Friday, May 23, 2008

Empathy in Public Librarianship / Kalyane V L and Rajashekhar Devarai


EMPATHY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIANSHIP:
A SUBJECTIVE AND QUALITATIVE
ANALYSIS
v. L. Kalyane
and
Rajashekhar S. Devarai

[Problems and prospects of public librarianship are discussed
from a personalised. human. subjective and critical point of
view in this paper. It is suggested to both Librarian and public
to empathise for each others benefits and get prepared to step
into the year 2)01. It is hypothesi sed that empathy in public
librarianship may lead towards paving way for a fullfledged
library information profession and an effective information
literate society.]

Key Words :
Empathy; Public Ubrarianship; Ubrarianship; Profession
Empathy:

Empathy is a stable approving attitude of one person
towards other people, groups or socjal phenomena that takes the
form of affability I goodwill, and admiration and stimulates
communication* reciprocal att9ntion and mutual help. Sympathy
normally arises on the basis of common views, values, interests,
anq moral ideals. In interpersonal relations, sympathy is a factor
of human integration and maintenance of psychological comfort.
Rapport is designated as close interpersonal relations based on a
high degree of community of thoughts, interests and feelings.
Empathy:
The term 'empathy' was introduced by Edward Tichener,
who combined in it various similar ideas about sympathy and.
Theodor Lipps' concept of imaginative entry into another
person's feelings. The following specific forms of empathy are
distinguished: common emotional experience, i.e., experiencing
1.
2.
Scientific Officer, SO (Publication), Library and Information
Services Division, BARC, Trombay, Bombay-400085.
Assistant Librarian, Directorate of Oilseeds Research, RaJendranagar,
Hyderabad 500 030. India
K-31
-
v. L. KALYANE AND RAJASHEKHAR S DEvARAI
by an individual of the same emotional states as those experienced
by another person by identifying oneself with him, and
sy~~athy, i e., emotions experienced by an individual and
elicited by another person's feelings. An important characteristic
of e~pathy which distinguishes it from other forms of comprehension
(taking roles, decentration, etc.) is its weakl'l developed
reflexive aspect, or closure within immediate emotional experience.
Empathic abilities of individuals were found to grow with
greater life experience. Empathy is actualised more readily when
individuals' behavioural and emotional responses are similar, and
also in highly anxious. individuals. In a system of interpersonal
relations characteristic of a developed collective, the subject of
empathy develops a stand of active interference designed to
eliminate frustrations in other members of the collective.
An attempt is made in this paper to apply concept of
empathy in public librarianship towards reading public.
Every man is a unique being, Along with the features and
characteristics shared with other people i.e., the universal ones,
but only gradually, with the help of adults and through his own
activity, becomes an individual through socialisation. As for the
adults influence" the decisive role in this process is played by
education w~ich is purposeful, planned, professional and institutionalized
Besides Jhe educationar influences, there are also
environmental agencies affecting the developing individual.
These are external influences However, the development of the
individualism is also" influenced by its own self inner activity,
throtJgh individual characteristics and the way external influences
are interpreted, which- results in internal attitudes affecting the
way further, and external influences are understood.
Worlds of Knowledge
Popper ( 1972) characterized three "worlds" of knowledge :
we can call the physical world (world 1); the wor1d of our
.conscious experiences ( world 2) and the world of the logical
contents of books, libraries, computer memories, and such like
88 I ndian J our, Inf. Lib. & Sac.
EMPATHY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIANSitip
(world 3). It can readily be seen that popper's world 3 is the
province of the librarian; moreover, librarians act as intermediaries
between the documents comprising world 3 and .the information
needs of their patrons, needs that Popper would characterise as
belonging to world 2, or the world of thought processes. Using
Popper's typology, one can say that information seeking behaviour
is an- attempt to incorporate world 3 objects, i. e., products of
thought, into world 2 states of mind, i e., thought proccsses.
Furthermore, if the information seeker is a scholar, information or
knowledge retrieved from world documents may be used in the
creation of new knowledge that when recorded, published,
acquired. and stoied, .will in turn become part of Popper's world
3~ Librarians are responsible for acquiring. guarding, grading,
organising and keeping humanity's inteflectual and cultural
heritage for continuous usage of generations to follow.
Needs:
Taylor (1968) distinguished between four levels of needs
giving rise to the inquiries put by the user :
1. Visceral need, which is the vague sense of a gap in
knowledge and is expressed only in terms of vague dissatisfaction.
2. Conscious need, which is mental description of an ill-
'defined area of indecision. 3. F (jrmalized need, where the user
has a better appreciation of the ambiguities and can give a more
precise and formalised statement of his question. 4. CQmpromised
need, where the user reformulates his need in terms of the
capabilities of the source.
Need is tricky to define. It may sometimes be expressed
in demands and then in circulation statistics. But if it remains
unexpressed, then the responsibility falls upon the librarian to
know what is needed by public, common man. The responsibility
assumed here by the librarian towards his client is
tremendous,
The task of assessment of information needs of common
man is a tedious job as the category is so heterogenous a group.
V7, NI-2, J anuary-J une 1994 89
v. L. KALYANE AND RAJASHEKHAR S DEAVRAI
No agency is working towards this end. Though; Radio, Films,
Audio & Video cassettes carry lot of information value, they are
being used more and more for entertainment by the common
man. Due to information explosion in every endeavour of human
life and due to availability of alternative sources of information
in different forms. it has become highly impossible for the
common man to take his own decisions. Only a library,
information professional can come to his rescue either by adding
economic value to information or by governmental provision of
information in a large scale (Devarai and Damodaram, 1993).
Australian Library Journal of September, 1964, reported the
following principles as basic and distinctive of the obligations
and responsibilities of a librarian within a democratic
community:
1. The Librarian has a responsibility to keep open the
channels of communication at tlis disposal so that he may
discover and serve the needs and interests of his community.
2. Having regard to his resources, to the special needs of
his locality and the purpose of his library the librarian should
not, in the acquisition and use of library material, exercise
discrimination against an author or a reader on grounds of race,
sex, religion or political affiliation.
3. The function of the Librarian is to promote reading
and to cater for interest in all facets of knowledge, literature and
contermporary issues, including those of a controversial nature,
but not to promote or ;;uppress particular ideas and beliefs.
4. The selection of books for libraries is not a form of
censorship. It presumes the right of the reader to read books
widely and to form his own judgement, and it is designed to
achieve this.
5. The librarian should resist attempts by individuals or
organised groups within the community to determine what
library materials are to be or not to be, available to the users of
the library.
90 Indian Jour. Inf. Lib. ~ Soc.
EMPA Tgy IN PUBL[C LIBRARIANSHTP
6. The Librarian must obey the laws relating to books
and libraries but it the laws or their administration conflict with
the principles put forward in this statement he should be free to
move for the amendment of these laws (statement of principles
on freedom to read, 1964).
To enhance usage and readership of the library, Librarian
should on a continuous basis take up the work of research into
the needs and interests of his community. Need based
collection becomes meaningful and hence -leads to more usage
and participation. librarians should come out with objective
methodologies of book selection by which they can keep themselves
away from discrimination against an author or a reader on
grounds of race, religion or political affiliation. As mentioned
above at point 3, Librarian should not use..his judgement on
whether or not people should read particular titles. Let people
or rather the actual readers and members of the library decide
what they actually want to read in the Library.
The public library serves a geographic/political region
usually quite diverse in constituency. This is the source of much
difficulty in collection development. Should the comm.unitY to
b~ given exactly what it asks for ? What if different segments of
the same community are at odds in what they demand of the
library ? It may be impossible to buy everything "they'l want
assuming it is possible to determine what it is. Community protiling"
became a :-popular method of determining the order to
predict its needs and wants. Decisions still must be made concerning
the priorites whenever there is a conflict. Will only the
loudest requests be heard ? What about those who are unable
to attend the library or those who are unaware of all the services
available to them ? Reflecting the predominent community, views
might have no room for the expression of minority intests. The
selection of each alternate must reduce the overall depth to
which the predominant view can be explored or some minority
views may be edged out completely Society will pay for what
it needs and that library budgets have been restrained because
V7. Nl-2. January-June 1994 91
V. L. KAL y ANE AND RAJASHEKHAR S DEV ARAI
libraries have not been ke"eprng abreast of society's needs for
information. The problem is of librarian and the members
(citizens) to understand each other and to assume roles in empathy.
This could be one of the best theoretical models by which
best results could be expected. Librarians should educate people
about what they can do to help people for their welfare. He has
to educate people as to how he can participate in the very process
of development and struggle for existence by his tools and
techniques of acquiring and organising information. The phenomenon
of sociological determinism should prevail both over the
librarian and the public so that they start realising their mutual
dependence for survival. Hov"ever, very little is known of users
needs for information, of rhe uses of library information, 'of the
characteristics of users.
Public Library:
Comte (1977) gives us two definitions of the public
library. The institutional definition corresponds to the legal
conception of the latin countrie.;, where those institutions dependent
upon adm!nistrative authorities are qualified as "public".
The functional definition is linked to the Anglo-American tradition
of the "Public Library" and refers to any library "whatevar
its origin or legal status, working towards the creation of a
reading public. "Here it is no longer a question of public
libraries but of libraries for the reading public where the main
objective is giving immediate and direGt service to all the members
of a given community whatever, their educationai intellectual or
cultural level, and irrespective of ethnic group, religion, philosophic
or political conviction (wiele, 1991 ).
From the fifties onwards, modern public libraries were set
up almost everywhere chaiacterised by: 1. an educational function,
2. a cultural function and 3. the information function.
Libraries should strengthen the process of negating the tenden..
cies of cultural monism by their vast stoie house of information
and knowledge "systems. Public libraries alone can reach everyone
