**

Books at your door step

Ram Rattan Sharma

The main purpose of organizing a library on wheels is to get over the problem of a suitable library building as a service point. It has penetrated the city service as well as the rural service. Mobile libraries and mobile vans fitted with shelves and a small counter. There is usually accommodation for about two thousand volumes on their shelves. They can be used to serve large populations in suburbs of cities, when they may be called mobile branch libraries, populations move, extend and accumulate on account of varied causes, which may be political, economic, hygienic or environmental. It is impracticable to get a new library building constructed immediately or even to find an existing structure which may be converted into a library after certain adaptations. In thickly populated cities it is more economical to provide mobile branch library services operating from the city central library. The mobile library van stocked with books and provided with the facilities to lend them to people at every stoppage for a short duration, according to prearranged schedule of timings, can very well perform the work of lending library. The idea of a mobile branch library is not totally new or revolutionary in its nature, for in big cities it can be very often seen that motar vans are employed to deliver milk bottles and certain other commodities. In some states mobile library services were in operation for several years.
Rural library vans carrying boxes of books for delivery at the village centres have been found to be efficient, quick and economic and are still incurrent use in the rural districts the mobile library has greater potentialities for service than in urban areas. The cost of a building and it’s maintenance at every village centre may well be used instead for this type of library service. In many areas abroad mobile libraries are making a notable contribution to the development of library services in the large parts of Asia, Africa and the middle cast. In country library practice, a distinction is drawn between mobile branch libraries and travelling libraries. The mobile branch library is medium to a large vehicle with a shelf stock of 2000 books used over reasonably good roads to serve villages and hamlets.
The traveller library is a smaller vehicle with a limited stock used in the service of scattered communities and providing in some cases a house to house service in remote and upland areas. Visits are made in rural areas at weekly, fortnightly and monthly intervals. In urbans areas visits are made frequently. The duration of the mobile library visit depends on the size of community served and will vary timings. The mobile library has played a notable part in the development of the county library system. Mobile libraries provided the means, whereby a considerably large stock and a trained librarian can be taken to even the smallest and most remote communty, mobile library is the best answer at present. Fundamentally the mobile library has the same function as a mobile shop. It visits places at regular intervals to bring books to readers who live too far from a permanent branch to be able to borrow. Instead of opening various library branches one mobile library is suficient which visits many stops for two or three hours a fortnight or a week or it may stop all day at the one place, if this is justified.
Regularity and punctuality are essential and it is quite usual to find many eager readers waiting impatiently at the stop, routes are numbered and often stops are referred to by number as well. There is far more informality and personal contact with readers than in branches, particularly at stops where there are only one or two readers. At bigger stops readers treat the mobile as a social centre, a place to meet and talk to fellow villagers who they may not often see a part from these fortnightly visits. Speed is necessary and one has to get readers satisfied and out by the appointed time of leaving. The aim of the mobile libraries is to make users of non-users to create and stimulate the desire for good reading, to act as a link between mind and idea. To take effective part in the implementation of the cultural programme of the community, to provide library services to schools not having their own libraries and to participate in adult education programmes.
Among the various techniques adopted by the librarians for spreading the news of library service. The display of the material is most important. Bringing books to people by book mobile is the most efficient and effective way of circulating books for the benefit of the community. The recurring theme is that all literature should be available to all people freely, with out fear or favour, through the medium of libraries. To effect this ideal, librarians should be prepared to cooperate with other influences such as formal education, the press, the film, radio, television and other cultural agencies for the positive and intelligent use of leisure.
While concluding this article Govt is suggested to introduce mobile book service in the State of J&K, it will help in improving the literacy rate of the people particularly of women and handicapped, who have no access to libraries in rural areas, for educating them mobile book service may be introduced primarily in one or two districts of the State, if the experiment is successful , it can be introduced in other districts also, as we are marding towards knowledge society for this assess to books and journals is important and that can be through mobile libraries only in remote areas of the State.
(The author is Dy Librarian Jammu University)

