INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q. Why librarian is called teacher of teachers?

The librarian performs four main leadership roles: teacher, instructional

partner, information specialist, and program administrator.
In the teacher role, the librarian develops and implements curricula relating to
information literacy and inquiry. Librarians may read to users, assist them in
selecting books, and assist with academic work.

In the instructional partner role, librarians collaborate with classroom teachers

to create independent learners by fostering students' research, information
literacy, technology, communication, and critical thinking skills.

As information specialists, librarians develop a resource base for the institution

by using the curriculum and student interests to identify and obtain library
materials, organize and maintain the library collection in order to promote
independent reading and lifelong learning. Materials in the library collection
can be located using an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC)

This role also encompasses many activities relating to technology including the
integration of resources in a variety of formats: periodical databases; Web
sites; digital video segments; podcasts; blog and wiki content; digital images;
virtual classrooms, etc. Librarians are often responsible for audio-visual
equipment and are sometimes in charge of computers and computer
networks.

As program administrators, librarians define, lead, and manage school library

media programs by establishing library policies; overseeing the library budget;
planning the physical and virtual library space; and maintaining a welcoming,
positive, and innovative learning atmosphere.

Due to above reasons librarian is called teacher of teachers

Q. How university library serves opac to college library?

Through Web OPAC and MOPAC 24x7 facility any library can assist other
libraries, persons in using of OPAC services.

Q. Koha database backup procedure.

Koha Back-up Procedure:
In staff client interface (IP address:8000), click on Tools module exist in the
main page of Koha then click on Remote Database Backup then fill up the
following information:
Database Host/IP : localhost (or anything applicable)
Database User Name : root (or anything applicable)
Database Password : root (or anything applicable)
Database Name : your database name
Click on Submit

Q. IR System

Information retrieval (IR) is the activity of obtaining information resources

relevant to an information need from a collection of information resources.
Searches can be based on metadata or on full-text (or other content-based)
indexing.

Automated information retrieval systems are used to reduce what has been
called "information overload". Many universities and public libraries use IR
systems to provide access to books, journals and other documents. Web
search engines are the most visible IR applications.

Q. What is the necessity of Reference Section in the ICT era?

In this section Reference Librarian serves the users with pinpointed facts, data,
information, knowledge or referred to authentic source if the information is
not available in his/her library which is not possible through Internet because
Internet retrieve us millions of information from which it is very difficult to find
out the pinpointed one. Moreover there is a chance for innovation through
discussion with the same group of users in reference section or library which is
unavailable in home or other places.

Q. Why did you decide to enter the field of library and information science?
OR What motivated you to seek a librarianship degree?

Ans. As it is a noble profession and related to books, journals, report, thesis

etc. based information service which is very important in nation building so I
decided to enter into the field of LIS to contribute something to the academic
community.

Q. Why did you decide to apply for this position?

Ans. As per the eligibility is concerned I’m fit to apply for this position and I’ve
the potential to achieve it and courage to contribute significantly so I decided
to apply for this position.

Q. Discuss some of your achievement regarding this field.

Ans. After completion of MLIS I’ve qualified NET (AP/JRF) in this field and did all
types of library work and service during my project work in Library and also
contributed many articles in Journals, Conference Volumes, Edited Books,
Festchrift Volumes etc.

Q. What kind of work environment do you prefer?

I prefer necessary space and availability of general & ICT infrastructure for
Library and a library awareness and love from Principal, Teachers, staff,
students end.

Q. Mention some popular reference materials.

(i) India: A Reference Annual

(ii) Encyclopaedia Britannica

(iii) Monorama YearBook

(iv) Webster’s Dictionary

(v) Famous First Facts

(vi) National Geographic Index

(vii)World Almanac and Book of Facts

(viii) Current Biography Yearbook

(ix) World Book Encyclopedia

(x) The Grolier Encyclopedia of Science and Technology

Q. What does librarianship means?

Librarianship is generally considered to be concerned with the principle and

practice of selecting, acquiring, organizing, disseminating and providing access
to information in accordance with the specific needs of groups of people or an
individual.

