What is a librarian?

There seems to be little argument that the stereotypical kind older matron with the white hair in a bun is no longer staffing the public library.  In addition, depending on your school district, you are less and less likely to see a public school with a full time librarian staffing the desk when your children come by for reading time.  It may even be true that Katherine Hepburn’s days in the classic film Desk Set depicting a corporate librarian are long gone.  Indeed, with the advent of the Internet and search engines such as Google, who needs a librarian?  I am here to tell you, you do.  You need a librarian, and mostly because you have no idea what a librarian does.

A colleague recently sent me a copy of the WSJ’s article, In Age of Google, Librarians Get Shelved.  While I generally enjoy a provocative editorial from the WSJ, I cannot fail to see how far off the mark this particular article fell.  In the Age of Google, librarians are needed more now than ever.  I am not here to proclaim that things must go on as they are.  I am here to tell you that you cannot go on without your librarian, and your librarian is your ticket to the future.  As my experience is focused in the legal arena, my comments and examples will draw from that industry.

Let’s set aside the fact that there is still a vast section of the population that does not know how to utilize the fantastic tools of the Internet, such as Google.  I am not just referring to those who are older in years.  My dear husband is terrified of technology.  He won’t admit it, but he conveniently can’t find any electronic device to Google even the most basic of questions when the need arises. I am his search engine.  Even a group text sends him into fits.  He is not alone.  While iPhones and Android phones are ubiquitous, it does not mean that everyone in our society knows how to research online.  And even more important to the seekers of accurate information, being published online does not make a fact true.  “I pulled this up on Wikipedia” might as well be, “I closed my eyes and threw a dart at the wall”.  I was recently asked to verify a piece of research material found online.  The truth was, there was absolutely no way to verify the material.  It came from a dubious website, and had no citations or any scholarly backing.  In fact, the only thing it did have were words stating exactly what the requestor was looking for.  Well if that isn’t the Bible truth, then I don’t know what is.

I return to my original question.  What is a librarian?   Some of the best librarians I have met and had the privilege of working with could be described with a few of the following characteristics:

• Organized
• An attention to detail
• Naturally grouping and organizing like things
• An inquisitive mind
• The ability to break down problems
• The ability to rely on a vast amount of knowledge to recall where information is located (in print, electronically, or real tangible matter.
• A detective like mind, working to find each piece of the puzzle

A librarian researches, organizes and presents information.  A librarian is aware of their area of expertise.  As a legal librarian I work with the law, and more specifically I work with Labor and Employment law.  On my team the librarians understand the basics of Labor and Employment Law. They watch new developments and explore trends in our particular area of law and indeed in the practice of law.  This expertise allows them to provide our attorneys with excellent research distilled down to the information required to best respond to the clients’ need.

What about all of the administrative work that is done in a library?  Does it take a Master’s Degree to put a book on a shelf?  No, it does not and that is precisely why most institutions utilize para-professionals.  I dislike this term as it implies that a library assistant is not a professional, however; the term does indicate that the person in question has library skills and works in a library but does not have a MILS and does not perform high level research.  In my particular organization we use library assistants to do a host of tasks that help free up time for any number of professionals including our librarians and our attorneys.  Someone does have to open the invoices, shelve the books, manage IDs, maintain databases , manipulate spreadsheets, route the newsletters, and deliver requests for copies of court documents.  None of these tasks should be confused with the in depth specialized research performed by highly skilled librarians.  A librarian is not, and may I assert never has been the person who reads and checks out books.  True these tasks must be done, and often a librarian might have done them. But in that same vein an attorney uses the copier, answers the telephone, and knows how to make coffee in the office.  Does that make the attorney a clerk?

One might be tempted to ask, why can’t the attorneys (or any professional) do this research themselves?  Well they could, just like you can remodel your house by yourself.  The work will get done, but without the special skills needed. It will take longer, be lower quality, and in the end could cost you more than hiring a professional.  If you are an attorney in a large firm with a billing requirement and a cost conscious client, you certainly do not want to waste your time, firm resources, or the client’s money.

The Wall Street journal probably did get one thing correct.  That very kind white haired lady behind the reference desk at the public library is likely going to retire soon, and very likely she will not be replaced.  However, the state of public libraries and local government finances is light years away from the conclusion asserted in the article that all librarians are now useless.  Librarianship as a profession is not dead.  If anything, this is the best time to become a librarian.  Maybe we need to rename the librarian something more appropriate, such as Research and Information professional, to take away the stigma.  With the VAST amount of data and information flooding the Internet someone has to be available to sort it out, organize it, decipher truth from fiction, and get you a fully formatted client ready report before your noon meeting on Tuesday.  Good luck pulling that off using Google.

In DigitalIndia; Student will get All CBSE Books online without any charge

There is a big news for the more than 14 lacs students of class 10th and 12th lakh, as they are going to get their books without any charge. Some of the books are already available and now with the #DigitalIndia mission all books will now be available in coming days.

As per theAccording to Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Smriti Irani, NCERT has already made some of its books available online through its mobile app and e-books, and will look to add CBSE books, videos and other learning material. and All CBSE textbooks and other learning material will be made available online by the NCERT.

