such
as social tagging, information is always more and more easily
available.
Examples of Web 2.0 based websites

1. Flickr – A photo sharing website which allows users to upload
their photographs andshare it with anyone and everyone.
2. Orkut-Social networking site which allows the users to send
messages and communicatewith other members.
3. YouTube – It allows the users to upload their videos and
share it with everyone.
4. Blogs – Maintained by individuals or groups, they can be
used to convey anything.
5. Google AD sense – Allows users to earn money through
posting Google ads on their websites.
6. Wikipedia – Online encyclopedia wherein the users contribute
by writing the articles, definitions, etc. It is completely edited
and maintained by the users.
7. Scribd – Users can upload any documents on the website
where other users can either download or view those
documents online.
Web 3.0
John Markoff of the New York Times suggested web 3.0 as third
generation of the web in 2006 . The basic idea of web 3.0 is to define
structure data and link them in order to more effective discovery,
automation, integration, and reuse across various applications
[5].Web 3.0 tries to link, integrate, and analyze data from various
data sets to obtain new information stream; It is able to improve
data management, support accessibility of mobile internet, simulate
creativity and innovation, encourage factor of globalization
phenomena, enhance customers’ satisfaction and help to organize
collaboration in social web.
Web 3.0 is called “Semantic Web”. It is a term coined by Tim
Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. To simplify it
further, the semantic web is going to be a place, where machines
will be able to read web pages much like humans. It is going to be a
place, where Internet search engines along with software agents
will troll the Internet and find what the user is exactly looking for. In
words of Nova Spivack, “Web 3.0 is a set of standards that turn the
web into one big database”. With the Web 3.0, there is going to be
intelligent search and behavioral advertising among other things.
Hence, it can be defined as :
“Highly specialized information silos, moderated by a cult
of personality, validated by the community and put into context
with the inclusion of meta-data through widgets.”
3D technologies are likely to play a greater role within Web 3.0.
The concept of 3D environments on the Web is hardly new. Virtual
Reality Modeling Language (VRML) was introduced during the late
1990s. However, it has not been widely utilized within the travel
sector. That situation may be changing as Google recently released
a new open source web ApI (application programming interface) called
O3D. New accelerated 3D graphics software, to be supplied as a
browser plug-in, would enable the creation of rich 3D environments
on the Web. The potentials for creating enhanced, rich Web-based
3D environments appear to be considerable, particularly for
marketing within hospitality, travel and tourism where they could
be used to model actual locations and facilities. Recently, Microsoft
integrated its 3D photo tool, photosynth, with its popular Live Maps
feature enabling users to view and share 3D travel experiences.
Benefits of Web 3.0

A huge benefit of Web 3.0 is the move towards being able to
access data from anywhere. This is mainly being driven by the heavy
usage of smart phones and cloud applications. The idea here is to
make sure that the user can access as much data as possible from
anywhere, not just their home. Technology is trying to expand this
idea in ways that allow TV’s to pick up on user data, and allowing
smart phones to access data on your computer. This is an amazing
and useful advancement!
Comparison between Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

Sr. Web 1.0 Web 2.0 Web 3.0
No.
1. 1996 2006 2016
2. The Web The Social Web The Semantic Web
3. Tim Berners Lee Tim O’Reilly Sir Tim Berners Lee
4. Read only web Read and write web Read, write and
execute web
5. Information Interaction Immersion
sharing
6. Million of users Billion of users Trillion of users
7. Ecosystem Participation Understanding itself
8. Connect Connect people Connect knowledge
information
9. Brain and Eyes Brain, Eyes, Ears, Brain, Eyes, Ears,
(=Information) Voice and Heart Voice, Heart, Arms
(= Passion) and Legs (= Freedom
10. The Hypertext/ The Community The Semantic Web
CGI Web. Web (for people: (for machines).
(the basics) apps/sites
connecting them)
11. Pushed web, text/ Two way web pages, 3D portals, avtar
graphics based Wikis, video, pod representation,
flash casts, shading, Interoperable
Personal profits, multi-user
publishing, virtual environment
2D portals (MUVEs), Integrated
games, education
and business, all
media flows in and
out of virtual Web
worlds
12. Companies People publish People build
publish content content that other applications that
that people people can consume,people can interact
consume companies build with, companies
(e.g. CNN) platforms that build platforms that
let people publish let people publish
content for other services by
people (e.g. Flickr, leveraging the
YouTube, Adsense, associations
Wikipedia, Blogger, between people or
MySpace, RSS, special content ( e. g.
Digg) FaceBook, Google
Maps, My Yahoo!)
13. In Web 1.0 search In Web 2.0 search In Web 3.0 search
engines retrieve engines retrieve engines will
macro contents. tags with micro- hopefully retrieve
Search is very fast contents (Furl even micro content texts
but many times retrieves tags with which were tagged
results are in- macro contents). automatically. This
accurate or more The process of implies translating
than users can tagging is manual, billions of Web 1.0
chew. tedious and covers macro contents into
negligible percents micro contents. The
of the WWW. Web result could be more
2.0 tags everything: precise search
pictures, links, because tagging can
events,news, Blogs, solve part of the
audio, video,and so ambiguity that
on. Google Base homonyms and
even retrieves synonymsintroduce
micro-content texts. into the process of
search.
14. Web 1.0 was all Web 2.0 is more Web 3.0 is curiusly
about static about 2 way undefined. AI and
content, one way communication the web learning
publishing of through social what you want and
content without networking, delivering you a
any real blogging, wikis, personalized web
interaction tagging, user experience.
between readers generated content
or publishers or and video
each other.
15. The web in the New advances that Thought to be the
beginning when it allow a much more future – where the
was first sophisticated user web is more
developing interaction with interactive with
web 1.0 webpages – citizen users, leading to a
journalism social kind of artificial
networks and Wikis intelligence web 3.0.
are all products of
Web 2.0.
16. Personal web sites Blogs Semantic Blogs:
Semi Blog,Haystack,
Semblog, Structured
Blogging
17. Content Wikis, Wikipedia Semantic Wikis:
Management Semantic Media
system Wiki, Semper Wiki,
Platypus, dbpedia,
Rhizome
18. AltaVista, Google Google persona- Semantic Search:
lized, DumpFind, SWSE, Swoogle,
Hakia Intellidimension
19. Citeseer, Project Google scholar, Semantic Digital
Gutenberg Book search Libraries:JeromDl,
BRICKS, Longwell
20. Message boards Community portals Semantic Forums
and community
portals: SIOC,
Open Link Data
Spaces
21. Buddy Lists, Online social Semantic Social
Address book networks Networks: FOAF,
People Aggregator
22. Semantic Social
Information Spaces:
Nepomuk, Gnowsis
Web 4.0
Web 4.0 is still an underground idea in progress and there is no
exact definition of how it would be. Web 4.0 is also known as
symbiotic web. The dream behind of the symbiotic web is interaction
between humans and machines in symbiosis. It will be possible to
build more powerful interfaces such as mind controlled interfaces
using web 4.0. In simple words, machines would be clever on reading
the contents of the web, and react in the form of executing and
deciding what to execute first to load the websites fast with superior
quality and performance and build more commanding interfaces.
Web 4.0 will be the read-write-execution-concurrency web. It
achieves a critical mass of participation in online networks that
deliver global transparency, governance, distribution, participation,
collaboration into key communities such as industry, political, social
and other communities. Web 4.0 or webOS will be such as a
middleware in which will start functioning like an operating system.
The webOS will be parallel to the human brain and implies a massive
web of highly intelligent interactions. Web 4.0 is the impending state
at which all information converges into a great ball of benevolent
self-aware light, and solves every problem from world peace to why
Lost stinks this season.
Application in Libraries
The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) and the
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in
Scotland (CILIPS) support the adoption of new technologies that
could enhance the delivery of library services. SLIC and CILIPS have
been working with Web2.0 services for over two years now. We believe
that the incorporation of services, such as Flickr, Twitter and
SlideShare, has enhanced our communication model, enabling us
to better support and promote libraries.
Librarians have been using the internet to communicate, share
ideas and offer support for a long time, mainly by using the email
network. The advent of Web2.0 technologies presents new
opportunities for large scale professional collaboration and
cooperation. Many librarians now use Twitter, for example, to get
information about activities and initiatives going on elsewhere; and

to share ideas or ask colleagues for support. This rapidly expanding
network draws on the experience of colleagues at an international
level, allowing for the widespread sharing of information and
expertise, which then feeds into service developments at a local level.
SLIC and CILIPS believe that participation in this online community
can significantly improve staff development, skills and motivation,
leading to direct benefit for library services.
“Library 2.0” as “the application of interactive, collaborative, and
multi-media web-based technologies to web-based library services
and collections,” and suggests this definition be adopted by the
library science community. Limiting the definition to web-based
services, and not library services more generally, avoids potential
confusion and sufficiently allows the term to be researched, further
theorized, and renders it more useful in professional discourse.
Library 2.0 favours Open Source software. This allows the Library
to participate directly in the development process, and allows for
faster development. The web-accessible OPAC is still quite new –
less than a decade – and there is still room for improvement.
Catalogues are usually part of the “dark web” –inaccessible to search
engines. Ideally, we need more flexible information delivery. RSS
feeds are one possibility, but we still need smarter and more open
catalogue systems.
Conclusion
The web offers so many opportunities to people with disabilities
that are unavailable through anyother medium. It offers
independence and freedom. However, if a web site is not created
with web accessibility in mind, it may exclude a segment of the
population that stands to gain the most from the internet. Most
people do not intend to exclude people with disabilities. As
organizations and designers become aware of and implement
accessibility, they will ensure that their content can be accessed by
a broader population. The Semantic Web (Web 3.0) promises to
“organize the world’s information” in a dramatically more logical
way than Google can ever achieve with their current engine design.
This is specially true from the point of view of machine
comprehension as opposed to human comprehension. The effects

of Web 2.0 are far-reaching.
Like all paradigm shifts, it affects the people who use it socially,
culturally, and even politically. One of the most affected groups is
the designers and developers who will be building it—not just
because their technical skills will change, but also because they
will need to treat content as part of a unified whole, an ecosystem if
you will, and not just an island. First, knowledge of all kinds gets
represented in a form that is interpretable both by people and
machines. Second, different forms of language in which knowledge
is expressed begin to be interrelated and made interchangeable with
each other. Third, when knowledge is encoded in a semantic form,
it becomes transparent and accessible at any time to a variety of
reasoning engines.
References
airccse.org/journal/ijwest/papers/3112ijwest 01.pdf(
accessed on 12/05/2014).
Don Kenezek,”All about computers:Conquering Technophobia
Web 2.0 explained Teachers resource guide”Discovery
Education (2009) :1-15 (accessed on16 may, 2013.).
dspace.cusat.ac.in/jspui/bitstream/123456789/297/1/web
2.0 pdf.
http://www. zmogo.com/web/web-40trip-down-the rabbit-
hole-or-brave-new-world/(accessed on 15/05/2014).
http://www..marcus cake.com/economics-development/
internet-evolution.(accessed on 15/05/2014).
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/
09/30/whatis-web-20.html (accessed on 08/05/2014).
http://www.websitequality.blogspot.com/2010/01/web-40-
new-web-technology.html.(accessed on 15/05/2014)
ir.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/handle/1944/1285/54.pdf?
sequence=1.
Paul Anderson, “ What is Web? Ideas, Technologies and
Implications for Education,” JICS Technology and Standards
Watch (2007): 2-11.
Saresh Aghasei, Mohammad Nematbhaksh and Hadi Khosravi
Farsani,”Evoluation of the world wide web: From web1.0To
web4.0,” International Journal of web and semantic
technology (2012): 1-10, accessed on 13 may, 2013,
doi:10.5121/ijwest.2013,3101.
Umesh Nayak and Shivalingaiah, “Comperative Study of
web1.0, web2.0 and web 3.0,” 6th International Caliber 2008
(2008): 499, accessed on 10may,201
www.slainte.org.uk/files/pdf/web 2/
web2GuidelinesFinal.pdf.(accessed on 01/05/2014).
www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/techwatch/tsw0701b.pdf.
(accessed on 08 may, 2014).
ACADEMIC USERS’ E-MAIL