Q. Mention some popular online databases with their subject coverage.

• ArticlesPlus

a) a starting point for finding articles on a topic

b) literature searches in interdisciplinary fields
c) conducting research outside of your field of expertise
d) Hundreds of the Library’s article databases, including Academic Search
Premier, JSTOR, Science Direct, and more
e) Over 40,000 journals and periodicals
f) The University of Chicago library catalog
g) Digitized collections of documents and images from many organizations

• ProQuest Research Library

ProQuest Research Library is a truly multidisciplinary resource featuring

a diversified mix of scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and
other timely sources across the top 150 subject areas.

The database expands daily and currently includes more than 6,000
titles, 75% of which are available in full text.

Subject areas covered include:

a) Arts
b) Business
c) Education
d) Health and medical
e) History
f) Law
g) Literature and languages
h) Multicultural
i) Psychology
j) Natural sciences
k) Social sciences
 l) Engineering and technology
m) Women’s studies

• Academic Search Complete

Content Includes:

a) More than 8,800 full-text journals

b) Nearly 13,600 indexed and abstracted journals
c) Full text for more than 7,700 peer-reviewed journals
d) PDF content dating back as far as 1887
e) Searchable cited references for more than 1,400 journals
f) Daily updates

Subjects Include:

a) Animal science
b) Anthropology
c) Astronomy
d) Biology
e) Chemistry
f) Engineering
g) Ethnic and multicultural studies
h) General science
i) Geography
j) Geology
k) Law
l) Mathematics
m) Music
n) Pharmaceutical sciences
o) Physics
p) Psychology
q) Religion and philosophy
r) Science and technology
s) Veterinary science
t) Women's studies
u) Zoology

• JSTOR

What is Jstor?
a) JSTOR is a database that provides access to full-text journal articles.
Subjects covered
include banking, business, economics and finance as well as a range of
other subjects in the humanities.
• When should I use Jstor?

a) Use Jstor when you want to search for historical journal articles. Articles
go back up to 100 years for some titles.
b) The most 'recent' coverage will be at least 5 years old.

• WorldCat

a) Contains all the records (e.g. books, websites and internet resources,
computer programmes, films and slides, journals and magazines,
articles, chapters, papers, manuscripts, maps, musical scores,
newspapers, sound recordings, videotapes cataloged by OCLC member
libraries.
b) Offers millions of bibliographic records.
c) Includes records representing 400 languages

• LexisNexis Academic

Lexis-Nexis is one of the world's largest online database services. Lexis-

Nexis contains thousands of publications which provide extensive
sources of information in the areas of law, news, business, finance,
government, medicine, technology and other subjects. Most
publications in Lexis-Nexis are available in full-text, but very few
academic journals are included. The only two subject areas in which
Lexis-Nexis does have extensive coverage of academic journals are law
and medicine.

• Web of Science

Background History

A citation index is built on the fact that citations in science serve as

linkages between similar research items, and lead to matching or related
scientific literature, such as journal articles, conference proceedings,
abstracts, etc. In addition, literature which shows the greatest impact in
 a particular field, or more than one discipline, can be easily located
through a citation index.

Web of Science consist of seven online databases:

a) Conference Proceedings Citation Index covers more than 160,000

conference titles in the Sciences starting from 1990 to the present
day
b) Science Citation Index Expanded covers more than 8,500 notable
journals encompassing 150 disciplines. Coverage is from the year
1900 to the present day.
c) Social Sciences Citation Index covers more than 3,000 journals in
social science disciplines. Range of coverage is from the year 1900 to
the present day.
d) Arts & Humanities Citation Index covers more than 1,700 arts and
humanities journals starting from 1975. In addition, 250 major
scientific and social sciences journals are also covered.
e) Index Chemicus lists more than 2.6 million compounds. The time of
coverage is from 1993 to present day.
f) Current Chemical Reactions indexes over one million reactions, and
the range of coverage is from 1986 to present day. The INPI archives
from 1840 to 1985 are also indexed in this database.
g) Book Citation Index covers more than 60,000 editorially selected
books starting from 2005.