“We made NCERT books available online for free through e-books and mobile applications a month-and-a-half ago. We are similarly going to make CBSE books available online along with additional learning material and videos as part of our good governance efforts,” Irani said at the inauguration of a new building of the school in Khichripur.

This is a really big decision as digitalizations in the education field is really important as this may impact large number of people In rural India.

Government is also taking more people online with the partnership of state owned BSNL with Facebook to offer free WiFi

How you can get these Books ?

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) currently offers copyrighted textbooks online for classes I to XII in Hindi, English and Urdu.

• The online textbooks can be accessed from here
• After that you need to select Class and Subject
• The Title list is populated after selection of class and subject
• When Title is selected the respective books is made available.

Digital India For Education

There are many updates in the field of education. These includes

• HRD ministry has set up National Institutional Ranking Framework all educational institutes and universities will get rankings by April 2016
• Government launches GIAN a government project to boost the higher education in India
• In the month of November, Smriti Irani had announced  ‘e-Pathshala’ program. Besides desktop, these books would be now available on mobile based apps as well.
• Khan Academy has also launched their India-centric website in Hindi, and made the content available in Hindi.

Source | http://www.bumblebeehub.com/2015/12/in-digitalindia-student-will-get-all-cbse-books-online-without-any-charge/

'Libraries have to ask what people want to read'

A freewheeling conversation with the director of Bibliotheque Nationale de France

The changing educational, social and recreational role of the library is a hotly debated subject among planners and readers alike. On a visit to Delhi, Bruno Racine, director of Bibliotheque Nationale de France (National Library of France), explains to The Hindu how public libraries need to become more interactive spaces. France and India have signed an MoU for digitisation of old manuscripts in the National Library of France. India is working on a National Virtual Library with French support, and France will be seeking India’s assistance to decipher its collection in Sanskrit and Tamil. There is a possibility that all these will be made a part of the joint digital collection.

Excerpts from the interview with Mr. Racine:

Excluding research scholars, far fewer people are visiting libraries today. What is the French experience?

I have to say, the trend is downwards. But we have to make a distinction between those who read online and the ones who come to the reading room. The libraries have not emptied out. Students do come here; I suppose they like to work from here. They may not borrow books, but libraries offer a quiet place and a friendly environment for the young. To address the young, public libraries have to offer services that correspond to their aspirations and give them rooms where they don’t have to whisper and can work together. We have five million items online, excluding copyright material, and our experience shows that people tend to use online resources and confine their visits to the library for a specific enquiry. So, the answer to your question is, the number of books being consulted and the number of physical readers has decreased slightly because more and more people have moved online. 

What is the role of a public library as a public space today?

In France, public libraries are city libraries. There are two state-funded public libraries, one at the Centre Georges Pompidou, and the other which I head. I don’t have recent figures, but I think globally the trend is of fewer people coming to libraries. A lot depends on local factors prevailing in a city. If a city opens a new modern library with reading services, it can become popular. If you go to an opera, it is not cheap. Museums are not free. In France, the policy has been to orient the library to the public. The traditional librarian thinks that if the books are good for the public, they will come. This is not the way it happens now. Libraries have become more interactive now. Libraries have to understand what the public wants. Librarians have to ask people what they want to read. 

How does the public funding of libraries work in France?

The library is completely funded by the government. We had to raise money on our own for heritage acquisition, where the access to the public is not free. Ninety five per cent of the budget of the National Library is funded by the Ministry of Culture. This has always been the case, which is quite different from museums in France, which have millions of visitors and can rest a little less on government money. We have about one million visitors each year to the library. The digital library gets 15 million visitors and is growing very fast. The library in France is a very old institution whose origins can be traced back to the 14th century, the time around which kings built their library of books, which became a permanent institution at the beginning of the 18th century. The practice of acquiring books was established in the 16th century, structured in a very systematic way at the beginning of the 19th century. Whenever a book is printed, it could be audiovisual records too, it has to be deposited at the library as well. Until a few years ago, the publisher had to deposit four books with the library. Now we have simplified the process, as we don’t have the space. We ask for only one copy by the publisher. There is a law since 2006 that gives us the mission of archiving books. The paradox is, when they are online they are free; once they are in our collection, you require authorisation to access them. 

What kinds of readers visit your library?

We have two kinds of readers. We have a public library which youngsters, young students and college students visit, for which the fee is very nominal. I have proposed to the government to make it free. On the other hand, for the digital library, we get an annual grant for digitisation of printed material and journals, which allows us to digitise 10 million pages every year. We get six million euros a year which is quite significant. 

What brings you to India? What are your plans?

Digitisation knows no boundaries. We are interested in countries that are looking at digitisation, and we are trying to understand their priorities. We have an Indian collection which we can share. If we want to have a single digital portal, for instance, for France and India, which is what I would like to discuss, our formats have to be compatible. Exchange of information is always useful, in particular in the area of long-term preservation, which is a big issue for digitised heritage. Another area I am looking forward to is cultural cooperation, because in France, we are interested in Indian collections because of our shared history. Since we know that India is working on a national digital library, we have some material which could be of some interest, which would require expertise from India for cataloguing it. We have 2,500 miniature paintings, and paintings which are not the most beautiful in the world but interesting, and over 1,800 manuscripts in Sanskrit and Prakrit in our collection and over 1,000 manuscripts, in diverse Indian languages, which we refer to as the Indian collection. 

