Dear Librarian - Taylor & Francis Group

7 downloads 248 Views 3MB Size Report
Mar 6, 2015 - to ringtones and wallpapers, have turned cellphones into. “personal miniature representations of self-ex
National Library, Kolkata, India

Sister publication of Library Lantern

Dear Librarian

MARCH 2015• ISSUE 6

Espérons que cette année apporte de nouveaux apprentissages votre chemin – We wish that this new year brings new learnings your way!

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Thank you for the overwhelming response to IGNITE in 2014. With every issue, our endeavour is to bring to you more interaction within the LIS community along with trends and research from around the world.

2

Interview with Dr P. Y. Rajendra Kumar

Our interactions with you over the past year have led us to observe many useful insights into how academic libraries are transforming today. 2014 has been a year of many changes – libraries are not synonymous just for a ‘large study hall’ any longer. Today they are transforming every day to provide vital support to research and teaching roles. Perhaps the largest area of innovation and growth in academic libraries is in the online and digital space. Our white paper on social media shows us that although there is still some doubt whether institutions are using technology to their full potential, particularly with social media and other emerging platforms, nearly all academic libraries have started using some form of social media as a part of their overall operations. It will not be incorrect to therefore say that The Future of the Library is now. Our roadshows and editorial roundtables, focus groups and other forums of interactions with you have given us useful insights into what librarians think is the future of libraries in India, and that will be our main criteria to bring you customized services best suited to your needs.

5

Library Voices: Share Your Story

6

How Important is Social Media to Libraries?

7

Taylor & Francis India Moves to Improve

8

Snapshots of T&Fs engagement with the LIS Professionals

Our star interview this edition is with Dr P. Y. Rajendra Kumar, Director General, National Library, Kolkata, who shares with us his inspiring journey in the realm of public libraries. It’s interesting, introspective and learning. Read what world-class facilities are coming to NIT Silchar, in the words of their very able Librarian, Dr Kishor Satpathy. This issue also showcases another leadership lesson – this time on renovation – from our Managing Director, Nitasha Devasar, in continuation with the leadership lesson series we launched last year.

9

World-class LIS Facilities at NIT Silchar

9

Results of the Professional Excellence in Library Services Award

We are happy to introduce to you our new initiative called Library Voices that aims to capture stories from academic librarians around the world. We also introduce to you the Taylor & Francis Editing Services, offering authors assistance in translation, editing, manuscript formatting and figure preparation. It seems like an exciting issue, and we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. And as we always say – best enjoyed with a cup of hot beverage of your choice.

Shafina Segon Head of Marketing, Journals & Online Resources, South Asia

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

10 Transactions of the Indian Ceramic Society: Celebrating 70 years 11 News Snippets worth Reading Access free articles on LIS Until 30 June 2015. Check page no 10 for more details

www.tandfonline.com

India

2004! 14

Interview with

Dr P. Y. Rajendra Kumar Director General, National Library of India, Kolkata “A ship is always safe at the shore but that is not what it is built for.” ― Albert Einstein Dr Rajendra Kumar is a humanitarian with a very different outlook to life. He believes that to be successful, one needs to be like water – ever flowing – and adjusting to every shape. A treasure of stories from his professional life of more than 40 years make listening to him a rich learning experience. Dr Kumar believes in the theory of karma and strongly postulates that one should enjoy their work, big or small. Starting as a young Librarian in National College, Bangalore to holding the current position of Director General of the largest public library in the country – the National Library, Kolkata – it has been a journey of many learnings, collaborations, disappointments, successes and achievements. The eldest of six siblings, Dr Rajendra Kumar learnt the importance of team spirit and humble leadership from his childhood. A recipient of several prestigious awards, Dr Kumar came into the LIS profession by choice and is proud to be a part of the library profession that is undergoing a paradigm shift and constant transition. He dedicates his success to his family members and strongly believes that in all of our lives – personal and professional – a lot of who we are is derived from a combination of where we have come from and the place and people we now travel alongside.