Inclusives education:
The right of every disabled child

Prof. B. L. Kaul

Hardly and community in the world is without its share of physically challenged children. Earlier such children were either left to stay at home or admitted in schools meant exclusively for them. The concept of segregating non-disabled and disabled children for learning has now changed and most educators advocate inclusive education. This especially in view of the insensitivity displayed and indifference shown by most people towards persons having some disability. Votaries of inclusive education advocate disabled and non disabled children and young people learning together in ordinary pre-schools, schools, colleges and universities, with appropriate networks of support. Inclusion enables pupils to participate in the life and work of mainstream institutions to the best of their abilities, whatever their needs.
For it to be effective schools have to adapt their approach to
* the curriculum,
* teaching support,
* funding mechanisms,
* and the built environment.
There is a need of inclusive education because children whatever their disability or learning difficulty have a part to play in society after school. An early start in mainstream playgroups or nursery schools, followed by education in ordinary schools and colleges, is the best preparation for an integrated life for them. Education is a part of, not separate from the rest of children’s lives. Disabled children can, and are being educated in many mainstream schools with appropriate support. There are many different ways of achieving this.
Inclusion in education essentially needs
• Valuing all students and staff equally.
• Increasing the participation of students in and reducing their exclusion from, the cultures, curricula and communities of local schools.
• Restructuring the cultures, policies and practices in schools so that they respond to the diversity of students in the locality.
• Reducing barriers to learning and participations for all students, not only those with impairments or those who are categorized as having special educational needs.
• Learning from attempts to overcome barriers to the access and participation of particular students to make changes for the benefit of students more widely.
• Viewing the difference between students as resources to support learning, rather than as problems to be overcome.
• Acknowledging the right of students to an education in their locality.
• Improving schools for staff as well as for students.
• Emphasising the role of schools in building community and developing values, as well as in increasing achievement.
• Recognizing that inclusion in education in one aspect of inclusion in society.
Disabled children have an equal right to membership of the same groups as everybody else. A segregated education restricts that right and limits opportunities for self-fulfillment. People with disabilities or learning difficulties do not need to be separated or protected. Inclusive education is also a human rights issue.
It is essential that Headmasters and Principal of schools:-
•Listen to disabled people’s views on their experience of special school education.
• Understanding that the greatest barriers to inclusion are caused by society, not by particular medical impairments.
• Reject the medical model of disability, positively to the social model.
The benefits of inclusion are two-way but most of us haven’t experienced that yet, Segregation restricts our understanding of each other. Familiarity and tolerance reduces fear and rejection, inclusive education contributes to a greater equality of opportunities for all members of society. The benefits also include relationships and creativity that were not possible in the past.
The following steps if taken can help ensure inclusion:
* A commitment to the principle of inclusion.
* Putting inclusive education on a human rights platform.
* Ensuring redistribution of the major resources and funding as children become included; securing new funding where necessary.
* Informing parents so they make better judge decisions; taking their view much more into account than at present.
* Obtaining the child’s views with age appropriate discussions.
* Making heads, teachers, administrators and politicians aware of the issues involved and ensuring that disabled children’s education is not a lower priority that others.
We should remember that by inclusion we are not doing any favour to the disabled children but rectifying our earlier mistakes. Inclusive education is the right of every physically or mentally challenged child.
(The author is the former Principal of S.P.M.R College of Commerce Jammu)