In the dissemination of information. as they are -open for
.92 Ind.ian Juur. Inf. Lit..& Soc~
EMPA.THY IN PUBLIC LlBRARTANSHIP
common man or for that matter anyone and everyone. The
future status and position of librarians and their practice depends
on how keenly and sincerely they address and focus themselves
on the information needs of common man (Devarai and Damodarm,
1993). The Delhi Public library, which was opened in 1951 with
the supcort of UNESCO and of the Indian Government, was- the
first modern public library in India. III the developing countries
emphasis is on the spread of literacy and primary education. No
public library can be considered satisfactory, unless it provides
facilities for children's lending reference and local history department.
These four departments involve the handling of all types
of library material, .a~dthe staff are called upon to discharge
some of the responsibilities for the flow of.; information which
are associated with the general librarian, documentation officer .
archivist and information officer .
Public Library Mission Statement (PLMS)
American Library association ( 1979) issued the public
library mission statement which is an important document in
redefining the library and librarian's function in the overall information
process. It outlines access not just as subject a-ccess but
also from myriad of directions aliowing not only the facts but
also the wisdom in the record to be retrieved. The agenry (i. e.
the library) would facilitate cross connections within the record,
among many disciplines, literacy forms, and period of history.
The. catalogue as the mechanism of access has an even more
demanding job to perform. The indexer is to indicate whatev:er
about a book is significant representative, and relevant, shows
its character, wisdom or subject usefulness. Access to information
has evolved into access to wisdom. Whereas any pocket of
facts and data can be considered information, it requires judgement
to deterime what is wisdom. This is a call for many steps
beyond current professional responsibility. Librarians should
build up their plofessional knowledge base and value system in
such a way that they deal with ease the problems of clash of
moralities between the right to privacy, the need to know and
V7 r ,,~1-2, J anuar.v' .J une 1994 93
V. L. KALYANE AND RAJASHEKHAR S DEVARAI
the freedom of access to information explained by Chipman
(1990). Yet as if in compensation for the increased load the
librarian must bear the long-term goal of comprehensiveness in
collection development is set to rest. The library is to house
"authentic information" of sound factual authority, and to help
people to separate ecological truth from the accel6rating currents
of propaganda and special interest. In light of the information
professional's special position and abilities, his or her responstbi-
Hties are expanded officially through the mission statement to
include erasure of unimportant things. What is preserved is that
which is significant relevant and representative. These are
intriguing words because they bank steeply against the open
doo~ nondiscriminating trend of the library. Significant,
representative and relevant all require selectivity and alter the
overall balance of the collection. A minority view may be
significant for example in its opposition to the main view or in
being indicative of a new trend. The Librarian is mediator and
populariser respectful of the total record but selecting the best
on every side of an issue. Though at no time is the Librarian
released from the responsibility of fair treatment to all difference
in view, yet he is released from the troublesome notion that (5)
he must be neutral.
.~
The responsibility of Librarians i~ .greater than ever before,
because in order to select representative' portions of the overall
picture of knowledge, they must be aware of the totalityof
universe of knovv'ledge.
The Public Library Mission Statement can be seen as a big
,step towards the resolution of value conflicts in the profession
and specifically in the task of collection development. Considerably
more thought must now be given to establishing a firm
professional value base. This measure is not only essential to
our decision making process but also provides a firm stand from
which to assess equitably the fair representation of the diverse
value systems lying for expression in our collections. Other value
~4 Inaian Jour. lnf. Lib~ &.Soc.
EMPATHY IN PUBLfC LIBRARIANSHIP
systems can be represented fairly if vv'e are open in our understanding
of our non professional values.
The Librarian cannot merely be an informer but naturally
is an educator as well. An educator must evaluate and make
decisions answayed by community interest. Contrary to the se.fimage
as neutral transmitter' the Librarian/educator must use
some independent system of value upon which to base decisions.
Desire for neutrality yet necessity for evaluation causes tension
between practice and policy decisions.
Case ( 1984) says, "The Library clinging to supposedly
objective and autf1oritative materials is boring and has an
artificially limited clientele. Libraries can be and should be
controversial, inspiring, and infuriating",
The American Eibrary Association ( 1985) announced goars
that include "ameliorating or solving the criticar problems of
society. This means making decisions regarding the revel of the
Ubrary's invorvement in particurar social causes. rntense
professionar debate revolves around the major themes of sociar
responsibirity. The outcome affects the bias with which
Librarians decide which views are important for their Library
corrections. Pr ins ( 1991) reported that the generar pubric is
unaware of the sociar responsibirities of ribraries for instance
regarding the individuars rights of access to information, therefore,
the status of the profession is low. Users of ribraries have
row expectations as to the quality of the services of Libraries
resurting in a row statu s of the profession. There is a severe
rack of professionar readership. And if there is, it is dependent
on persons instead of 'Professionar culture'. Wirson ( 1988)
\A.hife examining the reasons for the low profire of libraries and
low expectation of the community of its library service suggests
fer low librarians to participate activery in local government
programmes and in decision making.
Access to information must be unimpeded and that its
flow should be assured. There can be no denial of this
V7 J NI -ZJcl anuary-J 'tIne 1994 ')5
Vo Lo KAt VANE AND RAJASHEKEAR S DEVARAI
individual opportunity in a truly free societY, no withholding of
information whether by intent or by dereliction in provision.
Censorship :
Censorship-the purposeful, systematic denial of access
to certain works or ideas-is repugnant to Librarianship. To be
meaningful, librarians' vigilance against censorship can embrace
even discomforting ideas.
Censorship is on the rise across the country, in the form
of challenges and subsequent removal of books from Library
shelves, as well as throughout the world in more explosive
forms, such as the Salman Rushdie death threat. But there also
are more subtle forms of censorship involving the erection of
barriers to access that stem the free flow of ideas and their
Incorporation, for better or worse, by individuals.
The relationship of censorship and librarians probably is
clearest and most immediate to those whose responsibilities lie
in collection development, especially in selection of materials.
Hence, the tensions inherent among conflicting professional
goals and idea's that ask librarians to be simultaneously neutral
and proactive, objective and subjective.
In making c:hoices, a librarian fails to select a great many
books. He is bound by budget and space restraints to do so.
This is not an act of cencorship in and of' itself. It is censorship
only when there is a celiberate attempt to suppress alternate
views. Censorship can be taken to mean removal of a book from
the Library's collection; locking it away in a vault for safekee~
ping; failure to select it f.r professionally unjustifiable reasons;
or hiding access to it through incomplete or wrong classification
or poor indexing or poor shelving.
Although the Library profession uphord strongly' the principle
of free expression, sometimes difficulties arise when
individuals or groups of individuals within the profession do not
wish to endorse the views expressed in the books they select.
96 Indian Jour. Inf. Lib. & Soc
EMPATHY IN PUBLIC LIBRARrANSHTP
The Freedom to Read Foundation, an organization techn ically
sQparate yet associated with the Intellectual Freedom Committee
of the American Library Association, produce d the Freedom to
Read Statement (.American library Association, 1953). The most
relevant of its statements are: .'Publishers, librarians, and bookselrers
do not need to endorse every idea or presentation
contained in the books they make available. It would confrict
with the public interest for them to establish their own
political, moral, or aesthetic views as the sole standard for
determining what books should be published or circulated.
Access to Fiction Literature.
For some reason, Librarians who would stronglyoppose.
denying access to a work of literature because its content being
controversial are nevertheless indifferent about having the same
work made content accessible, forgetting perhaps that inade.
quate or incomplete indexing can be as much of a bar to access
suppression. If a user who wants to find fictional depictions of
insanity cannot do so due to lack of subject access, has not
access been denied as effectively as if the material had been
censored ? Similarly, if a user knows only that he would like
tO read a novel "about" a given subject, how will name8and.
title access help that user.
In a recent article about the biblio;Jraphic control of nonbook
materials, Richard Smiraglia describes Patrick Wilson's
conceptual framework for bibliographic control and contends that
it can be seen as the basis for a theoretical construct. Of Wilson,
Smiraglia (1987) writes: He suggests the existence of two
domains of bibliographic control, which he refers to as descriptive
and exploitative. Descriptive control is used to organise a bodyof
bibliographic objects. Exploitative control is the ability to make
the best possible use of a body of knowledge. Wilson sees
exploitative control as the superior, if unattainable, of his "two
kinds of power"; descriptive control as the inferior, if more
readily available.
V7, NI-Z, J anu1ry .June 199'f 97
v. L. KAL y ANE AND RAJASHEKHAR S DEV ARAI
Exploitative control is what users need. Descriptive control
is what we have in our libraries to guide them. The various
orderings of the objects provide pathways to understanding the
relationships among the works they contain, thus offering the
user some opportunities to make the best possible use of a body
of knowledge.
Extending Smiraglia's thesis to fictional materials, one can
argue that names, title and single generic access for multigeneric
works do not constitute appropriate descriptive control for fiction.
Without enhanced catalog access, what Smiraglia terms the
user's "Pathway" to works of the imagination is partially
obscured, with name, title and sometimes genre as the only
signposts. Name and title access, though immensely valuable,
especially to those already knowledgeable about literature, is
simply not adequate for the non-experts needs. For example, a
reader interested in fictional works "about" the British Raj might
easily find works such as the 'Raj Quartet', or even' A passage
to India', whose title gives clues to their common subject, but
without topical access, the same reader would probably not know
that the novel 'Staying On', the Comic Sequel or ironic postscript
to scott's monumental tetralogy # also- geals with the conse.
quences of British rule in India. Finally, it does not say much for
present day bibljographic control practices that public library
users should have to depend on a marketing device of the
publishing industry, namely a book. dust jacket, to gain
descriptive control of fiction, while users of academic libraries,
fiction collections do not even have dust jackets to guide them.