ACCESS PURPOSES:
A SURVEY
—Saravanan, T
Abstract
This study examines the users’ attitudes of the select 14 disciplines
of higher education in terms of Library visits and e-mail access
purposes namely academic and personal. Either academic or personal,
users are in need of modern ICT tools to meet their requirements. The
present study enables the library professionals to realize the higher
education users’ attitudes while using ICT resources and services.
The identified research questions in this investigation are: Do users
significantly differ with regard to e-mail access purposes? Do users’
e-mail access purposes follow a Gaussian distribution?
Keywords/Descriptors
Library; Visit; ICT; Internet; E-Mail; Purposes; Information
seekers
Introduction
University Libraries have invested a huge amount of finance to
digitizing information in order to offer the best online services to
their users. However, many studies are being discussed about the
issues that are related to the lack of use of online sources and services
offered by the university libraries. Besides, higher educational users’
perceptions have been studied by various researchers at the national
and international level. One of the major areas of library and
information science research is the systematic investigation of
university libraries’ online sources and their users. Kim (2011)
investigated into users’ perceptions of university library websites
and he collected 315 samples from various disciplines namely

psychology, management, accounting, education, and computer
engineering. The study examined about the users perspective,
derived from technology adoption literature; the website design
perspectives, embedded in human computer interaction literature;
and the library service quality perspective, based on the information
science literature. The study further revealed that the usage of online
resources appears to be low for all the user groups. Although the
doctoral students and the faculty members were heavy users of
university web resources, their usage level falls in between 30%-
40%. The present study examines and identifies the higher education
users’ online communication tool access purposes across their library
visits.
Objectives
The Problem objectives of this research were: To measure the
respondents’ library visits frequencies; E-mail use purposes;
Gaussian distribution of e-mail use purposes; and to build the Xbar
Chart (using S) in order to make a few suggestions for the benefit of
the librarians.
Methodology
The study encompasses 687 PG users from 16 disciplines of
Annamalai University. The questionnaires were collected from 702
users. In the final, 687 questionnaires from 14 disciplines were
considered for further process. Investigation included the stratified
random sampling procedure. The collected samples were finalized
as shown below: Bio-Technology (43 (6.13%)); MBA (91 (12.96%));
English (19 (2.71%)); Commerce (112 (15.95%)); History (26 (3.7%));
Economics (31 (4.42%)); Maths (53 (7.55%)); Zoology (47 (6.7%));
Physics (55 (7.83%)); Chemistry (53 (7.55%)); Computer Science (59
(8.4%)); Physical Education (28 (3.99%)); Education (46 (6.55%));
Botany (24 (3.42%)). The collected data was carefully processed with
the required statistical tool namely B Stat, AD Stat and t Stat (two
tailed with equal & unequal var.). Discussions have been structured
based on multilevel per cent distributions as explained by Rojer
Stern (2002).
EDGE
The investigation is targeted to examine the select 14 disciplines
of Annamalai University respondents’ library visit frequencies, e-
mail use purposes in order to trace the significance, and a Gaussian
distribution. No inferences have been made beyond the limitations
of the said objectives.
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated for the purpose of
the present study.
1. (H0) There is no statistically significant difference in the means
of users’ e-mail access purposes.
2. (H0) The samples follow a specified Gaussian distribution.
Discussions
Table 1: Bio-Technology - Library Visit & E-Mail use
Purposes Levels-Break Up
Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Bi- Occa- Total
Once Week sional
Academic 7 9 10 3 1 30
Row % 23.33 30 33.33 10 3.33 100
Col % 3.83 5.66 5.13 6.52 2.7 4.27
Tot % 1 1.28 1.42 0.43 0.14 4.27
Personal 2 1 7 2 1 13
Row % 15.38 7.69 53.85 15.38 7.69 100
Col % 1.09 0.63 3.59 4.35 2.7 1.85
Tot % 0.28 0.14 1 0.28 0.14 1.85
Total 9 10 17 5 2 43
Row % 20.93 23.26 39.53 11.63 4.65 100
Col % 4.92 6.29 8.72 10.87 5.41 6.13
Tot % 1.28 1.42 2.42 0.71 0.28 6.13
B Stat df p-value chi-squared Critical

0.64896 1 0.4205 3.8415
Measures Mean Vari Obs. df t P(T<=t) t Cri AD- P
ance Stat tical stat
Academic 6 15 5 8 1.6473 0.1381 2.3060 0.27 0.516
Personal 2.6 6.3 5 0.76 0.017
Table1 and figures 1 & 1.1 depict the Bio-Technology users’

(6.13 per cent) frequency of library visits and their e-mail access
purposes.
Fig-1: Bio-Technology- Visits & E-mail use purpose

Fig-1.1: Bio-Technology- Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: It is worth to mention that a maximum number of
(10) respondent visited the library ‘weekly’, which represents that
33 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes,
and 5.13 per cent of users visited the library ‘weekly’. The next highest
score 9 is traced for the choice ‘2 days once’, which shows that 30
per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes, and
5.66 per cent of users visited the library ‘2 days once’. The choice
‘daily’ has received the 3rd position where it has received 7 responses,
which indicates that 23.33 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
academic purposes, and 3.83 per cent of users visited the library
‘daily’. The next choice ‘Bi-week’ has secured the responses 3. It
shows that 10 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic
purposes, and 6.52 per cent of users visited the library twice a week.
The least score 1 is identified for the choice ‘occasional’, which
indicates that 3.33 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic
purposes, and 27 per cent of users visited the library occasionally.

The AD test result indicates that the observations follow a Gaussian
distribution.
Personal: The highest score 7 is traced for the choice ‘weekly’,
which shows that 53.85 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
personal purposes, and 3.59 per cent of users visited the library
weekly. The second position has gone to two choices namely ‘daily’,
& ‘Bi-week’, which indicates that 15.38 per cent of the users accessed
e-mail for personal purposes. However, 4.35 per cent of users visited
the library twice a week, while just 1.09 per cent visited the library
daily. The remaining choices ‘2 days once’, & ‘Occasional’ have
received only 1 response each, which shows that 7.69 per cent of
the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes. Their visits have
secured different values, as 2.7 per cent visited the library
occasionally, and just 0.63 per cent visited the library 2 days once.
The statistical test results at 5 per cent significance did not support
the alternative hypothesis, which made me to accept the hypothesis
1, as there would be no significant difference identified between
Bio-Technology users’ e-mail access purposes mean. The AD test
result indicates that the observations do not follow a Gaussian
distribution.
Table 2:MBA-Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Bi-Week Month Bi-Month Occasional Total
Once
Academic 13 11 11 2 1 5 5 48
Row % 27.08 22.92 22.92 4.17 2.08 10.42 10.42 100
Col % 7.1 6.92 5.64 4.35 1.92 16.67 13.51 6.84
Tot % 1.85 1.57 1.57 0.28 0.14 0.71 0.71 6.84
Personal 9 14 11 3 4 1 1 43
Row % 20.93 32.56 25.58 6.98 9.3 2.33 2.33 100
Col % 4.92 8.81 5.64 6.52 7.69 3.33 2.7 6.13
Tot % 1.28 1.99 1.57 0.43 0.57 0.14 0.14 6.13
Total 22 25 22 5 5 6 6 91
Row % 24.18 27.47 24.18 5.49 5.49 6.59 6.59 100
Col % 12.02 15.72 11.28 10.87 9.62 20 16.22 12.96
Tot % 3.13 3.56 3.13 0.71 0.71 0.85 0.85 12.96

0.03611 1 0.8493 3.8415
Academic 6.8 22.80952 7 12 0.2682 0.7930 2.1788 0.40 0.261
Personal 6.1 26.80952 7 0.37 0.318
MBA users’ (12.96 per cent) frequency of library visits and their
e-mail access purposes are given in the table 2 and figures 2 & 2.1.
Fig-2: MBA- Visits & E-mail use purpose

Fig-2.1: MBA- Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: It is interesting to note that most of the (13)
respondents visited the library daily. This represents that 27.08 per
cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes, and 7.1
per cent of users visited the library daily. The choices ‘2 days once’,
& ‘weekly’ have secured the equal responses (11), which shows that
22.92 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes.
However, the visit wise calculations show the different output, as
6.92 per cent visited the library 2 days once, while 5.64 per cent is
traced for the choice ‘weekly’. The choices ‘Bi-month’ & ‘Occasional’
have received 5 responses, which indicate that 10.42 per cent of the
users accessed e-mail for academic purposes. However, 16.67 per
cent visited the library monthly twice, while 13.51 per cent visited
the library occasionally. The next choice ‘Bi-week’ has secured 2
responses, which indicates that 4.17 per cent of the users accessed
e-mail for academic purposes, and 4.35 per cent of users visited the
library twice a week. The least score 1 is identified for the choice
‘month’. It shows that 2.08 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
monthly. The AD test result indicates that the observations follow a
Gaussian distribution.
Personal: The highest score 14 is traced for the choice ‘2 days
once’, which shows that 32.56 per cent of the users accessed e-mail
for personal purposes, and 8.81 per cent of users visited the library
‘2 days once’. The second position has gone to the choice ‘Weekly’. It
indicates that 25.58 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal
purposes, and 5.64 per cent of users visited the library weekly. 9
respondents visited the library daily, which shows that 20.93 per
cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 4.92
per cent of users visited the library daily. Month wise visit has
received 4 responses, which indicates that 9.3 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 7.69 per cent of users
visited the library monthly. The choice ‘Bi-week’ has received 3
responses. It denotes that 6.98 per cent of the users accessed e-
mail for personal purposes, and 6.52 per cent of users visited the
library twice a week. The choices ‘Bi-month’ & ‘Occasional’ have
received just 1 response each, which indicates that 2.33 per cent of
the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes. However, 3.33 per
cent visited the library monthly twice, while 2.7 per cent visited the
library occasionally. The statistical test results at 5 per cent
significance did not support the alternative hypothesis, which made
me to accept the hypothesis 1, because there would be no significant
difference identified between MBA users’ e-mail access purposes
mean. The AD test result indicates that the observations follow a
Table 3: English - Library Visit & E-Mail use

Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Occa- Total
Once sional
Academic 4 4 2 1 11
Row % 36.36 36.36 18.18 9.09 100
Col % 2.19 2.52 1.03 2.7 1.57
Tot % 0.57 0.57 0.28 0.14 1.57
Personal 4 1 2 1 8
Row % 50 12.5 25 12.5 100
Col % 2.19 0.63 1.03 2.7 1.14
Tot % 0.57 0.14 0.28 0.14 1.14
Total 8 5 4 2 19
Row % 42.11 26.32 21.05 10.53 100
Col % 4.37 3.14 2.05 5.41 2.71
Tot % 1.14 0.71 0.57 0.28 2.71

0.008913 1 0.9248 3.8415
Academic 2.75 2.25 4 6 0.727 0.4942 2.4469 0.37 0.215
Personal 2 2 4 0.42 0.155
English discipline users’ (2.71 per cent) frequency of library visits

and their e-mail access purposes are available in the table 3 and
figures 3 & 3.1.
Academic: It could be observed that the majority of the (4)

respondents visited the library both daily and 2 days once. It
represents that 36.36 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
academic purposes. However, a maximum value of 2.52 per cent of
the user visited the library 2 days once, while 2.19 per cent visited
the library daily. The choice ‘weekly’ is found with 2 responses, which
shows that 18.18 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic
purposes, and 1.03 per cent of users visited the library weekly. The
least score 1 is traced for the choice ‘Occasional’, which indicates
that 9.09 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes,
and 2.7 per cent of the users visited the library occasionally. The
AD test result indicates that the observations follow a Gaussian
distribution.
Fig-3: English- Visits & E-mail use purpose

