LIBRARIESININTERNETERA

SRIDHARIYER and GARGIBANERJEE DEPT.OFCOMPUTERSCIENCE&ENGG I.I.T.BOMBAY

Definitions

2broadcategoriesofIndianlibraries:

Publiclibrary:localgatewaytoknowledge[and] lifelonglearningoftheindividualandsocial groups.(UNESCO,2004) AcademicLibrary:subsetsofparentinstitution cateringtomorerestrictedgroupofusers

Inbothcases,definitionofalibraryischangingfrom: acollectionofbooksto collectionofusefulmaterials'inprint,electronic, multimedia,andotherformats.

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Somekeychallengesfacedbylibrariestoday

Decreasingfootfalls Internetvs.Printmedia CateringtotheSMSgenerationwhosepatience levelisquitelow

Anecdote:AstoldbytheAssistantLibrarian,IITBombay. AB.Techstudentcametothelibraryforthefirsttimeonlyinhisfinalyear. Whenasked,herepliedthathedidnotfeelanyneedtovisitthelibraryin allthistime!

ProblemofuserantipathyfacedbylibrariesintheInternetera!
InterestingtoapplyDr.RanganathansLaws ofLibraryScienceproposedin1931to LibrariesinInternetera.

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THE5LAWSOFLIBRARYSCIENCE

DrSRRanganathan (FatherofLibraryScienceinIndia)

1. Booksareforuse. 2. Everyreaderhis/herbook. 3. Everybookitsreader. 4. SavethetimeoftheUser. 5. Thelibraryisagrowingorganism.

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THEFIRSTLAW:BOOKSAREFORUSE
INFERENCE:Makingabookaccessibletoreadersistheprimarygoal. ApplicationofDr.RanganathanslawinINTERNETera: Providemultiplemodesofaccesstouserby exploitingtechnologies.Booksonhandhelds. LibraryautomationsystemslikeOPACmaking bibliographicalsearchaccessiblefromanywhere. LibraryResourceSharing:Multiplelibrariespool intheiracquisitions,technicalprocessing,storage anddeliveryofservice. Findwaystosatisfythetechsavvyclientele;SMSinterface? Internet and otherlocal/nationalnetworkspromotesinterlibraryco operation with formation of Library Consortia like INDEST consortium IITBombay 5 (http://indest.iiita.ac.in/)

Firstlawextension:Exploitdigitizedcontent

Allsignificantworksofscience,literature,arts arebeingdigitallypreserved Collectionofdigitizedmaterialinlibraries accessiblefromanypartoftheglobe. Caseinpoint:DigitalLibraryofIndia,hosted byIISc.,Bangalore(http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/) by 30,000freeebooksavailableatProjectGutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page) Usercandownloadthesefreeebooksintotheir Palmorganizerorsmartphones

Summary:a.Bookformischanging b.Librarieshavetocatertonewforms alsotoincreaseaccessibility

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THESECONDLAW:EVERYREADERHIS/HERBOOK
INFERENCE:Librarycollectionshouldbe suchastointeresteverypartofthe communityitismeanttoserve.

ApplicationofDr.RanganathanslawinInternetera: DiversifywithdifferenttypesofEcontent, withoutstrainingthebudget. Facultylecturesofworldrenownedinstitutes likeI.I.Ts,IISc.,MITetc.areavailablefreeon theInternet.

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Secondlawextension:Diversifythecontentmodes

Opensoucecoursewareanimations repository PartofMHRD'sNationalMissiononICT foreducation. Opensourceanimationsfromschoollevel upwardsavaiableat http://oscar.iitb.ac.in/oscarHome.do Animationsarebeingcreatedtosupport theonlinevideolecturesofIIT/IISC. facultiesthatareavailablethrough CDEEP (http://vod.cdeep.iitb.ac.in/index.html)and NPTEL(http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/index.php).
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PROJECTOSCAR

Teachingaidanimationsforimportant conceptsinScienceandTechnology Simplifyingconceptsotherwisedifficult tocomprehend. Availablefreetoallstudentsand teachersacrossIndia Sourcecodeavailableforprogrammer communitytoimprovise LibrariescanfreelyaccesstheOSCAR beingbuiltatIITBombay

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MoreexamplesoffreeeContentontheInternet
CreativeCommons (http://creativecommons.org/),anonprofit organizationthatmakeslotsofscientificand literaryworksavailableunderrelaxedcopyright rules.
CClearn,CreativeCommonsdivisiondedicated

torealizingthefullpotentialoftheinternetto supportopenlearningandopeneducational resources.

ScienceCommonshelpslibrariesaccess

publishedresearchpapersatnoextracost.
Connexions(http://cnx.org/):aplacetoviewand

shareeducationalmaterialthatcanbeorganized ascourses,books,reports,etc.Anyonemayview orcontributeforfree.