It must be remembered, however, that in order to be
retrieved from documents and used in the creation of new know~
ledge, information has to be found, but unless fiction is indexed
according to topical content, as non-fiction is, information
contained in it may remain forever undiscovered.
If enhanced catalogue access to fiction were provided,
however the objectives of the subject catalogue as enumerated
by Cutter, would at last be achieved. At the same time, "the
Indian Jour. Inf. Lib. & Soc.
98
EMP A THY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIANSHIP
convenience of the public". whose members often approach
fiction by topic, would truly be served. Whether used for escape,
entertainment, experience or enlightenment, as a source of
pleasure, knowledge, information, or art, fiction merits more
comprehensive access than it is presently accorded in our
libraries, and more particularly in public libraries.
Document Supply:
Document supply is a basic, although comparatively small
part of the freedom of access to information to which librarians
and information scientists are so dedicated. The fact that a
particular document is. not available in a given geographical area
should not prevent the. person wanting it from obtaining it. This
is part of the basrc work of the International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions (IFLA) programme for Universal
Availabilityof Publications (Line, 1978).
Objective Neutralism
Librarianship is a phiIasaphicalIy independen~ profession,
as far as librarians disaffirm explicitly allegiance with any particular
interest group, so as to serve all groups equally. .Berninghausen
(1979), suggested that professional statements are geared
towards developing a "view of the librarian as a neutral professional
functioning in a neutral institution. The Latent Social
Id'entities* of Librarians (e.g., sex, religion and ethic identifications
etc.) hinder this process of objective nutralism. As average
social beings Librarians confirm themselves to the peoples'
conception (society) and rating of themselves and that they find
it increasingly difficult to come out of their Looking Glass
Selves*"{: where by theyare pictured in a low social profile.
* Concept discussed by Sociologist A. W. Gouldner for conveying a
social identification or role held by a member of a formal organisation
that is officially regarded as irrelevant to the organisation but
which nevertheless influences the organisations functioning.
"* "* Concept developed by C. H. Cooley in his work "Human nature
and the Social Order -1902".
V7, Nl-2' January-June 1994 99
V. L. KAL y ANE AND RAJASHEKHAR S DEV ARAI
However, Miller (1955) had expressed the hope that "objective"
views of an issue should be collected: "We can and must see
that the public is provided with unbaised material on the
subject". The necessary alternative, however, is to priorotise
between all the choices, to decide what merits a place.
Public Libraries for All =
In democratic societies governments are obliged to
provide access of information to all of their citizens throughout
the world through a network of libraries. The year 2001 will be
characterised by:
1
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
demand by people for a library information centre at their
clan, tribe, colony, village, street and so on;
demand by people for access to information from wherever
it is available;
demand by people to get the desired information in a
desired form and format instantaneously;
demand by people to expect librarians active involvement
in the generation of diverse tailor made information
products;
demand by people to the'library information professionals
to participate actively in development programmes as an
"
active participant;
People expectation of librarians 10 assume the roles of
knowledge system experts and knowledge engineers;
a sitllation of information sociery wherein library information
professionals scale high in their social profiles;
a situation of helplessness and a state of chaos on the
part of general and specialist people in the wake of
tremendous information being generated every moment;
a stage of development wherein the librarian has to retain
best of his conventional knowledge (Library techniques
and procedures) and the best of contemporary information
sciences;
jOO Indian Jour Jnf. Lib. & Sac.
EMPA THY ]N PUBLIC LIBRAR I ANSIiiP
10.
1;c1
12.
a- ~tage of development wherein information is consolidated
and packaged into different levels of understanding
and technicality sold out for money like any other goods,
in the market;
a'stage of development wherein in the absence of relevant
information living in the year 2001 i.e. in an information
society becomes practically impossible;
a point 1 stage ot take off for library profession by proving
their social relevance, necessity and-indispensibility.
Hence the year 2001 is full of hopes for the Librarians.
Librarians have to shoulder the greatest of the responsibilities to
enter into the 21 st ceh~t1Jry. The secret of the success lies in
servicing and reachIng anyone and everyone in society.
"
Librarians should make their presence felt in every nook and
corner of the ~Iobe, The long wish of the librarians to acquire
the status of a fullfledged profession remains a dream if we
enter into the year 2001 can information society) unprepared. It
is a time for every Librarian to make a bit of personal sacrifice
both in cash and kind. This is the only way by which Librarians
can convince people and clients that the year 2001 will be an
information society and that V'.'ithout a minimum level of information
living becomes horrible. Librarians have to convince
people and make them understand the vital importance of informati.
on and libraries. Librarians should take up a mass campaign
for people regarding awareness about information and libraries.
Librarians should pledge to educate people and make them
information literate before entering into the year 2001.
.Public Library movement should become a peoples movement.
As long as people don't reali se the importance of
information and the importance of being literate to use
information, public library movement would not become a people's
mov;ement. Here..lies the role--of the" librarians to make, people
realise,the.importance of being literate and the importance of
us~"g information fot culture, development and entertainment. A
day should come when people realise that without information
V7. N-I-Z.Jan'tIary-June 1994 101
v. L. KALYANE AND RAJASHEKHAR S DEVARAI
in-the form of a book, casette or in the form of a radio or a T. V.
programme, living a meaningful and purposeful life is impossible.
This dream could be realised only by having a library information
centre at every street, village, town and city and in every slum
and colony and moholla. It is enough if Librarians convince the
general public that they need information for their own development
and welfare. Once they get convinced the problem" is
solved for ever. Public library movement becomes a peoples
movement. People will come forward to pay for library services
in the form of tax and they will not allow any form of diversion
of funds from library head to some other heads. That day should
be marked in golden letters for Library and information profession.
From that day onwards there will be no necessity of
looking back for library and information professionals. People
themselves will come forward to recognise the services of
librarians by way of according the status, salary and recognition
long due to them.
EMPATHISE
The future status and position 01 librarians and their
practice dep&nds on how keenly' and si ncerely they address and
focus themselves on the information needs of common man.
..
Professiologists are. still not' convinced ~bout the fullfledged
status of Librarianship as a professional calling (Devarai and
Damodarm, 1993). Out of the two systematic studies/research
done on library profession in India, one considers I ibrary science
to be a semi-profession (Jaiswal, 1990) and the other observes
it to be a fast developing profession (Chopra, 1986). The
reasons for the low profile libraries and librarianship are many.
The future is hopeful in the wake of new support of information
technologies for accelerating library services.
All these days people have suffered a lot allover the world
in the absence of a well developed up-to-date library service
and secondly in absence of proper support, patronage and
102 Indian J our. Inf. Lib. ~ Sac.
EMP A THY IN PUBLIC LmRARIANSHlP
recognition of public in general. Alas t Even to this date
somebody has to awaken them and make them understand that
they had undergone a lot of suffering1.
Librarians are still not clear as to why people don't accord
due status and recognise their servjces. And people are still not
clear about the potentials of information and to what the
Ubrarian is upto and as to why he needs more and more of their
attention, money, recognition and status. Answer lies not in
accusing each other. Empathy is the only answer. Both
Librarians and people have to empathise. The sooner they do it,
the better. This can. lead them towards unlimited possibilities of
understanding each" other, paving way for a healthier Library
Information Profession and a better library.;.information service to
public.
REFERENCES:
I.
2.
3.
American Library Association (1953). Freedom to Read, Westchester
Conference, ALA and American Book of Publishers Council.
American Library Association (1979). Public Library Association,
Goals, Guideline~ and Standards Committee, The Public Library
Mission Statement and its imperatives for service, Chicago.
American Library Association (1985). Goals and Priorities, ALA
Handbook of Organization. Chicago. p. 203.
Berninghausen (D.K.) (1979). Intellectual Freedom in Librarianship :
Advances and Retreats, Advances in Librarianship. V 9. New York :
Academic, p.23.
4.
Case (P). (1984). Libraries shoqld be controversial! Reprinted in
Librarians for Nuclear Arms Control Almanac, 1 : 2.
5.
Chipman (Lauchlan). (1990). Access to information: social and
political issues. Austr61ian Library Journal, 39 (4) : 340-349.
6.
Chopra. (H. R.). (1986). Study of Librarianship as a profession in
India. P. 85-92. Iff Library and Information Science in India: Current
trends in India: Prof. S. N. Srivasta.va Festschrift Vol. edited by
Pavan K. Gupta & Usha Pavan. Jaipur, RBSA.
7.
Comte, (H). (1977). Les Bibliotheques publiques en France, Presses dB
L' ENSB.
8.
V7 , NI-2, eTa nuary-J un~ 1994 103
v. L. KAL y ANE AND F-AJASH~KHAR S DEV ARAI
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Deva1"ai, (R, S.) and Damodaram. (T). (1993). Information for the
common man and the future of Librarlanship : a critical analysis.
Indian Journal of Information, Library and Society ,6 (1-2). P. 84-92.
Hayes, (S). (1992). Enhanced catalogue Access to Fiction, A Prelimina1'
Y Study, Library Resources & Technical Services, 3G (4) : 441-459.
Intner, (S. S.). (1984). Censorship in Indexing, The Indexer 14 : 105-
108.
Jaiswal, (P. K.). 1990. Librarianship and bureaucratic organisation
: a study in the sociology of Library profession in India.
New Delhi: Co
Line, (M. B.). (1978). UAP aI\d inter library lending, IFLA Journal.
4 (2) : 118-121.
Miner, (M). (1955). Citizens too: Librarians as Disseminators and
Guardians of Knowledge Must Help Communities Meet their
problems, Library Journal, 80 : 834.
Popper, (K. R.). (1972). Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary
Approach, London: Clavendon, p. 74.
Prins, (H). (1991) Status, image and reputation of Librarianship s
results of an empirical study, J. of Lib & Inf. Sci.16 (1), 11-24.
Smiraglia. (R). (1987) Bibliographic Control Theory and Nonbook
Materials,'. in Policy and Practice in Bibliographic control of Nonbook
Media, Chicago: Americ.an Library Assn., p. 11.
Taylor, (R. S.). (1968). Question-negotiation and information seeking
in Libraries. Colle~e & Research Libraries, 29, 178-194.
Wiele, (Nic Van de). (1991). Public Libr.aries, J. of Lib. & Inf. Sci.
16 (1) : 48-59.
Wilson, (Gray). (1988). People, puzzles and public libraries :
challenges facing public libraries. Australian Public Libraries and
Information Services 1 (3) : 186-194.
20.
.
104 Indian Jour. Inf. Lib~ & Sac.

