Hi friends
You may be surprised to see someting new on the blog after a long time .. but simultaneously there is nothing new actually!!!!!!!!!
I am not a great writer but still I felt that I am unable to write something new which would be exciting for me as well as for others too. This is not an excuse but I was preoccupied with my personal and other professional priorities too. But I promise that I will be back on my track and hope it to continue.
Good news is that I had published a paper titled as "Application of modern techniques in Library Service : A case study of Insurance Sector Library " along with my colleague Ms. Bhagyashree Sane who presented the paper at 10th MANLIBNET Convention received the BEST PAPER AWARD.
Meantime I got many hits, new followers and new comments too. I thank you all.
Have faith and keep going
Bhakti Gole
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Friday, October 30, 2009
Librarian's Job
The librarian’s job is to assist users in finding relevant information by proper guidance and / or by providing alternative means to do the same work in different way. Recently I came across one such resource which is titled as “Guide to Library Research at Cornell: Seven Steps to Effective Library Research developed at Cornell University Library which helps the users from deciding the research topic till it’s citations by way of tips, multimedia etc. It is really a great resource from library users point of view. At the same time, it is an innovative yet simple mechanism to serve the users. It may also serve as a tool for information literacy programme for library users.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Importance of enhancing competencies for librarians
It is important for library professionals to enhance the competencies as per the job requirement and changing times. In view of this a very useful Competency Index for the Library Field by WebJunction were compiled from input from a spectrum of library practitioners and leaders, and from competencies defined by other library organizations.
Till date we are used to phrases like people skills, management skills, leadership skills etc. but this index emphasizes the “Librarian skills” which involves no doubt multi-tasking jobs.
This will be useful especially for new entrants in the profession as guidelines.
Till date we are used to phrases like people skills, management skills, leadership skills etc. but this index emphasizes the “Librarian skills” which involves no doubt multi-tasking jobs.
This will be useful especially for new entrants in the profession as guidelines.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Changing job for librarians
The library professionals may be distinguished depending on their nature of job, subject they serve, or expertise they develop (e.g. Corporate Librarian, Medical Librarian, Serials Librarian). But the basic skills for being library professional required are almost same irrespective of you work in Educational (school / college / University) or Special (Public / Research / Subject oriented) library etc.
I remember, when I was interviewed for my second job, the member from the interview panel asked me how I will be able to serve my new users who are in the field of rural development being an NGO whereas I had experienced of working in science background of research institute!!
I replied that we library professionals are so trained that we can locate any kind of information irrespective of subject background. In the initial phase one may require time to learn and get the nuance of new subject but with our skills it is not a difficult task at all…
The question is how one can be prepared while there is job change. It may happen in following situations:
1. If one gets promoted
2. Transferred to new location or new department
3. Change in job by proper planning with complete preparation
The librarian may face dilemma while change in the job due to numerous factors such as:
a. Lack of skills required for new position e.g. Using technology for library automation /
management
b. Mentally not prepared for new responsibilities in case job change is unexpected
c. New atmosphere for starting all over again as change in users, their requirements, the new
library system etc.
In case, the person decides with proper planning with full preparation then it is easy to face new challenges but still one needs to do homework for smooth transition. Before applying for a new job, the library professional should be aware and satisfied about the responsibities, skills required for particular job, the present situation of library or information center, the parent organization to serve, the nature of users and their requirements etc. & would be expectations from management side & challenges. One needs to study all these aspects and prepare accordingly.
The change in job is must sometimes even in same organization to avoid monotonous routine, to learn something new. In any circumstances one must remain positive and prepare himself / herself as per changing situations in the library profession to face present and future challenges by acquiring new skills whenever required.
I remember, when I was interviewed for my second job, the member from the interview panel asked me how I will be able to serve my new users who are in the field of rural development being an NGO whereas I had experienced of working in science background of research institute!!