Fig-3.1: English- Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: Half of the 4 respondents visited the library daily,
which shows that 50 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
daily. The second position has gone to the choice ‘Weekly’ with 2
responses. It indicates that 25 per cent of the users accessed e-mail
weekly. The choices ‘2 days once’ & ‘Occasional’ have received just
1 response each, which reveals that 12.5 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for personal purposes. However, 2.7 per cent visited
the library occasionally, while just 0.63 per cent visited the library 2
days once. The statistical test results at 5 per cent significance did
not support the alternative hypothesis, which made me to accept
the hypothesis 1, since there would be no significant difference
identified between English discipline users’ e-mail access purposes
mean. The AD test result indicates that the observations follow a
Table 4: Commerce - Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Once
Academic 6 4 4 2 3 2 2 23
Row % 26.09 17.39 17.39 8.7 13.04 8.7 8.7 100
Col % 3.28 2.52 2.05 4.35 5.77 6.67 5.41 3.28
Tot % 0.85 0.57 0.57 0.28 0.43 0.28 0.28 3.28
Personal 16 22 19 8 17 7 0 89
Row % 17.98 24.72 21.35 8.99 19.1 7.87 0 100
Col % 8.74 13.84 9.74 17.39 32.69 23.33 0 12.68
Tot % 2.28 3.13 2.71 1.14 2.42 1 0 12.68
Total 22 26 23 10 20 9 2 112
Row % 19.64 23.21 20.54 8.93 17.86 8.04 1.79 100
Col % 12.02 16.35 11.79 21.74 38.46 30 5.41 15.95
Tot % 3.13 3.7 3.28 1.42 2.85 1.28 0.28 15.95

11.103 1 0.0009 3.8415
Academic 3.2 2.2380 7 6 -3.11 0.0207 2.4469 0.48 0.152
Personal 12.7 61.9047 7 0.30 0.494
(unequal. var. t test)

Table 4 and figures 4 & 4.1 depict the Commerce (15.95 per
cent) users’ frequency of library visits and their e-mail access
purposes.
Fig-4: Commerce - Visits & E-mail use purpose

Fig-4.1: Commerce-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: It is worthy to note that 6 respondents visited the
library daily. This represents that 26.09 per cent of the users accessed
e-mail for academic purposes, and 3.28 per cent of users visited the
library daily. The choices ‘2 days once’ & ‘weekly’ were traced with
the equal responses (4), which reveal that 17.39 per cent of the
users accessed e-mail for academic purposes. However, the visit
wise calculations show the different output as 2.52 per cent visited
the library 2 days once, while 2.05 per cent is traced for the choice
‘weekly’. 3 respondents visited the library monthly, which indicates
that 13.04 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic
purposes, and 5.77 per cent of users visited the library monthly.
The choices ‘Bi-week’, ‘Bi-month’ & ‘Occasional’ were traced with
the equal (2) responses. It indicates that 8.7 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for academic purposes. However, the choice ‘Bi-
month’ has received the maximum value of 6.67 per cent, followed
by ‘Occasional’ 5.41 per cent, and ‘Bi-week’ 4.35 per cent. The AD
test result indicates that the observations follow a Gaussian

distribution.
Personal: 22 respondents visited the library 2 days once, which
shows that 24.72 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal
purposes, and 13.84 per cent of users visited the library ‘2 days
once’. 19 respondents visited the library ‘Weekly’, and it indicates
that 21.35 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal
respondents visited the library monthly and it show that 19.1 per
cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 32.69
per cent of users visited the library monthly. Daily visit has received
16 responses, which indicate that 17.98 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 8.74 per cent of users
visited the library daily. The choice ‘Bi-week’ is found with 8
responses, which show that 8.99 per cent of the users accessed e-
library twice a week. The choice ‘Bi-month’ has received 7 responses.
It indicates that 7.87 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
monthly twice. It is interesting to realize that no responses were
traced for the choice ‘occasionally’. The statistical test (unequal. var.
t test) results at 5 per cent significance did support the alternative
hypothesis, which made me not to accept the hypothesis 1 because
there would be a significant difference identified between Commerce
users’ e-mail access purposes mean. The AD test result indicates
that the observations follow a Gaussian distribution.
Table 5: History - Library Visit & E-Mail use

Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Occa- Total
Once sional
Academic 13 5 2 0 20
Row % 65 25 10 0 100
Col % 7.1 3.14 1.03 0 2.85
Tot % 1.85 0.71 0.28 0 2.85
Personal 3 2 0 1 6
Row % 50 33.33 0 16.67 100
Col % 1.64 1.26 0 2.7 0.85
Tot % 0.43 0.28 0 0.14 0.85
Total 16 7 2 1 26
Row % 61.54 26.92 7.69 3.85 100
Col % 8.74 4.4 1.03 2.7 3.7
Tot % 2.28 1 0.28 0.14 3.7

4.342521 1 0.0372 3.8415

Academic 5 32.66667 4 31.194648 0.3180 3.1824 0.30 0.375
Personal 1.5 1.666667 4 0.16 0.858
History discipline users’ (3.7 per cent) frequency of library visits

and their e-mail access purposes are explored in the table 5 and
figures 5 & 5.1.
Fig-5: History-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: A majority of the 13 respondents visited the library
daily. This represents that 65 per cent of the users accessed e-mail
for academic purposes, and 7.1 per cent of the users visited the
library daily. The choice ‘2 days once’ is found with 5 responses,
which show that 3.14 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
academic purposes, and 1.03 per cent of users visited the library ‘2
days once’.
The least score 2 is traced for the choice ‘weekly’, which indicates
that 10 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes,
and 1.03 per cent of users visited the library weekly. No responses
were found for the choice ‘Occasional’. The AD test result indicates
that the observations follow a Gaussian distribution.
Fig-5.1: History-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: A half of the 3 respondents visited the library daily,
which shows that 50 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
daily. The choice ‘2 days once’ is traced with 2 responses, which
indicate that 33.33 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal
purposes, and 1.26 per cent visited the library 2 days once. The
choice ‘Occasional’ scored just 1 response. It indicates that 16.67
per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 2.7
per cent visited the library occasionally. No responses were found
for the choice ‘weekly’. The statistical test (unequal. var. t test) results
at 5 per cent significance did not support the alternative hypothesis,
which made me to accept the hypothesis 1 since there would be no
significant difference identified between history discipline users’ e-
mail access purposes mean. The AD test result indicates that the
observations follow a Gaussian distribution.
Table 6: Economics - Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Bi-Week Month Bi-Month Total
Once
Academic 5 6 7 0 0 0 18
Row % 27.78 33.33 38.89 0 0 0 100
Col % 2.73 3.77 3.59 0 0 0 2.56
Tot % 0.71 0.85 1 0 0 0 2.56
Personal 5 2 2 1 1 2 13
Row % 38.46 15.38 15.38 7.69 7.69 15.38 100
Col % 2.73 1.26 1.03 2.17 1.92 6.67 1.85
Tot % 0.71 0.28 0.28 0.14 0.14 0.28 1.85
Total 10 8 9 1 1 2 31
Row % 32.26 25.81 29.03 3.23 3.23 6.45 100
Col % 5.46 5.03 4.62 2.17 1.92 6.67 4.42
Tot % 1.42 1.14 1.28 0.14 0.14 0.28 4.42

2.773318 1 0.0958 3.8415

Academic 3 11.2 6 10 0.558 0.5889 2.2281 0.64 0.049
Personal 2.2 2.16 6 0.76 0.022
Table 6 and figures 6 & 6.1 reveal the Economics (4.42 per cent)
users’ frequency of library visits and their e-mail access purposes.
Fig-6: Economics-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: It is worthy to note that maximum number of (7)
respondent visited the library weekly, which indicates that 38.89
3.59 per cent of users visited the library weekly. The choice ‘2 days
once’ was traced with 6 responses, which reveal that 33.33 per cent
of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes, and 3.77 per
cent visited the library 2 days once. 5 respondents visited the library
daily, which indicates that 27.78 per cent of the users accessed e-
mail for academic purposes, and 2.73 per cent of users visited the
library daily. It is interesting to observe that no responses were found
for the choices ‘Bi-week’, ‘month’, & ‘Bi-month’. The AD test result
showed the week evidence, which indicates that the observations
follow a Gaussian distribution.
Fig-6.1: Economics -Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: A majority of the (5) respondent visited the library
daily. This shows that 38.46 per cent of the users accessed e-mail
daily. The choices ‘2 days once’, ‘weekly’ and ‘Bi-Month’ were
responded by 2 respondents, which depict that 15.38 per cent of
the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes. However, 6.67 per
cent of users visited the library bi-monthly, followed by 2 days once
1.26 per cent, and weekly 1.03 per cent. The choices ‘Bi-Week’ &
‘Month’ were responded by 1 respondent each, which reveals that
7.69 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes.
However, 2.17 per cent of users visited the library twice a week,
while 1.92 per cent visited monthly. The statistical test results at 5
per cent significance did not support the alternative hypothesis,
Table 7: Maths - Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Bi-Week Month Occasional Total
Once
Academic 6 11 3 1 3 1 25
Row % 24 44 12 4 12 4 100
Col % 3.28 6.92 1.54 2.17 5.77 2.7 3.56
Tot % 0.85 1.57 0.43 0.14 0.43 0.14 3.56
Personal 7 9 8 0 3 1 28
Row % 25 32.14 28.57 0 10.71 3.57 100
Col % 3.83 5.66 4.1 0 5.77 2.7 3.99
Tot % 1 1.28 1.14 0 0.43 0.14 3.99
Total 13 20 11 1 6 2 53
Row % 24.53 37.74 20.75 1.89 11.32 3.77 100
observations do not follow a Gaussian distribution.
Col % 7.1 12.58 5.64 2.17 11.54 5.41 7.55

Tot % 1.85 2.85 1.57 0.14 0.85 0.28 7.55
access purposes mean. The AD test result indicates that the

significant difference identified between Economics users’ e-mail
which made me to accept the hypothesis 1 as there would be no

5.32E-05 1 0.9942 3.8415
Academic 4.16 14.56667 6 10 -0.226 0.8253 2.2281 0.48 0.144
Personal 4.66 14.66667 6 0.33 0.368
Maths discipline users’ (7.55 per cent) frequency of library visits

figures 7 & 7.1.
Fig-7: Maths -Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: 11 respondents visited the library 2 days once. This
indicates that 44 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic
purposes, and 6.92 per cent of users visited the library 2 days once.
6 respondents visited the library daily, which reveals that 24 per
per cent of users visited the library daily. The choices ‘weekly’ &
‘month’ were traced with the equal responses (3), which indicate
that 12 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes.
However, the visit-wise calculations explore that 5.77 per cent visited
the library monthly, while 1.54 per cent visited weekly twice. The
choices ‘Bi-Week’ & ‘Occasional’ were traced with the equal response
(1). It indicates that 4 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
academic purposes. However, the visit-wise calculations show that
2.17 per cent visited the library weekly twice, and 2.7 per cent visited
occasionally. The AD test result indicates that the observations follow
a Gaussian distribution.
Fig-7.1: Maths-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: 9 respondents visited the library 2 days once. It
purposes, and 5.66 per cent of users visited the library ‘2 days once’.
8 respondents visited the library ‘Weekly’, which indicates that 28.57
per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 4.1
per cent of users visited the library weekly. 7 respondents visited
the library daily. It shows that 25 per cent of the users accessed e-
library daily. Monthly visit has received 3 responses, which indicate
purposes, and 5.77 per cent of users visited the library monthly.
The choice ‘occasionally’ is found with just 1 response, which shows
that 3.57 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes,
and 2.7 per cent of users visited the library occasionally. It is
interesting to observe that no responses were found for the choice
‘Bi-Week’. The statistical test results at 5 per cent significance did
not support the alternative hypothesis, which made me to accept
the hypothesis 1 as there would be no significant difference identified
between Maths discipline users’ e-mail access purposes mean. The
AD test result indicates that the observations follow a Gaussian
distribution.
Table 8: Zoology - Library Visit & E-Mail use
Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Month Occa- Total
Once sional
Academic 12 7 9 1 4 33
Row % 36.36 21.21 27.27 3.03 12.12 100
Col % 6.56 4.4 4.62 1.92 10.81 4.7
Tot % 1.71 1 1.28 0.14 0.57 4.7
Personal 9 2 3 0 0 14
Row % 64.29 14.29 21.43 0 0 100
Col % 4.92 1.26 1.54 0 0 1.99
Tot % 1.28 0.28 0.43 0 0 1.99
Total 21 9 12 1 4 47
Row % 44.68 19.15 25.53 2.13 8.51 100
Col % 11.48 5.66 6.15 1.92 10.81 6.7
Tot % 2.99 1.28 1.71 0.14 0.57 6.7