Revolution in IT Education

Isher Singh Jasrotia

The most controversial issue and challenging considerations before the society is Information Technology in the present context of modern education. Since the independence, India has its credit remarkable achievements made in the various sectors including the education sectors. But the achievement in the IT sector was made since the era of our late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who is worth commendable for having given due consideration to the computer (IT sector) in every sectors/department. Now we can see the tremendous progress made in every department.
It is unfortunate that education in the real sense has not achieved the purpose. It is also miserable that there are no sincere efforts taken by the Government so far to upkeep the standard of education especially at the elementary level. The edcationist, and those related with the education are not sincere towards education due to one or other prudent reasons.
To make the education more liberal and to bring it at competitive level it has become a challenge factor to our new generation in the period when India is making its stand in the international forum. The field of IT sector is so broad that information Technology has been undergoing multifarious changes. In order to keep pace with the changing scenario of the modern world and to adapt and accept new jobs being created in various sector especially in the industrial sector, it is inescapable that we have to give due importance and consideration towards the computer education.
India being the largest democracy in the World and to make the education sector as one of the developing factors, there is need to give more emphasis on the computer education and this can be done despite the different religions, castes, culture, traditions, regional disparities. There are multifarious advantages of the computer technology :
Continuous learning : In addition to bookish/class room learning and through playway methods, when the child is made familiar with the computer learning, his/her interest is automatically increased when he/she is kept abreast with technical knowledge and when his/her knowledge is upplemented with latest teaching methods.
Upgrading IT skills - As there is rapid and tremendous change taking place in the IT sector, there is similar change taking place in the software. Before the introduction of the Window system computer learning there was Word star, Word star-II Word star-III, then Word star-IV and so on for data processing and similarly DBMS, Lotus Window based Excel for accounting purposes and programming languages as C, C++, Java etc. The role of computers is not limited upto the accuracy, speed storage capacity or versatility but its application has reached to the person who wants to avail of its applicability.
Connectivity and stability - People wants to stay connected with the latest information changing taking place from time to time. This is possible by remaining connected through internet and website of the various institutions and industries by keeping their own computers or by attending the website centre. This enable them to attend the networking events and seminars and monitors their business.
Development of own skills Those having professional knowledge or interested to remain in touch with computers and softwares, supplement their knowledge and skills sitting at their home and during the leisure time. This not only add to their knowledge but also enable them to get promotion in their respective job.
Introduction of computers in legal service - The Government and those associated with judiciary have planned and proposed to computerize the whole legal system. Once the computer system is introduced in the High and district courts, these will facilitate both the officials and the public in general. The judges could be able to give the decision at the appropriate level by easy access to the particular case by consulting the reference books and information on computers and similarly the people will be able to see the status of their case sitting at their home.
Computers in class-room teaching and examination - In the recent past, the students have to wait for long for result but now they can have the information of result, the movement it is declared. Besides the result, the students are being benefited in academic experience. Some students are better in examination but majority of the students have anxiety, tension, sleepness, nervousness during the examinations. Some students hesitate by asking questions to the teachers in class room teaching/learning process. There are application softwares and on line test system connected with the education which have the solution to the students problems with an instant feed back on performance and reinforcement class room learning.
The time is not far when there will be learning in the educational institutions through latest methods of teaching through computers which will built self-confidence amongst the student and increase their competency to compete themselves in various tests and competitive examination.
The scheme of scholarship has already been introduced in some of the educational institutions, to encourage the students to excel their potentials and energies. National means cum-merit scholarship scheme as introduced by the Central Government recently is a welcome measure. But if the National means cum-merit scholarship scheme is also introduced by the State/Central Government for those taking computer courses/MBA at the post graduate level, it will built up and boost the confidence of the younger generation and especially those who are unable to afford for such education at the higher level.
.