2

Dr P. Y. Rajendra Kumar started his career as a Librarian at The National College, Bangalore and served for four years. In 1976, he was selected as the Chief Librarian in the Department of Public Libraries by KPSC and served at different cities and District Central Libraries. He was finally appointed as the Director of Department of Public Libraries and served for three and a half years, retiring on superannuation after completing 32 years of service in the Department of Public Libraries. After his retirement, Dr Kumar joined Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Southern Regional Centre, Bangalore as Consultant (Administration) and served for 18 months. He later joined M/S Asian Fab Tech Ltd. Bangalore as Advisor and served for 18 months. He was also the Advisor for M/S Indya Comics. Dr P. Y. Rajendra Kumar assumed the charge of the post of Director General, National Library of India, Kolkata; 6 November 2013, for a period of three years in 2013 under the Ministry of Culture. to open a library there. From arranging for tables, chairs, books, and eventually opening a beautiful children’s section, the whole experience was a very gratifying one.

Dr Kumar has never taken a single earned/commuted leave during his service of 33 years in the Department of Public Libraries and he enjoys his work believing that one should always strive to do good to others. He postulates that the advent of computer and internet facility library revolution has become a global phenomenon and such innovative technological development should be capitalized by library enthusiasts.

Q: How important are public libraries in reaching out to rural and marginalized sections of the society?

IGNITE spoke to Dr Rajendra Kumar to understand what qualifies successful working in the public libraries. Here’s an insight into our talk with him:

Actually, very important. Libraries should not limit their benefits to the few English knowing readers, but should see to it that their good work permeates through to the many, especially the rural population of the country. As a Chief Librarian, I am proud of having started the Rural Mobile Library with the support of Kodagu District Administration. These mobile libraries reached out to the farthest of rural areas and ensured that the love of reading was instilled in people of all age groups and generations. We started 100 libraries for the nomadics while 200

Q: Thank you so much, sir, for meeting us today. Please talk us through a particular challenge from your professional life that you remember fondly today as you look back. Life is always built through and on challenges. A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. About 40 years ago, I was posted in Raichur as a District Library Officer. I landed in Raichur one morning only to find that there wasn’t even a building formalized for a library. Instead of waiting for things to happen, I not only located a probable venue for a building on the same day, I was successful in convincing my seniors

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

Public libraries have the potential to bridge the gap between the ‘information poor’ and ‘information rich’ by ensuring that people from all sections of the society have easy access to the knowledge they seek.

www.tandfonline.com

libraries and 400 reading rooms were opened in slums of Bangalore city to reach out to the less privileged. Q: How do public libraries in the country encourage advancement of vernacular languages? It should be the responsibility of every public library to promote vernacular languages and encourage local authors and poets. In 2006, we made plans to digitize one lakh Kannada books to encourage vernacular language growth in the south. As a Director of Public Libraries in Karnataka, we also launched ‘Kannada Saraswathalokha’, a web directory of Kannada writers. We also developed ‘Suvarna Karnataka Antharjala Vahini’, a Kannada portal. The Bulk purchase of Kannada books through single window was introduced in order to encourage the Kannada writers and publishers. We also converted some bestselling Kannada books into the braille format. When Karnataka government conferred Dr G. S. Shivaradruppa, a renowned poet, with the ‘Rastrakavi’ award, all his nine books, (2,500 copies each) were reprinted and distributed to newlyopened gram panchayat libraries. A unique way honoring the “Rashtrakavi”. Libraries should not limit their benefits to the few English knowing readers, but should see to it that their good work permeates through to the many, especially the rural population of the country.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the history of National Library, Kolkata. The National Library, Kolkata is an institution in itself. Lord Curzon started a library in Kolkata for public use. He merged the Calcutta Public Library with the Imperial Library and opened it to the public on 30 January 1903. The aims and objectives of the Imperial Library were well defined in a notification in the Gazette of India: ‘It is intended that it should be a library of reference, a working place for students