I replied that we library professionals are so trained that we can locate any kind of information irrespective of subject background. In the initial phase one may require time to learn and get the nuance of new subject but with our skills it is not a difficult task at all…
The question is how one can be prepared while there is job change. It may happen in following situations:
1. If one gets promoted
2. Transferred to new location or new department
3. Change in job by proper planning with complete preparation
The librarian may face dilemma while change in the job due to numerous factors such as:
a. Lack of skills required for new position e.g. Using technology for library automation /
management
b. Mentally not prepared for new responsibilities in case job change is unexpected
c. New atmosphere for starting all over again as change in users, their requirements, the new
library system etc.
In case, the person decides with proper planning with full preparation then it is easy to face new challenges but still one needs to do homework for smooth transition. Before applying for a new job, the library professional should be aware and satisfied about the responsibities, skills required for particular job, the present situation of library or information center, the parent organization to serve, the nature of users and their requirements etc. & would be expectations from management side & challenges. One needs to study all these aspects and prepare accordingly.
The change in job is must sometimes even in same organization to avoid monotonous routine, to learn something new. In any circumstances one must remain positive and prepare himself / herself as per changing situations in the library profession to face present and future challenges by acquiring new skills whenever required.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Web 2.0 applications for Libraries
Evernote.Com
Evernote is free software allows you to easily capture information in any format irrespective of device used and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time. As Roy "Todd" Vandenbark mentiones it is very useful web 2.0 tool comes in versions for Windows and Mac computers, and many mobile devices including Windows Mobile phones, the iPhone, and iPod Touch. And Evernote organizes everything based on tags you add to each item, allowing you to search for items and group them into "notebooks." You can publish any of your notebooks for others to see, and once published, it will be given its own unique URL and indexed by search engines.
Evernote offers two service plans, free and premium. The free account allows you to upload up to 40 MB of information per month, and is limited to images, audio files, link files, and PDFs. Notebooks published from any free account will include advertising in the margin. For $5 per month, or $45 per year, you can upload up to 500 MB of information in any file type, and they are secure socket layer (SSL) encrypted for added security during transfer. In addition, advertising is turned-off for premium users. The Web site offers some documentation and searchable support, and it includes a number of helpful tutorials.
LibGuides
The librarians experimenting with Web 2.0 applications may try tools provided by Springshare.com through which libraries can distribute their content to other websites, blogs, and courseware systems. As mentioned on their website Librarians can use it to create attractive multimedia content, share knowledge and information, and promote library resources to the community. Academic, Public, Special, and K-12 School Libraries find LibGuides an ideal solution for subject guides, information portals, course guides, community guides, research help, faculty/teacher support, etc. But this is not free software.
Evernote is free software allows you to easily capture information in any format irrespective of device used and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time. As Roy "Todd" Vandenbark mentiones it is very useful web 2.0 tool comes in versions for Windows and Mac computers, and many mobile devices including Windows Mobile phones, the iPhone, and iPod Touch. And Evernote organizes everything based on tags you add to each item, allowing you to search for items and group them into "notebooks." You can publish any of your notebooks for others to see, and once published, it will be given its own unique URL and indexed by search engines.
Evernote offers two service plans, free and premium. The free account allows you to upload up to 40 MB of information per month, and is limited to images, audio files, link files, and PDFs. Notebooks published from any free account will include advertising in the margin. For $5 per month, or $45 per year, you can upload up to 500 MB of information in any file type, and they are secure socket layer (SSL) encrypted for added security during transfer. In addition, advertising is turned-off for premium users. The Web site offers some documentation and searchable support, and it includes a number of helpful tutorials.
LibGuides
The librarians experimenting with Web 2.0 applications may try tools provided by Springshare.com through which libraries can distribute their content to other websites, blogs, and courseware systems. As mentioned on their website Librarians can use it to create attractive multimedia content, share knowledge and information, and promote library resources to the community. Academic, Public, Special, and K-12 School Libraries find LibGuides an ideal solution for subject guides, information portals, course guides, community guides, research help, faculty/teacher support, etc. But this is not free software.
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