Educating childhood

Rajat Behl

An old saying says,
"Spare the rod, and spoil the child"
The child is the father of a man. The child is an abridged adult with rights which cannot be abridged. The child, however small in age he may be, is after all, a human. Either at home or school, the child is subjected to disciplinary practices. The discipline is not taught, it is learnt. If the indiscipline of the child could be complained, ascertained and responded to, where is the way to find and establish the indiscipline of the adults? Every adult feels that he is having every right to discipline the child. Do they have?
Almost all schools inflict corporal punishments on students for various reasons. It is a regular affair in thousands of schools everywhere. Children are being beaten up, caned and humiliated for silly reasons like shoe laces untied, socks not matching, not walking in a straight line, or for not doing their homework neatly. Not only this, the punishments are even more sillier. Making children stand in the sun for hours, making them raise hands, removing the shirts of boys, pinching, twisting of ears by the teachers or principal are the common punishments which continue unabated in our society.
What people don't understand is, the emotional trauma that a child has to go through after he has been humiliated in the class or school. Many belonging to the old school still think that a child cannot grow into a disciplined adult unless he has been beaten up by his teacher. But I have to tell you all that NO religion, OR law provides ANY legal authority to physically injure the children for their so-called "indiscipline" and to enforce morality and character. Excessive punishment to beings is a definite violation of personal right. Studies show that corporal punishment only leads to develop anger and resentment in children. They also suffer from low self-esteem. As a result, children grow up in depression.
A 16 year old boy Ram Abhinav, a student of class 10 in Southern City of Chennai committed suicide after allegedly being thrashed by a teacher for skipping school on his birth day. He left a note saying that he was killing himself because he did not want to go to school. In a separate incident, a fifth-standard student was allegedly caned for being a slow writer. Is this what we want? Is this what is happening?
Sadly, the answer is yes. It has become the normal routine of many teachers to thrash children savagely infront of the whole class. Not only does the child feel humiliated, but in some cases also takes up the path which Ram Abhinav took.
In Jammu, corporal punishment is being given in every other school. The only problem is that either the children and their parents are too afraid to report their plight through newspapers and other means, as they fear expulsion of their children, or the school authorities hush-up any such incident. The other, important reason is that till date no major incident like Ram Abhinav has taken place in Jammu. Is that what you're waiting for? You want an innocent soul to sacrifice himself before you take action?
Our state may be ahead in some respects, but I hate to hit you with the truth, that in this matter, its far, far behind. Other states seem to have given this burning topic more of a thought, and which has been duly appreciated. In 2002, the Andhra Pradesh government imposed a ban on corporal punishment in all educational institutions by amending Rule 122 of the Education Rules (1966). Corporal punishment was banned in Goa in 2003 (Goa Children's Act). It was prohibited in Tamil Nadu in January 2007 through an amendment of Rule 51 of the Tamil Nadu Education Rules (2003) prohibiting the infliction of mental and physical pain during "corrective" measures. In February 2004, the Calcutta High Court ruled that caning in state schools in West Bengal was unlawful and a government notification ordering immediately cessation of caning in government and privately-run schools has since been issued, and it was prohibited in Chandigarh in the 1990s. In the recent past, Himachal Pradesh government Educational Department in January 2007 extended an order banning corporal punishment in Government schools to private schools.
It is therefore, my request to all the parents in Jammu, to report any such incident to the local authorities. A better step would be if all the people unite and submit in writing to the government a request to ban corporal punishment in all educational institutions. We are ruining our children's tomorrow. If corporal punishment persists, it will only lead to degradation of our society in the coming years. So think of it as a long-term planning which will prove beneficial for the generations to come. You might not know it, but you will definitely be doing one good deed in your lives. Other states which have banned it are now resting in peace. Not only the governments, but the people as well. So come lets join hands, and change the old saying to:
"Spare the rod and save the childhood.”

Beware of ‘University Shops’