______________________________________
image courtesy : aci library


Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. gbgv...1816....

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Librarianship and the professional model : a sociological tutorial and critique / Rajashekhar Devarai and LSRCV Ramesh.







Devarai,R.S. and Ramesh, L.S.R.C.V.1999. Librarianship and the Professional Model : A Sociological tutorial and critique. Library Science with a slant to Documentation and
Information Studies
. Vol. 36, No.3, 1999.


An attempt is made in this paper to critically highlight some of the

sociological issues concerning
Librarianship (LIS) as a profession. Different theoretical

formulations are discussed.
Importance of the studies of sociology of occupations and

professions for librarians is
emphasized. Useful suggestions are offered towards

achievement of fulfledged status of
Librarianship (LIS) as a profession.

_______________________

Note : To access full text of the paper please click on

the active link above.

PICTURE COURTESY : VAZA - LIBRARIAN

________________

Librarianship is a noble profession.

lotus5673@yahoo.co.in

1816gbgv


Round The Clock Librarianship / Rajashekhar Devarai and V.L.Kalyane

Round the clock librarianship

Devarai, Rajashekhar S. and Kalyane, V. L. (1995) Round the clock librarianship, in Raju, A. A. N. and Ramaiah, L. S. and Laxman Rao, N. and Prafulla Chandra, T. V., Eds. New vistas in library and information science : papers in honour of Professor G.V.S.L. Narasimha Raju, pp. 142-149. Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

Abstract :

The concept of Round the Clock Librarianship (ROCLOLIB) is one such opportunity of terminal and critical importance to librarians, which helps people (clients) in general and reassures them about the professional commitment and devotedness of librarians. Although the concept is old, it is an exercise here to analyse its importance for the overall image and status of the practice/occupation. The chapter discusses the proposal of opening Libraries for 24 Hours. It also points out the reasons for the ROCLOLIB like: provision of information as a beginning of solution of an individual/group problem, readership/usership of library resources, identification of the profession among society, librarian as a scholar, residential librarianship, emergency librarianship, accessibility of information as a fundamental right, and overall it is a dream, a slogan, and a movement.
________________________________________________________________