0.074242 1 0.7853 3.8415
Academic 6.6 18.3 5 8 1.5020 0.1714 2.3060 0.14 0.926
Personal 2.8 13.7 5 0.48 0.123
Zoology discipline users’ (6.7 per cent) frequency of library visits

figures 8 & 8.1.
Fig-8: Zoology-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: A maximum number of (12) respondents visited the

library daily, which indicates that 36.36 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for academic purposes, and 6.56 per cent of the
users visited the library daily. The choice ‘weekly’ is found with 9
responses. It shows that 27.27 per cent of the users accessed e-
library weekly. The choice ‘2 days once’ is found with 7 responses,
which shows that 21.21 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
academic purposes, and 4.4 per cent of users visited the library ‘2
days once’. The choice occasional is traced with 4 responses. It
indicates that 12.12 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
occasionally. The AD test result indicates that the observations follow
a Gaussian distribution.
Fig-8.1: Zoology -Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: More than half of the 9 respondents visited the library

daily, which shows that 64.29 per cent of the users accessed e-mail
daily. The choice ‘weekly’ is found with 3 responses, which represents
choice ‘2 days once’ is traced with 2 responses. It denotes that 14.29
per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and
1.26 per cent visited the library 2 days once. The choice ‘Occasional’
has scored just 1 response that indicates 16.67 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 2.7 per cent visited the
library occasionally. No responses were found for the choices
‘monthly’ & ‘Occasionally’. The statistical test results at 5 per cent
significance did not support the alternative hypothesis, which made
me to accept the hypothesis 1, as there would be no significant
difference identified between Zoology discipline users’ e-mail access
purposes mean. The AD test result indicates that the observations
Table 9: Physics - Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Once
Academic 6 5 8 3 3 3 1 29
Row % 20.69 17.24 27.59 10.34 10.34 10.34 3.45 100
Col % 3.28 3.14 4.1 6.52 5.77 10 2.7 4.13
Tot % 0.85 0.71 1.14 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.14 4.13
Personal 7 2 10 2 2 1 2 26
Row % 26.92 7.69 38.46 7.69 7.69 3.85 7.69 100
Col % 3.83 1.26 5.13 4.35 3.85 3.33 5.41 3.7
Tot % 1 0.28 1.42 0.28 0.28 0.14 0.28 3.7
Total 13 7 18 5 5 4 3 55
Row % 23.64 12.73 32.73 9.09 9.09 7.27 5.45 100
Col % 7.1 4.4 9.23 10.87 9.62 13.33 8.11 7.83
Tot % 1.85 1 2.56 0.71 0.71 0.57 0.43 7.83

0.75754 1 0.3841 3.8415

Academic 4.14 5.47619 7 12 0.274 0.7882 2.1788 0.32 0.421
Personal 3.71 11.57143 7 0.99 0.005
Table 9 and figures 9 & 9.1 reveal the Physics discipline users’
(7.83 per cent) frequency of library visits, and their e-mail access
purposes.
Fig-9: Physics-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: It could be observed from the above table that 8

respondents visited the library weekly. This represents that 27.59
4.1 per cent of users visited the library weekly. 6 respondents visited
the library daily, which reveals that 20.69 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for academic purposes, and 3.28 per cent of users
visited the library daily. 5 respondents visited the library 2 days
once. It shows that 17.24 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
academic purposes, and 3.14 per cent of users visited the library 2
days once. The choices ‘Bi-week’, ‘month’ & ‘Bi-month’ were evenly
responded by 3 respondents, which indicates that 10.34 per cent of
the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes. However, 10 per
cent visited the library bi-monthly, 6.52 per cent visited the library
‘bi-weekly’, and 5.77 per cent visited the library monthly. 1
respondent visited the library occasionally, which indicates that 3.45
4.13 per cent of users visited the library occasionally. The AD test
result indicates that the observations follow a Gaussian distribution.
Fig-9.1: Physics-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: The highest score 10 is traced for the choice ‘weekly’,

which reveals that 38.46 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
weekly. 7 respondents visited the library daily, which indicates that
26.92 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes,
and 3.83 per cent of users visited the library daily. The choices ‘2
days once’, ‘Bi-week’, ‘Month’ & ‘Occasional’ were evenly responded
(2). It indicates that 7.69 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for
personal purposes. However, highest value of 5.41 per cent visited
the library occasionally, 4.35 per cent visited twice a week, 3.85 per
cent visited monthly, and 1.26 per cent visited 2 days once. The
choice ‘Bi-month’ has received just 1 response, which represents
that 3.85 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes,
and 3.33 per cent of users visited monthly twice. The statistical test
results at 5 per cent significance did not support the alternative
hypothesis, which made me to accept the hypothesis 1, as there
would be no significant difference identified between Physics users’
e-mail access purposes mean. The AD test result indicates that the
Table 10: Chemistry- Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Once
Academic 6 0 5 1 1 1 0 14
Row % 42.86 0 35.71 7.14 7.14 7.14 0 100
Col % 3.28 0 2.56 2.17 1.92 3.33 0 1.99
Tot % 0.85 0 0.71 0.14 0.14 0.14 0 1.99
Personal 12 9 12 2 2 1 1 39
Row % 30.77 23.08 30.77 5.13 5.13 2.56 2.56 100
Col % 6.56 5.66 6.15 4.35 3.85 3.33 2.7 5.56
Tot % 1.71 1.28 1.71 0.28 0.28 0.14 0.14 5.56
Total 18 9 17 3 3 2 1 53
Row % 33.96 16.98 32.08 5.66 5.66 3.77 1.89 100
Col % 9.84 5.66 8.72 6.52 5.77 6.67 2.7 7.55
Tot % 2.56 1.28 2.42 0.43 0.43 0.28 0.14 7.55

2.868932 1 0.0903 3.8415

Academic 2 6 7 12 -1.646 0.1256 2.1788 0.82 0.017
Personal 5.5 26.95238 7 0.74 0.028
Table 10 and figures 10 & 10.1 depict the chemistry discipline

users’ (7.55 per cent) frequency of library visits and their e-mail
access purposes.
Fig-10: Chemistry-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Fig-10.1: Chemistry-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: 6 respondents visited the library daily. It indicates
purposes, and 3.28 per cent of users visited the library daily. 5
respondents visited the library weekly, which depicts that 35.71 per
per cent of users visited the library weekly. The choices ‘Bi-week’,
‘month’ & ‘Bi-month’ were evenly responded by 1 respondent. It
reveals that 7.14 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic
purposes. However, 3.33 per cent visited the library bi-monthly,
2.17 per cent visited twice a week, and 1.92 per cent visited monthly.
No responses were found for the choices‘2 days once’ & ‘occasionally’.
The AD test result indicates that the observations do not follow a
Personal: The highest score 12 is traced for the choices ‘daily’,

& ‘weekly’, which reveals that 30.76 per cent of the users accessed
e-mail for personal purposes. However, the daily visit received the
maximum score of 6.56 per cent, which is higher than the weekly
visit (6.15 per cent). 9 respondents visited the library 2 days once,
personal purposes, and 5.66 per cent of users visited 2 days once.
The choices ‘Bi-week’ & ‘Month’ were evenly responded (2), which
shows that 5.13 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal
purposes. However, 4.35 per cent visited the library twice a week,
which is higher than the monthly visit (3.85 per cent) score. The
choices ‘Bi-month’ & ‘Occasional’ have received just 1 response,
personal purposes. However, the maximum value of 3.33 per cent
of user visited monthly twice than the users, who visited occasionally
(2.7 per cent). The statistical test results at 5 per cent significance
did not support the alternative hypothesis, which made me to accept
the hypothesis 1 because there would be no significant difference
identified between Chemistry users’ e-mail access purposes mean.
Table 11: Computer Science- Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Once
Academic 4 4 7 5 1 0 1 22
Row % 18.18 18.18 31.82 22.73 4.55 0 4.55 100
Col % 2.19 2.52 3.59 10.87 1.92 0 2.7 3.13
Tot % 0.57 0.57 1 0.71 0.14 0 0.14 3.13
Personal 2 12 12 3 5 1 2 37
Row % 5.41 32.43 32.43 8.11 13.51 2.7 5.41 100
Col % 1.09 7.55 6.15 6.52 9.62 3.33 5.41 5.27
Tot % 0.28 1.71 1.71 0.43 0.71 0.14 0.28 5.27
Total 6 16 19 8 6 1 3 59
Row % 10.17 27.12 32.2 13.56 10.17 1.69 5.08 100
Col % 3.28 10.06 9.74 17.39 11.54 3.33 8.11 8.4
Tot % 0.85 2.28 2.71 1.14 0.85 0.14 0.43 8.4

2.031294 1 0.1541 3.8415

Academic 3.14 6.47619 7 12 -1.051 0.3135 2.1788 0.33 0.411
Personal 5.28 22.57143 7 0.71 0.034
Computer Science discipline users’ (8.4 per cent) frequency of

library visits and their e-mail access purposes are given in the Table
11 and figures 11 & 11.1.
Fig-11: Comp. Science-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: Table 11 clearly shows that a majority of the (7)

respondents visited the library weekly. This indicates that 31.82
3.59 per cent of users visited the library weekly. 5 respondents visited
the library twice a week, which reveals that 22.73 per cent of the
users accessed e-mail for academic purposes, and 10.87 per cent of
users visited the library twice a week. The choices ‘daily’ & ‘2 days
once’ were evenly responded by 4 respondents, which indicate that
However, 2.52 per cent visited the library 2 days once, and 2.19 per
cent visited ‘daily’. The choices ‘monthly’, & ‘occasionally’ were evenly
responded (1), which shows that 4.55 per cent of the users accessed
e-mail for academic purposes. However, 2.7 per cent visited the
library occasionally, and 1.92 per cent visited monthly. The AD test
result indicates that the observations follow a Gaussian distribution.
Fig-11.1: Comp. Science-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: The highest score 12 is traced evenly for the choices

‘2 days once’ & ‘weekly’ , which reveal that 32.43 per cent of the
users accessed e-mail for personal purposes. But, 7.55 per cent of
users visited the library 2 days once, and 6.15 per cent visited weekly.
5 respondents visited the library monthly. It represents that 13.51
per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and
9.62 per cent of users visited the library monthly. 3 respondents
visited the library twice a week, which shows that 8.11 per cent of
the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 6.52 per cent
of users visited the library twice a week. The choices ‘daily’, &
‘Occasional’ were evenly responded (2), which indicates that 5.41
per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes. However,
highest value of 5.41 per cent visited the library occasionally, and
1.09 per cent visited daily. The choice ‘Bi-month’ has received just 1
response, which indicates that 2.7 per cent of the users accessed e-
mail for personal purposes, and 3.33 per cent of users visited monthly
twice. The statistical test results at 5 per cent significance did not
support the alternative hypothesis, which made me to accept the
hypothesis 1, as there would be no significant difference identified
between Computer Science users’ e-mail access purposes mean.
Table 12: Physical Education- Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Month Bi-Month Occasional Total
Once
Academic 1 1 3 1 0 1 7
Row % 14.29 14.29 42.86 14.29 0 14.29 100
Col % 0.55 0.63 1.54 1.92 0 2.7 1
Tot % 0.14 0.14 0.43 0.14 0 0.14 1
Personal 6 3 6 2 2 2 21
Row % 28.57 14.29 28.57 9.52 9.52 9.52 100
Col % 3.28 1.89 3.08 3.85 6.67 5.41 2.99
Tot % 0.85 0.43 0.85 0.28 0.28 0.28 2.99
Total 7 4 9 3 2 3 28
Row % 25 14.29 32.14 10.71 7.14 10.71 100
Col % 3.83 2.52 4.62 5.77 6.67 8.11 3.99
Tot % 1 0.57 1.28 0.43 0.28 0.43 3.99

