INFORMATICS LIBRARY SERVICES
During the previous Plan periods Libraries and information services were in general considered as auxiliaries of the parent institutions or organisations such as various Ministries/Departments, Universities, Research Institutions, etc. with the result the funds for them were coming from the parent body's budget-heads. A public library in addi- tion is an essential element of the community which needs to be sup- ported by the community as a whole. In view of the vital role in research, education, industrial growth and socio-economic development of the country the need for their establishments and developments has duly been well accepted in the country. In addition Information tech- nology is also an area of fundamental importance to the economic development of a nation as it plays potential role in the regeneration of the nation's industrial and commercial base.
While recognising the role of library and information services in planning, national development and other areas it is strongly recom- mended that hence forward Library and Information Services should be considered as independent sector like other sectors during national plan formulations. The investment required for this sector will partly be met from its own specific allocations and partly from the budgets of the parent institutions.
Library & Information Services The Report at first presents position of Public, Academic, Special and National Libraries in the country. Only five States have enacted the public library law and most of these libraries concentrate on landing services. The Public Library Sector needs to be expanded and strength- ened so as to provide easy access to Public Library Service by larger number of people in the country. In the case of Academic libraries, while there has been an overall improvement in University Libraries, the number of good college libraries is still quite limited. Most of them continue to face various problems such as paucity of funds, physical facilities, shortage of staff, etc. Lending service is the major activity of most of the Academic libraries and special services such as current awareness, SDI are usually not provided. The school libraries in general have lagged behind in the development process.
The progress of the Special Libraries, Documentation Centres in the country is closely linked to the status of science and technology and socio-economic development programmes. Being an essential component for supporting R & D as well as scholarships, creation and development of special libraries, information facilities have been receiving attention of government authorities very well. In order to aim at an optimum output, planning of information systems around the existing infrastructure is contemplated. The action programme envisages inter- linking and coordination of a large number of
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resources, services and centres into effective information systems under an overall coordinating agency. A trend in this direction has already been set up during the Sixth Plan period by evolving a few national information systems. A more concrete shape to the concept of Information Systems is expected to be given in the Seventh Plan peri- od. With regard to manpower development, need for highly qualified professional staff has become more pronounced and several Universities and Institutions such as INSDOC and DRTC have included in their cur- riculum specialised papers on Information Technology/Computers.
Since the existing library and information programmes are generally ad-hoc, un-related to one another, it is highly essential that future development of the nation's library and information resource would occur in a cohesive manner according to a national plan based on a National Policy for Library and Information Service (I&IS). The Na- tional Policy will set forth the future objectives in clear terms, which will serve as guidelines for the development and improvement of L&IS in the country.
In view of the vital role, the public libraries play in development and national reconstruction, it is essential to have a well developed and well knit system of public service. For this purpose it is neces- sary to enact public library law in all the States/Union Territories. In case of Universities, in order to promote the use of libraries the traditional lecture-method of teaching should be replaced by library- centered method such as lecture-cum-discussion, semiares, tutorial and such other methods. In addition, newer methods of evaluation such as 'Internal assessment', 'periodical assessment' etc., will also in- crease the use of libraries by student community.
The value of information is mentioned implicitly in our science policy resolution, by drawing attention to the systematic development of knowledge base. Further, the need for design an development of an efficient technology information system is emphasised in the recent Technology Policy Statement. The approach to development of special libraries, information centres and systems during the next 10 years or so shall be to move towards their dynamic, efficient practical, modern and user-oriented organization and management from the present tradi- tional and 'conservative set up, so that an assured information flow backs up diverse national development programmes. The special li- braries and information centres should be equipped to handle, besides bibliographic information other kinds of information such as manage- ment information, techno-economic information and the like.
All modern information services are necessarily to be backed up by an efficient document delivery system, involving, actual provision of copies of documents. In this context, the document copy supply serv- ices of INSDOC, SSDC and other national centres have to strengthened. Similarly Union Catalogue is an indispensable tool for cooperative acquisition, resource sharing, inter-library lending etc. The Union Catalogue Programme of INSDOC, SSDC and other organisations need to be computerised so as to have access through national network.
