INFORMATION AND PUBLICATIONS
Central Secretariat Library Towards the end of the financial year 1958-59, the Central Education' Library was brought under the administrative control of the Librarian, Central Secretariat Library with a view to integrating both the Libraries. The process of integration took some time and by about the beginning of the current financial year a new pattern of organization of various sections of the integrated Library was established as a result of which the following units were started:-
1. Central Secretariat Library.
2. Education Library.
3. Children's Library.
4. Indian Languages Library,
5. Government Publications Section.
6. Periodical Section.
7. Acquisition & Processing Section
8. Reference & Circulation.
9. Administration.
The objectives of the Library were also reconsidered and it was decided that the Central Secretariat Library should primarily cater to the official needs of the Government of India and also endeavour to meet the general reading needs of the Government of India employees residing in Delhi. It was also decided that the Education Library should be developed to function as a Research Library and thus extend the use of its collection by suitable means to all educationists and research scholars in education throughout the country.
The "Programme for 1959-60" as mentioned in the last Annual Report has had to be adjusted to the changed conditions caused by the integration of the libraries. Even so, the following work has been undertaken and partially accomplished:-
(i) Besides the monthly list of additions of books and Government documents, the Library issues 4 periodical publications, (a) Indian Education Abstracts-Quarterly, (b) Indian Education Index-Monthly, (c) Fortnightly Abstracts of articles from Times Literary Supplement, Indian newspapers and foreign educational weeklies and fortnightlies, (d) Current Library Literature-A monthly Index of selected articles on Library Science from journals received in the Library.
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Preliminary preparations for starting a bi-monthly abstracting publication including abstracts of selected articles from a large number of foreign educational journals received in the Library have been made and it is expected that the first issue will be out in the month of February, 1960.
A project to compile a Union List of educational periodicals received in important educational libraries in the country has been started and a good deal of data has been collected. It is expected that a preliminary Union List will be put out before the end of March, 1960.
(ii) Bibliographical information for about 1,300 theses on education submitted to various 'Indian universities has been collected and abstracts from nearly 600 theses are now ready pending publication.
(iii) Ten bibliographies on various subjects pertaining to education, such as, science education in elementary and secondary schools, religious and moral education, research in education, etc. have been prepared.
(iv) An annotated and classified bibliography of suitable books in Hindi for children up to the age of 13 is under compilation and it is expected that the first issue of this Bibliography will be put out before the end of. March, 1960.
(v) A beginning has been made to obtain books in India languages other than Hindi, Urdu and Panjabi. Nearly 300 children's books in Bengali have been acquired for the Children's Library. Children's books in Kannada, Tamil and Marathi will be acquired before the end of March, 1960.
(vi) The work of amalgamating the stocks of the two Libraries into one uniform catalogue has automatically ensured the physical verification of books. It is expected that from 1960, verification of the entire stock will begin section by section so that over a period of about five years the entire stock will be com- pletely verified and the process will continue in cyclic order.
Statistics about the work actually accomplished during the period under report are furnished below:-
Acquisition 3369 books, as distinct from Government publications and periodicals, have been accessioned during the period under report. Several hundred more books are already on order. It is expected that most of them will be received in the Library within the next 2 or 3 months. The total number of books thus accessioned during the current financial year will
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be about 5,000. The Library received against subscription 471 periodicals and 299 were received free. The Library's policy of acquiring back numbers of important Indian and foreign journals has resulted in the receipt of several needed periodicals. Against the funds allotted to this Library, under the provisions of India Wheat Loan Exchange Agreement, orders for nearly thirty thousand rupees were placed with the India Wheat Loan Office. These included back-files of several important American journals and basic reference sources, such as, the Library of Congress printed catalogue. Material has started coming in. The Library received approximately 8,000 United States Government documents under the provisions of the Agreement for Exchange of official publications with the United States Government. During the year under report, exchange relations with several foreign educational journals have been established and many journals will be received regularly from 1960 on exchange against the Education Quarterly and the Indian Education Abstracts thus saving a considerable amount in foreign exchange.