2.052041 1 0.152 3.8415

Academic 1.1666 0.9666 6 10 -2.590 0.0269 2.2281 0.84 0.012
Personal 3.5 3.9 6 0.76 0.022
Table 12 and figures 12 & 12.1 show the Physical Education

discipline users’ (3.9 per cent) frequency of library visits and their e-
mail access purposes.
Fig-12: Phy. Education-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: A majority of the (3) respondents visited the library

weekly, which reveals that 42.86 per cent of the users accessed e-
library weekly. All the remaining choices except ‘Bi-Month’ have
received 1 response each, which reveals that 14.29 per cent of the
users accessed e-mail for academic purposes. However, occasional
visit shows the highest score of 2.7 per cent followed by month 1.92
per cent, 2 days once 0.63 per cent, and daily 0.55 per cent. The AD
test result indicates that the observations do not follow a Gaussian
distribution.
Fig-12.1: Phy.Education-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: The highest score 6 is traced evenly for the choices

‘daily’, & ‘weekly’ , which reveal that 28.57 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for personal purposes. But, 3.28 per cent of users
visited the library daily, and 3.08 per cent visited weekly. 3
respondents visited the library 2 days once, which indicates that
14.29 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes,
and 1.89 per cent of users visited the library 2 days once. The choices
‘monthly’, ‘Bi-Month’, & ‘Occasional’ were evenly responded (2). It
purposes. However, the highest value of 6.67 per cent visited the
library monthly twice, and 5.41 per cent visited occasionally, and
3.85 visited monthly. The statistical test results at 5 per cent
significance did support the alternative hypothesis, which made me
not to accept the hypothesis 1 since there would be a highly
significant difference identified between Physical Education users’
e-mail access purposes mean. The AD test result indicates that the
Table 13: Education- Library Visit & E-Mail use Purposes Levels-Break Up
Once
Academic 2 1 2 0 0 2 4 11
Row % 18.18 9.09 18.18 0 0 18.18 36.36 100
Col % 1.09 0.63 1.03 0 0 6.67 10.81 1.57
Tot % 0.28 0.14 0.28 0 0 0.28 0.57 1.57
Personal 9 6 12 2 1 2 3 35
Row % 25.71 17.14 34.29 5.71 2.86 5.71 8.57 100
Col % 4.92 3.77 6.15 4.35 1.92 6.67 8.11 4.99
Tot % 1.28 0.85 1.71 0.28 0.14 0.28 0.43 4.99
Total 11 7 14 2 1 4 7 46
Row % 23.91 15.22 30.43 4.35 2.17 8.7 15.22 100
Col % 6.01 4.4 7.18 4.35 1.92 13.33 18.92 6.55
Tot % 1.57 1 1.99 0.28 0.14 0.57 1 6.55

5.598021 1 0.018 3.8415

Academic 1.5 1.952381 7 12 -2.065 0.0611 2.1788 0.40 0.262
Personal 5 17.33333 7 0.44 0.197

Education discipline users’ (6.55 per cent) frequency of library
visits and their e-mail access purposes are given in the Table 13
and figures 13 & 13.1.
Fig-13: Education-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: A maximum number of 4 respondents visited the
library occasionally. It indicates that 36.36 per cent of the users
accessed e-mail for academic purposes, and 10.81 per cent of users
visited the library occasionally. The choices ‘daily’, ‘weekly’ and ‘Bi-
Month’ have received equal responses (2), which reveals that 18.18
per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes.
However, monthly twice visit shows the highest score of 6.67 per
cent, followed by daily 1.09 per cent, and weekly 1.03 per cent. It is
interesting to observe that no responses were traced for the choices
‘Bi-Week’ and ‘Month’. The AD test result indicates that the
Fig-13.1: Education-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: 12 respondents visited the library weekly, which
reveals that 34.29 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for personal
respondents visited the library daily. It indicates that 25.71 per cent
of the users accessed e-mail for personal purposes, and 4.92 per
cent of users visited the library daily. 3 respondents visited the library
occasionally, which shows that 8.57 per cent of the users accessed
e-mail for personal purposes, and 8.11 per cent of users visited
occasionally. The choices ‘Bi-Week’ & ‘Bi-Month’ were evenly
responded (2). It indicates that 5.71 per cent of the users accessed
e-mail for personal purposes. However, 6.67 per cent visited the
library monthly twice, and 4.35 per cent visited weekly twice. 1
respondent visited the library monthly, which secures 2.86 per cent
for the purpose ‘personal’, and 1.92 per cent visited monthly. The
statistical test (unequal. var. t test) results at 5 per cent significance
did not support the alternative hypothesis, which made me to accept
the hypothesis 1, as there would be no significant difference identified
between Education users’ e-mail access purposes mean. The AD
test result indicates that the observations follow a Gaussian
distribution.
Table 14: Botany- Library Visit & E-Mail use
Purposes Daily 2 Days Weekly Bi-Week Month Total
Once
Academic 1 3 8 5 1 18
Row % 5.56 16.67 44.44 27.78 5.56 100
Col % 0.55 1.89 4.1 10.87 1.92 2.56
Tot % 0.14 0.43 1.14 0.71 0.14 2.56
Personal 1 0 4 1 0 6
Row % 16.67 0 66.67 16.67 0 100
Col % 0.55 0 2.05 2.17 0 0.85
Tot % 0.14 0 0.57 0.14 0 0.85
Total 2 3 12 6 1 24
Row % 8.33 12.5 50 25 4.17 100
Col % 1.09 1.89 6.15 13.04 1.92 3.42
Tot % 0.28 0.43 1.71 0.85 0.14 3.42

3.725052 1 0.0536 3.8415

Academic 3.6 8.8 5 8 1.5825 0.1521 2.3060 0.30 0.416
Personal 1.2 2.7 5 0.59 0.057
Botany discipline users’ (3.42 per cent) frequency of library visits

and their e-mail access purposes could be observed towards the
Table 14 and figures 14 & 14.1.
Fig-14: Botany-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Academic: 8 respondents visited the library weekly, which shows

respondents visited the library weekly twice, which represents that
27.78 per cent of the users accessed e-mail for academic purposes,
and 10.87 per cent of users visited the library weekly twice. 3
respondents visited the library 2 days once. It shows that 16.67 per
per cent of users visited the library 2 days once. The choices ‘daily’
& ‘monthly’ have received equal responses (1), which reveals that
However, monthly visit shows the highest score of 1.92 per cent,
and daily 0.55 per cent. The AD test result indicates that the
Fig-14.1: Botany-Visits & E-mail use purpose

Personal: 4 respondents visited the library weekly, which reveals

choices ‘daily’, & ‘Bi-Week’ were evenly responded (1), which indicates
purposes. However, 2.17 per cent visited the library weekly twice,
while 0.55 per cent visited daily. No responses were found for the
choices 2 days once and month. The statistical test results at 5 per
cent significance did not support the alternative hypothesis, which
made me to accept the hypothesis 1 because there would be no
significant difference identified between Botany users’ e-mail access
purposes mean. The AD test result indicates that the observations
Findings and Conclusions

Of the total respondents (6.13 per cent) observed from Bio-
Technology, 4.27 per cent used e-mail for their academic related
activities, while 1.85 per cent used for their personal purposes.
Majority of the respondents (2.42 per cent) visited the library ‘Weekly’,
followed by ‘2 days once’ (1.42 per cent), and ‘daily’ (1.28 per cent).
Rests of the options went down to less than 0.8 per cent. It could be
concluded that Bio-Technology users do not have enough time to
visit the library daily or 2 days once as their visits on weekly basis
indicates the high score. Further, they have utilized the library
online features for their academic related activities rather than
personal works.
With regard to MBA respondents (12.96 per cent), the purpose
‘academic’ has received 6.84 per cent, whereas the remaining purpose
‘personal’ is found with 6.13 per cent. 27.47 per cent of the
respondents visited the library ‘2 days once’ and 24.18 per cent
evenly visited ‘daily’ and ‘Weekly’. Rests of the options have secured
below 7 per cent. It could be concluded that MBA users also do not
have enough time to visit the library daily. However, they visited the
library 2 days once for accessing e-mail. Further, they have utilized
the library online features for their academic related activities.
Of the total English discipline respondents (2.71 per cent), 1.57
per cent used e-mail for ‘academic’ purposes, while 1.14 per cent
utilized it for ‘personal’ purposes. 1.14 per cent of the respondents

visited the library ‘daily’, while other choices indicate less than or
equal to 0.7 per cent. It could be concluded that users from ‘English’
discipline have got enough time to visit the library daily. Majority of
the users accessed the library online features for academic related
activities.
Respondents from Commerce discipline accounts for 15.95 per
cent. Of the total users 12.68 per cent accessed e-mail for ‘personal’
purposes and just 3.28 per cent of respondents accessed e-mail for
their academic purposes. 3.7 per cent of the respondents visited the
library ‘2 days once’ and 3.28 per cent visited ‘Weekly’. 3.13 per
cent visited ‘daily’, while 2.85 per cent of them visited ‘monthly’.
Except the option ‘occasionally’, the rests of the options have secured
below 1.5 per cent. Only 0.28 per cent of the respondents visited
‘Occasionally’. It could be concluded that Commerce users also do
not have enough time to visit the library daily. However, they visited
the library 2 days once for accessing e-mail. It is interesting to observe
that they have used the library online features for their personal
purposes when compared to academic related activities.
History discipline respondents accounts for 3.7 per cent. It is
revealed that more than half the users (2.85 per cent) accessed e-
mail for the purpose of academic activities, while 0.85 per cent used
e-mail for personal purposes. 2.28 per cent of respondents visited
‘daily’, while 1 per cent of them visited ‘2 days once’. The remaining
choices have secured below 0.3 per cent. History discipline users’
daily visit indicates the healthy trend that the library has been utilized
well. Further, they have utilized the library online features for their
academic related activities.
Of the total Economics discipline respondents (4.42 per cent),
2.56 per cent used e-mail for ‘academic’ purposes, while 1.85 per
cent utilized it for ‘personal’ purposes. 1.42 per cent of the
respondents visited the library ‘daily’, while 1.28 per cent visited
‘Weekly’. 1.14 per cent visited ‘2 days once’, whereas the rests of the
choices have received the per cent ranging from 0.14 to 0.28. It
could be concluded that users from Economics discipline have got
enough time to visit the library daily. Moreover, they have accessed
Analysis for Maths discipline revealed that 3.99 per cent of users
accessed e-mail for personal purposes and 3.56 per cent accessed
e-mail for academic activities. 2.85 per cent of the respondents visited
the library ‘2 days once’, while 1.85 per cent visited ‘daily’. 1.57 per
cent visited ‘weekly’ and other options have scored less than 1 per
cent. It could be concluded that users from Maths discipline do not
visit the library daily and they have accessed the library online
features for their personal activities rather than academic purposes.
Of the total Zoology discipline respondents (6.7 per cent), more
than a half of the (4.7 per cent) users accessed e-mail for academic
purposes and 1.99 per cent accessed e-mail for personal activities.
2.99 per cent of the respondents visited the library ‘daily’, while
1.28 per cent visited ‘2 days once’. 1.71 per cent visited ‘Weekly’
and rests of the choices have received the per cent below 0.6. It
could be concluded that users from Zoology discipline have got
enough time to visit the library daily. Further, they have utilized
Of the total Physics discipline respondents (7.83 per cent), 4.13
per cent of users accessed e-mail for academic purposes and 3.7
per cent accessed e-mail for personal activities. 2.56 per cent of the
respondents visited the library ‘weekly’. 1.85 per cent visited ‘daily’,
and 1 per cent visited ‘2 days once’. Rests of the choices have received
the per cent below 0.8 per cent. It could be concluded that Physics
discipline users’ library visit was not in satisfactory level. They have
utilized the library online features for their academic related activities
compared to another purpose.
Of the total Chemistry discipline respondents (7.55 per cent), a
majority of the 5.56 per cent of users accessed e-mail for personal
purposes and 1.99 per cent accessed e-mail for academic activities.
2.56 per cent of the respondents visited the library ‘daily’, while
2.42 per cent visited ‘weekly’. 1.28 per cent visited ‘2 days once’.
Rests of the choices have received the per cent below 0.5 per cent. It
could be concluded that respondents’ ‘daily’ visit did not show the
satisfactory level. Moreover, they have utilized the library online
features for their personal purposes mainly.
Of the total Computer Science discipline respondents (8.4 per
cent), a majority of the 5.27 per cent of users accessed e-mail for
personal purposes and 3.13 per cent accessed e-mail for academic
activities. 2.71 per cent of the respondents visited the library ‘weekly’
and 2.28 per cent visited ‘2 days once’. 1.14 per cent visited ‘Bi-
Weekly’. Rests of the choices have received the per cent below 1.
Respondents’ ‘daily’ visit was not good as it has scored only 0.85 per
cent. It could be concluded that there would be a need to raise their
daily visit attitudes. Moreover, they have utilized the library online
features for their personal purposes and not for academic activities.
Of the total Physical Education discipline respondents (3.9 per
cent), more than a half of the 2.99 per cent of users accessed e-mail
for personal purposes and just 1 per cent accessed e-mail for
academic activities. 1.28 per cent of the respondents visited the
library ‘weekly’ and 1 per cent visited ‘daily’. Rests of the choices
have secured below 0.6 per cent. Respondents’ ‘daily’ visit has
received the second position. It could be concluded that there would
be a reasonable number of daily visits traced. Further, they have
utilized the library online features for their personal purposes and
not for academic activities.
Education discipline total users accounts for 6.55 per cent. The
purpose ’personal’ has secured the maximum of 4.99 per cent,
whereas remaining one was responded by 1 .57 per cent. 1.99 per
cent of the respondents visited the library ‘weekly’ and 1.57 per
cent visited ‘daily’. Rests of the choices have secured less than or
equal to 1 per cent. Respondents’ ‘daily’ visit in this discipline also
has received the second position. It could be concluded that there
would be a reasonable number of daily visits identified. Further,
they have utilized the library online features for their personal
purposes compared to academic activities.
Of the total Botany discipline respondents (3.42 per cent), more
than a half of the 2.56 per cent of users accessed e-mail for academic
purposes and just 0.85 per cent accessed e-mail for personal
activities. 1.71 per cent of the respondents visited the library ‘weekly’
and 0.85 per cent visited ‘Bi-weekly’. Rests of the choices have
secured below 0.5 per cent. Respondents’ ‘daily’ visit has received
the poor place. Note that there would be a need to increase the
users’ daily visit. However, a majority of the users have utilized the
library online features for their academic purposes.
It could be concluded that a majority of the respondents, other