How should the state go about funding public libraries? What should be the terms of engagement?

There are over 2,500 public libraries in France. The majority of them are run by professional librarians. Every few years, a contract is drawn between the government and the libraries, which defines goals and measures performance. Libraries are cultural institutions and they have to conduct their policy within a clearly established framework drawn between the government and the libraries. 

Source | The Hindu | 8 November 2015

Today's librarians more than keepers of books

Michele Lind doesn’t fit the image of the librarian sitting behind her circulation desk muttering “Shhhh!” every few minutes.

In fact, she says she would be thrilled — not embarrassed — if her principal walked in while kids’ chatter filled the library.

“My philosophy on quiet has changed,” said the library media specialist, who works at Roosevelt and Lewis and Clark elementary schools in Mandan. “I don’t want it to be wild and crazy and out of control, but I want it to be a little noisy.”

So do a growing number of school library heads who no longer see their sole purpose as keepers of books. They increasingly provide activities to prompt kids' imaginations and collaborate with teachers to integrate technology into the classroom.

The shift from old-school librarian to present-day library media specialist has occurred gradually over the past two decades. Still, local library media specialists find themselves debunking myths about their jobs.

Lind, for one, can see why people might question sending her students on a geocaching expedition. With GPS devices in hand, they searched their schools last year for hidden treasure.

“We are teaching them how to use technology,” she said. “We are teaching them how to apply latitude and longitude. They learn those concepts, but they are so foreign to them.”

Makerspaces

In some ways, children’s weekly visits to the library mimic those of their parents and grandparents. In Mandan and Bismarck public schools, they still check out books and listen to a library media specialist or an assistant read aloud.

“When I started, we were the study hall,” said State Librarian Mary Soucie, who worked in school libraries in the 1990s. “That’s where kids went when they were being disciplined.”

Some students today also spend their recess in the library, Lind said.

The difference? They come because they love “makerspaces,” which are designated areas within a library for kids to create anything from robotics to bookmarks.

The spaces popped up in school libraries throughout the country over the past several years, including in Bismarck and Mandan.

Library media specialists provide the supplies, then let the kids do the rest. Lind split classes into teams last year and gave each 100 red Solo cups. Each group had to come up with a way to stack the cups to ensure the structure would stand.

“I don’t think kids have time to play anymore,” Lind said. “A lot of them are on devices and computers. They forget about playing and creating.”

Misti Werle started a popular makerspaces club last year at Solheim Elementary School in Bismarck. The library media specialist, who earlier this month became the districtwide library media systems innovator for Bismarck Public Schools, regularly oversaw 25 kids who packed her library for weekly meetings after school.

“I had to turn kids away,” she said.

Collaborating with teachers

Blogs, Twitter chats, conferences and school library journals keep library media specialists up to speed on the newest tools available to enhance teaching.

The challenge is finding teachers who want to collaborate, Werle said.

“Often times, they don’t know what you can do for them,” she said.

The way she describes it, library media specialists have to advertise.

Lind knows what that's like. She researches what teachers at her schools are doing so she can devise ways to support them.

One tool she wants to try is Glogster, which she describes as a computer posterboard that can embed pictures, video and text.

“We are still trying to get that up and going,” Lind said. “It takes persistence and one teacher to set the example.”

She found some success last year teaching students email. She showed all her schools' third-, fourth- and fifth-graders how to compose and send an email, requiring them to use proper capitalization and punctuation. Every student messaged her, and she responded to each one.

One of the Lewis and Clark teachers then integrated that lesson into her class. Instead of turning in a sheet of paper with answers to questions, that teacher asked her students to email their responses to the assignment.

Split time

Lind sees the email lesson as a start to more collaboration. Part of the problem, she said, is that she’s split between two schools. She’s not always present when it’s convenient for a teacher to work with her.

That’s the case for library media specialists in Bismarck, too, which has 19 specialists split between 24 schools. Many work at two Bismarck schools, though there are several assigned to three, Werle said.

Kirsten Baesler was the librarian at five elementary schools when she started working for Bismarck Public Schools in 1989. Before she was elected state superintendent in 2012, she served dual roles at Saxvik Elementary School: assistant principal and library media specialist.

“My time as a library media specialist was the best training ground to know my responsibilities as a state superintendent,” she said. “It was absolutely essential for one to know all the standards on all the subjects for all the grade levels.”

Navigating resources

In doing so, Baesler could work better to assist teachers with classroom projects. As a young librarian, she frequently scoured the shelves and borrowed books from neighboring libraries to supply kids with an adequate amount of research materials.

“My big challenge was to make sure there were enough resources available to our students,” she said.

That changed by the time she was elected state superintendent. She taught kids to sort through the plethora of information available online, discerning reliable sources such as .gov sites from Wikipedia articles.