Umashankar Joshi

A great debate is on whether we should allow foreign universities to establish campuses in India. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, is in favour, while the Human Resources Development Minister, Mr. Arjun Singh, has many reservations. While it is true our university system is tottering along better than most other government-funded or associated organisations, all success in the area is not because of, but despite poor, government policy.
In May 2005, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) published a set of regulations for the entry of foreign universities into India. By 2006, government policy was reportedly moving in the other direction, with India seeking to remove education from the list of items offered by it (from opening up) in the Doha round of WTO. With HRD Minister Arjun Singh batting against the entry of foreign universities, and the Prime Minister seeking to honour commitments made to WTO, the issue has really been on a flip flop.
Regardless of what many within the university establishment or the Left feel about the issue, the very structure of knowledge, and its dissemination, has changed drastically in the past 15-years. Training, technical education, business and applied sciences, in short 'practical' subjects, have been attracting more and more students in recent times. The university system in India has the traditional infrastructure of old world universities. The new universities springing in China, for example, are geared towards catering to the altered economic reality of that country (and indeed the world). We have a good liberal education system, but somehow neither it nor the UGC is flexible enough to help train talent for tomorrow's jobs.
The entry of foreign universities will, in part, help reshape the way we think about higher education - especially its objectives. The tie-ups between small-time foreign universities and private educational institutes have already reaped rich commercial rewards, thanks to the almost insatiable demand for professional education in India, especially for programmes with a 'foreign university' tag. What we have seen so far has really been second-grade tie ups. The big ticket opportunities can happen only when universities from across the world are allowed to set up campuses in India.
Do we need more universities? Definitely, does the government have the money to do the needful? Maybe, but it doesn't seem to be letting on. The outlay for higher education is less than 0.5 per cent of the DGP. China has moved streets ahead of us in this regard. From a 1997 total of approximately 3.2 million students in regular higher education (about four per cent of the 18-22 age group), numbers reached seven million by 2000 (about 10 per cent of that group) and 16 million enrolments by 2005 (and by now close to 15 per cent), including adult and distance enrolments. By comparison, in the 17 to 23-year-old age group, only 11 per cent (or 10.5 million students) sign up for higher education in India. The corresponding figure is 31 per cent in the Philippines and 27 per cent in Malaysia.
Opening up also has another big advantage. The UK, Canada, Australia and of course the US dominate the English-speaking world in the area of higher education. Even as education globalises further in the years ahead, India can be a top education destination for students from across the world, hosting (and boasting) some of the top foreign universities.
Most universities in English-speaking countries are flush with Indian faculty. Our system obviously cannot retain our best. Add to that the 10,000 that travel overseas every year to study, spending an estimated $4 billion. With 60 per cent of the population below the age of 25, and NASSCOM and McKinsey predicting a huge shortfall of talent that can prevent us for reaching the achievable 50 per cent of the global outsourcing business worth about $ 150 billion by 2010, we have no option. To retain the best faculty, and to train the best faculty, and to train the desired numbers in quality education, we must, like much of our other sectors, open up higher to foreign competition.
But it is more important that their compliance and articulation arrangements with the institution in the countries they come from are investigated. It is also important that their accreditation within the Indian education system is verified. What worries me is that Indian students may see these institutions as 'cheaper' alternatives to gaining overseas qualifications.
When you study overseas, you gain more than just a recognised qualification; you also gain skills, knowledge and, in some cases, work experience that enables you to return to India and assist in the development of economy. You bring back greater knowledge and skills for the world market. What the foreign colleges about to set their feet in India will not offer is the earn-while-you-learn option. But when you enrol in a genuine institution abroad, Australia included, the system there assists you in applying the knowledge and skills you have learnt.
Studying onshore in Australia or the US, the UK or Ireland opens career choices for you. The opportunities in overseas education are vast, exciting and always evolving. But one must beware of unscrupulous institutions setting up shops in India. INAV

Animation as a profession

Animation, whether in films or ads, is fast catching up in public imagination. Now many Hollywood biggies are outsourcing their work to India's skilled techies.