than the disciplines of Commerce, Maths, Chemistry, Computer
Science and Physical Education, accessed e-mail for academic related
purposes.
The formulated first research question, do users significantly
differ with regard to e-mail access purposes? , could be fulfilled with
the help of statistical evidences as discussed below:
Statistic test results for the disciplines Bio-Technology, MBA,
English, History, Economics, Maths, Zoology, Physics, Chemistry,
Computer Science, Education, and Botany did support the
formulated hypothesis 1 that the means of the two groups were not
significantly different. Statistic test results for the disciplines
Commerce, and Physical Education did not support the formulated
hypothesis 1 that the means of the two groups were not significantly
different.
The formulated second research question, do users’ e-mail access
purposes follow a Gaussian distribution? , could be fulfilled with
the help of obtained statistical evidences as discussed below:
A majority of the disciplines have fulfilled the requirements of
Gaussian distributions in order to satisfy the formulated hypothesis
2, except the disciplines Bio-Technology (Personal [0.76; p-0.017]),
Economics (Personal), Physics (Personal [0.99; p-0.005]), Chemistry
(Academic [0.82; p-0.017]; Personal [0.74; p-0.028]), Computer
Science (Personal [0.71; p-0.034]), and Physical Education (Academic
[0.84; p-0.012]; Personal [0.76; p-0.022]).
Suggestions
Respondents’ Library Visits
The control process charts help us to pass necessary suggestions
for the library professionals and the patrons of the library. Here, an
attempt has been made to develop the XBar control charts (using S)
to test whether or not the users’ (n=687) library visits are in control.
When the sample statistics are plotted, all points are randomly
distributed between the control limits (Gerald Keller, 2007). That is,
each distribution has the same shape, mean, and standard deviation.
Under such circumstances the process is said to be under control.

It could be observed from the figure a, which indicates that the
Library visit level means do not fall within the control limits. The
visit level and its variability are not in control for the seven visits. As
you can see, no point lies inside the control limits. The figure a
clearly shows that the ‘2 days once’(mean=79.5 ; std.dev.=12.02),
‘daily’ (mean=91.5 ; std.dev.=0.71), and ‘week’(mean=97.5 ;
std.dev.=23.33) wise visits lie outside the upper control limits(75.1),
whereas the rests of the visits fall outside the lower control
limits(25.2). This is worrisome in this context. Librarians are always
keen to raise the users’ visits to the library. Hence, they should
concentrate on the users’ library visits and should try to control the
variation among their visits as visits are not lie in the control limits.
A librarian needs to take remedial action to control the variation
among the visits. Of course, the librarians can’t force any of the
users to visit the library often, as the respondents have their own
choice to visit the library whenever they are in need. However, if the
library has rich collections and technological infrastructure features,
possibilities are there to increase and regularize the users’ visit.
Respondents’ E-Mail Access Purposes

An attempt has been made to develop the XBar control charts
(using S) to test whether or not the users’ (n=687) e-mail access
purposes are in control. It could be observed from the figure b that
the users’ e-mail access purposes means fall within the control limits.
The purposes and its variability are in control for the two levels
academic and personal. As you can see, no point lies outside the
control limits. Hence, it could be concluded that the variation in the
e-mail access purposes is caused by chance. There is no enough
statistical evidence to infer that the users’ e-mail access purposes
are out of control. However, realize that the users have utilized the
library online features for their personal activities rather than their
academic works. The figure b clearly shows that the purpose
‘personal’ (mean=55.28; std.dev. =41.36) has secured more mean
than academic purpose (mean=45; std.dev. =34.32). Hence, it would
be the responsibilities of the librarians to control the users, who are
not utilizing the library ICT infrastructure for academic purposes.
Users are not permitted to carry out their personal works inside the
library; and they should not use the library infrastructure for any
other activities. They should use the library for their academic
purposes and career associated benefits. If they want to do any of
their personal jobs, they may go for any other location. Hence, it is
inferred that the librarian should take remedial action to control
this kind of erroneous access behavior.
Summary
Research on e-mail use behaviors are often conducted by various
social scientists across the world. Dr.Emma Russell (2014), an
occupational psychologist from London’s Kingston University
conducted a survey among the workers in order to trace the
relationship between their stress and e-mail use habits, and has
come out with the conclusion that constant mailing may be injurious
to health. Study further revealed that there would be seven ‘deadly
e-mail sins’, which could damage the workers’ mental health. These
seven e-mail sins include Ping Pong-Constant emails back and forth
creating long chains, Emailing out of hours, Emailing while in
company, ignoring emails completely, Requesting read receipts,
Responding immediately to an email alert, and automated replies.
According to Dr. Emma Russell, “This puts pressure on staff to be
permanently on call and makes those they are dealing with feel the
need to respond”. Technological addiction is an important factor,
which influences many health related issues, and these things are
seriously viewed by the developed countries. In this series, Dr.Emma
Russell’s findings too give us a warning ring. Librarians may recall
Dr. Emma Russell’s findings, and also they can play a vital role here
by way of taking care of their users’ e-mail use habits as the present
study shows that majority of the users had accessed emails for
personal purposes rather than their academic purposes.
Hypotheses Test Results

Table Branch Attributes Hypothe Status
ses (Ho)
1 Bio-Technology Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Not Accepted
2 MBA Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Accepted
3 English Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Accepted
4 Commerce Purposes 1 Not Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Accepted
5 History Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Accepted
6 Economics Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted with
week
evidences
7 Maths Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Accepted
8 Zoology Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Accepted
9 Physics Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
10 Chemistry Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Not Accepted
11 Computer Science Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
12 Physical Education Purposes 1 Not Accepted
Academic 2 Not Accepted
13 Education Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Accepted
14 Botany Purposes 1 Accepted
Academic 2 Accepted
Personal 2 Accepted
Further Research
The reasons behind the users’ visits preferences/differences
may be analyzed through further studies using an appropriate
experimental design.
References
Emma Russel. (2014). Constant mailing may be injurious to
health: Psychologists. Decan Chronicle.19 January, pp.1.
Gerald Keller (2007). Statistics for Management and
Economics. Australia: Thomson.
Kim, Y.M (2011). Users’ perceptions of university library
website: A Unifying view. Library & Information Science
Research, 33, 63-72.
Rojer Stern et al.(2002). Introduction to Instat plus. Retrieved
from http://www.rdg.ac.uk.
Saravanan, T(et al.) (2012). Internet and its Users in Higher
Educational Sector, Information Studies, 18 , 41-68.
Saravanan, T. (2011). Does internet gear up the users’
awareness of E-Books?, SRELS, 48 ,597-616.
Saravanan, T. (2011). Does internet literacy regulate the users’
online databases access skills?, IJAR, 1 , 132-134.
Saravanan, T. (2013). Does engineering users’ e-journals
awareness rely on their internet experience? – A study, AJMR,
2 , 27-50.
Saravanan, T.(2010). Google Use and Users: A Survey,
Information Studies, 16, 49-64.
Saravanan,T.(2011). Higher Education User’s Awareness of
Google: Searching for Structure, Library Progress
(International),31, 91-97.
SCHOLARLY USE OF SOCIAL

NETWORKING SITES AMONG LIS
PROFESSIONAL IN NASHIK DISTRICT
—Shraddha V.Gaikwad
Abstracts
This study explores the scholarly use of social networking sites
among Library and information science professionals at Nashik
Districts. Questionnaire survey was used for data collection among
72 LIS professionals of Nashik district .The study found that most of
the LIS professionals regularly used social networking sites and these
is useful for helping in professionals development, as well as personal
development.
Keywords
Social Networking, LIS Profession, Information technology,
Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc.
Introduction
Social media is a public forum. Users should protect their
identity or other personal information and are solely responsible for
taking measures to ensure their privacy. Such measures include:
using aliases instead of full names; never posting your location; and
being aware of the risks involved in use of social networking.