“There are people who say libraries aren’t relevant anymore,” said Werle, explaining that kids’ first instinct is often to turn to Google.

Students will probably find higher-quality sources in databases, which can quickly sort through articles with the search of a keyword, she said.

The State Library at the Capitol grounds in Bismarck pays more than $270,000 each year for databases, including Encyclopedia Britannica, and makes them available to school districts, Soucie said.

Werle said Bismarck Public Schools alone could not afford all those subscriptions.

“Libraries have and always will be about making connections,” Soucie said. “We’re just using different tools to do that now.”

Source | http://bismarcktribune.com/

 

Social media, if used rightly, can create opportunities for a global-playing field

The concept of learning and acquiring degrees invariably throws up images of classrooms, blackboards, buildings, books, etc. Physical classrooms and books still exist, but it’s becoming tough to point out if technology is a learning aid or rightly the new and a more effective way to learn. The reach and ease of using technology is changing the way learners want to learn—virtual classes, forum for peer learning and even learning on-the-go through smartphones.

One of the biggest contributions of technology to this field is its ability to make high-quality education accessible to anyone with internet connectivity. The internet has facilitated education to such a great extent that distance learning or online degrees are accessible for students across multiple disciplines—right from art history to clinical psychology—enabling students to learn at their pace and plan schedules based on what works for each.

Most successful online programmes offer students a complete package of video lessons, assignments and assessments that take away the stress of rigid schedules and offer the freedom of flexible learning and the convenience of going through one module multiple times with the video lessons playback. Most of these programmes also offer forums for posting questions, exchanging notes and learning through peers, making for effective learning and engagement. Combine this with live doubt-clearing sessions wherein the faculty is available online to answer students’ queries and you have everything that a classroom offers with unimaginable freedom and possibilities. With smartphones available at a pocket-friendly price, education is literally in your pocket.

Towrads this end, global campuses have opened opportunities for students who check out universities through virtual tours, video-conferencing with faculty or admissions directors interacting with senior students through LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, etc. They can even follow their favourite professors or alumni on Twitter.

With the changing pace of technology, it seems that shifting gears from computer screens to mobile screens is here to stay. Customised education by educational institutions and ready adaptability by students is changing the paradigm of learning. From recording attendance to assisting with course work, today there is an app for everything. The impact isn’t limited to educational apps. Crowdsourcing is another interesting way of finding solutions to academic queries.

It is important to note that, by moving education out of a classroom and into the virtual world, the one-size-fits-all phenomenon is being replaced by individualised outcomes. The teacher moves from the role of a lecturer to that of a guide. Learning becomes a shared responsibility and students have a say about the way they wish to learn.

Social media becomes the mainstay throughout a student’s and a professional’s life. How does one search for jobs? Let’s start with networking sites such as Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook. Job portals such as Monster, Naukri and Shine give access to employment opportunities beyond one’s physical reach. There are multiple options; for example web albums, blogs to video resumes that add a three-dimensional effect and reach a global audience.

Let us not forget that the internet is a relatively new development. In 15 years, we’ve progressed from emails to social media platforms. The potential is tremendous. It can open newer vistas and create more opportunities for a global-playing field.

The author is senior vice-president, Marketing, TalentSprint

Source | Financial Express | 6 July 2015

Libraries serve traditional, technology-driven roles

In today’s information-rich world, knowledge is literally at our fingertips. With a few keystrokes into a smartphone or computer, we’re inundated with Google results — ideas, opinions, and so-called “facts.” Author Neil Gaiman once said, “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”

Librarians are trained to listen to users’ needs and to connect them with specific information, resources or services. Librarianship is about human interaction and that can mean at the reference desk, through one-on-one instruction, storytelling or teaching a computer session.

Librarians and staff are key players in helping the community integrate technology into their lives. Librarians help people with the e-book readers, show them how to navigate online job applications and government forms, teach students how to create videos and use multimedia, teach grandparents how to Skype with faraway family, assist people with handheld devices, access digital content, perform genealogy research yet still place emphasis on developing young readers.

Librarians and staff are digitizing collections and preserving local and family histories. They answer questions via chat reference services; they use social media to connect with their communities and teach others to use social media. Librarians help people gain information to deal with shifts in the workplace and the economy. Meanwhile, people still count on librarians for suggestions on great reads or the latest books.

R. David Lankes in “The Atlas of New Librarianship” says that the mission of today’s librarians is to “improve society through facilitating knowledge creation in their communities.” He describes a new librarianship based on knowledge, learning and conversation.

Re-engage at your library today. Librarians and staff are serving thousands of Hoosiers in schools, public libraries, colleges, universities and special libraries. And they also look outside of their buildings to identify community experts for programming needs as they seek to enrich and restore conversations in their communities.

In 2013, there were just under 37 million visits to Indiana’s public libraries. Public and school library directors have shown tremendous resourcefulness in serving their communities on tighter and tighter budgets.

With strong community support and continued leadership, Indiana’s libraries will remain vital, welcoming institutions for information, democratic discussions and lifelong learning.