Brinda Dasgupta reports

Nyah, what's up, doc?" This famous one-liner of Bugs Bunny has become synonymous with the much beloved rabbit leaning on a rock, munching his carrot nonchalantly, and delivering that one line that has made him a favourite with kids and adults alike all over the world. Of course, the animated rabbit is not our only favourite. The list is endless. There's Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig (with his "Ubdee ubdee ubdee, that's all folks!") of Warner Bros. Animation, and Tom and Jerry, the lovable Flintstones family, the geeky Dexter- by Hanna Barbara. Ask any toddler what he or she would like to watch on television- and the inevitable answer will come, "Cartoons!" It seems there is a never-ending fascination for them.
Indeed, animation has a different charm altogether. There is something unreal yet so fantastic about seeing drawn pictures made to move on screen. Technology has truly come a long way since the 1928 hand drawn cartoon Steamboat Willie made big waves - that was the third Mickey Mouse cartoon created yet the first one with sound. Now computer graphics and motion capture technology are being used to create effects never before dreamt of. Technology has truly come a long way.
Animation, being close to the heart of children, can also be used as a means for educating them about folklore and culture. A good example of this would be the animated retelling of the epic Ramayana. Archita Dasgupta, 14, says, "Animated serials are much more fun to watch. Sometimes epics do get boring if they are read out, and we might not understand them all that well. Animated it into a movie or a mini-series format makes it much easier for us to understand it."
Manick Sircar, son of the legendary magician P C Sircar, worked on 'Rule of Twenty-One', based on a verse 'Ekusha Aine', from Sukumar Ray's famous ' Aabol Taabol', a book of nonsense verse. His 1990 production 'Deepa and Rupa: A Fairy Tale From India' was based on a tale from Thakumar Jhuli, a collection of fantastic fables and fairytales, handed down from generation to generation in Bengal. " Sniff" based on Ray's "Gandhabichar", bagged the Golden Eagle by CINE, and 'The Woodcutter's Daughter', (based on a fable from Panchatantra) emerged as the finalist at the International Film Festival, New York
Abroad, the animation industry has created a niche for itself, with movies like Alladin, Ice Age 1 and 2, the Shrek series, the recent Ratatouille , and many more. Of course, now The Walt Disney Company, Pixar Animation Studios, and Dreamworks Animation have become household names. But we are catching up, slowly but steadily. With recent releases like Bal Ganesh and Hanuman, blockbusters both, the country's animation industry is making an impact in the country and abroad. Audiences are eagerly awaiting Jugal Hansraj's animated production "Roadside Romeo", which will have Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor lend their voices to dogs for the very first time. The film will utilise state-of-the-art computer animation technology done entirely in India , and will feature music, dances, songs and romance just like any other Yashraj Film so far. It is looking at a release in the summer of 2008. While on the subject of stars lending their voices, one must also mention that Shah Rukh Khan and his son lent their own vocal chords to the Hindi dubbing of the animated movie The Incredibles.
Of late, a lot of ad campaigns are using animation. One thinks of the Vodafone ads, featuring the stick-like boy and girl. Another such one is the Pepsodent toothbrush ad, where an animated little toothbrush tells a big toothbrush that he wants to grow up to have a tongue and cheek cleaner just like him.
The country is new to the industry, but we are learning fast, and working even better. Says R Krishnan, Global Head, Arena Animation, "Though a recent entrant in the global animation scene, demand for India's production services is increasing at a fast pace."
According to the latest NASSCOM report on Animation, the global animation market is expected to increase to 35 billion dollars by 2009 from 25 billion dollars in 2005. The size of the Indian animation market was estimated at 285 million dollars in 2005. It is expected to witness a CAGR of 35 percent from 2005-09 and increase to USD 950 million by 2009.
What are the courses offered in animation?
There are courses for every age group, ranging from highly intensive career courses, industry specific professional courses to short-term courses in highly specialised and dynamic fields of Animation, Special effects, Graphic design, Web Publishing, Web Design, Film-making, Advertising and a host of other exciting areas. Arena Animation Academy (AAA), the animation-training arm of Arena Multimedia, offers career-oriented programmes of international standards.
What are the prospects for the students ?
The animation industry in India is facing a severe shortage of manpower today especially on the quality sector. In India alone, the animation industry needs over 30,000 people, while the demand met is a mere 10 per cent of the requirement. NASSCOM predicts that India will require around 3,00,000 skilled professionals by 2008.
Another area, which is showing a lot of growth and promise, is Web Content Development. With every organisation using web extensively for promoting their brand, products & services & for customer interface, Web Content Development is emerging as a hot career option. (TWF)

Have libraries become passe

Harish Chandra Shrivastava

In a very recent welcome move reported in newspapers, the NCERT has appealed to the Union education ministry to mobilise funds so that all schools can have access to their own library collections. In a general environment of rote learning, libraries in schools and colleges can be a veritable life-line to encourage creative thinking and research interests.
In Asia, as in Europe, libraries were invariably though not always, intrinsically linked to centres of learning and monasteries. The libraries of Nalanda and Vikramsila were very much part of renowned centres of Buddhistic learning. The ravages of time, natural disasters or acts of human vandalism have destroyed libraries all over the world. Defacing books and libraries is a form of repression and when books are banned or censored, fears of fundamentalism, autocracy and fascism resurface in civilised enclaves.
In India, the first public library opened at Esplanade Row in March 1836 under the "proprietorship" of Dwarakanath Tagore who appointed Pyari Chand Mitra as the first librarian. This remained a private one-off phenomenon until the concept of the public library was officially popularised in India by the British in the mid-nineteenth century. For decades, public libraries played a crucial role in the spread of education, information and knowledge.
By 1903, when Dwarakanath's library had become almost defunct, it was given a new lease of life by Lord Curzon who bought its rights and merged it with the East India College Library and other departmental libraries to create the Imperial Library which was then opened to the pubic. Post-Independence, the Library was housed at Belvedere, the Residence of the Governors-General, and was renamed National Library.
In independent India, education featured in the State List of responsibilities as a concurrent matter. The Public Libraries Act was adopted by different states at different points of time, Tamil Nadu leading the way by incorporating it as early as 1948, followed by Andhra Pradesh in 1955. With a growing population of literate and educated citizens, the Sarva Siksha Abhijan and other literacy missions, documentary knowledge resources still remain relevant in what may today be seen as a predominantly information society. The penetration of public libraries in India is yet to reach a target of at least one government-aided library in each village and district town.
Though the Union human resources development ministry releases grants for the preservation of books from time to time, these are hardly adequate for library collections.
The cyberspace library perhaps liberates one from the Dewey classificatory system, the symmetrically arranged shelves of libraries and the physical handling of books. Surfing the virtual library yields a plethora of words and images on the computer screen that appear in rapid succession but in no predetermined linear, logical or rational structure. The text may have an authoritative source but this cannot be physically checked, or its corporeal dimension cannot be verified because one is only scrolling up and down to turn the pages on several sites that offer various authentic versions of the same text. This can become disconcerting unless one has recourse to a library where the actual book or versions of a book or manuscript have been archived and can, therefore, be read, consulted and handled in the old fashioned manner.
Unfortunately in India the computerisation of libraries and the networking is still largely inadequate. Several crores have been spent for example for building the impressive Bhasa Bhavan to house the National Library collection in Kolkata, but modernisation of services inside the library has not been instituted as yet. INAV

