Abstracting Periodicals

1. Abstracting Periodicals:According to Allent Kent an abstract is a summary of a publication or articles accompanied by an adequate bibliographical description to enable the publication or article to be traced. H. M. Weisman defines the abstract is an announcement medium whose objectives is to provide knowledge of and an ordered and logical access to new primary literature. Thus an abstract can be defined as an abbreviated, accurate representation of the significant content of a document consisting scope, purpose, method used, kinds of treatment results and findings, interpretation of the result by the author, argument, etc which is usually accompanied by an adequate bibliographical description to enable to trace the original document.

An abstracting periodical is a regularly issued compilation of concise summaries ofi) Significant articles (often in a very limited subject field) that appear in current primary source journal andii) of important new research monographs, reports, patent and other primary source publication in that field.Example: Library and Information Science Abstract, London, Library Association, 1950-, Bimonthly. Indian Science Abstract, Delhi, Insdoc, Vol. 1-, 1965-. Besides the above sources, list of periodicals, list of theses, dissertations, location and finding list etc also serves as bibliographical sources.Academic Library

Academic Library:Libraries in the educational institutions are concerned with the teaching and learning process experienced by specific communities.a) Definition:A library which is an integral part of a college, university, or other post-secondary educational institution (higher education), administered to meet the needs of its students, faculty, and staff for scholarly information and research services is the academic library. Large college or university libraries often have separate libraries within individual academic departments or schools which have a collection devoted to their subject or discipline such as chemistry, mathematics etc.i) College Library:The college library meets the legitimate needs and demand of all their users from senior teachers engaged in research to fresh students just entering. The library serves the reading, reference and research needs of the members of the college community.ii) University Library:According to Donald Davinson library is the soul of a university, the sun around which all teaching revolves. The Radhakrishnan Commission in its report hailed the library as the very heart of a university, the workshop of the scholar and the laboratory of the learned.b) Objectives:The general objectives of the academic libraries are:-

i) To serve the curricular, cultural and general education requirement of the academic community;ii) To provide reference material at appropriate levels;iii) To provide study areas of users;iv) To provide a lending service appropriate to different types of users;v) To provide an active information service.These libraries are located on the campuses of colleges and universities and serve primarily the students and faculty of that institution and other academic institutions. Some academic libraries are also accessible to the general public in whole or in part, although borrowing privileges are often limited for users affiliated with the college or university only.i) College Library:The college library aims to help young students in proper understanding of various disciplines, in preparing them for advanced studies, and for shouldering the higher responsibilities in future life. It also helps the students in getting acquainted with the library practices such as consulting catalogues, bibliographies, indexes, locating books, and other materials, etc.ii) University Library:Its primary aim is to support the instructional and research programmes of the university and conservation of knowledge and ideas, teaching, research, publication, extension service and interpretation. The objective is to ultimately help produce leaders in the community in different fields of human activity- the inventors, discoverers and pioneers.c) Collections:The collections of academic libraries reflect the courses offered and research undertaken within the institution. In recent times most of the academic libraries tend to use new computers, telecommunications equipment for access to the Internet, and online databases, E-Journal etc. Also as in the age of information explosion no college or university library can procure all published documents therefore the academic libraries can form a network on cooperative basis that would enable them to share the scarce and little-used materials required for advanced research.i) College Library:The college libraries build up a balanced collection consisting of a wide variety of learning and teaching materials to satisfy varied curricular and extra-curricular activities of both students and teachers. The collections are selected and developed on the basis of educational philosophy and objectives of the institution, size and nature of the student body, size of the faculty and their needs for research materials. The collection includes text books and recommended books, books of advanced nature for teacher, a wide range of reference books, travelogues, biographies, learned periodicals.

ii) University Library:The collection of the university library includes materials to meet the needs of post-graduate students as well as resources of sufficient breadth and depth to support serious scholarship in all areas. The collection, in fact, embraces a wide variety of subjects for learning, teaching, research and publishing. It provides a general collection, rare materials, newspapers and periodicals, government publications, special materials such as theses, dissertations, archives, clipping, visual and audio-visual materials, digital objects, and so on.d) Services:The academic library plays a central role in the academic work of students and faculty at colleges and universities and is often considered the most important resource of the institution of higher education. As students and faculty at colleges and universities may wish to conduct research within any conceivable academic discipline, the collections of academic libraries usually reflect a vast range of interests and formats. It has both a comprehensive collection to support formal or class room teaching as well as bears a representative collection of different research activities. Some of the universities maintain the largest libraries in the world.Because of the complexity, range, and diversity of formats and information in academic libraries, they frequently offer orientation, library tour programs to introduce incoming students and faculty to the institutions library services. These programs are designed to teach new users the effective ways to make use of a variety of reference tools and library search mechanisms. Even in some parts of theUnited States, college accreditation agencies require institutions to offer library-sponsored courses on information retrieval and evaluation.

