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LIS Study Circle on "Automated Circulation"

LIS Study Circle met on January 15, 2010 at Executive Club of University of the Punjab, Lahore (Pakistan). The topic of this month's meeting was "Automated Circulation". Participants discussed the topics in details and explored associated subtopics. 
It was found that Pakistani Libraries lack in automated circulation systems and an assessment was made that only 5-10% Pakistani libraries have implemented automated circulation systems. It was identified that Pakistani Libraries are still struggling for the automation of library catalogs (bibliographic data of library holdings). Some identified hindrances to implement automated circulation in the libraries were as follows:

1. Lack of skilled manpower
2. Lack of library automation
3. Non-availability of standardized automation software
4. Lack of project management approach

The participants were agree that automated circulation offers certain benefits to libraries like:

1. increasing efficiency of library service, 
2. Enabling statistical analysis of library transactions, 
3. evaluating the use of library collections, 
4. etc.

The participants further discussed the use of RFID in Pakistani libraries. It was felt that technology adoption should be with proper planning and homework. There should be appropriate objectives for technology adoption instead of just the sake of technology phobia.
It was felt that concerned quarters like professional association, library schools, etc. should arrange some workshops to cover the related topics of automated circulation and widespread the concepts among LIS professionals of the country.
After the discussion, the participants shred a hot dinner in this chilled weather of Lahore.

Difference among scholarly publication channels

Fatima Abedi has asked the differences between the following types of scholarly publication channels (3rd message in LIS-Forum digest Vol. 81 issue 26).

Let me explain them in brief terms.

Pre-prints: The results of research are usually published in peer reviewed journals, where the research reports undergo peer review by the experts in the field, before publication. This process is time consuming. Hence other scientists will come to know about the research very late only. To avoid this delay scientists wish to publish their research results before peer review. This will help in the immediate and early feedback from the peer scientists. This will also help the scientists to revise and prepare the article for submission. The task of publishing of pre-prints are usually undertaken by the research institutions themselves. So the research reports which are published before peer review are called pre-prints.

Peer reviewed articles: Journals carry research reports. But the reports are not published directly by publishes, rather they were sent for review by the experts in the field for their opinion. These experts are the peer reviewers. Publishers take into consideration the opinion of the peer reviewers before allowing the article/research report to be published in their journal. If the reviewers ask revision the authors are told to revise their articles accordingly. Such articles which had undergone review are called Peer reviewed articles.

Published Journal articles: They are nothing but the articles which are published in the journals.

Open access journal articles: Open Access is a relatively new concept. The work of creating new knowledge, the peer review process and then the consumption of that knowledge is carried out by the academic and research community consuming large amount of taxpayers’ money. But the huge amounts the academic and research institutions spent for journal subscription is channeled to the publishers just for publishing those articles. More over the cost of journals have increased when the libraries are facing financial crisis due to shrinking budgets. Hence libraries in developing countries are not in a position to subscribe even to those journals which are very essential for them. The irony is that the institutions which produce the knowledge are not able to see what they produce. Hence scientists all over the world have thought of a new method of scholarly communication. This is called Open Access. They thought of publishing their articles in online journals and institutional repositories which allow free access. The Internet has helped a lot to attain this goal. You can see around 4000 free open access journals linked in a website with the URL www.doaj.org

I hope the explanation given above would be enough. It is very good that you have asked such a question over this forum. Based on this information find more details and try to learn more.

Dr GOPAKUMAR V.

Chief Librarian,

University College,Palayam,

Thiruvananthapuram,

PIN 695 034.

http://www.gopakumar.synthasite.com/

gopakumar.v at rediffmail.com

Mobile No: 09447056713

LIS Study Circle on 'Institutional Repository'

LIS Study Circle’s monthly session took place at Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood’s office on Sept. 10, 2009 . The topic of discussion was “Institutional Repositories’. The participants discussed different aspects of the topic, e.g. Definition, Concept, Characteristics, Software Applications for Institutional Repositories, etc.

The discussion was followed by an Iftar Party by Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood, at a local restaurant of Lahore.