Source: http://www.pal-item.com/

The Best E-Book Service: Oyster Vs. Scribd Vs. Kindle Store Vs. iBooks

There is nothing better than the antique smell of a book and the feel of pages turning under your fingertips. But thanks to tablets, we can now carry around a virtual library with us — any book we own is accessible in just a few taps and swipes.

There are pros and cons on both sides of the paper vs. e-book debate, but let's face it — e-books are easy to read, as tablets offer brightness adjustments, zooming and letter resizing.

They're more convenient than lugging around a 700-page novel and are more environmentally friendly because you're saving trees!
There are a few popular tablets selling themselves as readers – such as Amazon's Kindle or Barnes and Noble's Nook – though any smartphone or tablet can be used as an e-reader. But when it comes to buying e-books, what's the best service?
Let's take a look at how Oyster stacks up against Scribd, Kindle Store and iBooks.
Oyster

Oyster, commonly called the "Netflix for books," announced on Wednesday, April 8, that it's launching an e-book store. That means users will be able to own the books they read instead of just renting them as part of Oyster's monthly subscription.

Those who subscribe to Oyster Unlimited for $9.95 a month will have access to over a million titles to rent from the virtual library — which include new releases, daily deals and classics. Users will however have to buy any books they want to read that aren't available as part of the subscription, on top of the monthly fee.

Oyster offers recommendations based on the types of books you like to read, as well as book reviews from a high-profile editorial team. Among others, the service provides books published by Hachette and Penguin Random House — who are both supporting Oyster after refusing to participate in the subscription business model.

Those who use Oyster can download their e-books through the app available on Apple's iPhone or iPads, Android smartphones, Amazon's Kindle Fire, Barnes and Noble's Nook HD, as well as the web — making it a service for just about anyone with a smartphone or tablet.
Those who buy books on the web can see them at oysterbooks.com when they sign in. In case of cancellation, a user can still keep the purchased books, accessing them on the Oyster app. This feature makes Oyster ideal for a bookworm who wants to try out a subscription service, but might cancel after a month or two.
Scribd

Scribd started as a popular document-sharing service and expanded in 2013 to include an e-book subscription service. It costs users $8.99 a month for an unlimited subscription, which is available on iOS, Android, and for the desktop — giving tablet and smartphone owners another "Netlfix for books" option.

In 2014, the service added audiobooks to its virtual library with Grammy award-winning narrators, and in February of this year, Scribd signed a deal with big comic book publishers like Marvel, Valiant and Archie Comics to provide more than 10,000 titles in a comic book section — a feature that sets this subscription service apart from the others. So if you are a huge comic book fan, this service is the right one for you.

Editors and algorithms also help recommend books based on the titles read, and there is no limit to number of titles downloaded at the less-than-$10 monthly fee.
Kindle Store

Amazon's Kindle Store offers users a subscription option as well as a traditional e-store. For $9.99, Kindle Unlimited gives the user access to more than 700,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks available to download on any device, such as the Kindle Fire HDX, iOS devices or Android smartphones and tablets with the free Kindle app.

The service uses Whispersync for Voice, which allows you to switch from reading your book to listening to it — all without losing your place.

The Kindle Store also offers the ability to purchase e-books without the subscription, offering best sellers and book deals. The popular Amazon vs. Hachette feud has however made some books from the publishing house unavailable for purchase.
Author James Patterson is strongly against Amazon, which is the primary seller of e-books in the U.S., and authors like J.K. Rowling are reluctant. So if you want to support a favorite author who is publicly against Amazon, the Kindle Store may not be for you.
Amazon also has a Kindle First program, where uses can read next month's new releases now — another cool feature for book lovers who want to read the latest and greatest before anyone else. Users can read one of the four Editors' Picks on a Kindle device or on any device through the app for $1.99, but Prime users get it for free.
iBooks

Apple's iBooks allows iOS users to read books on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac, offering everything from classics to best sellers. The iBook store offers more than 2.5 million books. Some are free, while others will cost you. There is no subscription service option for iBooks, making this the option for people who are light readers and don't want to pay for a service they won't use often.

If a book – such as a textbook – is updated, the app will give you the option to download the updated version of the book for free, replacing the old one — a feature the others don't offer.

There's also a Multi-Touch option on some books, which allows you to swipe through a photo gallery and rotate a 3D object with your finger, as well as bringing animation to life and accessing audio commentary. These books include textbooks and volumes found in the Food and Cooking, Travel, and Arts and Entertainment categories.

All of your books can be stored on iCloud, so you can read them on multiple Apple devices once you tap to download it. This makes iBooks the choice for the person who wants to read over the phone on the way to work and on the iPad in bed at night.

If you're reading in low light, iBooks automatically switches the text to white on a black background, making it easy to read — a feature you would have to manually adjust on non-Apple devices. There is also the ability to share quotes via message, mail, Facebook or Twitter — right from the page.

Users can also keep PDF files in iBooks so all their guides and proposals are easy to access in one place. Though only some books are free, there is an option to download book samples so you can read a section before committing to the purchase.

There are ups and downs to every e-book service, with some features that make each stand out against the pack. The right option for you depends on how often you read and if you want to pay one monthly fee for a large library, or pay by the book for the ones you really want.