i) College Library:The basic function of the college library is to assist its parent institution to carry out its programmes. It must serve the needs and requirements of teachers and students towards reading, study and research. Its educative function includes- providing materials to the college community, making materials easily accessible, arranging orientation programmes in the use of the library, providing bibliographical information to the faculty, arranging inter-library loan, and similar others.ii) University Library:The university libraries provide ready access to materials and facilities such as translation, typing, photocopying. In an effort to provide more efficient service the university library often participates in co-operative undertaking in networking, consortia, interlibrary lending, co-operative and centralized cataloguing and compilation of bibliographies. By accumulating and organizing materials, the library serves as an invaluable aid in the conservation of knowledge and as an active force in teaching, research and extension programme of the university. It also provides a variety of library documentation and information services necessary for the success of the formal programmes of instruction. It also participates in the interpretative function of the university through assistance to the faculty and research staff.

Academic Status of a Librarian

Academic Status of a Librarian: Status means the social position or rank in relation to others and its relative importance. The status of the profession depends upon the rules that reflect the entry qualification for the new aspirants that want to join the profession, their future career prospects, the level of training needed, amount of experience required. After getting a job it also depends upon the position held in the administrative hierarchy of the institution, level of responsibility vested, amount of salary drawn, tenure, voting privileges within or outside the institution, vacation, sabbatical leave, sick leave, retirement benefit, social privilege and so on.At present inIndiathe status of the librarian is somewhat confused and uncertain. However,some academic librarians in colleges and universities are considered as faculty, and they hold similar academic ranks as professors. The following points will throw some light on the overall position of the librarian as an academician in different academic institutions.a) Entry Qualification:At present the entry qualification for the post of librarian at college is on par with that of the lecturer i.e. Master degree with minimum of 55% marks in Library Studies, Library Science, Library and information Science and, in some cases, a Master's degree in another field, SLET/SET/NET and at university level, it is similar with that of the head of different departments.b) Rank in the Administrative Hierarchy:He works at the top level of administrative hierarchy, next to the principal and vice principal at college level and alone with the top administrator such as Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Controller of Examinations in the University level.In case of universities, the librarian is directly responsible to the vice chancellor of the university or in colleges to the principal. The librarian is also a member of a Universitys Academic Council.

c) Responsibilities:He/she acts as a boss or chief executive and is responsible for all the administrative functions of the library.He helps not only the students but also the teaching staff. Besides, he / she can be termed as the teacher of the self-education practice, who complements and supplements the classroom teaching.d) Salary and Grade:The salary and grade of a qualified librarian is at par with the teaching staff of the respective institution. In college, lecturer grade is given to the librarian, in Universities the grade of the librarian is equivalent to professors.e)Condition at Foreign Countries:In theUnited StatesandCanada,generally, the trend is to provide academic status to the librarians working in colleges and universities.InIndia,inKarnataka, the Karnataka Government passed a resolution for the librarian to be treated on par with a teacher on 21stJuly 2006. Of course this is due to the efforts of the Karnataka State College Librarians Association and fde credit goes to the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Shri. Basavaraj Horatti and Shri D H. Shankarmurthy respectively.Further, each individual working in an organization wants a feeling of group belongingness, as the public librarian are group among government officer, the librarian in research laboratories are group among scientist so the academic librarian wants to grouped alone with the faculty member of the institution.So in conclusion if we count the academic and professional qualifications of librarian, they are same as that of teaching staff, so the status should also be the same.Accessioning Work

Accessioning Work:The accessioning work includes the following activitiesa) Receiving the Books and Bills:From the vendors books are received along with bills.b) Checking the Books:After receiving the books they should be checked for page missing, damaged binding, and for such other issues.c) Arranging the Bills and the Books in Parallel Sequence:The books should be arranged in the sequence in which these have been entered in the order placed to the vendor.d) Verification:Then the bill should be verified in regard to the order in terms of books received and the amount to be paid. The order slip with the bill and books should be submitted at the accession corner. If books are not received in time then reminder letters should be sent to the vendor.e) Accessioning:The accessioning involves the following activities-i) Entering details in the accession register:In the accessioning process, the details of the books are entered in the accession register.Documents are entered date-wise according to their receipt in the library. All purchased books are entered in the order of their bills.ii) Entering accession number in the document:Accession number is recorded at the back of title page and on the conventional clue place of the volume.iii) Certifying the bills:Accession number is also written against the respective item in the bill for purchased book.After entering all the items covered by one bill a certificate must be furnished on the bill which should be like the following. A rubber stamp for this purpose may be usefullCertified that all the books as per the bill have been duly entered in the accession register vide numbers from ------ to ----.