The recommendations of the LIS Study Circle are:

Recommendation:

1. It is recommended to arrange training workshops/seminars/lectures to train the LIS professionals of the country to successfully implement institutional repositories.
2. Library Associations/Schools/Professional Groups may propose a formal draft for university and special libraries to formally implement institutional repositories in their respective institutions/organizations.
3. Libraries should use specialised software applications specifically developed for ‘institutional repositories’. The circle recommended DSpace and EPrints software for the development of institutional repositories. However it was felt that further evaluation is necessary to finalise the choice of software applications.

Knowledge Management in Libraries

LIS Study Circle's meeting took place at Dept. of Library & Information science, University of the Punjab, Lahore (Pakistan) on August 19, 2009. The topic was 'Knowledge Management in Libraries'. The discussion's focus, mainly, was on:

1. Definitions and Concepts of Information, Knowledge, and Knowledge Management (KM)
2. Evolution of Concept & Terminology
3. Technology for KM Applications
4. Role of Librarians and Libraries in KM

The participants explored the topic in open discussion and it was really a brainstorming session started from 6:30 p.m. and ended up on 8:15 p.m.. followed by a tasteful dinner at PU Executive Club.

Findings:

• It was felt that the concept and technological applications of KM are still in evolution phase.
• Business community and researchers from Business Studies' domain are playing the pivotal role in development of the discipline.
• KM domain offers much attraction for libraries and information professionals as it opens up new avenues of service for librarians/information professionals.
• The participants agreed that librarians/information professionals may/can play an important role in KM as they are traditionally and historically engaged in handling explicit knowledge.
• However, it was felt that an enhanced skill set of social, management and technological skills is necessary to play an effective role in KM practices.
• KM demands a proactive role of librarians/information professionals in an organization.
• The most important element in KM was considered the 'organizational culture'.

Recommendation:

1. There is a need to introduce the KM concept and enhance needed competencies of librarians/ information professionals of the country on a wider scale through active programming like lectures, seminars, workshops, etc.
2. It was also recommended by the participants that a formal seminar/workshop should be arranged by professional associations, library schools, or any other professional group/organization, etc. on 'Knowledge Management and Role of Libraries'.

Meeting Schedule

Dear Professionals,

The schedule of LIS Study Circle's monthly meeting for the August 2009 is as follows:

Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Venue: Office of Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood @ Dept. of Library & Information science, Punjab University, Lahore.

Discussion Agenda: Knowledge Management in Libraries

The meeting will be followed by a dinner at PU Executive Club on self finance basis. You are requested to kindly confirm your participation ASAP.

The study material has been forwarded to members' email boxes.

Fond Regards.

Muhammad Rafiq, MLS, PhD Scholar

Coordinator - LIS Study Circle

UAN (off) : +92 (0) 42 111 000 010 Ext. 246

Cell: +92-321-7836131

Brainstorming Session on Web 2.0 & Web 3.0

LIS Study Circle's 2nd Meeting took place at Dept. of Library & Information science, University of the Punjab, Lahore (Pakistan) on July 10, 2009. The topic was Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 that was explored thoroughly. The discussion's focus, mainly, was on:

1. Definition and Concepts of Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0
2. Evolution of Concept & Terminology
3. Characteristics/Principles of Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0
4. Differences among Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0
5. Applications of Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 in contemporary world.

The participants explored the topic in open discussion and it was really a brainstorming session started from 6:30 p.m. and ended up on 8:15 p.m.. It was followed by a tasteful dinner at PU Executive Club.

Furthermore, it was felt that the concept and technological applications are still in evolution phase. We can not specify a date period associated with the concept. Real essence is community's participation, collaboration and sharing. Technological applications are instrumental for the development of library services in this era of 'informal organizations''.

Recommendation:

There is a need to introduce this concept in LIS professionals of the country on a wider scale through active programming like lectures, seminars, workshops, etc. It was recommended by the participants that a formal seminar should be arranged by professional associations, library schools, or any other professional group/organization, etc. on Web 2.0/Web 3.0 and its applications in libraries.