Virtual Library

Neetu Andotra Pradyot Gupta

Today's learner needs much more than` the facts' or access to documents and books.To cater their growing needs, technology has enabled a virtual library to deliver services like interlibrary loan, reference, e-journals and electronic reserves.
Interlibrary loan for distance learner may be desktop delivery of articles, delivery of books to distance learning facilities and patron's homes, and universal ILL partnerships between consortium libraries (Fuller 2003).It has an automated system to show video-tapes or CDs to answer many questions. With the help of web, questions from all corners can be collected and deliver answers anywhere any hour of day or night. Personal answers can in the middle of the night be provided from other time zone. It can when necessary connect enquirers to commercial services-such as the Publisher's International Linking Association or the ISI web of science-where users can purchase papers or books. Looney and Sheehan (2001) predicted that university bookstores would soon be marketing e-books which can be connected to the internet for daily, weekly or monthly corrections or updating.
Through the use of e-journals, improved knowledge from reputed universities, research labs, Govt. labs and private companies through out the world could be used by the distance learner. Helller R. Stephen outlined following fundamental difference between e-journal and traditional journal: (a) Information flow is all electronic (b) Information is delivered when available-no wait for a bound issue to be printed (c) Information is easier to correct. Errata are not `lost' the way they are in print publication (d)Reader and /or reviewer comments can be appended to the published information making the result potentially more useful.(e) Newer data and reference can also be added and appended to the original article(f) Delivery of data can be customized for each user, such as giving results in temperature, energy and length units specified by the readers (g) Reduced staffing for publisher (no mail room, fewer file cabinets, smaller building/office, smaller accounting department, smaller sales/marketing staff (h)No printing and mailing costs and staff (i) No short or long term storage and warehouse costs and staff (j)Information is delivered to user more quickly (k) Access to and use of data and manuscripts can be more accurately tracked and (l) Information is made available to the entire world-wide community at the same time (equal access-Leveling effect).
MANAGING A VIRTUAL LIBRARY
Following guidelines must be considered while planning, organizing, staffing and controlling a virtual library for distance learner
(a) Establishing a virtual library require huge technology infrastructure. Efforts should be geared to secure more private denotations and grants from state and central Govts.
(b) A virtual library's mission must be aligned with the vision of the on-campus library. For this, mission, objectives, policies, strategies, programmes including budget appropriation for developing content and services must be decided in advance.
( c) Staffing a virtual library with librarians specialized in communication
technologies. They should be periodically trained regarding hardware and
software support, maintaining level of services, upgrades and updates, and costs.
They must secure cooperation with system vendors for rendering catalog and
database function.
(d) The organisational structure of a virtual library should be open with translucent delineation of responsibilities, reporting and funding procedure.
(e) A virtual library's resources and services can be limited to the users having password, identification number or name. Its progress can be reviewed frequently through the feedback reports of library staff, stakeholders, faculty and students.
(f) Design of interface services like standard format for graphic page description, structured documents, moving pages audios, and documents delivery should be made familiar to distance learner. The content and services development of the online library should be relevant with the course curriculum of distance learner as they use the library with specific needs in mind.
(g) For ensuring access of full-text databases to distance learner, agreements between libraries with clear procedure for smooth transactions, acceptable delivery and turnaround times, reporting of statistics and problem resolution should be made.
(h) Reference services should be articulated well so that questions of distance learner are replied on twenty four hour per day.
Developing a virtual library also entails several problems. Digitalization of databases involves cost and time. Language further constrains full access till a multilingual thesaurus in major language and its automatic translation is prepared. Development of technology to screen and filter information to effectively push for distance learner would give rise to multiple legal ,financial and political issues which require peaceful settlement through international treaties.
With information continuing to increase, a virtual library may not be able to afford to provide free access, thereby restricting its use only to elite. Moreover searching and utilizing vast and complex information require a new generation of tools that are automated `self - organising knowledge on a distributed basis'. Digital library will have to play crucial role in furture.
This State too will also have to gear it self to intiaitate a Virtual Library revolution for propogating distance learning.)