and a repository of material for the future historians of India, in which, so far as possible, every work written about India, at any time, can be seen and read.’ After the independence, the Government of India changed the name of the Imperial Library as the National Library, and the collection was shifted from The Esplanade to the present Belvedere Estate. On 1 February 1953, the National Library was opened to the public. So, as of 30 January 2015, the National Library completed 178 glorious years. Q: Do you think that comics and movies play an important role in reaching out to people, especially the rural population? Definitely, yes. Comics and films can be a powerful educational tool, especially for children with deprived backgrounds. So it is important to place these at the heart of every library and make them an integral part of the young people’s learning experiences. Throughout my professional career, I have worked in taking movies and comics through Rural Mobile Libraries joining hands with local bodies and governmental departments. This has led to an increase in the readership of our libraries while also connecting the rural audience to the concept of libraries. Films have the power to make an emotional connection with people and that experience can be effectively used through education. Q: Have you also been inspired by Dr S. R. Ranganathan in your professional life? Well yes! Dr Ranganathan passed away a month after I joined the LIS profession but I have always been deeply influenced by his teachings. What I am today is, to a large extent, because of his teachings. I apply his five laws to the administrative running of my libraries as well as every other aspect of my professional life. For the first time in the country, 12 August the birthday of Dr S. R. Ranganathan, father of library movement in India, was declared as the ‘Librarians’ Day’

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

by the Govt. of Karnataka when I was a Director of the Department of Public Libraries. Q: We hear that 2,500 gram panchayat libraries were opened in one year during your Directorship in Karnataka. Please tell us more about it. Karnataka is the only state in the country which has libraries at all the gram panchayats. After the implementation of Panchayat Raj Act, 3,251 grama panchayat libraries were opened in the last 18 years. During my tenure, we ensured that 2,500 gram panchayat libraries were opened in one year, leading to complete coverage of the entire Karnataka region. Q: How is constant innovation important for a library to prosper? Do you think a library can become a self-sustaining model? The mind is a golden hand. Constant innovation is required in every phase of life to prosper. As a Director, the collection of library cess was raised from nine crores (2003-04) to 24 crores (2007-08). This definitely led to more sustainability for the libraries to use those funds.

Decentralizing and decomplicating things is very important for streamlining processes and getting more people involved in contributing to the innovative upturn of a library. There are various innovative schemes that we launched. Off the top of my head, I can think of the introduction of bulk purchase of books (300) under the Single Window System that we introduced along with an increase in the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation financial assistance with the government matching the grant

3 www.tandfonline.com

India

2004! 14

from 100 lakhs to 600 lakhs. In 1991 in Mandya, Karnataka, we planned and constructed the library complex by raising funds from the public. Many shops spaces were opened on the ground floor of the library which even today generate funds for the library leading to more sustainability. Q: Sir, what is your vision for transforming the public libraries in the future? There is a lot of work to be done to take the current vision of the public libraries forward. One important aspect that must be addressed moving forward is that all the states in the country must have the Public Libraries Legislation. Currently only 19 states have the legislation while 17 states are yet to adopt it. Further, there must be uniformity among the Public Libraries Legislation, which will lead to better collaboration. I would also like to see an electronic forum and network of public libraries created. I know of many LIS forums where librarians exchange ideas and regularly share information. However, there is no such email forum existent for public libraries. No one gets to know what is happening in the neighboring state and I think it will be a wonderful idea for all the public library LIS professionals to connect to each other, sharing information and contributing ideas. Your message for the young librarians of today? Work hard with all sincerity and success will come to you.

UCING D O R T N I

IS THE NATIONAL LIBRARY HAUNTED? THE TIMES OF INDIA, KOLKATA

KOLKATA: National Library has always been reputed to be haunted. Now, here is a really eerie secret. A mysterious room has been discovered in the 250-year-old building, a room that no one knew about and no one can enter because it seems to have no opening of kind, not even trapdoors. The chamber has lain untouched for over two centuries. Wonder what secrets it holds. The archaeologists who discovered it have no clue either. Their theories range from a torture chamber, a sealed tomb for an unfortunate soul or, the most favored of all, a treasure room. Some say they wouldn’t be surprised if both skeletons and jewels tumble out of the secret room. Dr P. Y. Rajendra Kumar smiles at these stories. He says there have always been rumors. ‘I have never encountered a ghost in the library’, he smiles. There is a rumor that the ghost of the wife of Lord Metcalfe roams the halls of the library. She was a stickler for putting things in place. So the story goes that when people are reading alone in the library, they feel the presence of someone breathing down their neck. Especially when they haven’t put a book back where they took it from! Belvedere House, as the National Library building was known during the Raj, was among the many buildings Mir Jafar built in Alipore in the 1760s after he was forced to abdicate his throne in Murshidabad. He gifted it to the first Governor General of India, Lord Warren Hastings. What happened to the house between 1780, when Hastings is said to have sold it, and 1854, when it became the official residence of the Lt Governor of Bengal, is uncertain. But from 1854 to 1911, Belvedere housed a number of Lt Governors until the British capital shifted to Delhi.