• Scopus

is a bibliographic database containing abstracts and citations for

academic journal articles. It covers nearly 22,000 titles from over 5,000
publishers, of which 20,000 are peer-reviewed journals in the scientific,
technical, medical, and social sciences (including arts and humanities).
science, mathematics, engineering, technology, health and medicine,
social sciences, and arts and humanities

• ABI/Inform (related with ProQuest)

Articles in business, finance, management, accounting, advertising, banking,

insurance, marketing, public administration, real estate, and
telecommunications.
Indexes over 2700 business publications. Subject coverage includes:
 a) advertising and sales management
b) banking
c) business and management, including accounting and auditing
economics
d) electronic data processing systems and information science
e) engineering management
f) finance and financial management
g) health care
h) insurance
i) law and taxation
j) management science
k) marketing
l) personnel, employee benefits, and labor relations
m) public administration and government
n) real estate
o) telecommunications

• PsycINFO (of American Psychological Association)

PsycINFO is unmatched as a resource for locating scholarly research

findings in psychology and related fields across a host of academic
disciplines — from the historical to the cutting edge.

• Project Muse

Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social

science content for the scholarly community. Since 1995 the MUSE
journal collections have supported a wide array of research needs at
academic, public, special, and school libraries worldwide. MUSE is the
trusted source of complete, full-text versions of scholarly journals from
many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies,
with over 120 publishers currently participating. UPCC Book Collections
on Project MUSE, launched in January 2012, offer top quality book-
length scholarship, fully integrated with MUSE's scholarly journal
content.

Q. Briefly discuss about Melvil Dewey.

Melville Louis Kossuth (Melvil) Dewey (December 10, 1851 – December 26,
1931) was an American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal
system of library classification, and a founder of the Lake Placid Club.

Q. Abbreviate ISBN and ISSN. Describe their role in this information era.

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique numeric

commercial book identifier.

An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation (except reprintings) of a book.

For example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book
would each have a different ISBN.

The principal purpose of the ISBN is to make the identification of any book as
certain as possible.

In ISBN13 there are 5 parts: Country, Group, Publisher, Title, Check Digit
In ISBN10 there are 4 parts: Group, Publisher, Title, Check Digit

An ISSN is an 8-digit code used to identify newspapers, journals, magazines and

periodicals of all kinds and on all media–print and electronic.

The ISSN takes the form of the acronym ISSN followed by two groups of four
digits, separated by a hyphen. The eighth digit is a check digit calculated
according to a modulus 11 algorithm on the basis of the 7 preceding digits; this
eighth control digit may be an “X” if the result of the computing is equal to
“10”, in order to avoid any ambiguity.

The ISSN role is to identify a publication.

It is a digital code without any intrinsic meaning

Q. What do you mean by "Bibliography? How will you arrange a

bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of all of the sources you have used in the process of
researching your work. In general, a bibliography should include:

1. the authors' names

2. the titles of the works
 3. the names and locations of the companies that published your copies of
the sources
4. the dates your copies were published
5. the page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source
volumes)

When it is time to turn in your Bibliography, type all of your sources into a list.
Use the examples in MLA Format Examples or APA Format Examples as a
template to insure that each source is formatted correctly.

List the sources in alphabetical order using the author's last name. If a source
has more than one author, alphabetize using the first one. If an author is
unknown, alphabetize that source using the title instead.

Q. Discuss the library movement in your country.

First time efforts for the development of libraries in India were made by Sayaji
Rao Gaekwad-III in 1911 in Punjab and after that various LIS courses started in
Madras University, Delhi University, Banaras Hindu University and many more
and library legislation done in 20 states of India for Library services to
everybody.

Q. Which is more important 'Bibliography or Abstract' for controlling

information explosion?

Abstract.

Many bibliographies were compiled, many subject bibliographies were brought

out by individuals, librarians, and publishers. Abstracting and indexing services
came into being to provide quick retrieval of information current and
retrospective and substitute for full text documents for scientists and
engineers.

Q. Briefly discuss about Library Association in your country?

There are many Library Association in India, out of which ILA (Indian Library
Association), IASLIC (Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information
Centre), IATLIS (Indian association of Teachers of Library and Information
Science), AALDI (Association of Agricultural Librarians and Documentalists
 of India) are widely known.