Reference and Consultation The volume of reference work has increased considerably during the year. More and more Ministries of the Government of India are increasingly using the services of this Library. A noticeable feature of our reference service during the year has been that research scholars from outside Delhi have approached this Library for permission to consult our periodical and Government documents collection.
The average issue of books and other material per day is slightly more than 1,000. The membership records were revised and brought up- to-date by calling fresh applications from older members. The total number of registered borrowers is at present about 12,000. Arrangements are now made so that scholars and senior Government officers can be provided facilities for quiet and sustained reading.
Budget The total budget provision for the Library for the current financial year was Rs. 1,71,050. Of this, Rs. 1,41,750 were earmarked for the purchase of books, periodicals and other publications and Rs. 29,300 for binding and equipment.
The binding target of the Library is 10,000 volumes a year. However, due to certain difficulties in securing the services of qualified binders at competitive rates only 3551 books have been bound so far. It is expected that this deficiency will be made good during the next year.
Two members of the staff have gone to the United States for acquiring special training in the organisation of Government documents. They will return in the middle of March, 1960 after a 10 months stay in the United
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States and visits to major Libraries in Europe. Their training programme was arranged in cooperation with the American Library Association and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Programme for 1960-61 (i) To prepare a Union List of holdings of education journals received in major educational libraries in the country.
(ii) To prepare a Union List of holdings of periodicals available in the major Government of India libraries in Delhi.
(iii) To prepare an Index of all the theses on education submitted to Indian Universities.
(iv) To acquire books in more and more Indian languages suitable for children as also for adults.
(v) To publish bibliographies on suitable educationual topics.
Educational Information Over 8383 enquiries received from the public including students teachers, parents, educational institutions, government bodies, national and international organisations and foreign governments on various aspects of Education in India were dealt with during the year.
About 1880 persons visited the Information Section Library-and sought information- regarding educational facilities in India and abroad.
The following are some of the important items on which information was collected/compiled:
1. Facilities for the study in Actuarial Science, Co- operation, Social and Welfare Work, Technology and Agriculture in the U.K.
2. Facilities for the study in Automobile Engineering in the U.K. and the U.S.A.
3. Study in Social and Welfare Work in the U.S.A. and Canada,
4. Vacations and recesses of more than a week's duration in Indian universities or affiliated colleges.
5. Facilities for study in Ayurvedic and Unani Medicine in India.
6. Facilities for study in Hindi provided by various Bodies and Universities in India.
7. Facilities for private candidates to appear at Middle, High and Intermediate Examinations of Indian Universities/Boards.
8. Facilities for study in post-graduate and other courses in Medicine in India (excluding M.B.B.S.).
9. Facilities for study in foreign languages in Indian Universities.
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10. Facilities for Teachers' Training at collegiate level in India
The pamphlet on 'General Information for Indian Students Going Abroad' was revised.
The collection, compilation or revision on some of the following, important topics was undertaken:
1. Facilities for study, in Sales Management- Australia.
2. Facilities for Higher Training in Ship Building- U.S.A., West Germany and Canada.
3. Facilities for Training in Silk Technology 'Japan.
4. Courses in Cinematography-Italy, U.S.A. and Germany.
5. Facilities for post-graduate study/training in Co- operatives Netherlands.
6. Courses in Medicine-Austria, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
7. List of Philanthropic Associations/Societies/ Organisations in India providing financial assistance to Indian students for studies in India/Abroad.
8. Facilities for appearing in various examinations of the Universities in India as private candidates.
9. List of Montessori, Kindergarten and Nursery Schools in India.
10. Institutions' awarding degree/diploma/certificate in Teachers' Training/Non-professional courses (academic) of the Basic type.
3607 press-cuttings from the Press Information Bureau were scrutinized and circulated to various officers/Divisions of the Ministry.
Various Foreign Missions in Delhi were addressed for informative literature which has since been received from most of the Missions.