Source | http://www.techtimes.com

Even in the Internet age, good research needs a good library

When the foundation stone for the Prince of Wales Museum, now the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), was laid on November 11, 1905, by the Prince of Wales (later King George V), it also marked the beginnings of the library that became an integral part when the museum was thrown open on January 10, 1922.

One of the oldest reference libraries in the country, the library at CSMVS has managed to remain the primary source of information for archaeologists, historians, artists, heritage conservationists and students, despite the onslaught of the Internet and social media, say officials at the museum.

“This is a reference library where researchers and scholars can find all important reference books and latest publications on art, history, archeology, heritage and culture,” said S Mukherjee, director, CSMVS.

“Since we are a reference library, noted scholars and researchers access the library for primary information. We also get students from various colleges, including our own students of Post Graduate Diploma in Museology,” he added.

What started off as a modest library with around 5,000 books has now grown into a rich collection of over 30,000 books and 5000 periodicals and journals.

There is a massive collection of 200 rare books and manuscripts and these can be accessed only with special permission. The oldest among these include ‘Travels in India During the Years 1760, 1781, 1782, 1783’ by William Hodges and ‘Jataka, Volume 4,5 6’ by V Fassball among others. While the pages in some of these books are worn out, the process of restoring them is currently underway.

The library, is divided into two primary sections.

The first floor stores journals, which includes Marg, Artibus Asia, Annals of Bhandarkar, Journal of Bombay Asiatic Society, Islamic Culture, Journal of Indian Museums, Indian Journal of History of Science, Epigraphia Indica, The Indian Antiquary, Rooplekha, Rupam, National Geographic and Oriental Art.

The floor also houses the rare books that are stored carefully.

The ground floor, which includes computer facilities and reading tables, has books segregated into dedicated sections covering paintings, Ancient History, Archaeology, Geography, Sanskrit literature, Indian Civilisation, Zoology, Mahabharata and Ramayana, Mughal period, British period, customs, language and folklore, Sociology, Economics, Hinduism, Vedic religion, Buddhism, Jainism, Mythology, Religion and Philosophy, Library Science, Textiles and Handicrafts, pottery, terracotta and jewellery, coins, sculptures, temple architecture, Indian, Western and Mughal Art.

While the library was refurbished in 2013 with the help of funds from the Kala Ghoda Association, it is currently engaged in digitisation of its collection.

“I started using the library since I was studying for my BA in history in 2012. I am currently pursuing my masters in history and I am simultaneously pursuing my PG diploma from the museum. I am working on my dissertation on museum exhibition and this library is a one-stop information platform,”said Ajay Salunkhe, a student.

Sofiya Karanjia, who teaches art and design at Rachana Sansad, is another regular. “It is not an ordinary library and has a huge resource in art and culture from the beginning of the 20th century.”

The museum staff consider the library as “a robust back-end resource”. The curatorial staff consult the source material for writing books, catalogues, guide books and research papers. “

“It is an integral part of the museum as we need research and references for our collections. We need to refer to the books here constantly so that we can effectively communicate about the collection to our visitor”,” said Bilwa Kulkarni, education officer, CSMVS.

Even in the Internet age when information is readily available by entering the correct terms in a search engine, the library is quite popular among its users.

“The Internet and social media revolution has a discernible impact on physically accessing books, youngsters want to take shortcuts which is definitely a cause for concern. However, it is heartening to see that people still do come to the library,” said Mukherjee.

Source | Indian Express | 11 March 2015

Paper Books Will Never Die

After eight years of writing about past visions of the future, I've learned to never make predictions of my own. Nobody knows what the future holds, so unless you want punk ass kids featuring your dumb ass predictions on some smarmy ass blog called PaleoFutureFuture or some shit in the year 2065, it's best to keep those things to yourself. But I'm about to break my own rule because I'm just so damn confident in my prediction: Paper books will never completely disappear.

Okay, I'm going to almost immediately hedge and say that I can't get behind the concept of "never." Never is a long time. So for lack of a better way to measure, how about we call it within your grandkids' lifetime? Because after your grandkids are dead nobody you know or care about will still be alive. That puts us at about a century out. And since I've got maybe 30 or 40 good years left on this planet if I'm lucky, a century is basically forever for me.

So how can I be confident that paper books are going to be with us for a long time to come? First of all, because they're lovely and I refuse to believe they'll ever disappear. But also because paper books are still a fantastic and irreplaceable piece of technology. 

College students overwhelmingly prefer deadtrees to e-textbooks. In a recent survey, a whopping 92 percent said that paper books allowed them to concentrate better. And it's easy to see why! Your deadtree Chemistry book doesn't have the siren song of Twitter or Facebook calling you from the digital rocks.

Believe it or not, paper book sales have made a modest comeback in the past year. Ebooks are mainstream. But paper books have too many benefits to simply die out anytime soon. 

Paper books aren't hindered by DRM or evolving media storage standards* or a need for electricity that'll turn your Kindle into a nice paperweight when that nuclear EMP blast finally hits and we're all bringing our kids to the burned out husk of a library to show them what the Before Times were like. Paper books sit on the shelf and mind their own fucking business like they should.