Q. Role/Importance of Library Association.

Library Associations play an important role in the promotion of librarianship

as a profession vital to an informed and knowledgeable society. There is a role
of professional association in recognizing, enabling and promoting a research
culture amongst qualified professionals. It shows that if the library profession
is to grow and thrive as a true profession, demonstrating not only typical
practice, but also considered scholarly approaches to the issues of its day,
then its commitment in apt and relevant research practice is indispensable. It
addresses the prospects, problems and challenges posed in the changing
higher education environment in this Information Age. Throughout the world
professional associations put substantial emphasis on the professional
development of LIS community through fostering research.

A first area is that of education for librarianship. This involves the

establishment of and adherence to a level of formal preparation that will lead
to possession by the student of the principles of librarianship and a broad
educational background rendering him capable of mature judgement and
analysis. The standards of library education must be constantly safeguarded
and reviewed.
A second area is the development of standards for the types of library service
in the fields of interest and responsibility of the association as guides to the
profession and to the community served by the library.
Third must be included the recruitment of able persons to the profession,

Q. Which is the world's oldest Library Association?

Ans. American Library Association (1876).

Q.Which classification scheme would you prefer and why?

I prefer Dewey Decimal Classification system because

• The Dewey Decimal System is a universal system in that it uses

numerical notation opposed to words or letters. This makes it much
easier to use for areas across the word that may have a different
alphabet/language.
 • Topics are listed/classified by subject. This makes it easy for the reader
to narrow down what they are looking for an find it quickly. (shouldn't
that be the goal of a classification system?)

• This system makes shelving books and locating books within a library
very simple. You simply locate the number of the book you are looking
for and you find it within the library.

• Use of the decimal system enables infinite expansion and subdivision.

• The mnemonic nature of the notation helps library users to navigate

within the system.

• The continuous revision and publication of the schedules at regular

intervals ensure the currency of the scheme.

Subject-based Classification

• Books in the Dewey Decimal System are classified according to broad

subject categories. A person seeking specialization topics will find all
pertinent books in the same section of the library. For example,
trigonometry, algebra and arithmetic topics are assembled under the
subject: mathematics. This makes the book search easier. Books can be
moved around physical locations, but their numbers do not change as
they are not categorized according to the shelves they occupy.

Governance of the System

• The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) is an entity connecting

libraries of the world through common applications and electronic
classifications. It is the governing body for the Dewey Decimal
Classification (DDC). New changes, versions and updates to the system
are monitored, implemented and shared with all world libraries
connected to the OCLC. This makes the Dewey Decimal System
advantageous to use in libraries as queries and classification challenges
can be immediately addressed.

Electronic and Print Compatibility

• The world of digitization and computerization has made libraries

accessible on the World Wide Web as well. The Dewey Decimal System
is conducive for computerization and hence makes library software
 applications easy to build around it. The OCLC has released the 22nd
version of the Dewey Decimal System, and it is available in both print as
well as electronic format (WebDewey).

Q. Briefly Discuss about IFLA, it's role to promote librarianship around the
world.

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, on 30 September 1927 at an international

conference

1. To promote international understanding, co-operation, discussion,

research and development in LIS;
2. Promoting continuing education of library personnel;
3. To provide an organization through which Library and Information
Science, System and Services can be represented in matters of
international interest;
4. To develop, promote and maintain guidelines for various types of library
activities.

Q. How reference services differ from information service?

Reference services fulfils the function of dissemination of information.

Reference services may vary from library to library, but most libraries have an
information or Reference Desk where assistance from a librarian is available.
Almost all libraries also provide reference services via the telephone, sms, e-
mail and in many libraries you can email your reference question, or Ask a
Librarian, to a reference librarian who will e-mail you back with the answers.

There are three main types of reference assistance:

• Assistance or instruction in the use of the library, including location of

materials, use of the catalog, use of computers to access information,
and the use of basic reference sources.
• Assistance in identifying library materials needed to answer a question.
• Providing brief, factual answers to questions, such as addresses,
statistics, phone numbers, etc. that can be quickly located.
An Information Service is this part of an Information System that serves
data/knowledge/information to customers and collects it from its contributors,
to manage and store it by optionally using administrators.

An Information System is any combination of information technology and

people‘s activities using that technology to support operations, management,
and decision-making.