f) Transmitting Books:Then the books are sent to the technical department for classification and cataloguing (processing). At this step each book should also be provided with a process slip (7.5 cm X 12.5 cm) as well as earlier order slip.g) Transmitting Bills:Then bills are passed for payment.h)Books In-Process:The cards belonging to them, after noting the date of accessioning and the accession numbers, are filed in a tray labelled as Books In-Process.Terms

i) Accession Register: Accession register is the official stock record in the library about each document forming part of its collection; it is a bound register consisting of essential field in regards to a description of a reading material. This record gives a complete history of each book / periodical acquired by the library. The general practice in libraries is to have a single register in which all types of document whether purchased or received as gift or on exchange or as deposit is entered. But some libraries have the practice of using separate accession registers for gifts. When a book is withdrawn, then the corresponding accession slip is withdrawn or the note regarding withdrawal is given in the accession register. In case, a user loses a book, then with the help of details given in the accession register, the user may be asked either to make payment or to replace the copy.ii) Accession Number: Every volume added to the library receives a serial number in the order of acquisition to the library collection. This includes book purchased or received in exchange or as gift. This number is called accession number. Cumulated volumes of periodicals, which are to be bound and preserved in the library, are also accessioned.

Administration Vs Management

There are many factors according to which administration can be distinguished from management. These are as follows:i) MeaningAdministration:It is concerned with formulation of broad objectives, plans & policies.Management:Management is an art of getting things done through others by directing their efforts towards achievement of pre-determined goals. It puts into action the policies and plans laid down by the administration.ii) NatureAdministration:Administration is a decision-making function.Management:Management is an executing function.iii) ScopeAdministration:It takes major decisions of an enterprise as a whole.Management:It takes decisions within the framework set by the administration.iv) ProcessAdministration:Administration decides what is to be done & when it is to be done.Management:Management decides who should as it & how should he dot it.v) FunctionAdministration:Planning and organizing functions are involved in it.Management:Motivating and controlling functions are involved in it.vi) SkillsAdministration:It needs administrative rather than technical abilities. Administration handles the business aspects such as finance.Management:It requires technical activities. Management handles the employers.vii) LevelAdministration:It is a top-level activity.Management:It is a middle level activity.viii) InfluenceAdministration:The administration is influenced by public opinion, govt. policies, religious organizations, customs etc.Management:The management decisions are influenced by the values, opinions, beliefs & decisions of the managers.ix) StatusAdministration:Administration represents owners of the enterprise who earn return on their capital invested & profits in the form of dividend.Management:Management constitutes the employees of the organization who are paid remuneration (in the form of salaries & wages).Advantages and Disadvantages of Computers

Advantages and Disadvantages of Computers:Computers have some strength, which makes them immensely useful and popular and also adorable for all. Some of its main characteristics are given below-a) Accuracy:Computers can perform all the calculation and comparison accurately provided the hardware does not malfunction.b) Automaticity:Computers are capable of doing certain level of automation provided they are programmed in that order. In the computer, once a task is initiated, it can perform on its own till its completion. It will execute the program in the correct sequence i.e. it will switch on/off the machine at the appropriate time, monitor the operational parameter, send warning signals or take corrective actions if the parameters exceed the control level and so on.c) Diligence / Reliability:The human being suffers from weaknesses like tiredness, lack of concentration etc. being constant and earnest in efforts and application. Humans also have feelings, so they become sad, depressed, bored and negligent and virtually it is reflected in the work they do. But the computers can perform the task repetitively for n numbers of times without any degradation in quality. So computers are more reliable than human beings.d) Speed:Computers can calculate at a very high speed. A modern computer can execute millions of instructions in one second.e) Storage:Computers can store a large amount of information in a very small space. The storage capacity of a computer is virtually unlimited.

f) Versatility:The computer can perform activities ranging from simple calculation to performing complex tasks in any field of knowledge and in different environment conditions, i.e. they can do hazardous jobs even in hospital environment.Being an electronic device the computers have certain limitations also, which can be summarized as follows.a) Lack of Decision Making Power:Computers cannot decide on their own; they are dependent on human instruction. Computers can only do what they are told to do.b) Zero IQ:Computers are dumb machines with zero IQ. They need to be told in each and every step, however minute it may be.c) No Heuristic:Heuristic refers broadly to learning from past experiences. If a computer commits an error once and the similar situation / event occurs again, the computer will commit the same error again. i.e. it can not learn from the past experiences.Archives