1) To identify the commonly used social networking sites for
communicating information among LIS professionals.
2) To determine the purpose of using social networking sites.
3) To assess the frequency and time of using social networking

sites.
4) To find out problem faced while using social networking sites
Methodology
The study was based on survey as 107 questionnaires were
administered among 107 LIS professionals of Nashik district. And
received response 72,it means 67% responses received .The collected
data were analyzed using statistical tools for presentation.
Social Network
In the knowledge society in addition to technical skills and access
to information technologies, it is becoming increasingly important
for people to have diversified and supportive social connections.
Social networking is the way of the 21st century communicates now.
The term social networking refers to a process of relationship building
among a group of people who have a common interest. Also social
networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like
small communities o a neighborhood subdivision.
Social networking is becoming increasingly popular around the
globe. For those who may not be familiar with the term, social
networking describes a form of interactive media that multiple people
may use to interact and engage with one another. These folks use
web 2.0. Social sites, which describes websites that use interactive
aspects to permit customers to produce their very own content and
profiles. Normally this type of technology uses PHP, the industry
programming language that’s mostly utilized in just such websites.
This gives the framework and enables customers to edit files
themselves to ensure that they are able to upload profiles and photos
etc, additionally; it enables a variety of social networking marketing
possibilities.
Definition
According to Sadeh (2007), developments in web technology are
creating more friendly, social and fun environments for retrieving
and sharing information and one of such is Social networking
websites. These sites typically allow users to create a profiles

describing themselves, exchange public or private messages and
list others users or groups they are connected to in the same way.
These SN sites may contain set of rules and regulations to be followed
as per their editorial policy or may be entirely user driven.
According to Computing Dictionary (2007), Social Networking
site as any website designed to allow multiple users to publish
content of them. The information may be on any subject and may be
for consumption by friends, mates, employers, employees just to
mention a few.
Social Networking Sites

A social networking site can be a good way to make connection
s with people with similar interests and goals. They can be a way to
connect with or “meet” people that a student may not have had the
opportunity to before-including other students, staff, faculty and
even alumni. Just as social media provides another avenue for
making friends; it also makes it possible to renew old ones. Thus,
meeting people and staying connected with classmates and friends
is a major benefit of social networking sites.
Social Networking and Library Profession

Social networking websites is a new technology offering
promising new outreach options for academic librarians. They provide
a new platform for reaching students beyond the traditional library
building and website by allowing students to access librarians and
the library resources without leaving the comfort of the websites
they use the most. Though this discussion only examines a select
few of the social networking tools available to librarians, the ideas
for how best to use social networking tools are widely applicable.
Overall, social networking should not be avoided in academic
libraries looking to reach out to their students. The ultimate goal of
librarians is to make library resources available to students. If social
networking helps to achieve that goal, it should be actively pursued.
However, social networking outreach must factor in the concerns
discussed above to effectively use this new technology. Any outreach
via social networking must consider the individual user base to
determine which sites are most used by students as well as how

students would use library resources on a social networking platform.
Social networking sites are mass media for communication for
all human age group. Following advantages are highlighted.
Finding Good People – Social Networking sites like LinkedIn
are a great resource for business owners to find new talent or
even partners for a new venture.
Free Business Promotion – This is probably the biggest
advantage for business owners using social networking sites.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and many others are
great forums for you to talk about your business, your services
and even exhibit your industry expertise.
Low Cost Advertising – Some social networking sites provide
a business owner with the opportunity to advertise to a very
specific demographic for very little money. So you can
advertise to exactly the customer that you want to attract
and save money versus other forms of advertising.
Build your credibility – By consistently interacting and posting
a person can build trust and credibility among their audience
which in turn can lead to more business.
Ease of Communication – Social networking sites allow you a
fast and free resource for communicating with your customers
and potential customers. Announce sales, promotions, special
events and more by simply typing your message and posting
it to your page or profile.
Analysis and Discussions

This section deals with the analysis and interpretation of the
data collected by means of the questionnaires.
Table No. 1— Gender
Options Responded Percentage
Male 44 61.11%
Female 28 38.88%
Table No. 2—Age

Age wise consideration of the response the following data shows
in the table.
Less than 25 16 22.22%
30-45 54 75%
45-60 02 2.77%
Table No .3—Regularly use of social networking sites.

Yes 65 90.27%
No 07 9.72%
Above table shows that 90.27% respondents use social

networking sites regularly, whereas 9.72% respondents not used
social networking sites regularly.
Frequency of using social networking sites among LIS
professionals indicates their familiarity with these sites for their
professional purpose. Respondents were asked to indicate their
frequency use of social networking sites. Data related to frequency
of using social networking sites are shown in the field.
Table No .4—Frequency of visiting social networking sites.
Daily 33 45.83%
Thrice in a week 07 9.72%
Twice in a week 06 8.33%
Weekly 17 23.61%
Rarely 09 12.5%
The above table indicates that a good number of 45.83%

respondents visit social networking sites daily, where as 23.61% of
them visit weekly. And a few percent of them visit 9.72% thrice in a
week, and 8.33% twice in a week.
Table No.5—Time spent on using social networking sites.

Less than 2 hours 61 84.72%
2 to 4 hours 04 5.55%
4 to 6hours 03 4.16%
More than 6 hours 04 5.55%
Above table shows that, mostly 84.72% LIS professionals less

than 2 hours time spent for using social networking sites. And 5.55%
respondents 2 to 4 hour’s time spent, 4.16% respondents 4 to 6
hours time spent, and 5.55% respondents more than 6 hours use
social networking sites respectively.
Table No.6— Frequently used social networking sites.

Facebook 55 76.38%
Myspace 0 0
Orkut 0 0
Youtube 10 13.88%
Linkdin 06 8.33%
Twitter 01 1.38%
Table 6 reveals that face book (76.38%) is most frequently using

networking sites among LIS professionals. Followed by YouTube
(13.88%), LinkedIn (8.33%) and Twitter (1.38%) respectively.
Figure No.7—Opinion about usefulness of social networking

for professional development.
Following figures interpret that most of the respondents 88%
says that social networking sites useful for professional development.
Figure No.8-Purpose of using social networking sites.

Above figures shows purpose of using social networking sites

among LIS professionals. It revealed that 54.16% respondents use
social networking sites for debating and discussions of professional’s
problems, respectively 20.83% respondents used for
entertainment,12.5% respondents used for to get net-set guidance
and job advertisement, and 12.5% respondents use for get
information about conference,workshop,seminars,meeting.
Table No.9- Problem faced while using social networking sites.
Legal problem 7 9.72%
Security and privacy 41 56.94%
problem
Identity fraud 8 11.11%
Gossiping freely in an 9 12.5%
open environment
Absence of uniform 7 9.72%
rule at the Inter-
national Level
Above table indicates that security and privacy problem is the

major problem faced respondents while using social networking sites,
And 12% respondents faced problem of gossiping freely in an open
environment, 11% respondents faced problem of identity fraud,9%
respondents faced legal problem and 9%respondents faced problem
of absence of uniform rule at the international level.
Conclusion
Social media provide a shift in how people discover, read and
share news, information and content. It is a fusion of sociology and
technology transforming monologue into dialog and is the
democratization of information, transformation people from content
readers into publishers.
The use of online social networks by libraries and information
organizations is also increasingly prevalent and a growing tool that
is being used to communicate with more potential library users, as
well as extending the services provided to individual libraries.
The main purpose of the study to highlight the value/usefulness
of social networking sites. From the finding of the study several
major conclusions are drawn. The study reveals that most of 30-45
years age group used Social networking sites. It was noticed that
only 45% LIS professional used social networking sites daily and
mostly 84% professionals less than 2 hours time spent on using
social networking sites. The study shows that face book is the most
used social networking sites by LIS professionals, and majority of
LIS professional’s opinion that social networking sites useful for
professional development. Debating and discussions of professional
problems is the main intension of using social networking sites.
And Security and privacy problem are the main problem faced by
LIS professionals while using social networking sites.
Major suggestions based on the survey of collected data.
If LIs professionals use social networking sites following
advantages:-
1. Provide news or information for users
2. Provide links to recommended Internet Resources
3. Book reviews, information about new books

4. Provide entertainment or amusement for users
5. Provide news or information for librarians /about
libaray.(Marketing of Library resources)
6. Book discussions
7. Provide news or information for trustees
8. Provide research tips
9. Communication among librarians (in a library system)
10. To create virtual platform of all library professionals in world
wide level.
References
Bell,S.J(2007).Building better libraries with web 2.0
technology tools. Library Issues,28(2),pp,1-4.
Dickson, A. & Holley , R . P . (2010). Social networking in
academic libraries: The possibilities and the concerns. New
Library W orld,111(11/12), 468-479. doi: 10.1108/
03074801011094840.Available at: http://
digitalcommons.wayne.edu/slis.
Noa Aharony, (2013) “Facebook use by Library and
Information Science students”, Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 65 Iss:
1, pp.19 – 39.
Parveen,Noushia, Use of social networking site (facebook) in
making awareness among the library and information science
professionals of University libraries of UP: a case study
.international journal of digital library
services.V.1:2011:1
Social Network. The free on-line dictionary of computing
.retrieved January 23 2014, From Dictionary .com
websites:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social
network.(Online Social Networking Dangers and Benefits)
Social networking a tool to use for effective service delivery to
clients by African Libraries-Efua Mansa Ayiah, IFLA 77th
conference: 2011, 13-18th August.
Social Networking Site Dangers) http://www.pacific.edu/
Campus-Life/Safety-and-Conduct/Safety-and-Security/
Online-Social-Networking-Dangers-and-Benefits-.html.
Accessed on/04/2014.
Suraweera, Namali (2011).Value of Social Networking in
Libraries and Information Organizations in Asia and Oceania.
WORLD LIBRARY AND INFORMATION CONGRESS: 76TH
IFLA GENERAL CONFERENCE AND ASSEMBLY,10-15
August 2010, Gothenburg, Sweden.
zeani, Chinwe Nwogo and Igwesi, U zoamaka, “Using Social
Media for Dynamic Library Service Delivery: The Nigeria
Experience”(2012). Library Philosophy and Practice ( e-
journal). Paper 814.http://digitalcommons. unl.edu/
libphilprac/814.
USE OF WEB 2.0 AND ITS

IMPLICATIONS FOR ACADEMIC
LIBRARIES
—Veena Kamble and Shaista Parveen
Abstract
This paper covered Generation of web technology i.e web 1.0 to
web 3.0. Competencies for web based librarianship and basic skills
of particular generation. It suggests that recent thinking describing
the changing Web as “Web 2.0” will have substantial implications for
libraries, and they still necessitate a new paradigm for librarianship.
Web 2.0 tools in LIS and Library 2.0 challenges or opportunity which
is mentioned lastly.
Keywords
Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0, ,Web based Librarianship,
Competencies for web based librarianship and basic skills.
Introduction
The electronic era of the 21st century has brought changes to
the libraries’ working environment and acquisition of information
resources that in turn presupposes the implementation of new
strategies, change of structures and devising new acquisition
principles. A knowledge society generates, processes, shares and
makes available to all members of the society knowledge that may
be used to improve the human condition. A knowledge society differs
from an information society in that the former serves to transform
information into resources that allow society to take effective action
while the latter only creates and disseminates the raw data.
Castelfranchi, C. (2007) The capacity to gather and analyze
information has existed throughout human history. However, the
idea of the present-day knowledge society is based on the vast

increase in data creation and information dissemination that results
from the innovation of information technologies. Vallima, J. &
Hoffman, D. (2008). Recently knowledge society known as
knowledge-based information society also.
Highlights of the Paper

1. Discusses the application of Web 2.0 tools in the libraries.
2. Provides a reconnaissance of major academic libraries across
the globes which have embraced these tools for connecting
to the users.
3. Discusses how Web2.0 tools can be used to patrons towards
using the library resources and services.

1. To identify web tools using the academic libraries.
2. To study the purpose of using these technologies.
3. To examine the characteristic features of the web 2.0 tools
using in the academic libraries.
In the modern information society libraries have a new role
and there are various types of library models:
Traditional library as a memory institution
Library as a learning and research centre
Library as a cultural and communication centre
Electronic library
Virtual library.
Information technology rapidly changing the whole world creating

new challenges and opportunities in Library profession. In recent
years the web has brought a communication revolution enabling us
to access, retrieve and send information anywhere easily
instantaneously and inexpensively. The web has transformed the
way of libraries functioning and providing library information services
to the user community. The User are found their learning /reading/
teaching tools on the web because they are easily updated, accessed
and printed on demand.
Web Technology and Generation

Web technology is a system of interlinked hypertext documents
accessed via the internet with a web brower.This technology provides
all kinds of information to any one on net via series of interconnected
documents stored on computer sits.i.e it may be in contain text,
images, videos and other multimedia and navigate between them
via hyperlinks system. Web is the largest transformable-information
construct that its idea was introduced by Tim Burners-Lee. Web 1.0
as a web of cognition, web 2.0 as a web of communication, web 3.0
as a web of co-operation and web 4.0 as a web of integration are
introduced such as four generation of the web since the advent of
the web.
Web 1.0 is the first generation of the web which according to
Berners-Lee, could be considered the read-only web we can’t edit or
change it. That’s means it is “Static” in nature.
Web 2.0 is the second generation of web technology, defined by
Dale Dougherty in 2004 as a read-write web. Web 2.0 is also known
the wisdom web, people-centric web, participative web, and read-
write web and managing large global crowds with common interests
in social interactions.
Web 3.0 it’s called semantic web also. Desires to decrease
human’s tasks and decisions and leave them to machines by
providing machine-readable contents on the web. In General, web
3.0 is included two main platforms, semantic technologies and social
computing environment.
The main differences between Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0.
Competencies for web based librarianship