Professions are providing the required manpower forindusnialisation and development for both the developing andthe developed countries. Industrialising societies areprofessionalising. (Goode, 1960) Professions offer best of services,high level of commitment for public welfare, a high level oftechnical/scientific expertise. Public' s recognition of a profession andits privileges depend on what critical areas/tasks of the society theprofession is involved in. Professionals believe that the more theyshow their efficiency, service mindedness and expertise, the morethey will be recognised by people for higher incomes, rewards andstatus in society.Probably due to some systemic inherent weaknesses and lack ofprofessional commitment to the general public, some occupationsremain as occupations and some as semi-professions. Nevertheless,members of every progressive occupation/craft wish their practice toacquire the coveted title of a profession. It is a struggle amongst theoccupations/crafts/jobs to offer the best of their services to peopleand in turn to attract public attention to acquire more social status,physical facilities and financial rewards.If we view it from this sociological backgroud and context,librarianshipl is one such occupational category which is in thestruggle for attracting more and more public attention for higherK-43Round the Clock Librarianship 143financial rewards and social status. roughly. speaking, based on anoverview of the literature of library science from a sociological pointof view, it appears that librarians in general are not aware as to whatspecifically they should be doing at this juncture and what theyshould not be doing, to raise their occupation/craft to that of aprofession.The concept of Round the Clock Librarianship (ROCLOLIB) isone such opportunity of terminal and critical importance to librarians,which helps people (clients) in general and reassures them about theprofssional commitment and devotedness of librarians. Although theconcept is old, it is an exercise here to analyse its importance for theoverall image and status of the practice/occupation.Why should Libraries be open for 24 HoursReaders/users of libraries in general come from diversebackgrounds, interests and places. Two major difficulties/constraintsof the reader/user in using libraries are time and place. By the time anemployee comes home from office the library (if at all it exists)nearest to his home or office is closed. There are some librarieswhich close during lunch hours-a time when some workers/wardsmay wish to use the library. In general, most of the public librariesthe world over being open during day-time are ideal for all those whowork on a regular basis during night shifts only. Those of thelibrarians who empathise (Kalyane and Devarai, 1993) for public andthose of the librarians who have continued to be readers of libraries(other. than those where they are employed) can comprehend theproblems of distance (home and library ) and time.The present timings of the libraries are suitable for those whocan avail some of their working time towards reading and towardsaccessing information in libraries. The authors are of the firm opinionthat due to inconvenience of time many committed potential users areunable to make use of libraries, either for reading or for accessing aparticualr piece of information. Information is of critical importancein many areas. It has become an essential input for progress anddevelopment. Though information has acquired vital importance inall walks of common man (Devrai and Damodaran, 1993) its practiceis still not very much focussed on the common man and his needs.144 New Vistas in Library and Information Science..Practicing infonnation for the common man whole heartedly meansbringing libraries nearer to his home and work place and keepingthem open round the clock. If the constrain~ of spa.ce (distance) andtime (round the clock) are solved the day is not very far whenlibrarianship will be considered as one of the essential services andthe practice of librarianship will acquire the coveted title of a"fullfledge profession ". .The ROCLOLffi is a very comprehensive phenpmenon havingcrucial implications for the profession. As one of the corollaries itimplies that the librarians are to be on duty round the clock. In everysuccessful profession the professional status and standing is achievedby sheer hard work, devotion and sac...ifice on the part of thepractitioner, the best example being that of a doctor. If at all alibrarian is interested in his professional development he shouldcontinue to be a librarian round-the-clock. He cannot cease to be alibrarian the moment he comes out of his office library. According toLancaster (1978), "The future of the librarian ~ies outside the library,closer to the community to be served. Modern communicationtechnology makes the de-instutionalised librarians an inGreasinglyfeasible proposition. " If time demands, he should be able todischarge his duties anywhere and everywhere. Librarians round-theclockmeans:-Infonnativeness of the librarians out of their libraries, office;~ Practice of residentiallibrarianship after office hours.-Eagerness to help clients making emergency calls. by cuttingshon ones resting time (sleep);Emergence of private library homes by enterprisinglibrarians in the model of nursing homes;Emergence of emergency wards/counters in big public,private and research libraries for priorotising among thelibrary /infonnation services;-Emergence of librarian as an information resourceconsultant;Emergence of librarians as freelancepractitioners off the libraries.informationRound the Clock Librarianship 145All these hypothetical derivations will come true in the year2001 if librarians pledge to practice their profession as a way of life.Librarianship in the near future will become their way of lifeprovided they decide to study the professional model and understandthe process of emergence of a new profession so that they can do theneedful for their practice to achieve professional status. (Devarai andDamodaran,1993)Provision of Information as a beginning of solution ofan individual/group problemAccording to sociologists society is a web of social relationships.When we derive further social relationships may be explained interms of stimuli and responses resulting in varied interactions.By keen analysis one can find out that the information resourceforms the very base of human interactions resulting in varied socialrelationships. Lack of sufficient information may result in unhealthy,incomplete and lopsided social relationships. Provision of rightinformation at a right moment help to solve many an individual andgroup problems. The problem rarely realised is the recognition of theexpert information from a professional for the solution of individualand social problems. It is not that the society does not recognise theimportance of information in human relationships, the problem is, ithas not yet recognised a professional expert to offer this service.Though libraries and librarians do exist, they are far and wide. Tasknumber one is to bring libraries to every city, colony, village, clanand tribe and the task number two is to enhance the working hours,the best arrangement being to open round-the-clock. This eventuallyleads towards proliferation of de-institutionalised freelance informationspecialists located far and wide in society-reaching theunreached. This ideal situation of freelance practice of infonnation ispossible only when libraries are open round-the-clock. This helpspeople to be more informative and help librarians to be moreequipped to answer information queries.Bernard Barber (1963) defined professional behilviour in tennsof four essential attributes, "a high degree of generalised andsystematic knowledge; primary orientation to the community interest146 N ew Vistas in Library and I nformation Sciencerather than to individual self-interest; a high degree of self control ofbehaviour through codes of ethics intemalised in the process of worksocialisation and through voluntary associations organised andoperated by the work specialists themselves; and a system of rewards(monetary and honorary) that is primarily a set of symbols of workachievement and thus ends in themselves, not means to some end ofindividual self interest". In a nutshell, the success of the ROCLOLIBdepends on professional behaviour of the practitioners and thepriority to information given by public in their day to'day lives.There is no class/segment of the population which will not bebenefited by the ROCLOLIB. As indicated earlier, infor:mation formsthe very base of human interaction. The ROCLOLIB enhancesgeneral readeTship/usership in society leading towards progress,prosperity and development. The ROCLOLIB helps students,teachers, people engaged in agriculture, industry, housewives~professi-onals, etc. It opens a new chapter in the professional historyof librarianship. Invariably librarians become user-friendly and stantaking active interest in developmental activities. Iuespective ofclass, caste, creed, profession, level of education. the ROCLOLIBwill benefit both librarians and society immea-surably.IdentificationThe practice of the ROCLOLIB. brings forth issues and problemsof practical importance. When librarians work round-the-clock theyneed to be recognised in the mob. They need to be recognised asprofessionals in the library (office) and home library. Above all, deinstitutionalisedlibrarians need to be recognised, identified. Hencethe need of a specific dress and badge for the librarian (be hestationed or f~eelance). Again libraries everywhere are to beidentified and noticed by the adoption of a symbol and a light (foridentification at nights). By this a needy individual locates a librarywith least effort and fulfills his information needs without wastingmuch time. This is an ideal situation when a needy individual/groupjust locates librarians (be he on the road, mob or home) with leasteffort and fulfills his/its information needs without wasting time.Round the Clock Librarianship 147ROCLOLIB and Bibliotherapy: J;Jack to ScholarLibrarianBibliotherapy is used in medical practice to a limited extent inthe treatment of m~ntally-retarded patients. The librarians working inhopsitallibraries have joined their hands with doctors in the practiceof bibliotherapy. They have restricted themselves to the task ofprovision of information and reading materials. Can we think of alibrarian who prescribes authoritatively a particular package ofinformation and reading materials to his clients/users? For this thelibrarian needs to be a scholar first. Are we moving towards theconcept of a scholar librarian in this age of electronics and in this ageof libraries as global information centres? If at all it comes. true theROCLOLIB will be a boon to bibliotherapists and the scholarlibrarians who prescribe, reading material to solve individual/socialproblems.Residential LibrarianshipThe concept of the ROCLOLIB to all librarians gives furtherfillip to have their own libraries at their homes. This is the beginningof the emergence of residentiallibrarianship. If librarians along withtheir library associations come out with total commitment andsacrifice this dream may come true. Finance should not be a problemwhen we are all committed workers. This will automatically makeroom for the development of appropriate tools and techniquesrequired.The practice of the ROCLOLIB together with the moderndevelopments in information technologies and computercommunication networks opens up new vistas in informationprovision and individual libraries will emerge as global informationcentres.Librarians need to do research into those areas of human socialwelfare, where their information resources are of critical and tenninalimportance. We have to identify those areas, where a particularpackage of instantaneous information is sine-qua-non for the very148 Ne,w Vistas in Library and Information Sciencesurvival of an individual/group and society. Hence, hypotheticallyspeaking, a band of librarians will emerge who ~e specialised incoping up with high risk emergency calls for packaged and gradedinformation. Hence the genesis of emergency librarianship.Librarians however committed, sincere, and dedicated they are,cannot by themselves create conditions conducive for theROCLOLIB. People should come out and demand library services.They must realise reading/accessing information as one of theirfundamental rights in their own welfare for their own well being.What librarians can do is to perform an educational function ofmaking people aware of the importance of information resources fortheir progress and development. If librarians and people join hands itshould be marked as a "THE DA Y" of mutual benefits whereinpeople get the best of librarians services and wherein librarians willrealise their much-awaited s~tus as a 'fullfledged profession'.ROCLOLIB: Education, Training and SocializationIf the practice of the ROCLOLIB is to be materialised it has tobecome a slogan; it has to become a movement of the whole band oflibrarians allover the world. The concept and idea is to be introducedat different levels in a holistic manner. It should be incorporated ineducational and training programmes from certificate to Ph.D. levels.Through a wide ranging, programme of seminars, symposia andconferences the ide~ should be popularised. We have to make wayfor the process of socialisation to operate. The youngsters and newcomersare to be oriellted about the ROCLOLIB and reassure themthat librarianship is not an occupation/practice/vocation/craft but ameaningful/purposeful ~ ;,!y of life.Towards ROCLOLIB: A Dream, A Slogan, AMovementFor those who live in intellectual boundaries, for those whonever dream impossibles and for thosc who cannot outclasscontemporary thinking, the ROCLOLIB may seem like a far cry!' AnRound the Clock Librarianshipideal situation where/when librarianship beGomes a true way of life,the dream of ROCLOLIB may turn into .a reality, it may take theshape of a slogan and a movement. If we pledge to offer only the bestto the society, if we want to be at the helm of the affairs of thesociety, let us take this as a professional challenge! A day is not farwhen we can acheive this goal and in turn expect only the best ofsocietal benefits, financial rewards and due status in society and leapforward to become a full fledged profession.

References

12.34.5The authors don't believe in the tricotomies of Librarianship/docwnentation/infonnation science. Hence. whereyer the wordlibrarian and librarianship is used in this paper they sh
Bernard Barber, "Some Problems in the Sociology of theProfessions", Daedalus: Journal of the American Academy of Artsand Sciences, 92.4,1963, pp. 669-689.

Rajashekhar S. Devarai and T. Damodaram "Ranganathan and theProfessional Development of Librarians: Study inProfessionology", University News 30.45, 1992, pp. 11-13.

W .J .Goode, "Encroachment, Charlatanism and the EmergingProfession: Psychology, Sociology and MedicLTle", AmericanSociological Review 25, 1960, pp. 902-914.

V .L. Kalyane and Rajashekhar S. Devarai, "Empathy in PublicLibrarianship: A Subjective and Qualitative Analysis", IndianJournal of Information, Library and Society. (Communicated).

F.W. Lancaster, Toward Paperless Information Systems, .~cademicPress, New York, 1978, pp. 153-159.6"!

For full text of the paper follow the link :
___________________________________________________________________
Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. gbgv...1816.... .-
Reach my blog to know more about me : http://indialibrarian.blogspot.com/

Fw: hello








KNOWLEDGE MAKES YOU WITHSTAND ALL ADVRSITIES IN LIFE.

Librarianship is a noble profession.
1816gbgv



Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it.


Bring your gang together. Do your thing. Find your favourite Yahoo! Group.

CHANGE Vs STABILITY

CHANGE V/S STABILITY

HUMAN MIND ALWAYS LINGERS BETWEEN A QUEST FOR CHANGE AND STABILITY. SOME SUCCEED TO STRIKE A BALANCE AND ARE KNOWN FOR THAT. SOME FAIL TO STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN THESE TWO AND AND GO DEEP INTO ONLY ONE.......... ie SOME GO ON CHANGING.....SOME MAINTAIN HIGHEST STABILITY.

OPTIONS

1. ROLLING STONE NEVER GATHERS MASS!
2. STAGNANT WATER STINKS!
3. WHILE ROLLING....LET THE STONE REST A WHILE....ON THE ROAD TO
SUCCESS. MAKE WAY FOR THE WATER TO FLOW SOME TIMES....BEFORE
IT STINKS.......MAKE WAY FOR FRESH WATER TO GET IN SOME TIMES.

THE SO CALLED HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL BELONG TO ALL THE THREE CATEGORIES. PEOPLE FALLING INTO ANY OF THE CATEGORIES LISTED ABOVE HAVE SUCCEEDED. IT IS YOUR PASSION, QUEST AND DESIRE LEVEL THAT MATTERS...FOR YOU TO SUCCEED.

