HR MEET@MAEER's MITSOM 26 & 27 Sept.2013

Dear Professionals 

HR MEET@MAEER's MITSOM 26 & 27 Sept.2013

Pl. Join & Inform others to Join.

Nitin Joshi

SLIM USER MEET 2013 by ALGORHYTHMS

Dear Professionals 

Complete Report about event by Algorhythms

More pictures are available at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slim21-System-for-Library-Information-Management/1416209025261262?sk=photos_albums

Nitin Joshi

Librarian 

Library as social space

Libraries everywhere are reinventing themselves to attract more students.

I vaguely remember my college library. The memories that have remained are of being intimidated, bored, confused and uncomfortable, and even of being scared of earning the librarian’s reprimanding glance. Maybe it was just me, or it was the context of it being ‘long ago’ — a time before libraries woke up to the fact that they are not just places for storing books but also service organisations.

“‘If someone steals my book, I am only happy because that person wants to read it,’ is a quote I’ve read and like,” says Dr. S. Venkadesan, Director, Learning Resource Center, Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. This is the kind of attitude makeover that libraries across the country need to undergo, he feels. At a time when universities are cutting budgets and space for libraries, it is imperative to diversify the purpose of this knowledge repository to make it indispensable.

“The meaning of learning should not be restricted to just books. A library’s catalogue should be diversified to include multimedia and even games like in the library of the Hong Kong University that has a gaming room with a large screen,” he emphasises.

Venkadesan and his peers voiced similar ideas, concerns and solutions at the Librarians’ Day celebration organised by Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development (WeSchool), Mumbai. The speakers representing libraries of universities, corporates and independent organisations, centred their discussions on incorporating technology into the library practices and increasing footfalls, physically and virtually.

Ambience

Libraries everywhere are reinventing themselves as social spaces too, which seems to be doing the trick of getting more people to actually visit one. And this begins with attractive design and amenities.

“Come, visit us, eat in our round–the–clock cafeteria and our lovely courtyard where you can relax with a book and coffee,” reads the British Council, Chennai’s library webpage invitingly. Similarly, Amity University’s library has a Café Coffee Day outlet. Such facilities that go out of the way to get you to read can only be encouraging.

But a library should be a place of serious study, you say? Then straight-back chairs, a straighter posture and caffeine–free atmosphere are only killing the will to study longer.

ISB, Hyderabad, has made its library a perfect place to study but by being a lot less restrictive. You can bring along your coffee or whatever it is that you wish to drink, stay on till two in the morning and till 4 a.m. on exam days, no need to bother about a dress code or the right posture.

“You can put up your feet on the table for all we care. And statistically speaking, the number of books that have been damaged by spilt coffee or water are negligible,” reveals Venkadesan. He also adds how some university libraries abroad have lounge chairs especially for students to take a quick nap between their study sessions!

Some like the Biblioteca de Santiago, Chile, go all out to reach out to the public. They have vending stations in the subway, Biblioboat — a library on boats; Bibliobike — a library on a bicycle, open-air market-lending points, plus there are no prohibition signs in the library — “Everything is possible in the Library,” reads its website.

Even a fine ambience can work wonders rather than having mono-chromatic hard wood interiors. In the West, the Downtown Denver’s Public Library, for instance, also doubles up as a high-profile art centre by showcasing sculptures, murals and other art work that attract art lovers and tourists alike.

The Rotterdam Public Library has an in–house movie theatre which also hosts festivals showcasing the work of local and student filmmakers, and the National Library, Singapore, houses The Drama Centre, a performing arts centre with a theatre.

Ajay Pagare, manager, Library, Kotak Mahindra Bank, added events like author readings, competitions, exhibitions, hobby workshops and ‘Bring your children to the library’ Day to the list of suggestions to make a library more interactive and welcoming.

These ideas serve to stress the point voiced by Prof. Harsha Parekh, Ex–Professor and HoD, Department of Library and Information Science, S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Mumbai, “The success of libraries today depends on initiatives that go beyond the individual library.”

Echoing that, Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering, Chennai, has an arrangement with the libraries of Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Management and the Bangalore University, wherein faculty and students can visit and use the resources offered at any of these institutions’ libraries by just flashing their college ID cards.

Technology-enabled

Libraries may have assumed secondary status vis-à-vis the Internet as sources of information, but the former still scores higher on credibility of information. “Not all information is easily available on the Internet, especially scholarly information,” says Prof. Parekh. “But going the tech-way, libraries now have made available access to e-resources.”