Routledge Handbooks Online www.routledgehandbooks.com • Find new interdisciplinary connections between the humanities, social sciences and education • Find relevant results quickly by searching across 11,000 chapters and their abstracts • A highly acclaimed collection of handbooks edited by leading scholars • Peer-reviewed handbooks providing a definitive overview of over 300 topics providing a definitive overview of over 300 topics

4

OVER 300 HANDBOOKS ARE ORGANIZED INTO 18 SUBJECT PACKAGES. HANDBOOKS ARE ORGANIZED INTO 18 SUBJECT PACKAGES. • Archaeology & Classics • Asian • Business • Communication, Journalism, Media & Culture Asian Studies • Business & Economics • Communication, Journalism, • Criminal Justice & Criminology • Education • Environment • Health Criminology • Education • Environment & Sustainability • Health & Social Care • History • Law • Linguistics • Philosophy • Politics • Psychology • Security Studies • Sociology • Sport & Leisure • Tourism, Hospitality & Events Management

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

www.tandfonline.com

LIBRARY VOICES: SHARE YOUR STORY A new initiative by Taylor & Francis Library Voices aims to capture stories from academic librarians around the world, focusing on what their library roles entail, how they are changing, and to demonstrate the positive and considerable contribution libraries are making to the research community, particularly those in developing regions. This output will primarily be a collection of short videos, but will also include audio recordings, images, and text-based accounts. For more information please write to us at [email protected] or visit our website http://explore.tandfonline.com/lmt/ library-voices.

What should my story include? Please consider the following questions when thinking about the story you would like to tell. What do you think someone in another region could learn about how you work in your library? What would they find interesting, or surprising? 1. What does a typical day look like for you in your library? Which task keeps you busiest? 2. How do you tend to interact with your library users? Do you G undertake any work to engage with users outside of the physical CIN U D O library space? INTR 3. Do you have an online presence at all for your library and your library collection? www.tandfeditingservices.com 4. How do you monitor usage of your collection? 5. Would you say your role as a librarian is changing? If so, how? You might like to focus on answering just one of these questions, or share a more general account of the everyday work undertaken in your library – it’s entirely up to you!

The Taylor & Francis Editing Services

Submitting a video or audio recording Videos and audio recordings should be submitted using ZendTo, a file transfer website hosted by Taylor & Francis Group, which allows you to transfer files of up to 2GB internationally. The Taylor & Francis Communications team can guide you through this process. We require you to sign a Recording Rights Agreement before we can publish your video. The Taylor & Francis Communications team will arrange for this to be forwarded on to you. Please sign the agreement and post/ email it back as soon as possible, as without it we are unable to host your video.

Written account Written accounts should be no more than 300 words in extent. They should be accompanied by an image of yourself and the library you work in. These can simply be emailed to [email protected].

Taylor & Francis Editing Services is a suite of services offered by the Taylor & Francis Group. Taylor & Francis Editing Services is now live, offering authors professional English language editing, translation (from Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish into English, and from English into Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish), manuscript formatting, and figure preparation services. Make the process of preparing and submitting a manuscript easier with Taylor & Francis’ suite of editing services, provided by Research Square. For any query, please contact us at: [email protected] [email protected]

Please note: all submissions to Library Voices will be assessed for editorial suitability and quality. Submissions which do not meet these criteria will not be published online.

How your Library Voices story will be used Once accepted, we will post your recording or account on the Taylor & Francis website so that others around the world can gain an insight into your working practices and learn more about issues affecting libraries in your region. We aim to build this collection over time so that experiences and knowledge can easily be shared amongst the international library community.