Educational Publications The Publications Section of the Ministry continued to publish brochures, pamphlets, handbooks etc., on educational themes, reports, proceedings etc., concerning educational activities, in addition to two quarterly periodical, " The Education Quarterly " and " Youth".
The publication of "Youth" is a scheme included in the second Five-Year Plan and a provision of Rs. 3,000 exists in the budget for 1959-60 for meeting expenditure other than the cost, of paper and printing, on this periodical. Another provision of Rs. 10,000, exists in the budget for the current financial year for expenditure other than the cost of paper and printing, on the publication of "The Education Quarterly" and other publications. The provisions have been repeated for 1960-61.
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The Education Quarterly", the Ministry's most important periodical published in March, June, September and December entered its twelfth year of publication and maintained its standing both at home and abroad. The March, 1959, issue of the Quarterly was devoted to the problems of teacher-training. The June, 1959, and September, 1959, issues were respectively concerned with General Education and Primary Education, while the December, 1959, issue was devoted to Secondary Education.
"Youth", that is devoted to youth welfare, physical education, sports etc., entered its third year of publication in September, 1959. Its December, 1959 number was a special Festival issue with a feature on the Sixth Inter-University Youth-Festival held at Mysore in December, 1959.
During the period January- December, 1959, the following publications were brought out:-
1. The Education Quarterly, December, 1958.
2. Youth, December, 1958.
3. Buniyadi Shiksha Ka Seminar.
4. School Libraries by J. Smeaton.
5. Presidential Address by Dr. K. L. Shrimali at the 34th Session of the Indian Historical Records Commission at Trivandrum.
6. Proceedings of the 25th Meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education.
7. Report of the Sanskrit Commission.
8. Improvement of Curriculum in Indian Schools by Dr. Henry Harap.
9. Proceedings of the Fourth Meeting of the National Council for Rural Higher Education.
10. Progress of Pre-primary and Elementary (including Basic) Education in India during 1956-57 under the Second Five-Year Plan.
11. The Education Quarterly, March, 1959.
12. Youth, March, 1959.
13. Production and Distribution of Paper Back Books by Kul Bhushan.
14. Annual Report of the Ministry, 1958-59 (English).
15. Annual Report of the Ministry, 1958-59 (Hindi).
16. Summary of Annual Report, 1958-59 (English).
17. Summary of Annual Report, 1958-59 (Hindi).
18. Reading for Pleasure.
19. Metric Weights and Measures.
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20. A Review of Education in India-1958-59.
21. Report of the Advisory Committee for Libraries.
22. Report of the National Committee on Women's Education.
23. Metric Weights and Measures (Hindi).'
24. General Information for Indian Students Going Abroad.
25. Youth, June, 1959.
26. The Education, Quarterly, June, 1959.
27. Report of the' All-India Seminar on Physical Education for State Inspectors and University Directors.
28. A Brochure on Educational Survey of India.
29. Education Quarterly, September, 1959.
30. Youth, September, 1959.
31. Report of the All-India Seminar on Physical Education for Physical Education Institutions.
32. An Interpretation of Basic Education Principles for Kindergarten and junior Classes of Elementary Schools.
33. The Teacher and the Parent.
34. Questionnaire regarding Evaluation of Schemes in the fields of Physical Education, Recreation, Youth Welfare etc.
35. Report of the Ad-hoc Enquiry Committee on Games and Sports.
36. A National Plan for Physical Efficiency Drive.
37. Report of the 5th Inter-University Youth Festival.
38. Questionnarie Regarding Institutions for the Training of Primary Teachers.
39. Education for International Understanding
40. Draft Revised Syllabus for Secondary Teacher Training.
41. Decentralisation of the Scheme of Post-Matric Scholarships for Scheduled Castes, Tribes and Backward Classes.
42. The Education Quarterly December, 1959.
43. Report of the Seminar on Orienting Elementary Schools towards the Basic Pattern.
44. Planning Schools for India.
During the period under review the publications of the Ministry were displayed at "India-1958" Exhibition, New Delhi, and also on the occasion of the various meetings, conferences, seminars etc., notable among which are:-