Even short of the more apocalyptic scenarios one can dream up, paper books still serve a purpose and will for the foreseeable future. And anyone who disagrees is almost certainly buying into myths about tech adoption that have poisoned the national discourse about progress for far too long.

It's so easy to think of technological media progress in linear terms. As I mentioned in my post earlier this week about the long forgotten experiments of radio faxpapers, the popular narrative goes something like this: First there were newspapers, then radio made them obsolete, then TV made radio obsolete, and then the web made TV obsolete. This is generally how we prefer to understand the evolution of mass media. But, of course, it's dead wrong.

We still have newspapers, radio, and TV. But with the emergence of each new technology, those older modes were forced to adapt-to refocus on the features that new technologies couldn't offer. It happened for newspapers, radio, and TV, and it's happening for books printed on paper and bound together. That's not to say that ebooks aren't superior in some ways. Rather, that one mode of technology has sharpened the utility of another.

"In the future no book will ever be out of circulation," Nathaniel Lande, a New York publishing consultant, told the New York Times in 1991. Which is a fantastic dream, and a great reason to embrace ebooks. The cost of distribution for electronic media borders on nothing. And digitization will certainly help preserve culture, save nuclear annihilation.

But the battle between paper books and ebooks isn't a zero sum game, even though we tend to imagine technological progress as an endless war between mediums that can only have one victor. In reality, it's more like a stew in which each ingredient is being constantly, subtly redefined by the others. 

Paper books and ebooks are each distinct modes of technology, with distinct strengths and weaknesses. They can co-exist in harmony and almost certainly will forever. And rest assured that if they don't, some punk ass blogger will take great pleasure in telling me how wrong I am. Stupid punk ass bloggers.

*Remember all those firewire hard drives you bought that are now sitting in a drawer somewhere like a time capsule from 2002?

Source | http://www.gizmodo.in/

Pvt sector must be encouraged to broaden role in scientific research

Modern India has had a strong rhetorical focus on science and technology, considering it a key element of economic growth and the development of a rational and critical worldview. This rhetoric, while uplifting, failed to impact on poverty reduction and development. Careers in science no longer provide enough remuneration or prestige to draw top-level talent. Our translation of R&D into actual production has been weak. Technological imports, whether in electronics or fighter engines, have grown rapidly. Our scientific manpower was built on a small, educated pool of scientists, most of whom chose to leave for distant shores. Despite the dawn of the computing age, India missed out on semiconductors and silicon chips. We chose to adopt and purchase, instead of innovating. 

A new science policy: India lies in the lowest quartile on R&D, both in terms of spending (<1% of GDP) and researcher count (<100 per million population). Our R&D allocation is dominated by the public sector (>80%), with universities left with a paltry 3%. In most countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, it’s the opposite — the private sector contributes the majority, with universities coming at around 20%. 

We need to address our limited scientific base. This will require a three-pronged approach focused on knowledge creation and commercialisation, inclusive innovation and subsequent knowledge diffusion and absorption. This needs to be supported by a focus on higher education, information infrastructure and innovation financing. The private sector needs to be encouraged to take greater risks in innovation, bolstered by an encouraging policy and regulatory framework. 

Public policy has its role to play. With a stronger Intellectual Property Regime (IPR), matching grants and tax subsidies, knowledge creation can be boosted. A simplified technology licensing policy, combined with good infrastructure and a stable macroeconomic environment, can work wonders. 

More physicists, fewer managers: Gross enrolments in higher education continue to remain below 20%. Just 16% of Indian manufacturing firms offer in-house training. Basic skill deficits need to be addressed by investments in primary, secondary and vocational education, and by building manager and worker skills. The quality of India’s engineers and researchers needs to be improved substantially through investment in ITIs. Financial support for early stage technology development should be addressed by regulatory efforts to deepen the pool of early stage venture capital and a promotion of pro-poor inclusive banking. Micro, small and medium enterprises should be offered viability gap funding through existing government innovation programmes. 

Expanding our technological base: Political prestige seems to drive our scientific allocation. Defence research and space are considered paramount, while our IITs are announced grandly and located in politically vital constituencies, with little consideration to their faculty and catchment area. Less than 20% of public research spending is allocated for civilian applications; 8% to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and 4% to the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR). Our public civilian research spending needs to go up. The CSIR, along with the ICAR and the Department of Science’s laboratories, needs to be restructured and refocused on the market, along with more fiscal and managerial autonomy. University R&D should be supported by competitive grants, along the lines of the US National Science Foundation, along with greater academic partnerships and researcher exchange programmes. The Sponsored Research and Development Programme and Small Business Innovation Research Initiative need to be expanded. 

Indian Patent Offices should be upgraded to cater to individuals and organisations. A special Court of Appeals for intellectual property rights should be set up, along with a policy think tank. Links between industry, universities and public laboratories should be strengthened by providing support for technology transfer. 