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

www.tandfonline.com

5

India

2004! 14

HOW IMPORTANT IS SOCIAL MEDIA TO LIBRARIES? Social media is forming an increasingly central part of how we all communicate. Its online communities carry a strong and influential voice, and there is much to be gained from engaging directly with customers through these channels. It’s against this backdrop that Taylor & Francis decided to research and compile a white paper focused on how libraries are currently using social media, looking at how libraries are applying social media channels, to what extent it is embedded in library communications, and how it may affect library roles in the future. The research we undertook was on a truly global scale – over 600 librarians worldwide contributed their thoughts, suggestions and experiences through focus groups, telephone interviews, an online survey and a Twitter party. We heard some fascinating case studies through the focus groups, such as how librarians are managing to balance time and resource against providing an active social media channel (librarians in the India focus group described how they shared the workload in order to provide a timely response to queries), and some inspiring promotional ideas, such as the library “shelfie” used to promote Nottingham University Library’s collection! We also made some very interesting discoveries through the online survey, including: • 61% of libraries have been using social media for three years or more • 30% post to social media daily • Facebook is the most popular channel, with 58% of librarians using it regularly • 75% of libraries schedule posts ad hoc, with no social media policy or plan in place The white paper can be accessed online for free, along with accompanying top level data, infographic visualizations of key findings, video presentations and more.

Use of social media by the library current practices and future opportunities A white paper from Taylor & Francis

OCTOBER 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group CC-BY-NC

Social Media in Perspective: The India Focus Group Taylor & Francis Group hosted a focus group at the India International Centre, New Delhi. The topic of the discussion was The Use of Social Media in the Indian Libraries. Comments from this focus group have helped form the white paper, which analyzes the challenges and opportunities presented by social media as a communication tool in the library. Ten senior librarians attended the focus group. Many librarians felt that it was important to have a social media policy across all universities and that it should be made a part of the LIS curriculum. The attendees agreed to the need of specialized training to handle social media better and that having a social media expert in libraries would become imperative in the future. It was heartening to know that libraries in India are using social media to some extent and are also aware of various forums that could help them engage better with researchers.

See www.tandf.co.uk/libsite/whitePapers/socialMedia for more details. We see the research as being just the start of the discussion. We plan to add to a web-based resource over coming months focusing further on specific themes to be raised by the white paper, such as measuring impact, using social media as a customer service tool, and how it is used regionally, e.g. in Asia and Africa. If you would like to help contribute to this further research, comment on the white paper, or share your experience of using social media in your library, get in touch with us at [email protected].

