Assignment Code: MLIE-103/AST/TMA/Jul.2022-Jan.2023

Course Code: MLIE-103

Assignment Name: Academic Library System

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

1.1 Trace the growth and development of academic library system in India with special reference to the role of UGC. (10)

Ans) Donations from philanthropists were a big reason why libraries at universities that were founded in the 19th century grew and got better. For example, Premchand Roychand gave Rs. 2 lakhs to Bombay University in 1874 so that they could build a library building. The building was finished in 1878, and the library opened in February 1880. In the same way, Joy Kissan Mookherjee gave Rs. 5,000 to the Calcutta University Library in 1869 to buy books, but the library didn't open until 1873. The Madras University Library was the same way. It was given Rs. 25,619 by William Griffith, which was used to build the library in 1907. These universities were not places where people went to learn and do research. Instead, they were just places where tests were given and degrees were given. So, there was no need for a well-equipped and well-run library system.

The Commission said that universities and colleges should have good reference libraries so that students can learn to read on their own and learn from what they read. As a result of this observation and the Commission's suggestion, the Indian Universities Act was passed in 1904. This law made it clear that universities and colleges with which they were affiliated had to keep well-stocked libraries.

After India got its independence, Dr. S. Radhakrishan led a group called the University Education Commission from 1948 to 1949. This group was critical of how the university libraries were run.

The University Education Commission suggested that the libraries be given an annual grant of 6.25 percent of the total budget, or Rs. 40 per student. This would give the libraries enough money. It also suggested giving the collections a one-time grant every five years to help them grow. The Commission said that the library is the heart of the university and emphasised the need for an open access system, enough and well-trained staff, twelve hours of work a day, and so on.

After India got its independence, a lot of work went into making higher education better. The Government of India set up the University Education Commission, and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was its head. The Commission had members from the United States and the United Kingdom who were part of the same bodies. In India, the UGC was set up in December 1953 and made a legal body by an Act of the Parliament in November 1956. Its job is to keep the quality of higher education in India at a high level. Since the beginning, the UGC has been a separate organisation that gives advice. It does a lot more than just give grants to universities, as its name suggests.

2.1 Discuss the need and importance of collection care in libraries. Describe the steps to be taken for storage and care of library materials.

Ans) It's enough to get documents that are useful to clients and in line with the goals and ideas of the parent organisation. The documents should be taken care of well and used as much as possible. This is what Ranganathan's second and third laws of library services, "Every Reader His/Her Book" and "Every Book Its Reader," mean.

Storage and Care

A library should have enough space for documents to be kept. "Storage areas should have good air flow and be protected from too much dampness or dryness, direct sunlight, a lot of dust, and things that eat books, like insects, fungi, rodents, etc." The documents shouldn't be too crowded on the shelves, and there should be enough room to add new ones and keep from having to move books around too often. Even if there are spaces between the books so that more can be added later, book supports can help keep the books in order.

Rare collections and things that aren't books need different kinds of shelves. Rare collections need to be locked up behind glass doors. Palm leaf manuscripts should be spread out on shelves and, if possible, kept in rooms or halls with air conditioning. Box-shaped wooden shelves are best for gramophone records and other sound recordings. Maps need holders, and microfilms and films need containers. All the necessary care should be taken to put different materials on the shelves in the right way and to mark where they are.

People are also to blame for some of the damage and loss that happens to books and other reading materials in the library. So, this wrongdoing could be prevented if there was a service for making copies. Some more safety measures are also suggested, such as:

1. To be aware and check out everyone who comes to the library.

2. To keep an eye on readers who aren't sure.

3. No one should be able to bring personal items into the library.

4. Books that fit in our pocket and other small books should be locked up.

5. The library's windows and doors should be made both rat-proof and theft-proof. For example, a steel-mesh netwire should keep books from being thrown out of the library.

3.1 Describe the norms of UGC and AICTE staffing pattern in a University Library System. (10)

Ans) Norms of UGC and AICTE staffing pattern as follows:

Norms of UGC

Delhi University Colleges

UGC has approved the following number of staff for Delhi University day college libraries:(vide letter No. F.1-18/63(CUP) of 25.9.1964 and letter No. F.1-35/47(CU) of 18.2.1968):

1. Librarian-1

2. Professional Assistant-1

3. Library Assistant-2

4. Typist-1

5. Attendants (upto a collection of 15000 volumes)-2

6. Attendants (more than 15,000 and less than 30,000)-3

Note: If there are more than 30,000 books in the collection, 4 people are sent to help. For a college with more than 1500 students, which is called a "extended college," two more attendants are given. If a library is open for 12 hours, there are two more staff members.