“Competencies are a combination of skills, knowledge, and
behaviors’ important for Organizational success, personal
performance, and career development in web based knowledge
society. The following skills will be helpful to work in web-based
libraries which is published on the topic that (SLA Report, 1998).
Basic Skills
The web based librarians must have the skill of using
computer, Internet and network technology database creation,
web page designing and updating.
Skills of comprehensive retrieval of right information from a
particular database in a logical and analytical manner and to
provide it to right user community by providing different
information services.
Library skills like classification, cataloguing, indexing
abstracting etc. are also required to manage web information
in proper way.
In web based librarian should be well aware with web based
communication services such as E-mail, Bulletin Board, Web
Sites, and Blogs etc.
To prevent web resources from computer viruses attack,

hackers etc. the web based librarian should have the
knowledge of cryptography, firewall, and different anti-virus
software’s. (Mazumadar, 2007).
Web 2.0 skills

Librarian should be aware about power of the web 2.0 prospects
and able to combines e-resources and print formats seamlessly.
Learns the major tools of web based library and uses the
latest tools of communication (Such Skype) to connect users
to expert discussions, conversations and communities of
practice, and participates there as well. Also Connects with
everyone using their communication mode of choice-
telephone, Skype, IM, SMS, texting, email, virtual reference,
and so on.
Understand the wisdom of crowds and the emerging roles
and impacts of the blogosphere, Web syndic sphere and wiki
sphere First and foremost, Librarian 2.0 to understand end
users deeply in terms of their goals and aspirations, workflows,
social and content needs, and more.
Social network knowledge-basic understanding of Face book,
My Space, Twitter, RSS etc and the ability to explain them to
others. Blog is a better tool of communication in web 2.0
environment. It is hope that librarian should be able to write
and post to a blog, add photos and videos to a blog post and
embed a widget into blogs and social networking account.
Over 500 most popular blogs written by bloggers in India
(http://wwwlabnol-blogs/).
This librarian recognizes how services might be enhanced by
the Read / Write web and how new services might be born in
a climate of collaboration. This librarian uses Instant
Messaging to meet users in their space online, builds Weblogs
and wikis as resources to further the mission of the library,
and mashes up content API (Application Program Interface)
to build useful web sites.
Fluency in web development languages, tailoring resources

to meet customer needs.
Ability to create actionable intelligence, to retrieve applicable
data in a periodic, timely manner and to properly disseminate
date to patrons.
Fluency in web development (e.g. ASP. NET, Cold Fusion) &
RIAs (Stephens, 2006)
Web 3.0 skills

Library 3.0: the art of Virtual Library services. Some foreign
Libraries are trying to adopt Web 3.0 into their services through
methods such as Resource Description and Access (RDA) tags,
metadata and other semantic web developments. The semantic web
has changed the face of the Internet, and will continue to change
and develop the way libraries conduct their online services such as
OPACs and federated searching. Due to (Mi & Nesta, 2011). Library
3.0 must lead rather than follow and it must innovate, rather than
copy. Librarians must improve as well. They must know how to deal
with mobile technology, social media, dynamic web, widgets and
filtering. Librarians working in Library 3.0 environment are called
Librarians 3.0
Well prepared to fulfill the high expectations of the modern
users.
Pocket libraries
Mobile OPACs
Quick response codes (QR)
Cloud computing that means web 3.o is Ubiquitous Content
and Services Intelligent Agents Smart Interfaces.
Innovative and capable to doing thing differently. Some new
innovative services should be introduce in library, such as
the University of California at Merced librarian Michelle Jacobs
answering reference questions via SMS and in Austrialia, the
Queensland University Technology is offering a Chat Online
service via MSN.
Ability to change the rules according to needs. Collaboration

with a wide range of information providers, where rethinking
of the catalogue means it is no longer relevant in its current
form the catalogue should be a “one-stop shop” for searching
resources, providing access beyond local collections, and to
different types of resources in a seamless way
Web 2.0 tools in LIS

Web 2.0 tools are Internet based services which include social
net working sites, blogging sites, RSS, pod casting, wikis, 3D virtual
environment such as second life and Active world.
Web Description LIS Application
2.0
Tools
Blogs It is a powerful As collection development,
two-way based where the users request the
tool. A blog is a resources,
website where
Marketing of the information as
library users can
well as the library,
enter their
thoughts ideas, As discussion forum.
suggestions, and
Serve as a platform where users
comments
can file their · concerns,
queries and suggestions
regarding the services and
activities of the library.
As another form of publication.
* Best example of LIS Blogs:
1. research inlis.blogspot.in
2. ranji62.wordpress.com
3. ravindramendhe.blogspot.com
4. vnmlibrary.blogspot.com
Wikis A wiki is a Social interaction and

webpage or set of discussions among the
Web pages that librarians & users as well.
can be easily
Reference resources wiki can be
edited by anyone
built for frequently asked
who is allowed
questions.
access (Ebersbach
et al., 2006). For creating subject guides,
subject gateways etc.
RSS RSS (most Librarian can subscribe to RSS

c o m m o n l y ) from the sources for compiling
expanded as their customized alerts.
‘Really Simple
Promote events organized in the
Syndication) is a
library for Library Users.
family of web feed
formats used to Enhance Library Instruction for
publish frequently different Web 2.0, Library 2.0,
updated works Blogs, Wikis, RSS, Tagging,
such as blog Podcasting, IM programs/
entries, new courses by integrating
headlines, audio, appropriate resources.
and video in a
Integrating library services
standardized
through RSS feeds.
format.
* Best example of The following
libraries using RSS:
1. Central Library IIT, New Delhi
http://www. itd.ac.in/rss/
iitdfeeds_library.xml
2. Central Library IIT, Bombay
http://www. library.iitb.ac.in/
/index
Central Library, IIT, Kharagpur
h t t p : / /
www.library.iitkgp.ernet.in/
LibBlog/blogIndex.htm
IM Instant messaging Instant clarifications for the

(IM) is a collection Questions from users and vice
of technologies versa.
that create the
Reference librarians can also
possibility of real-
send text, video and audio files
time text-based
such as library instruction files,
communication
ready reference etc.
between two or
more participants Online meetings
over the internet
For providing virtual reference
or some form of
services.
internal network/
Intranet.
Social A social network Libraries can create a page to
Net service focuses on approach to new users.
working building online
Social networking could enable
communities of
librarians and patrons not only
people who share
to interact, but to share and
interests and/ or
change resources dynamically
activates, or who
in an electronic medium.
are interested in
exploring the User can be added to the library
interests and catalogue, including users book
activities of others. reviews or other comments.
Pod A pod cast is a Podcasts promotional recording

casting series of audio or about the library’s services and
video digital- programs.
media files which
Podcast highlights about new
is distributed over
resources
the Internet by
syndicated Podcasts enable librarians to
d o w n l o a d , share information with anyone
t h r o u g h at any time.
Webfeeds, to
Podcasting can be a publishing
portable media
tool for users and librarian’s
players and
oral presentations.
p e r s o n a l
computers.
You Allows users to It can be used as publishing

Tube upload, tag, toot for marketing of library and
watch, rate, library products.
review, view and
blog, video
footage, and even
create play lists.
Tagging A tag is a keyword Tagging can be applied to the

that is added to a LIS for editing the subject
digital object (e.g.a headings from the user point of
website, picture or view and thereby enhancing the
video clip) to indexing and relevancy of the
describe it, but searchers, making the
not as part of a collection more dynamic.
f o r m a l
classification
system.
Library 2.0 CHALLENGE OR OPPORTUNITY

Financial crunch
Lack of ICT infrastructure
Technical illiteracy in library personnel’s and user
Lack of training & orientation programme
Above mentioned skills can be develop in following way-
Training programmers based on web 2.0 & 3.0, Information
technology tools and services etc. should be organized at
institutional and national level.
LIS education institutes should introduce web-based
librarianship as an optional paper.
Top web-based libraries should be select/ develop as training
centre for library professionals
Encourage them for lifelong learning.
Conclusion
The library professional must be skilled with web technology
and its applications in library and information services. “Professionals
should be aware with information resources available on web,
information access in web environment, management of web
resources, and the ability to work efficiently in web-based libraries”.
So that following five laws of web can be fulfilled today five laws of
Dr.S.R. Ranganathan….
1. Web resources are use.
1. Every web has his/her web resources
2. Every web resource its user.
3. Save the time of modern user.
4. Web is growing organism.
Web 2.0 is an early one of many. Libraries must adapt to it,
much as they did the Web originally, and must continually adapt
for the foreseeable future.Once we have our answer to those
questions, we should have a clear roadmap for reaching your goal.”
References
Boria, Raj (2013).Competencies Needed for Web Based
Librariship in Technology enabled Knowledge Society.
Professional Journal of Library and Information Technology.
Vol.3 No.1
Castelfranchi, C. (2007). Six critical remarks on science and
the construction of the knowledge society. Journal of Science
Communication, 6(4), 1-3.
Cho, A.(2008). Catalyzing innovation and knowledge sharing
: Librarian 2.o Business Information Review 25(4), 253-258.
http: //liseducation.wordpress .com
Mazumdar ,N.R. (2007). Skills for Library and Information

professionals working in borderless library.5th convention
PLANNER- 2007,Guawhati University,Guawhati .Dec.7-
82007.
Nesta, F., & Mi, J. (2011). Library 2.0 or Library III: returning
to leadership. Library Management ,3(1), 85.
Tim, Berners-Lee & James, Hendler & Ora, Lassila (2001),
“The Semantic Web”, The Scientific American, vol. 5(1).
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (2005). Toward knowledge societies. UNESCO
World Report. Conde-sur-Noireau, France: Imprimerie Corlet.
Vallima, J. & Hoffman, D. (2008). Knowledge society discourse
and higher education. Higher Education, 56(3), 265-285.

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ELECTRONIC INFORMATION LITERACY

Chapter · November 2019

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

In this digital era, users need to more information literate than

Why need of information Literacy

increasingly important in the contemporary environment of rapid

Seven pillars of Information Literacy

7. The ability to synthesize and build upon existing information

According to American Library Association’s 1998

Information Literacy and Information Technology

“Fluency” with information technology may require more

Information Literacy and Higher Education

for distance learning students should be comparable to those for

Information Literacy and Pedagogy

such student-centered teaching methods as problem-based learning,

Use of the Standards

develop a met cognitive approach to learning, making them conscious

Information Literacy and Assessment

Objectives, are evident throughout the outcomes detailed in this

8. Access and use information ethically & legally

“information literacy” when it used learners as its linchpin; they

Electronic Information Literacy

The electronic information literate students will then able to

A Electronic literate person

E-Information Literacy role of LIS Profession

Component of E-Information Literacy

Methods of Imparting E-information literacy

2. Teacher training Curriculum

Challenges of Electronic information Literacy

Khan,Khaisar,M.andRaju.C.”Online Information Literacy

Table 1: Definitions of Knowledge Management (KM)

Author(s) Yr. Definitions of Knowledge Management

Hannabuss 1987 KM is the knowledge and attitudes of

OPQC 1996 KM involves strategies and processes of

Knapp 1998 KM is the art of transforming

Tiwana 2000 Management of organizational

NASA 2009 KM is getting the right information to

Knowledge Management through Institutional

scholarly publishing. In the words of Crow (2002), “an institutional

As such, the concept of a repository is directly related to the

Objectives of the Study

North Eastern Hill University

responsibilities, as enshrined in its Act is by focussing its attention

The Digital/Institutional Repository

concerned library staffs of North-Eastern Hill University are well

adolescence stage. It is too early to evaluate the impact of the

o Academic Council Meetings [256]

o North-East Book Collection [2238]

Centre for Cultural and Creative Studies [5]

Centre for Science Education [1]

Cultural Studies [0]

Department of Anthropology [191]

Department of Basic Sciences and Social Sciences [9]

Department of Biochemistry [262]

Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics [33]

Department of Botany [436]

Department of Centre for Applied Statistics [1]

Department of Chemistry [511]

Department of Commerce [60]

Department of Computer Center [2]

Department of Distance Education [1]

Department of Economics [235]