THINK, REFLECT.....AND ACT BY YOUR INTUTION......YOU ARE BOUND TO SUCCEED!
TAKE CARE..........BE SMILING......IT BRINGS A POSITIVE CHEMISTRY IN YOUR PHYSIC AND PSYCHE.

gbgv1816



Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Thursday, May 22, 2008

from YAHOO 360 DEGREE BLOG OF gbgv 1816

Entry for July 18, 2007

THE TRUE PATH TO PROFESSIONALIZATION OF LIBRARIANSHIP LIES IN LIBRARIANS EFFORTS TOWARDS CREATING THEIR INDISPENSIBILITY............RAJ

Entry for September 25, 2006
Waiting is too unique in life....than we realise.......we wait to be stilll....and keep still/calm.......to wait so much....later.......to wait and be calm......one after the other.
Life happens....between this waiting..and happening....love you alll so much

Monday September 25, 2006 - 08:16pm
Entry for June 09, 2006

Dear Naomi,Really you use a very bad and meaningless english....who told you are half a century old?...I just hate people saying I am 10 years old....20 years old.....30 years old...etc...........Please enjoy saying I am 30 years young....I am 40 years young.......I am half a century young.Get tuned and get used mention your age this way and enjoy....the feeling. God created you to be more and more young day by day. By the time this mail reaches you, you are one more day younger.With best wishes,Rajindialotus5673@yahoo.co.in

Friday June 9, 2006 - 02:34pm
Entry for June 07, 2006 : for you Naomi J.
The Voice wrote:
I've been waiting to hear from you for like...ever. > Where you at? > Write some more; don't let me correcting you stop you from communicating. > We are all waiting to hear about your adventures; you can count on us to be an audience. > Truly. > Naomi J.
_______________________________________________________________
7th June 2006
Dear friend,
It is so nice to learn that some body waits to hear from me…great! I am here very much and at unusual ease. You know Naomi…I am such a stupid and interesting person….I continue doing things in such a way that great people like you keep correcting me and interesting…..no body charges!
And then…life is an adventure….adventure is another name for life….and it is so simple….I keep proving again and again that I am living. Somebody is living and not adventurous…is a myth. And and don’t laugh!!!!........we are a result of unusual adventures of almighty/almighties….
Naomi J, have fun….be adventurous…..be yourself.........be different........be changing….be real spiritual……and ofcourse be honest…...say old and wise.
With best wishes
Raj,Fashion Librarian, India…lotus5673@yahoo.co.in


Wednesday June 7, 2006 - 06:25pm
Entry for May 22, 2006:silence

Wow ! I like commanding communications (smile)! I assure all that I will not use caps...in my communications.....ok! I dont know how busy I am......but it always seems that I am busy....I enjoy....few gaps by getting into silence...between my busy activities and moments....how are you all? With best wishes for all the days ahead of today. Future is much more interesting than this moment and today.Raj,India, lotus5673@yahoo.co.in

Monday May 22, 2006 - 07:31pm


Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Librarianship

FRIENDS
JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING OUR OWN AMERICAN
LIBRARIAN!
CONGRATULATIONS ELLEN....YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!!!!
Ellen T. McCabe Receives Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Librarianship
News Released: 5/13/2008

Ellen T. McCabe, senior assistant librarian, will receive the prestigious State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Librarianship during the 2008 Undergraduate Commencement on Saturday, May 17, in the Park Center.
For further details follow the link :



Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

BE THE BEST. BE THE BEST TO STAND FOR WHAT YOU REALLY ARE....!!!

Dear,

STAND FIRMLY FOR WHAT YOU STRONGLY BELIEVE IN!
Most of the times we are too much bothered about what they think of us. We keep bothering about how to make everyone happy by our conducive actions. The more we get into conducive actions....more we find that others are not happy.
Dear, the ultimate truth is that,
what ever you like the most, what ever you are excellent in, whatever you are passionately interested,
initially makes others doubtful, initially people around you including your dear ones :
dont like, pursuade you not to pursue furhter, dislike you for whatever you are doing, hate you for whatever you are doing, bring pressure on you to do things the way they like.
If you exactly do the things as people want........there would not be any substantial contribution as such............................for which they any way dont like you....and hence underestimate you and neglect you.
BEST IS :
YOU DO THE BEST....WHAT SEEMS GOOD TO YOU......PUT IN THE BEST THE WAY YOU ARE CONFORTABLE IN......BE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE WAY YOU DO...AND THE REASON FOR WHY YOU DO IT.
WHAT EVER YOU DO THIS WAY MAKES YOU AND OTHERS HAPPY SOONER OR LATER.....!!!
BELIEVE THIS......
THIS IS THE TRUTH......I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE SUGGESTION BECAUSE..IT IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR FROM SOME ONE ALL THE TIME...
BE HAPPY, BE CHEERFUL....BE WHAT YOU ARE AND STAND FIRMLY FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN.

GBGV : 1816


Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Wednesday, May 21, 2008




Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....
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Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....
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Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....
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UNCERTAINTIES

Dear all
It looks like life is coming to a stand still. Even amongst uncertainties it looks like getting into a gap....no new thinking....now new ideas cropping in. Unable to visualise the fantastic opportunities that the world is creating every day. What is wrong ? ..... I know we are responsble to a great extent about what happens to us...and what is going to happen tommorrow. What is life if we dont come across such situations?.......
I am told ... it is out of uncertainties that the true offers will come to us........? am I right?.........
Bombay is a city of full of activities.........full of programmes......
Hope your dear ones are doing well in their works/careers!

DO SOMETHING TODAY....OTHER WISE YOU WILL NEVER GET TODY WHICH IS INFRONT OF YOU....PLEASE LISTEN TO ME.
bye for now

Take care! Cheers!

gbgv1816



Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Citation analysis of Doctoral Dissertations - Geology


19th May 2008

Mr. G.Shiva Prasad,
Lecturer in Library Science,
MVGRR Degree College,
Bhattiprolu – 522256 Guntur District (AP)

Dear Mr.Shiva Prasad,

Warm Greetings!
I happened to read one of your papers written in co-authorship with K.Venkat Rao and M.Ratan Jyothi in Vol 1(4) of PEARL. Good exercise indeed. The results of the study are well brought out in 11 pages. I am indeed inspired to take up a similar study of dissertations of our students in our Institute. If you are comfortable kindly furnish the following information :

Ø How much time the study took for completion
Ø Where did you access Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory
Ø Details of dBase III plus Software worked out for the study. Details by mail.
Ø A step by step procedure of data collection, worksheets and data analysis methodology

I look forward for your early response and cooperation.
Thanking you
Yours sincerely





Raj
Librarian

lotus5673@yahoo.co.in


Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Becoming some ones fan!!

Librarian Raj:
Your question is most natural Dew. Most of the people who's fan I am , I have not met yet. You are a librarian, you have beautiful name and you have posed a beautiful picture of a dew.....and your profile is honest and simple. What else is requred for some one to become your fan?All the best, be happy and prosper in life. God bless you. Please go through my blog to know more about me. address : http://indialibrarian.blogspot.com/RajLibrarian

Dew Drop:
thanks sir for scrapping me.. Sir, may I ask you a question??? I think we haven't talked ever... and I have seen that you are my fan...
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post scrap cancel
delete May 16 (4 days ago)
Dew Drop:
Hello sir..How are you?
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Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Monday, May 19, 2008

Waiting for me to write some thing.....

Friends,
I have just finished reading this book,
"Unleashing the knowledge Force by Ganesh Natarajan and Uma Ganesh....published by McGraw-Hill". Hold on till you find a review written by me.........!! Keep waiting......

RLibrarian


Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Dont miss to read this book......

A Very good reading indeed!.............I am half way through reading the book...."Unleashing the knowledge force......
catch up friends......... it is a good book.

link : www.tatamcgrawhill.com
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Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

WEBINARS FOR LIBRARIANS

UP COMING WEBINARS FOR LIBRARIANS!!

Press Release: SirsiDynix [May 9, 2008]

SirsiDynix Institute announces upcoming webinars

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., May 9, 2008 – The SirsiDynix Institute, a forum for professional development in the library community, announced its webinar schedule for late spring and summer 2008. In keeping with the SirsiDynix Institute’s mission to help grow the skills of library professionals, the SirsiDynix Institute will focus on "Open Libraries." The theme centers on the "openness" that characterizes successful libraries — open partnerships, open approaches, open technologies, open dialog and open communities.

The following webinars are scheduled over the course of the summer, including:
"Trends in e-Learning: What Does It Mean for Libraries?" on May 21, with Frank Cervone, professor of education and director of the Library, Information and Media Studies program at Chicago State University. Cervone will focus on how availability and interoperability are changing the way e-learning is being delivered as well how developments in open access as well as social networking are changing the way e-learning occurs.

"Beyond Web 2.0: Taking the Social Read-Write Web to the Enterprise Level" on June 13, with Marshall Breeding, director for innovative technologies and research at the Jean and Alexander Heard Library at Vanderbilt University. Breeding will give his view of how libraries can take Web 2.0 technologies to the next level and integrate them into their core automation infrastructure to better support their strategic missions.

"Video on the Web: A Primer" in on July 15 with David Lee King, digital branch and services manager at Topeka and Shawnee Library in Kansas. King will teach attendees to explore how libraries are using video for outreach and learning through a variety of case studies, discover tips on what types of content work best for different types of libraries, and learn what to consider when planning for and implementing videocasting at your library.

"Tame the Web" in August, Michael Stephens, assistant professor at Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, and a leading library blogger. Stephens will share his insights on open libraries.

"We have a fabulous schedule for this quarter and are thrilled to have so many well-respected industry leaders willing to share their time and expertise with the SirsiDynix Institute," said Stephen Abram. "Their willingness to give to the industry in this way is integral to the mission of the SirsiDynix Institute."

Upcoming SirsiDynix Institute events will be posted on the SirsiDynix Institute website, www.sirsidynixinstitute.com. Archives, including podcasts and Windows Media files are also available to revisit after the event at the SirsiDynix Institute website. All SirsiDynix Institute sessions are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, unless otherwise specified. Additional special and international events will be announced throughout the year.