In Delhi University Evening Colleges, the following staff has been sanctioned

1. Librarian-1

2. Library Assistants-2

3. Typist-1

4. Attendants (upto a collection of 15000 volumes)-2

Note:

There are 4 attendants for a collection of more than 30,000 books, and half of the attendants are in the senior scale.

If one think about it, a library at an evening college should have the same number and quality of staff as a library at a day college. But day college libraries and night college libraries are not the same. The day college and the evening college should share a library as long as they are both in the same building. This would have meant that less staff would have been needed, and the money saved could have been used to expand the library buildings, collections, and services.

Norms of AICTE

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a legal body that was set up to plan and coordinate the development of the country's technical education system. The AICTE suggests the following standards for the library of a technical institution that has a starting stock of 4,000 books and 36 journals (18 national and 18 international, which are both desirable):

1. Librarian-1

2. Assistant Librarian-1

3. Assistants-4

4.1 “INFLIBNET is a gateway to academic and research community in India”. Examine the statement.

Ans) INFLIBET, which is known as a "gateway" to India's academic and research community, is working to modernise India's university libraries and connect libraries and information centres with state-of-the-art technologies so that information resources can be used as much as possible. One of the main goals of INFLIBNET is to make it easier for academics and researchers in India to talk to each other. INFLIBNET has done a number of things in order to reach its goals. Some of the events have been put into the following categories:

Software Development

INFLIBNET has made SOUL (Software for University Libraries) software to help participating libraries automate their housekeeping tasks. This software works in the client-server mode in a Windows environment and stores and retrieves data using MS SQL server as a back-end tool. It works with international standards like MARC-21, CCF, AACR-2R, ISO-2709, and many others. So far, 450 library installations have been finished. This software has six modules: Acquisition, Catalogue, Circulation, OPAC, Serials Control, and Administration. The network feature of the software lets several university libraries work together and also gives VSAT network access to the distributed databases that are mounted at INFLIBNET. INFLIBNET has set up service centres for SOUL in Mumbai, Patiala, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Bangalore in the United States. The Centre has also made some useful software that universities can use if they ask for it. The utility software lets one search for information in union databases (OPAC), make catalogue cards, check for duplicate records, create custom software for books, theses, and serials, and convert data from Dbase, FoxPro, and text files to ISO-2709 format.

Networking of University Libraries

Universities that get money from this programme can sign up for networks like ERNET, VSNL, NICNET, and others. The centre wants to set up a network called "UGCNET." Under this, more than 170 colleges and universities could be linked. The centre has told all of the funded universities to set up LAN on their campuses, which will connect all of the departments. LAN will then be connected to WAN.

Development of Databases

INFLIBNET Centre has made Union Databases of Books, Theses, Serial Holdings, Current Serials, Experts, Research Projects, Secondary Serials/CD-ROMS, and DDC serials.

Automation of Libraries

All of the participating libraries should be computerised or automated so that they can share resources better through networking. INFLIBNET Centre is helping university libraries automate by giving them help. Up until 1999-2000, grants for automation were given to 142 university libraries, and it was decided that the rest of the libraries would get grants by the end of the 9th Five Year Plan. The libraries that helped pay for INFLIBNET were supposed to sign an MOU. For automation, the SOUL software has been put in 450 libraries.

5.0 Write short notes on any two of the following: (10)

(a) Duties of a university librarian

Ans) Paul Buck has said that quality education in universities is impossible without a quality library; quality faculty is also impossible without a quality library; and keeping free access to ideas is impossible without a quality library. He put the functions of a university library under four categories: resources, information retrieval, coordination, and staff skills. He says that they are all about being "responsive" to what the university needs. Nigel Cox breaks down the roles of a university library into five categories:

1. Control: which includes buying, getting in, processing, and putting things away.

2. Archive: putting things together.

3. Service: which means giving the readers professional advice.

4. Cooperation: connecting the local library network to the national library network.

5. Research and development: improving the way the library works.

So, the goal of university libraries is to help people learn more about truth, enlightenment, excellence, etc. Srivastava and Verma say that the university library "serves the adult scholarship" to sum up what it does.

(b) Impact of IT on academic library functions

Ans) Information science and technology have become important in the 21st century. Because computer technology is getting better and space communication is getting better quickly, new information and advanced knowledge are spreading around the world and getting into every part of it. Knowledge is power; if you can get and use information well, you will succeed, and so will your country and society. The Internet has become a huge treasure trove with lots of different kinds of information, like databases, pictures, movies, multimedia, interactive displays, etc. Many academic and research institutions and top universities around the world change their own homepages to show their educational goals, academic activities, excellent training programmes, and new and important research results. Because the information environment is always changing, academic libraries have to change how they work from time to time. Change is happening slowly in school and college libraries, but university libraries, with the help of INFLIBNET, an Inter-University Center of the University Grants Commission, have made steady progress in using IT for housekeeping and finding information.