6 Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

www.tandfonline.com

TAYLOR & FRANCIS INDIA MOVES TO IMPROVE Lessons in Office Renovation and Leadership Nitasha Devasar, Managing Director, Taylor & Francis India believes that every aspect of life has leadership lessons to offer. Here she talks about the importance of team engagement and involvement. These lessons are applicable to any sphere of work and we share them with you. As an organization that has grown very rapidly over the last five years or so, the search for appropriate premises to house our burgeoning staff and meet our growing infrastructural needs had been gaining momentum for some time. When I took over as MD about 20 months ago I was told that locating an appropriate new workspace and moving should be on my agenda with a time line of about 18 months or so. This is the story of our shifting to new offices and of the leadership lessons we learnt in the process. Anyone who has had to go through the experience (of moving house or office) will wonder why we feel the story of our move is worth sharing. First of all because right from the beginning the shift to new offices was not just a move for the practical reasons cited above. We saw it as a major business move, a platform for future growth for Taylor & Francis India, a ‘move to improve’. Secondly, and more subtly, it was also a major leadership journey, a transition and growth in the leadership quotient of the organization. So ‘move to improve’ became the mantra and the first task was to get all employees to buy in and share this conviction. The challenges were immense, we had eight weeks to renovate and move and the timing coincided both with our year end (always a tough time from the viewpoint of the business) and with the onset of the Christmas holidays, leaving no scope for extensions. In leadership terms, the vision on the top had to be shared to gain engagement and involvement, which then had to translate at the ground level to planning, coordination and implementation. A ‘Move Committee’ was set up a few months before the move and the contours of the task ahead outlined. In hindsight, what clearly emerged from these meetings was a practically grounded approach with a clear set of priorities, meticulous and detailed planning and delegation for execution and an honest assessment of our weaknesses. Based on this, a technical sub-committee took charge of the move of equipment and drew up a detailed plan for both continuous and last mile connectivity. The Move Committee quickly realized that the only way to ensure a smooth and affordable move was to get the staff to see the shift as a personal one, like a move to a nicer home with all the promise of more comfort and an upgraded lifestyle. As a result ‘Change Agents’, one in each of the 12 locations our staff were housed, were appointed to share the details of the new office, unveil the visuals and plans that were emerging and support on-ground implementation. Some lessons from the move I believe are universal to work and life: Exercises of this sort are fraught with unforeseen problems, seemingly insurmountable obstacles and the need to manage • Providing the concept and creating the momentum the external which is often outside our control. What stood us in good stead was a team that was continuously reviewing • Setting teams and accountabilities: the right people for the right tasks at all levels and updating plans, flexibility in approach and the willingness to readjust priorities in the face of immediate realities. Egos • Meticulous planning and periodic reviews were left at home and humor was often the only nourishment. • Setting priorities and delegation Leadership in all its myriad manifestations was on display. What we got out of the process: a timely, affordable and • Attention to detail: ordering of tasks at the ground level; labeling and numbering of cartons; on the ground volunteers inclusive move; the before-time completion and then exceeding at all locations in the crucial 48 hours of the transition of our sales targets; a well-designed, professional and forwardlooking workplace; functional synergies, scope for greater • Visualizing pitfalls and accepting practical realities cooperation and teamwork; a collective sense of achievement and ownership; and the emergence of several leaders, • Intelligent outsourcing with focus on internal strengths and weaknesses strategists, managers and communicators. Also, sore muscles, baggy eyes and several ripped jackets and messed up jeans! • Getting personal: going the extra mile and then some In the end, we did move to improve.

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

www.tandfonline.com

7

India

2004! 14

INTERACTIVE FORUMS Some snapshots of our engagement with the LIS community SELFIE BOOTHS

COMPETITIONS

BOOK FAIRS EVENTS

We WON the BEST STALL IN SMALL CATEGORY at The 39th International Kolkata Book Fair 2015

Taylor & Francis Interactive Digital Library events

39th International Kolkata Book Fair 2015 Journals Editorial Roundtables

8

Conferences & Exhibitions Focus Groups

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

New Delhi World Book Fair 2015

www.tandfonline.com

COMING SOON... World-class LIS Facilities at NIT Silchar

Central Library, NIT Silchar has entered into a collaborative MOU with University Library & Mortenson Centre for International Library Program of University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA to create world-class LIS facilities at NIT Silchar. The MOU was signed by Prof. N. V. Deshpande, Director and Dr Kishor Chandra Satpathy, Librarian on behalf of NIT Silchar and by Paula Kaufman, Interim Director; Susan Schnuer, Associate Director of Mortenson Centre for International Library Programs; and Walter K. Knorr, Comptroller on behalf of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on 6 June 2014. Dr Satpathy spoke to IGNITE about this collaboration: The main purpose of this MOU is to facilitate the creation of a world-class, innovative, inviting and flexible library system to enhance campus learning, support research, and provide community outreach and service at NIT Silchar, through consultation and collaboration with the University Library of University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA. This MOU is a key milestone in our mission to develop a world-class Library Information Facility at NIT Silchar. As we have invested Rs. 44 core for constructing a new state-of-the-art library building with 80,000 sq.ft. carpet area, the joint consultation will help us in developing a new service model for the new library. Prof. N. V. Deshpande, Director, NITS The planned collaborations of this MOU are: a. Development of a technology roadmap for the new library at NIT Silchar b. Assistance in planning library facilities that support research, services, and studying and professional development for staff c. Exploration of possible exchanges of academic staff and joint library projects involving research or training d. Assistance in collection development and support in the development of a community outreach program e. Consultation on the design of an online Digital Library course

