Chapter 39: Library And Information Science

Introduction

From the “chained” and “closed access” library system of the earlier days to the present day provision of unlimited information services using the latest information technologies has been a long journey. There was a time when the librarians were considered store keepers more concerned with the protection of books against theft and pilferage ad mutilation, rather than helping the readers in exploiting the library resources. It was the responsibility of the readers to find for themselves in the unchartered ocean of reading, material often guided only by the library catalogues to locate the desired books.

But now library work is a vibrant and proactive profession which provides a wide range of information to users. Librarianship, as it used to be called earlier, is now recognised as a discipline in its own right like any other academic discipline, thanks to Dr. S.R.Ranganathan, who is regarded as the father of library science in India. The discipline is now variously called library science, library and information science or simply information science.

The services provided by libraries are now called “library and information services” combining the conventional library functions of the yester years with its present day information services role. Computer and information Technology too has started playing a significant role in delivering information services. Two other terms are also associated with the discipline viz., “documentation” and “Information Storage and retrieval”. Thus, besides libraries, there are also Documentation Centres and Information Centres. Despite using different nomenclatures, at the heart of the discipline is the provision of information services to those who need them.

There are at least three reasons why libraries are expected to play a proactive role in providing information service: (a) fast quantitative growth of reading material, (b) increasing specialisation in all branches of knowledge which is becoming more and more interdisciplinary in nature; and (c) the need to have quick access to the contents of vast quantity of reading material. The first factor is characterized by such term as “information (or literature) explosion” or exponential growth of literature (or information)”.

The second factor is causes scattering of information o a specific topic not only in a wide range of reading material but often in documents in apparently unrelated areas. While information is growing exponentially, the time available at the disposal of users remains almost the same, if not less. They cannot, therefore, scan even a small fraction of the available literature even in their own areas of specialisation. It is also difficult for them to collect together fragmented pieces of information, collate, synthesize and absorb them. Finally, in many situations, quick access to information is essential for the task in the hands of users. All these factors make provision of library and information services an urgent necessity.

As regards reading material mentioned above, they are not limited to only books, as it used to be earlier. They include a wide range of print-on-paper media such as periodicals, news papers, reprints, preprints, conference proceedings, pamphlets, paptents, standard specifications, research reports, government documents. To this list has now been raddled the vast internet resources. Again, reading material is not only restricted to print on media. There are also three types of non paper media: microforms, audio-visual media; and electronic media’s-ROM (compact discs – Read only memory) is now the most well known form of electronic media, also known digital media. It is now predicted that new development in electronic media (and for that matter the It), will lead to the emergence of “digital libraries” which will store only digital documents.

Five basic tastes are involved in library and information servicesLa) acquisition of a wide range of reading of reading material, (b) processing information contents (i.e., cataloguing, classification and indexing), c) storing the documents (e.g., on library selves, in vertical filing cabinets, and increasingly in digital form), (d) dissemination of their information contents as an alert or current awareness service; and (e) retrieval on demand of the required information from the stored documents. Any active library performs most of these tasks in varying degrees depending upon the nature and requirements of the host organisation and the material support the library receives. The computer and information technology has, therefore, become an essential tool for performing these five-fold tasks.

Educational Opportunities

Formal education in library science offered by universities is little more than five- decade old. Prior to that, the training was offered by professional associations of librarians in different states generally of six months duration leading to the award of certificates. Universities first introduced the diploma course (DipLib) of one year duration, which, later on, was elevated to the degree level with additional course inputs. Several universities still continue to offer certificate courses.

At present, education in library & information science is provided at six levels, viz., (1) Certificate, (2) Diploma, (3) Bachelor degree, (4) Master's degree, (5) MPhil, and (6) PhD. Several Universities have included the subject as one of the combinations for BA degree course. The certificate Course of six months duration leading to the award of CLISc is open to candidates who have passed the 10+2 examination Besides universities, professional associations of librarians also offer the CLISc course. DLISc course of one year duration is available mostly through distance learning mode Entry requirement is also a pass in class 10 +2. Some polytechnics also offer diploma courses.

For the degree course of one year duration, graduates in any discipline are eligible for admission. Earlier the nomenclature of the award was BLib. with the emphasis now given on information component, the nomenclature was changed to BLISc (or BLSc). Those who obtained the BLISc degree can then pursue the master's degree course (MLISc), also of one duration. Several Universities have now started two -year integrated course leading to Master's degree award. The duration of MPhil course is one year while PhD takes between two or five years.

The courses are offered by the University Departments of Library & Information Science mostly in the faculties of Social Sciences (or Arts). As of now there are about 80 university departments offering the courses. Beside, some of these universities have also given affiliation to colleges and autonomous institutions for conducting courses in BLISc. MLISc course has been introduced (some on part-time basis) in 67 universities. while 11 universities offer MPhil course (some on part time basis), PhD course is available in 29 universities. University of Madras offers MSc (Library & Information Science) under credit based semester system (CBSS).