About the SirsiDynix Institute The SirsiDynix institute was founded in 2003 and is funded by SirsiDynix, the global leader in strategic technology solutions. The SirsiDynix Institute is a forum for professional development in the library community. Monthly webinars, the SirsiDynix Institute Executive Conference and other events provide librarians with access to industry leaders and a forum to keep up to date on relevant issues and trends impacting libraries. The mission of the SirsiDynix Institute is to support librarianship and advance the work of librarians around the world. The focus of the SirsiDynix Institute is on library issues, not products. More information on the SirsiDynix Institute is available at www.sirsidynixinstitute.com.
Copyright (c) 2008 SirsiDynix

Summary:
The SirsiDynix Institute, a forum for professional development in the library community, announced its webinar schedule for late spring and summer 2008. In keeping with the SirsiDynix Institute’s mission to help grow the skills of library professionals, the SirsiDynix Institute will focus on “Open Libraries.” The theme centers on the “openness” that characterizes successful libraries — open partnerships, open approaches, open technologies, open dialog and open communities.
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INFORMATION PLACED HERE WITH DUE THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT!!
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION GO TO :
http://www.librarytechnology.org/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=2008051799822998&code=&RC=13262&Row=&code=PR&Type=Library+Automation


Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Taiwanese Academic Libraries

Knowledge is power. Librarians continue to be knowledge professionals. Librarianship is a Noble profession.....gbgv...1816....

Friday, May 16, 2008

DIVINE POWER




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Thursday, May 15, 2008

IFLA CONFERENCE / FASHION FAIR : LONDON / AMSTERDAM




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LIBRARY MANAGEMENT




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COLLEAGUES - EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES




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LIBRARY MANAGEMENT - WAITING FOR READERS...?




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Contributions / Publications : (1)

Library Science with a slant to Documentation andInformation Studies. Vol. 36, No.3, 1999. Paper T. p155-164.


LIBRARIANSHIP AND TJIE PROFESSIONAL MODEL: ASOCIOLOGICAL TUTORIAL AND CRITIQUE / Rajashekar S.Devarai* and L.S.R.C. V. Ramesh**


An attempt is made in this paper to critically highlight some of the sociological issues concerningLibrarianship (LIS) as a profession. Different theoretical formulations are discussed.Importance of the studies of sociology of occupations and professions for librarians isemphasized. Useful suggestions are offered towards achievement of fulfledged status ofLibrarianship (LIS) as a profession.


KEYW ARDS/DESCRIPTORS: Librarianship; Professional model; Sociological issues:ProcessP: ower;W ay of life; Profesion;I mage;S tatus;


I nformation sciencenaturally they all feel that theirs is a full fledgedprofession. They are also highly confident thattheir occupation can stand the test of a profession.They are also equally worried and apprehensiveabout non-recognition of their services in societyto the extent required.