CONGRATULATIONS! And the Taylor & Francis AWARD for Professional Excellence in Library Services: India goes to… BEST LIBRARIAN, Dr H Anil Kumar, Librarian, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India

YOUNG LIBRARIAN, Dr Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Deputy Librarian, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, India

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT, Dr Christina Birdie, Indian Institute of Astrophysics (former Librarian), Bangalore, India

www.tandfonline.com

9

India

2004! 14

JOURNALS FROM SOUTH ASIA Transactions of the Indian Ceramic Society: Celebrating 70 years in publication Dr Shyamal Kumar Bhadra, Honorary Editor, Transactions of the Indian Ceramic Society The idea of a society of Indian ceramists was first conceived by Sirdar Krishen Singh in the year 1921. Subsequently, T. W. Talwalkar, after returning to India towards the end of 1927 and being impressed with the activities of the American Ceramic Society, felt the need for a similar kind of society in India. The inaugural meeting, attended by a handful of people from the glass and ceramic fields, was held in the Library Hall of the Chemistry Building of Banaras Hindu University on 15 April 1928. This meeting thus laid the foundation of the Indian Ceramic Society. The Journal of the Indian Ceramic Society was first published in September 1928, which is now known as the Transactions of the Indian Ceramic Society (hereafter Transactions). Transactions has been published since 1941, and Prof. H. N. Roy (Banaras Hindu University) was its first Editor. It is the most important journal in glass and ceramics being published in India, and has been in constant and continuous circulation for more than 70 years. The journal publishes current scientific research, technology and industry-related news on glass and ceramics. It covers subjects such as the chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic and spectroscopic properties of glass and ceramics, and characterization of materials belonging to this family. Original research papers, topical reviews, opinions and achievements, as well as industry profiles are invited for publication. Most of the published papers are received from India and the South Pacific region including China. In India, around 2,000 members including students subscribe to the journal. Besides having a wide readership in India, Transactions is also an internationally renowned journal. It features in the Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition published by Thomson Reuters, and has an impact factor of 0.233 for the year 2013. It is abstracted and indexed by Science Citation Index Expanded (SciSearch) and Materials Science Citation Index, and is abstracted also by Ceramic Abstracts (The American Ceramic Society) and Chemical Abstracts (The American Chemical Society). The journal entered a new publishing model beginning from Volume 71, Number 1 (2012). Along with its existing print version, Transactions is now being released simultaneously in the electronic version online by the Taylor & Francis Group. This collaboration has enabled the journal to reach a wider audience across the globe.

Discover our exciting updates to Taylor & Francis Online EXPLORE OPEN ACCESS ARTICLES WITH THE NEW NAVIGATION TAB You can now easily discover every open access article published in a hybrid subscription and open access journal, as part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program.

Explore FREE ACCESS articles on Library Information Sciences

Available until 30 June 2015!

http://explore.tandfonline.com/page/pgas/public_libraries

Open Select articles are no longer just in the table of contents, but can be found via the navigation tab in the left hand bar of any subscription journal that has open access articles published in it. Just look for ‘Open access articles’, click on the tab, and it will take you to all the open access articles within that journal. What are you waiting for? Discover the open access articles in your favorite journals today: www.tandfonline.com

10 Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

www.tandfonline.com

DID YOU KNOW? Some interesting news snippets worth reading AUTHOR, ACADEMIC AND LIBRARIAN MOST DESIRABLE CAREER CHOICES www.standard.co.uk/news/ An interesting survey conducted with a total of 1,830 people revealed that an author is the most sought-after career choice. 60% of respondents wanted to be authors, followed closely by an academic and a librarian coming in as the third most desirable career. Working as a miner was the least popular job with 87% of people picking it as something they would not like to do, followed by call centre work. PEOPLE FAKE READING TO IMPRESS PARTNERS, FINDS SURVEY www.deccanherald.com Fake reading is an emerging trend in metros across the country. Many Indians buy books to decorate their homes, some buy them to impress their prospective partners. In fact, people like to fake read in public places, finds a recent survey on reading habits conducted in six cities. As part of the survey, nearly 1,000 readers in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai were tapped to understand if they really did read the classics and other books they bought. COSTLIEST BOOK SALE? -- RARE ORNITHOLOGY BOOK SELLS ONLINE FOR $191,000 www.abebooks.com/rare-books Online book shopping has entered the sixfigure era. A rare ornithology book from 1765 sold for $191,000, smashing the record for the most expensive item to sell on the Internet marketplace in its 19-year history. AS BOOKS COME HOME, STARTUPS BOOKMARK BOOKLENDING SITES http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com Online book library startups are becoming increasingly popular. These rent books online and deliver them to your home. The market for online libraries is growing as online library models have emerged as a value-formoney service today.