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The libraries being a growing organization, usually suffer from a shortage of accommodation. It is particularly more acute in the case of government department libraries. Dormitories for the service li- braries to unload their obsolete collection have to be organised in suitable locations. This cooperative storage facility would help the libraries to keep only an active collection.
User satisfaction is the current day approach to library and informa- tion service. The outlook of libraries should change for orienting the entire organization and services from the angle of users and their satisfaction.
Delhi being the capital city, it should have a Central Reference Library. Though this has been already recognised by the Union Govern- ment, it is yet to be implemented. It is essential to have in Delhi the Central Reference Library, with functions clearly defined and the Indian National Biography (INB) which has to be brought out through this library.
In case of Education and Training in L&IS, it is essential for the library schools in the country to give a fresh look to the existing syllabi and give a new orientation to their programmes by integrating the 'Information Science' component in their existing contents. Also continuing education for I&IS teachers and practicing librarians are given due priority.
some of the major problems being faced by our libraries, information centres and systems, as discussed in the earlier chapters, and which would require consideration during the Seventh Plan may be summed up as follows:-
1. Insufficient document resources to meet the needs of their users,
2. the increasing cost of library materials and organising them for use,
3. the growth of knowledge, with the consequent demands, particularly in university libraries and special libraries for a wide range of specialized materials.
4. the varying levels of financial resources and funding provisions or abilities of authorities in the country,
5. the cost of storing infrequently used materials that accumulate when a library tries to be self-sufficient,
6. the requirement to serve communities and users that are not being served,
7. lack of physical facilities in terms of space, furniture, equipment and others,
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8. the difficulty in attracting and recruiting right type of profes- sional staff to meet the changing and complex information needs of users,
9. the need for developing cooperation and resource sharing, and
10. the need for improving and diversifying the educational are train- ing programmes in Library and Information Science (L&IS).
The recommendations for library and information services are grouped as General and Specific recommendations.
RECOMMENDATIONS ON LIBRARY SERVICES 1. Formulation of National Policy for Library and Information Service.
2. Establishment/Strengthening of separate Library Directorate/Depart- ments etc.
3. All India Library and Information Service.
4. Publication/Production of materials to meet and promote reading habits among the people.
5. Public Libraries: should be established/developed on priority basis; coordinated with other Agencies; a network to be planned, enactment of public library law in all States on top priority and existing public libraries run by private organisations to be integrat- ed in the concerned areas.
6. Academic Libraries. Substantial increase in their book budgets to improve their resources and services through resource sharing, to establish Library system for Universities, Dormitory Libraries on local and regional basis, emphasise on library services, including lending facilities, active role for professional staff in providing services, larger funds for library building furniture, equipment, reprographic facilities.
7. School Libraries sufficient provision for their establishment, development and expansion should be provided.
8. Special libraries, Information Centres and System: Strong commit- ment of the parent institution to provide the required support and infrastructural facilities, need for larger budgets, Dormitory Li- braries, National Information Systems to be further expanded.
9. National Libraries: Define the aims and activities of the 4 Nation- al Libraries (NL, NML, NSL, IARI) in specific terms - One copy of each of the core research journal and other research materials should be available in the concerned
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national Library, under the Delivery of Books Act (1954) copies of documents published in Indian are deposited in these four libraries, Central Reference Library & INB - Central Reference Library be shifted/established at Delhi and work of INB assigned to it, to establish national libraries in areas such as Manuscripts and social sciences during the VII Plan. to modernise existing National Libraries.
10. National Centre for Education and Research in I&IS: to promote education and research activities of high academic standards a Nation- al Centre for Education and Research in L & IS be established on the pattern of other national level centres such as NCERT, NIEPA...., consolidation of existing library schools, to revise syllabi land include areas of Information Science and Computer Applications, con- tinuing programmes, user studies for teachers of L & IS and practicing librarians, incentives in the form of research fellowships, travel grants etc. to attract good quality students.
11. Library Associations; To provide adequate financial support on regular basis to professional bodies at National and State level to enable them discharge their responsibilities in an active manner.