Library and Information Science course is also available through distance learning mode. While 19 universities offer BLISc course, 11 offer MLISc through this mode. The BLISc courses offered by the Indira Gandhi National University are of high standard. Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University Institute of Journalism (Bhopal) has a three -year, Bachelor of Library and Information Technology (Hons) course, open to students who have passed the 10+2 examination. Two Sanskrit universities, viz., KS Darbhanga Sanskrit University (Bihar), and Sampuranand Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya (Varanasi) offer Pustakalaya Vigyan Shastri (9 months) and Granthalaya Vigyan Shastri (One year) courses respectively. Knowledge of Sanskrit is an Essential requirement.

Two institutions offer two -year integrated information science courses. Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC) under the council of scientific and Industrial Research (14 Satsang Vihar Marg. New Delhi 110087) conducts the programme leading to the award of Associateship in Information Science (AIS) which is recognised as equivalent to MLISc. The eligibility requirement second class master's degree in any discipline, or a graduate degree in engineering or medicine or a BLISc degree with three years of working experience in libraries or information centres. The documentations Research and Training Centre (DRTC) in the Indian Statistical Institute (8^th Mile, Mysore Road, Bangalore 560059) offers Associateship in Documentations and Information Science (ADIS). This award is also recognised as equivalent to MLISc degree. These two courses enjoy a good reputation in the employment market.

Computer and IT Oriented Courses

With the advent of computers, the nature of library and information science has undergone revolutionary change all over the world. As Stated Earlier, The computer and information technology is now being widely used in libraries and information and documentation centres to process, store, retrieve and disseminate information technology in Library and information science curriculum of all universities. While the courses offered by INSDOC and DRTC have comparatively a large input of computer and information technology in their programmes, universities also have started introducing Master's degree courses focussing primarily on information technology and computer Examples of such courses are given in the Annexure.

However, computer and information technology oriented library and information science courses should not be confused with such programmes as programmes in management and information technology leading to such awards as Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT), Master of Information Technology (MIT), Post-graduate Diploma in Management and Information technology (PGDMIT) or Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology (PGDIT), although the nomenclature of the award of Kerala University is PGDIT.

In view of the increasing use of computer and information technology in libraries, the National Information System for Science and Technology (NISSAT) in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has been sponsoring short-term courses for working librarians in different areas of IT. Besides, several agencies such as Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC), Indian Association for Special Libraries and Information Centres (IASLIC) are also organising such programmes. Training programmes on Internet are also being organised to enable the librarians to exploit its unlimited information resources.

Career Opportunities

There are a wide variety of libraries-small, medium and large-which provide employment opportunities. The libraries may be broadly grouped into five categories: (a) Academic Libraries, (b) public Libraries, (c) Special Libraries, (d) Government Libraries, (including the Parliament library and libraries of State legislature) and (e) Private Libraries. Besides, there is the National Library. Newspapers libraries are also a class by themselves. In addition, foreign governments, as a part of their cultural programmes, had opened libraries in several cities.

School, college and university libraries belong to the first category. Many states have established their own public library system by enacting public library laws, with the State Central Library as the apex body. It consists of a vast library network of district and branch libraries. Special libraries, as the name suggests, deal with specialised areas of knowledge. The area may be as broad as agriculture or as narrow as rice crop. They are attached to research institutions and business and industrial establishment. Government libraries are located in ministries, departments (both central and state governments), and other government offices. Many government libraries may also be categorised as special libraries because of the specialised nature of the host departments, e.g., the library in the Labour Ministry of the Government of India.

Although the eligibility requirement for entry into the BLISc course is a first degree in any discipline, in the employment market the desirable qualification is either a Master’s degree is a subject along with the BLISc degree or a MLISc degree. In academic libraries, particularly in college of university libraries, theses are the essential requirements. Holders of Ph.D degree have a better claim for higher positions in academic libraries. In special libraries, particularly in the concerned areas of specialisation have an edge over others. Library and Information Science is a subject for UGC-NET for determining the eligibility for lectureship in universities.

In large libraries, for example university libraries, there are hierarchical staff structures. On the other hand, in a large majority of libraries the staff strength is very small, consisting of the librarian and a couple of library assistants. After acquiring professional qualifications one can expect employment in one of the junior positions in big libraries or as a library assistant (and often as a librarian) in smaller libraries. Lateral entry into senior positions requires 3-5 years of experience. Direct appointments in the top most slots need at least 10 years of experience. Opportunities for career advancement exist only in big libraries.

The salary scales vary widely depending upon the nature of the host organisations. Many colleges and universities have adopted UGC scales of salary for the library staff which are equivalent to those for teachers at different levels. The library staff in the constituent units of large establishments of the Central Government, such as Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) enjoy salary scales similar to those applicable to scientific staff.

Besides, opportunities for upwards mobility based on assessment of performance at intervals, make the jobs very attractive. Salary scales of library professionals in Central Government are now governed by the recommendations of the Fifth Central Pay Commission as accepted by the Central Government (Report. Pages 763-77). A significant recommendation of the Fifth Pay Commission had been the formation of an All India Library and Information Service. It recommended that the initial direct recruitment should be at the level of library and Information Assistant. The qualification requirement would be graduation and BLISc degree.

The large-scale proliferation of library and information science courses has led the dilution of the standard of education and substantial increase in the number of degree holders. There has been no corresponding increase in employment opportunities. As a result, unemployment and underemployment dog the profession. However, persons possessing good academic records and adequate skills in computer and information technology, and Internet can still look forwards to a rewarding career in the profession.