Open and distance Learning

Sadaket Malik

The open and distance learning has not only provided assess to information to the needy areas, but has enriched the life of millions of rural poor inhibiting in developing countries of Asia.
The phenomenal growth of distance and open learning systems all over the world has drastically changed the educational scenario everywhere today. The conventional notions about teaching-learning are being replaced very fast by new ideas and strategies, thanks to the revolutionary changes continuously taking place in the media and communication. Since the concept of education as investment is also steadily gaining ground, even the poorest countries are slowly turning their attention to the educational needs of their respective populations in order to survive and develop. Distance education has been viewed by many as a viable strategy to achieve the national educational goals quickly and at low costs. The subsidied education at the poor steps of student has by and large bridged the gap between rural and urban, conventional and non conventional university system.
At present, there are 1300 distance and open learning institutions of different types and sizes located in 127 countries. The number of distance learners is approximately 90 million at the higher education level. It was expected to reach 90 million by 2000 AD and 120 million by 2025 AD (Dhanarajan 1996), but the available data pertains mostly to institutions funded and/or recognized by the Governments and the public bodies.
In India alone as per the latest data available in 2001, there are about 70 distance teaching units called Correspondence /Distance Education Departments located within conventional universities, 9 State Open Universities and 1 National Open University (AIU Handbook 2001). Over 1,000,000 students would be on the rolls of these institutions, and the number of State open universities would have gone up. At the school level, the National Open School offered education to about 60,000 students spread across the country (Chakraborty K, 1994). But now if offers education to more than 500,000 students at the secondary school level throughout India. Besides these, distance teaching programmes are offered by some private institutions and television companies (e.g ZED programmes by Zee TV, the management programmes offered by Jain TV, Sun TV and others). Roughly about 20 percent of the student population at the higher education level is already taken care of by the correspondence/distance / open learning systems in India.
The distance and open learning system in other countries both developed and developing, has established beyond any doubt the fact that this system is going to play a very important role in the 21st century. The success of the British Open University in the seventies obviously acted as the inspiration for policy makers in many developing countries to establish their own open universities or distance teaching units. In India, for example, the thinking of establishing an open university at the national level had been there for a decade before it actually materialized in 1985 with the establishment of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) (Parthasarthy Committee Report 1974). Although the Andhra Pradesh Open-University (now Dr B R Ambedkar Open University) was established in 1982, the blue print prepared for a full fledged open university was given some kind of practical shape only in the establishment of IGNOU which is broadly modeled after the Open University, UK. In 1974, i.e five years after the OUUK came into existence, Pakistan established the Allama Iqbal University (AIOU) at Islamabad. The AIOU has been guided by the consultants from the UK from its inception.
Upto what extent the ODL institutions can play an important role for the dessimination of the information in disadvantages areas ? The open and distance learning centres of excellence must identify the need bases and priority areas to reach the unreachable populace. The societal need based courses be introduced in their curriculum keeping in mind the language as a medium of instruction by the Institutions, as far as developing countries other then India are concerned. The Common Wealth Of Learning should adapt a mechanism to guage the need for introducing societial based courses keeping in mind the local regional language. The Govt of India should adapt such an approach that the every village might be brought under the preview of the national policies. There is a need to set up a consortium of libraries and book banks even at village level so as to achieve the slogan of democratic governance.