Date/Time
Date(s) - 22/03/2021
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Location
Cisco Webex
Categories
Libraries of the Future
By
Professor Ramesh C Gaur
Dean (Academics) & Head (Kala Nidhi Division)
Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi, India
Abstract:
Each civilization had libraries as repositories of their intellectual works for the benefit of a larger section of the society. The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, libraries of Nalanda, Takshashila and Vikramshila in India, the Library of Aristotle (Athens), Greece, Quinn Region, China are some of the most significant libraries of the ancient world. Since their inception, libraries have undergone various changes in functions and activities. These changes are always influenced by the various developments in the related fields. It may be the print revolution of 1440, emergence of desktop computers in 1980s and now Internet Revolution, every time questions have been raised about need and importance of libraries. However now it is more threatening and confusing too.
Therefore, time seems right for librarians and library policy makers to discuss about the future of libraries. To take this discussion forward, I am going to present to you glimpses of ‘Libraries of the Future’. Internet is to augment, supplement, and complement libraries. Internet is not a ‘library’, in fact, not even a digital library. There is no substitute for
libraries. Google is an excellent search engine but not a substitute for a trained professional librarian. Google provide you information using index created by a librarian.
Libraries were needed in the past, but are now needed more than ever. It’s not only about adopting and adapting to technological changes, future libraries and librarians need a complete makeover by understanding new roles, & responsibilities and designing libraries of the future as per current needs of its users. In good old days users had a compulsion to visit a physical library to fulfill their information needs. However, now it is not so, as they have choices. Instead of asking them to visit a library, library should reach out to them using various remote access and discovery technologies, social networking technologies, Open Access and other Internet resources. Now, learning is the key, so new role of libraries as a learning resource center and that of librarian as facilitator of learning need to be discussed. We may need to incorporate principles of learning science into library science.
I will be happy to engage with you for further interaction on this subject on 22nd March 2021 at 11 AM at IIAS Shimla and as well online on Cisco WebEx.