"Libraries are not made; they grow," English author, Augustine Birrell had once said. This message still holds true as in a major move, the libraries in Gujarat are taking steps to digitally unify and share their resources. Boundaries of the libraries are expanding beyond four walls and library professionals are gearing up to take up the challenge of using IT in disseminating authentic, latest and right kind of information to the right type of users.
"We have a rich source of data and the need of the hour is to club it and cater to a wider audience. This will help save cost and avoid duplication," said Rodha Bharucha, director ADINET when addressing a gathering of librarians from top institutes, colleges and other agencies from across the state in the city recently. They had assembled to share knowledge in a seminar titled 'Networking of Libraries in Gujarat for Resource Sharing' organized by Ahmedabad Library Network (ADINET).
Bharucha said that the move was undertaken as the information readily available on the web, is not always accurate. "Serious researchers and students, among others, cannot always trust the web for its authenticity. In this changing context, libraries work as intermediaries and have a crucial role to play," she added.
The Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), which already has a data bank, will be assisting in the task of creating the online database. Colleges and students will be able to make requests after going through the list of databases for each college and institute.
"The resource-sharing network expects the entire membership to enter into a give-and-take relationship but many libraries do not lend data as they have simply not created any," remarked Sheetal Tank of Amitya Institute of Technology & Science.
Acknowledging that many libraries in the state still lack a computer database, Shailesh Yagnik, head, library and information services, said, "Coming together will be a huge task as we face financial constraints. However, top institutes can lead the way by sharing their resources and opening them up to the end user."
Yagnik was confident that data sharing would not be a problem. "I do not think that any institute will say no to a user who needs material for research and academic purposes. We will be glad to offer our help to students, researchers, scholars and even professionals. We have to protect the interest of the author only if the usage is for commercial purposes."
Dr Shishir Mandalia, Sardar Patel University librarian, urged government engineering college authorities to actively get involved in information sharing.
"Gujarat has been a leading state in providing technical education and it is necessary that government engineering colleges come together and share information," said Dr Mandalia.
He pointed out that Gujarat has 135 self-finance and 10 grant-in engineering colleges. By merging their resources, it would help tackle the problem of funding for individual colleges, Mandalia said.
Source | Daily News Analysis | 18 November 2011