1 INTRODUCTIONPresently we are in the age of informationcharacterisedb y technological advancements,industrialisation and urbanisation leading towardsmore employment opportunities, availabilityof goods and services to a large mass ofpopulation across the globe. This, in turn hasresultedin the proliferationo f jobs, crafts,t radesand occupationsa, part from establishedp rofessionslike legal practices and medicine.It is right time for librarianship to have a selfexamination in the light of professional model.Librarians need to know about processes ofemergence of a profession. Professions aresocial facts, social/economic categories highlyvalued for their services and commitment insociety. Sociologists are the scholars and researcherswho also study trades, jobs, crafts,vocations, occupations and professions in theirright perspectives in society. To understand therole of occupations and professions in society andthereby to understand and comprehend librarion'sarole and possition in society. It isnecessary to understand some of the sociologicalconcepts. This understanding, should unlock themystery of the people's conception of the role,In the competitive world every craft, trade oroccupation exerts itself to achieve this honorifictitle of a 'profession' which symbolises statusand position in society. Librarianship is one suchoccupational category which is aspiring for thishonorific title which entitles it for higher status,position, income and so on in society. In thispaper an attempt is made to assess the position ofLibrarianship as per the professional model.Librarians world over are very much concernedabout their low image and status in society. Quite. --- -- "","~T"""* HeadL ibrarian, ResourceC entre,N ational Instituteo f FashionT echnology.N ampally, Hyderabad,I NDIA.** CentralL ibrary and DocumentationC entre,A .N.G.R. Agricultural University, RajendranagarH, yderabadI,N DIA.Devarai; Rameshstatusa ndp osition of variouso ccupationst,r adesin society about which an average librarianwonders time and again. Hence an attempt ismade here to clarify important sociologicalconceptsr elating to occupationsa ndp rofessions.the profession one pursues itself may become astatus symbol.2 PROFESSIONAL MODELProfessional model is a sociological constructexplaining about those occupational categoriesknown as professions bestowed with unusuallyhigh status, prestige and position in society. Bynow it is clear that an occupation is a set ofeconomic activities, and these activities areintended towards earning a living. Whereas aprofession is a high class occupation consistingof highly trained sp~cialists carrying on a veryimportant role in society. There is no universallyaccepted definition of a profession. Cogan [12]after surveying numerous attempts to define theterm concludes that a profession is a vocationwhose practice is founded upon an understandingof the theoritical stucture of some depart oflearning or science and upon the abilities accompanyingsuch understanding. This understandpinrgacaticnadl tahfefasiers a obfi limtieasn . are applied to. the vitalSociology is an objective and scientific study ofsocial relationships in society. To quote W.P.Scoft [41] 'Sociology is the scientific study ofhuman social behaviour. Sociology studies theprocessesa nd patternso f individual and groupinteraction, the forms of organisation of socialgroups, the interrelationships among them andgroup influence on individual behaviour'. Thesociologists tudiest he structurea nd processeso fsocial life as a whole... [45] TQe study ofoccupationsa nd professionsis an integral part ofsociogy and the specialisation is termed asSociology of professions have varying roles,status and prestiges in society, one has to knowthe concept of social stratification is relatiavelya pennanent ranking of statuses and roles in asocial system ranging from a small group to asociety in tennso f differ-entapl rivileges.p restigeinfluence and power. In simple tenns it is thehierarchical arrangement of social strata in asociety. In this sense social stratification refersspecifically to the social class or caste system ofa society [41]. Caste determines its members'prestige,o ccupation,p lace of residenceo r socialrelations basing itself on heredity. It is m°t:e orless an closed stratum. Whereas class is more orless a open system. It refers to a large categoryof people who share a common social andeconomic status in relation to other segments oftheir society. The history of human ci,'ilisationindicates that these two social categories whichguide the social stratification pattern of thesociety predominantly decide the status, positionand role of the variety occupations and professionsin society. Even now we find somecommunities primarily adopting their age oldoccupation for their living as'a caste occupation.e.g., carpentry, pottery etc. And in the other wayround people adopt to various trades, vocations,jobs and professions based on their socioeconomicstatus and position, education andtraining in society. Hence the close relation ofclassa ndt hat of occupations/professionsIn. turnThere is no universally accepted theory of professions.When socilogical literature is persued onecomes across three theoretical formulationswhich conceptualise profession and professionalisation.A very lucid explanation is foundin a work on journalism by R.K. Sharma [43].The three formulations are:2.1 Attribution-,2.2 Process -!2.3 Powerfunctionalismconflict theorYThese three theoretical fonnulations fall into twobroadt heoreticapl erspectivesi,. e., functionalismand the conflict theory. The functional theoryassumesth at societyh asc ertain needsa ndt hat itdevelops certain institutional structures in orderto fulfill such needs. Following this assumptionthe functionalp erspectivep oints to the existenceof the existence of a functional linkage betweenprofession and society [43]. Professions characterisedby traits through central needs of thesociety are effectively catered to [4, 38]. The--,,".Library ScienceLibrarianship and the ProfessionaMl odelconflict theory views professions in ter;ms of theirrelations to society [28].education, 3. Competence, 4. Code of conduct, 5.Service, 6. Organisation [42]. A librarian andsociologist in himself, after a personal of sociologicalliterature on the concept of professionidentified and summarised the following corechracteristics which are commonly acceptedthese days through out the world: 1. Specialisedknowledge and skills; 2. Research and continuousin-service updating of specialised knowledge;3. Intellectual activity; 4. Social necessity;6. Recognition by people and status in society; 7.Standardised terminology; 8. Close knit professionalorganisation having an altruistic philosophy;9. Stability of the profession throughpermanent membership; 10. Code of ethics forthe practitioners; 11. Autonomy of the profession;and 12. Authority of the practitioners.2.1 Attributional ApproachThis is a very popular approach adopted by manysociologists and individual practitioners forstudying a particular occupatiohj.practice (orgroup of occupations/practices) and put the samein the continuum of professions Barber andMillerson [4, 34]. The major emphasis of thisapproach is on traits or attributes an occupation/trade has to have so as to qualify itself as a profession.Though opinions vary, there seems to be aset of attributes or traits commonly accepted as asine-qua-non for a profession. When one persuesthough the lists of attributes/traits propounded byvarious theorists, through at the outset thereappears a wide ,,:ariation, a close observation andanalysis reveals that the attributes/traits revolvearound a few core parameters. Barber, Millerson,Shaffer Gode and Legatt [4,34,42,21,31] areprominent among those who tried to list a set ofattributes of professions. At the outset theattributes listed by various social scientists seemto vary. A close observation and analysis reealsa satisfying similarity and uniformity amongstthe social scientists. To cite Reeves [43], the listsof attributes varies from scholar to scholar but ageneral consensus is claimed upon a few attributes.No chararacteristics enumerated by themcontradict each other. Goode [22], a reputedsociologist and theoretician who dealt at lengthon the topic of librarianship as a profession,mentions a basic body of abstract knowledge andthe ideal of service as the two central generatingqualities of a profession. Barber [4] emphasizeson the attributes of knowledge, communityinterest, self control of behaviour through codeof ethics, voluntary associations and a system ofrewards. Legatt [31] laid stress on theoreticalesoteric knowledge, sociolisation, altrustic service,control and code of ethics, as the core traitsof professions, Millerson (1964) in his book onQualifying Associations analysed the characteristicsenumerated by 21 commentators and liststhe following as the most frequently mentioned:1. Theoritical knowledge, 2. Training and2.2 The Process ApproachAs the very name indicates in this approach theprocess by which an occupation develops slowlyinto a profession is emphasised. It is perceivedas a continuum from occupation/non-professionto profession. The status of an oGcupation in thecontinum depends on the acquisition of numberof attributes and the extent of acquisition of eac~of them. Hughes is the major advocate of thisapproach. Significant question according to himis to identify the circumstances in which peoplein an occupation attempt to turn it into aprofession and themselves into professionalpeople. Professionalisation according to him isa change of status of the occupation to its ownpast and to other occupations. As in apparentfrom the above description, here, the process ofdevelopment of the topologies of occupations,non-professions and professions is emphasized.Many social scientists hav~ tried to list thesequence of steps by which an occupation movesfrom that of an occupation/non-professionJenkins G. Harris. [24] defines the vari'able ofprofessionalisation in terms of six consistentelements: structural, contextual, activity, educationaland behavioural.Voz..J6N o.3 Septembe1r 999-157Devarai; Rame.s-hSocial scientists like Barber. Wilensky andCaplow specialising in professional approach tryto enlist steps in the process of professionalisationas fol10ws:Cap/ow 1970)Establishment of a professional associatian.2Barber (1963).3Change in the name of the occupation.Development of code of ethics.45Prolonged politi<:al agitations to obtainthe support of public power.The concurrent development of training" facilities.Leaders of the emerging professioncomparing their level to that of thebeginning history of the developedprofessions.Publishing code of ethics.The professional approach is criticised mainly forits bias towards functionalism. According tocritics it may not be practicable to plan professionson a single continuum on the basis of attributesof the profession. No uniform process ofprofessionaJisation applicable universally isbeing observed. It is also criticised as historical.Trying to strenghthen professionalassociations."t4. Establishingm easuresa nd titles of moreor less professional behaviour.5 Establishing university professionalschools.6 Putting up public information campaIgns.2.3 The Power Theorists Approach'7 The leaders of an emerging professionwill have to engage in some conflict withelements both inside and outside theiroccupational groups.An againstt hef unctionlistic approacht,h ep owertheorists approach based on conflict model laysemphasis on power. Power theorists don't seemto bother much about the dichotomy of professionand a non-professsion. The power of aprofession can be visualised through its authority,autonomy and monopoly over its sphere ofwork, Uncertainly, unpredictability, indeterminancyand mystery are the enhancing factors ofthe power of an occupation.Wilenskv ( 1964)Wilensky who seeks to establish that there is anatural history of professionalisation identifiestheses tagesa st hosef ollowed on the route to professionalstatus by the established professions:The threea pproachese xplaineda bovev ary witheach other both with regard to their content andemphasis. The attibutional. functional and theprocesses approach falls under the conflictorientaion. Individual sociologists usually dealwith the problems in the area of sociology ofoccupationsa ndp rofessionst aking insightsf romanyone of the above approaches. T.J. Johnson[28] hast ried to synthesizet he above approachesand apply the same to his research designs.According to him 'profession is a type ofoccupation that has had the power to haveundergone a developmental process whereby ithas been able to acquire or convince aganistsignificant others that it has acquired a highThe occupation is followed ful1time2 Formal training is establishedThis training is provided within univer.sity.3.Local and then national professionalassociationsa re formed as the core tasksare defined in competition with neighbouringoccupations.115.fiPolitical activity leads to legally con.trolled licensing and certification. andA formal code of ethical practice is developed.-158 Librarv Scienl'pmajority, 82% or four out of five librarians areconvinced that the status is low [39]. A veryimportant sociological observation is thatlibrarians seem not to have a different conceptionof their status which differs from that of thesociety. Again to quote from H. Prins [39], wecan conclude that the workers in the library andinformation services don't have a deviantopinion in relation to the rating of the generalpublic. As revealed from the RTMLA survey thethree main causes of low status and profile oflibrarianship are: 1. Invisibility, 2. Education and3. Profesional culture. Devraj and Damodaram[14] assert, the future status and position oflibrarians' practice depen~s on how keenly andsincerely they address and focus their attentionon the information needs of common man.degree of constellation of those characteristicswhich denote a profession.Librarianship as a profession has already attractedthe attention of sociologists and otherresearche~s. In the absense of genuine empiricalresearch, the area of study (sociology of professionsas applied to LIS) is filled with lots and lotsof biased opinions, off hand statements, loosecomments without any bias, background orverifiable data.A general observation indicates that the researcherseemt o haveu sedf unctionala pproachwhile studying librarianship as a profession. Forarriving at a better picture of the state of affairsof the professioni t is necessaryth at studiesb econductedu sing all the three approachesm entionedabove. Librarians seem not to use anymodel that produces the result that theirs is asemi-professiono r a non-professionT. hey seemto be on the look out for alternative models andapproachesfo r thesek inds of studies.S ystemsapproachis one suchm odel [23].Right since beginning, the trait or attributionapproach is very extensively employed injudging the professional standing of a particularoccupation/vocationA. s far asl ibrarianshipa saprofession is concerned studies fall into threecategoriesa ccordingt o Chopra[ 11]. Therei s noconcensusw hatsoevero n the positiona nds tatusof librarianshipi n the world of occupationsa ndprofessions. He has classified the authors/thinkers/ social scientists into three categoriesi.e.:3 LIBRARIANSHIP AS A PROFESSIONStudies on librarianship as a profession aregenerally conducted by librarians themselves.Writings of librarians on librarianship as aprofession are more of a descriptive explanatory,biaseds, entimentaal ndp rofessionlisedty pe withvery lessse mphasiso n researcha nd objectivity.Nevethlesst he off hand statementsa nd loosecommentsa rea rich sourceo f informationw hichassist in filling in the gaps of research as far asproffesiological studies on librarianship areconcerned.Librarianship isa fulfledgedprofession1. Dewey, M(1876)2. Bundy M L &WashennanP(1968)3. Edwards R. F(1975)4. North J A(1977)5. ReevesW J(1981)6. Ashiem L(1979)7. Birdsall W F(1980)Librarianship isan emergingprofessionLibrarianshipis not aprofession1. Labour2. Madden HM 2. Goode W J(1964)3. RossiLibrarianship is generally believed to possesslow image and status in society. According toMargaret C. Jones[29] Lack of status is a problemwhich affects librarians world wide, and it seemsthat little progress has been made sinceRanganathan called in 1969 for librarians totake action to establish their usefulness tosociety. A survey conducted by Round Table forthe management of Library Associations(RTMLA) reveals that, a overwhelming4. Blake F M(1965)5. Shaffer D E(1968)6. Gillis R(1976)3. Moon E(1965)4. Moore W E(1970)5. McPheron J(1974)7. Huq. AMA(1978)Devarai; RameshAs evident from the above table some professiologistsargue it not to be a profession; somethink it to be an emerging profession and yetsome consider it to be a fulfledged profession.The latest references cited above is that the LISprofession today is fast undergoing changes.dresses, looks, the place he lives in and thesurroundingsa ll speako f a distinct life style,t hebest example being that of a doctor or a lawyer.If librarians are serious about enhancing theirimage and status they must opt to practice it as away of life. It will be extremely difficult forlibrarians to a chieve professional status if they4 SOCIOLOGY OF LIBRARIANSHIP limit themselvesto officialdom andb ureacracy.LIS (3) professionals are familiar with terms like'Library and Community' and Library andSociety. In facat LIS professionals need to consolidatethe literature which is widely scattteredon the theme mentioned above into what isknown as Sociology of Librarianship. Accordingto Binwal [5] if the term sociology oflibrarianship is substituted for such type ofstudies, a new horizon can be added to the domainof library science. It shall not only consolidatethe work done in the field but also stimulte furtherresearch. Hence there is a need to define anddelineate the scope of socioloigy of librarians hip.Sociology of librarianship, an applied field ofsociology is defined as the scientific analysis ofthe social procesers and patterns involved in thelibrary system [5]. Understanding of sociologyof librarianship helps many a librarians to unravelthe mystery of their low profile and status insociety and to find ways and means of the processof professional development. This understandingalso helps librarians to work out long termstt:ategies to prove their social relevance, whichis the most crucial source of enhancing the socialand professional image.Library and information centres. are to be keptopen round the clock [30]. Librarians shouldhave proper identification by their attire andstyle. He should strive hard t

Librarianship is a noble professional. Librarians are noble.