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MoreexamplesofeContentsites
Othersuchsitesare: Worldebookfair(http://worldebookfair.org/) FlatWorldKnowledge(http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/) Directoryofopenaccessjournals(http://www.doaj.org/) Californiaopensourcetextbookproject(http://www.opensourcetext.org/)

Summary:a.LotsoffreecontentavailableontheWeb. b.Libraryhastodisseminatethisinformationto itsusersinasystematicmanner.

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THETHIRDLAW:EVERYBOOKITSREADER
INFERENCE:Ifabookisnotbeingusedoften, itneedsexposuretogroupsofreaderswho willfindituseful ApplicationofDr.Ranganathanslawin Internetera: Metasearching:allowssearchofmultiple databasesatonce.

Maximizesopportunitytofindcitationson yourtopic. Productknowledgemanagementsoftware veryuseful. ListbooksnotindemandonAmazon.com toincreaseitsvisibility.

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Thirdlawextension:ExploitInternetforexposure

Innovate: www.librarywala.com

Librarianscanalsofindlotofuseful materialontheInternetfortheirusers. Usesearch,catalogandindexing techniquestoweedoutthe irrelevantandpresentauthentic materialtotheuser.

Summary:a.AttractUsersthrough Webandinnovative deliverymodes. b.Increaseaccessof booksusingCreative CommonsModel (ComputerMasti)

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THEFOURTHLAW:SAVETHETIMEOFTHEREADER
INFERENCE:Ifusersfindswhat s/heislookingforinatimelymanner, theywillbemoresatisfied ApplicationofDr.Ranganathanslaw inInternetera: Librarywebsiteshouldbeattractive enoughfortheusertowanttoexploremore. Informationarchitectureofthewebpage shouldbeeasilynavigable.

Todaysusershavezerotolerancefor ineffectiveinterfaces
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Fourthlawextension:UsethepowerofICT

Atthebackend,librarydatashould bestructuredtoaidinquickretrieval Librariesareidealplacestoofferpublicaccess toICTresourcesastheyarefoundinnearly everycommunity Librarianshelppeopletomeetandmanagetheir informationneeds. Thepubliclibrarycanbethepublicaccess pointtotheInformationhighway.

Summary:a.Thelibraryinterfaceshouldbedesignedtogive gooduserexperience. b.Gooduserexperiencetranslatestobrandloyalty. IITBombay

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THEFIFTHLAW:THELIBRARYISAGROWINGORGANISM
INFERENCE:Withoutthehumanandorganizational changesthatoccur,thelibrarywouldneitherfunction properly,normeetitspurpose.

ApplicationofDr.RanganathanslawinInternetera:
Tokeeppacewithchangingtimes,theservices

offeredbyalibraryhastoexpand.

Itcanfunctionasacybercaf,speciallyinour hinterlands.

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Fifthlawextension:Bridgethedigitaldivide

Withmajorityofpubliclibrariessituatedinrural India,thisisagreatopportunity. Likecybercafes,governmentsEgovernance projectscanoperateoutofpubliclibraries. Casesinpoint: Gyandoot:AnintranetinDhardistrictof MadhyaPradeshthatconnectsrural cybercafesandoffersserviceslike Landholderspassbook,BPLfamilylistetc.

EgovernancecentersliketheAkshayaProject (Kerala)

DrishtiInformationKiosks(Assam, Chattisgarh,Haryana):facilitates informationinterchangewithinalocalized intranetbetweenvillagesandadistrictcenter IITBombay

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LIBRARYISAGROWINGORGANISM

Fortheliteratevillager,itshouldbethewindowtothe outsideworld

Forpeoplewillingtostudyfurther,itshouldserveas thepathtohighereducation

Forchildren,libraryshouldbethegatewayto theworldofletters

Fortheyouth,speciallyintimesofrecession,library shouldenablethemtosubmitonlinejob applicationsorsearchforjobs

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LIBRARYISAGROWINGORGANISM

Librariescanexpandtheirhorizonstofunctionascareercounselling centresfortheyouth. Librariansthemselvescanupgradetheirexpertisethrough continuingeducationprogramsandskillenhancementtomakefull useofICTtechnologies.

Summary:Librariesshoulddiversify,innovate andadaptitsofferingstoitsusers

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REFERENCES

Fivelawsoflibraryscience,Availableat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_laws_of_library_science,Dateof access:August4,2009

GuhaA.(2009),Recessionbringsdramaticuseinpubliclibrary use,Availableat: http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/homepage/x50628480/Recession ,Dateofaccess:August5,2009 GhoshA.andBanerjeeG.(2006),StudyofEgovernancein ruralIndia,paperpresentedatInternationalConferenceonE governance(ICEG2006)heldfrom 1517thDecember,2006at IITDelhi

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Thispresentationislicensedunder...

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Closing
Thankyouforinvitingme.

IgottoknowaboutDr.Ranganathan'swork!

Contactinformation:

SridharIyer,DeptofCSE,IITBombay. sri@iitb.ac.in

ORGoogleSridharIyerIITBombay.

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