Informatics and Computer Applications While explaining information as a Resource and it's role in planning, informatics is described as processes, methods and laws related to the recording, analytical synthetic processing, storage, retrieval and dissemination of (scientific) information. Informatics relates to all problems and methods affecting information. Various Information Serv- ices and Information Infrastructure in Indian context is further reviewed. computer Applications in Libraries have been described in details - with respect to areas of application, Indian scenario, giving a chronology of the major events of computer applications in Indian libraries. Advantages of on-line bibliographic data base de- veloped at National Informatics Centre (NIC) in 1980 - Information System on Electronics is given with objectives, features of the system and details of the sub-systems computerised. Further, concept and organization of the Library and Information networks in general and objectives and development of National Library and information net- works in particular are discussed. It gives information sources, developmental steps, structures and implementation aspects of the network. The report describes the new information technologies now available. Details of Facsimile, Video Conferencing, Electronic Mail, Video text/Teletext, Work Processors, Intelligent Terminals/Copiers, Micrographics, COM, Video Discs have been described.
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Further, the proposed computer networks in Indian are described in three networks
I) RINSCA - Regional Informatics Network for South and Central Asia,
II) NISNET - Computer Network for Government;
III) INDONET - Computer Network for Commercial use.
A proposal for computerisation of small medium and large types of Libraries is then given. The computer Configuration required for the project, interlinking of the library system and investment profile is described.
RECOMMENDATIONS ON INFORMATICS 1. The present library community should be exposed to the concept of computers and its usage. For this awareness and specific library oriented programmes should be conducted.
2. The library training courses should be enlarged to include computer application aspects. Emphasis should be more on information handling, organization and usage.
3. During the Seventh Plan period the goal should be to computerise most of the major Libraries. This should be carried out in a systemat- ic manner so that information exchange is possible. Certain standards with respect to hardware and software have to be evolved.
4. A Group has to be set up at the apex level to work out the plan for computerisation. The Group should also work out standard specifica- tions for hardware and software for implementation at various levels. This Group should consist of computer specialists, library scientists and educational experts. The Group should be made responsible for monitoring and evaluating the computerisation in the libraries.
5. Software development activities have to be initiated for evolving a standard software for meeting the library requirements. This should be implemented on standard indigenous systems.
6. In developing the computer applications, first importance should be given for developing a union catalogue, and a national bibliography.
7. A plan for interlinking the library systems should be worked out. It should give a detailed plan of action for developing the library network.
8. New technologies (telematics) like videotext, teletext provide ample opportunities for disseminating information at the cheapest possible manner. Such systems should be experimented with a view to study its impact on the society. it will enable to access a wide variety of data in the shortest time.
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FINANCIAL PROFILE The Working Group emphasises that Library & Information Services should be considered as a separate entity in itself and proposes a separate investment profile for the Seventh Plan. On the total invest- ment of Rs.996 crores proposed, some portion of it had to be provided in the State plans.
While arriving a the financial profile, due emphasis is given for all components of library & information services. Allocation have been made in such a way that priority areas like Public Libraries, National Libraries and Systems and Informations have been given emphasis for fast development. The details of the financial estimates are given in the table below:
Working Group of Modernisation of Library Services and
Informatics
FINANCIAL ESTIMATES FOR THE SEVENTH PLAN
(1985-90)
Rs. in Crores
1. Public Libraries 100 100
2. Academic Libraries
(i) Universities & Higher Education 150
(ii) Secondary Education 100
(iii) Elementary Education 30
(iv) Technical Education 80 360
3. Special Libraries/Information Centres
(1) Science & Technology Libraries/
information Centres 200
(ii) Government Ministries/Departmental
Libraries 30
(iii) Social Sciences and Humanities
Libraries 50 280
4. National Libraries (including Indian National
Bibliography)
(i) Existing (National Library, Calcutta
National Science Library, National
Medical Library, I.A.R.I. Library, etc.
and also Parliament Library) 50
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(ii) Proposed (National Library of Manuscripts,
National Social Science Library, Central
Reference Library & INS) 20 70
5. (i) National Information System on Science &
Technology (NISSAT) 5
(ii)National Information System in Social
Science (NISS) 5 10
6. Informatics
(i) Computerisation of Libraries 75
(ii) Modern Information Tools 30
(iii) Library Networking 45 150
7. National Institute of Library & Information
Science 5 5
8. Establishment/Strengthening of Library
Directorates/Departments 15
9. Grants to Library Associations 1
10. Publication/Production of Materials 5
Total (Rs. in crores) 996.00
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