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

TAYLOR & FRANCIS NEWSROOM Meet us at: newsroom.taylorandfrancisgroup.com TAYLOR & FRANCIS EDITORS NAMED IN TOP 25 WATER INDUSTRY LEADERS Asit Biswas and Miriam Balaban honored Thousands of people are involved globally in the distribution of water and the provision of wastewater services, which is why it gives Taylor & Francis great pride to announce that two journal Editors have been named in the Top 25 Water Industry Leaders list. The annual list – compiled by Water & Wastewater International (WWi) – honors Miriam Balaban, Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Desalination and Water Treatment, at number 7; and Asit K. Biswas, Editor of International Journal of Water Resources Development and founder of the Third World Centre for Water Management in Mexico, at number 2. INTERACT WITH WHAT YOU’RE READING: DISCOVER THE COLWIZ INTERACTIVE PDF READER ON TAYLOR & FRANCIS ONLINE Reading a research article is far from a passive experience. Researchers mark sections of text, write critical comments, or notes to themselves on printed copies, which can be lost, and not easily shared. Following the latest Taylor & Francis Online site release, you can now annotate PDF documents as you read them with the colwiz Interactive PDF Reader (iPDF). Using a series of interactive tools, you can highlight text, write notes, and draw directly on articles – just as with a printed copy. Taylor & Francis has implemented the colwiz iPDF reader as a pilot on a selection of 40 journal titles. For more information, visit bit.ly/tf-colwiz WHAT DOES YOUR MOBILE PHONE SAY ABOUT YOU? Cosmetic customization reflects identity and builds attachment to mobile phones. The recent study featured in the Routledge journal Media Psychology entitled “Cosmetic Customization of Mobile Phones: Cultural Antecedents, Psychological Correlates,” explored how cosmetic customization of cellphones correlates with its user’s culture and personality. Customization options, from exterior cases and hanging charms, to ringtones and wallpapers, have turned cellphones into “personal miniature representations of self-expression,” says Sundar. How and why you customize can say a lot about who you are, both as an individual and as a representative of your culture.

www.tandfonline.com

11

India

2004! 14

Get in touch! Our sales teams are happy to answer any questions you might have about our eBooks and other online resources. Whether you want to enquire about specific eBook collections or digital subscriptions, or simply get a clearer picture of how our products can be integrated into your library, please drop us a line: Neeti Verma – Sales Director, Journals & Online Resources, South Asia [email protected]

Rajesh Singh – North India +91 (11) 43155179 [email protected]

Onkar Verma – Assistant Manager, Customer Services & Sales Support +91 (11) 43155118 [email protected]

Vivek Mehra – West India +91 (11) 43155161 [email protected]

Garima Gakhar – Sales Support Executive +91 (11) 43155181 [email protected] Ashwani Arora – North India +91 (11) 43155147 [email protected]

Debottam Bhattacharjee – East India 09051174488 [email protected] Aftab Alam – South India 07795045801 [email protected]

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sales Queries [email protected]

Shafina Segon – Marketing Head Journals & Online Resources, South Asia [email protected]

Brochures, Flyers, User Guides, Posters & other Promotional Material: [email protected] Taylor & Francis India: 2nd & 3rd floor, The National Council of YMCAs of India, 1, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi 110001, India | Tel: +91 (11) 4315 5100, Fax: +91 (11) 2334 2132

Visit the librarians’ area: www.tandf.co.uk/libsite

www.tandfonline.com