Private and inclusive innovation: Private firms need to be encouraged to spend on R&D, by expanding early stage technology development programmes and utilising public procurement to promote innovation. Tax regimes should encourage a favourable treatment of R&D. Technology parks and incubators should be expanded through fiscal incentives. Inclusive innovation is also necessary. Formal R&D efforts for the poor should be scaled up and focused on informal enterprises. The CSIR’s technology applications, like e-Choupal, should be scaled up across the country’s villages. The National Innovation Foundation’s grassroots innovation repository (>50,000 products) should be commercialised, with benefits flowing down to local communities. The Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network should be expanded to serve as an incubator for local innovation. 

Grand challenges still matter. Cleaning up the Ganga or making India clean should be showcases for innovative products and practices. By making local communities and officials compete, we could solve our budding congestion and water crisis. A simple light-touch oversight mechanism that links such local initiatives with innovation hubs and provides viability gap funding will help provide appropriate monitoring to achieve realistic targets. ‘Make in India’ can mean high technology as well.

Source | Hindustan Times | 6 November 2014

Indians prefer printed books over e-books: Survey

Despite all the strides taken by India in the digital world, nearly four out of five respondents in the Tata Literature Live! Survey 2014 conducted across the country say they favour printed books over electronic reading. 

In an attempt to understand the evolving landscape of literary reading, amidst technological, social and behavioural impacts, the survey brought forth key insights into Indians' reading habits, a press release from the Tata Group said.

According to it, the results of the survey revealed the preference of printed books across all generations. 

From among the respondents, hyper-connected post-millennials in the age group of less than 20, rank highest in this preference with 81%. This is followed by those in the age group of 21-30 with 79%, 31-40 age group and 41-50 age group with 75% each, the lowest being the age-group of 50 and above with 74%.

Regionally, Mumbai respondents lead with 80% opting for the printed word. This is followed by Delhi with 79%, Kolkata with 78%, Bengaluru with 77% and Chennai with 76%.

"The Tata Literature Live! Survey 2014 is an effort to look into contemporary India's literary leisure reading. The survey has not only explored reading tastes, but more importantly how India is reading today. It is heartening to see India's love for the written word, and the findings encourage us to celebrate it even further at the forthcoming editions of Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest!" says Mr. Anil Dharker, Founder and Festival Director of Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest.

Dr. Mukund Rajan, Member – Group Executive Council and Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, says, "The Tata Literature Live! Survey has thrown up very interesting findings. In a world of primetime TV, breaking news, and intensive social networking, reading books remains a popular activity. Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest endeavours to promote the cause of literature, particularly amongst the younger generation, and the findings of the survey enthuse us to strengthen our efforts in this direction."

The survey looks deeper into other aspects of reading habits as well. Some of the highlights are:

• 60% respondents read a literary piece once a week 
• 42% respondents ranked reading as the best means to survive a bad day
• 74% respondents prefer reading to internet, social media or gaming 
• 69% respondents prefer reading over watching television shows or movies 
• 61% respondents prefer reading over socialising 
• 60% respondents prefer reading over outdoor/indoor games 
• Mumbai respondents show highest preference for printed books (80%) and choose reading over digital entertainment (78%), socialising (66%) and indoor/outdoor games (64%)
• The survey crowns Kolkata as the literary capital of India as - 67% people opt for leisure literary reading once a week, 17% respondents have more than 300 literary books and 49% people choose reading as an escape from a bad day, all highest among other metros
• Across generations, it is the post-millennial readers (73.49%), who read literary pieces more often than any other age-group
• Also, people of 50 years and above emerge as the generation of book hoarders, with 20.59% claiming to have more than 300 books on their shelves
• Further, disclosing author preferences, respondents across regions and age-groups shared mythology as a genre where they enjoy Indian authors more than their non-Indian counterparts.
• Interestingly, when quizzed about what they would bargain to read, about 37.61% of the respondents are willing to let go off their daily dose of favourite TV shows for reading, ranking the highest amongst other categories such as, giving up their lives, skipping a plan/party with friends, taking a day off at work, or not giving up anything at all

Tata Literature Live! Survey 2014 is an exclusive study by the Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest on Indian reading habits. Conducted in October 2014, the survey took a close look into the evolving landscape of literary reading amidst technological, social and behavioural impacts. It focuses on how India is reading today and dwells into the perceptions on literature, across demographics. The research was conducted online, accumulating responses from 1,426 individuals, across the country.

The fifth edition of Mumbai's international literary festival, Tata Literature Live, brought internationally renowned writers and performances from all over the world to Mumbai. The festival which took place at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point, and, for the first time, at Prithvi Theatre and The Easel in Juhu, had an invigorating line-up of debates, talks, and creative performances which not only started a vibrant exchange of ideas, but also connected with literary conversations currently happening on a broad global stage.

Extremely happy with this year's edition, Dharker said, "The past four days have been an incredible experience. We have witnessed a huge turnout of audience which is overwhelming. Our sessions have seen full attendance and we have had live projections to other venues which have been full as well. Literature has taken hold of the city in a significant way and perhaps Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest! has contributed in a small way to that."

Over 120 writers, thinkers and performers from countries as diverse as England, the USA, Germany, Italy, Israel and Ireland took centre stage at the festival.

Source | http://netindian.in/