E-journals, e-readers, audio books, podcasts, online catalogues, wi-fi, web pages, recommendations, alerts and apps — the adoption of technology is now more than ever. Multi–media rooms with access to numerous audio and video resources are a regular feature in most libraries.

An article on Pew Internet on innovating library services highlights just how much libraries in India need to catch up on the tech-adoption front: “The Skokie Public Library in Illinois, U.S., offers a digital media lab, a space with content creation tools that allow patrons to create and share video, music, photography, and design projects. Additionally, the Skokie media lab has a green screen wall for video projects.

The Cuyahoga County Public Library, Ohio, U.S., has a smartphone app which features a Digital Books and Media channel that makes locating and downloading e-books and e-audiobooks from the library’s collection a lot easier.

More on technology, the National University of Singapore Library Express has set up a book borrowing and returning machine at University Town.

Despite all these innovations, technology only remains a tool, not a solution. If attitudes of libraries — librarians and management — do not change, no amount of technology can help libraries feature as an option in an information-seeker’s mind.

Source | The Hindu | 16 September 2013

 

Librarian

Nitin Joshi

SLIM USER MEET 2013

Foreign varsities to set up campuses as companies, MHRD to change UGC

Foreign varsities to set up campuses as companies, MHRD to change UGC

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has sent proposals to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the Department of Economic Affairs to permit foreign universities to open their campuses in the country as companies as provided under the Companies Act.

As per the powers vested with the Central Government to make rules under the UGC ACT, the ministry is in the process of finalizing the UGC (Established and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Educational Institutions) Rules by which foreign universities can set up campus in India and issue foreign degrees.

The Ministry had sought comments and observations of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) on the Rules. Both DIPP and DEA have supported the proposal.

Under the proposed Rules, Foreign Educational Institutions (FEIs) can set up campuses in India once the FEIs have been notified as Foreign Education Provider (FEPs) by the UGC. FEI have to fulfill of certain eligibility conditions.

Any FEI which intends to set up a campus in India would do so through an association to be registered as a company under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.

The FEI shall be ranked among the top 400 universities of the world as per the ranking published by Times Higher Education, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) or the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

A senior official of the MHRD close to the development on condition of anonimity said, " yes the proposal has been sent to the department of economic affairs for its approval and UGC rules are being reframed to allow quality foreign universties to open their campuses in India. It is expected to happen this year only and this will certainly imporve the quality of education being imparted in the country." 

All FEIs intending to apply under the Rules shall be not-for-profit legal entities, which have been in existence for at least twenty years and accredited by an accrediting agency of that country or in the absence of its accreditation in that country, by an internationally accepted system of accreditation.

The FEP will offer programmes of study or courses to be of quality comparable to those offered to students in its main campus. Each FEI before being notified as an FEP would be required to maintain a corpus of not less than Rupees twenty five crores.

The Rules also provide for penalties ranging from Rupees fifty lakhs to Rupees one crore for FEP who contravene any provision of these Rules or UGC Act, and the forfeited of corpus fund. The degrees awarded by these FEPs would be treated as foreign degrees only and the same shall be subject to the equivalence accorded by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) as per their system.

Last year, the MHRD had asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to identify possibilities within the existing laws of regulating and allowing the foreign educational institutions.

Nitin S Joshi
Librarian
MAEER’s MIT School of Management (MITSOM)
Kothrud, Pune 411038
M- 09922587907
Direct Line- 020-30273597
www.mitsom.org
http://mitsomlibrary.blogspot.com

AICTE to conduct surprise raids at technical institutions

AICTE to conduct surprise raids at technical institutions

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has decided to conduct surprise raids on technical institutions across the country upon receiving complaints of impersonation of faculty members during inspection.

Once AICTE gives approval to an engineering college it becomes the responsibility of the university concerned to conduct periodic inspection of the institution.

“We have been receiving complaints from various quarters that some colleges indulge in impersonation of faculty as used to happen in medical colleges. This made us think of conducting surprise raids on self-financing engineering colleges across the country,” said a senior official of the AICTE.

Anna University has claimed that they had periodically conducted surprise inspections in engineering colleges.

“A year ago we issued show cause notices to over 200 private engineering colleges for lack of infrastructure and faculty. Later, many of the colleges rectified their deficiencies and so we withdrew the notices,” the official said, reported Deccan Chronicle.

 

Nitin S Joshi
Librarian
MAEER’s MIT School of Management (MITSOM)
Kothrud, Pune 411038
M- 09922587907
Direct Line- 020-30273597
www.mitsom.org
http://mitsomlibrary.blogspot.com

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To All My Dear Teachers=Librarians