Archives:In general, archives consist of records which have been selected for permanent or long-term preservation on the ground of their enduring cultural, historical or evidentiary value. Archival records are normally unpublished and almost always unique, unlike books or magazines for which many identical copies exist. This means that archives (the places) are quite distinct from libraries with regard to their functions and organization, although archival collections can often be found within library buildings.a) Definition:The word archive is derived from the Greek arkh meaning government or order (compare an-archy, mon-archy). The word originally developed from the Greek arkheion which refers to the home or dwelling of the Archon, in which important official state documents were filed and interpreted under the authority of the Archon. Since archive, as a noun or a verb, has acquired meanings related to computer science, Archivists tend to prefer the term archives (with an S) as the correct terminology to serve as both the singular and plural.A person who works in archives is called an archivist. The study and practice of organizing, preserving, and providing access to information and materials in archives is called archival science.b) Objectivesi) Safe storage and preservation of the document in a climate control facility;ii) Classification and Cataloguing of the document;iii) Retrieval and safe handling of the document.c) Collections:It contains records (primary source documents) which have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime. The collection refers to all historical records (not just documents and manuscripts but videos, disks, and other tangible forms as well) held and preserved by an institution. Archival materials are not published; these are always famous documents, or even necessarily old.The archives of an organization (such as a corporation or government) tend to contain records, such as administrative files, business records, memos, official correspondences and meeting minutes. The archives of an individual may include letters, papers, photographs, computer files, scrapbooks, financial records or diaries created or collected by the individual regardless of media or format.d) Services:Professor and author Bruce Dearstyne identified theeightroles of the archivist-- The role of an agent to the past and the future. This means that archivists must always bear in mind its historical significance and its importance to posterity.- They must work in conjunction with related information fields. For example, many archivists work closely with librarians and records managers to determine the value of records and their place in the repository.- They act as organizers. This requires the archivists to manage, coordinate, and allocate resources in a manner that allows an easy access and use by staff and patrons.c) Collections:It contains records (primary source documents) which have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime. The collection refers to all historical records (not just documents and manuscripts but videos, disks, and other tangible forms as well) held and preserved by an institution. Archival materials are not published; these are always famous documents, or even necessarily old.The archives of an organization (such as a corporation or government) tend to contain records, such as administrative files, business records, memos, official correspondences and meeting minutes. The archives of an individual may include letters, papers, photographs, computer files, scrapbooks, financial records or diaries created or collected by the individual regardless of media or format.d) Services:Professor and author Bruce Dearstyne identified theeightroles of the archivist-- The role of an agent to the past and the future. This means that archivists must always bear in mind its historical significance and its importance to posterity.- They must work in conjunction with related information fields. For example, many archivists work closely with librarians and records managers to determine the value of records and their place in the repository.- They act as organizers. This requires the archivists to manage, coordinate, and allocate resources in a manner that allows an easy access and use by staff and patrons.Areas of Computer Application in LibraryAreas of Computer Application in Library:A modern library cannot be imagined without the application of computers. In the library and information centres computers can be used for performing efficiently all sorts of jobs from the procurement of the reading materials to their organization and use. So, it can serve as a remedy for all the existing problems of libraries and information centres. But, till now computers have been used successfully in the following areas of library activities.A) Library House Keeping Operation:In case of library house keeping operation, the computer is used for acquisition of books and other reading materials, their classification, cataloguing, circulation and serial control.a) Acquisition:The selection of materials can be made by the computer. Any library which is a part of online computerized library system has access to catalogue entries and bibliographic data of all the libraries in the system. These databases can be used as a selection tools to purchase new documents for the particular library in question. Other offline databases can also be used as selection tools for non current documents and sometimes out of print books. For other documents, conventional book selection methods may be used. The MARC bibliographic record service has opened up a new vista in both cataloguing and bibliographic database that can be used as a book selection tool.The ordering and acquisition are the routine jobs in the library and for a single time ordering it requires repetitive operation by different sections. These repetitive operations and the requisite checking can very well be done by the application of the computer system. Both offline and online acquisition can be performed by the use of computers.b) Classification:A computer based classification system is being experimented at the Documentation Research and Training Centre,Bangalore. It is based on Colon Classification System.c) Cataloguing:The computerized cataloguing system operates with high speed for performing routine and repetitive jobs. Besides, in the cataloguing unit, computer can also be used in various other ways such as producing book plates, book pockets, book cards, spine labels, etc. It can also produce a variety of records, card catalogues in the book form, printed catalogue, etc. as byproducts. The following uses of computer in cataloguing have already been able to draw the attention of the librarians.The MARC project was started in November, 1965 by the Library of Congress, USA. The latest development in the system includes the CoMARC (Co-Operative Machine Readable Cataloguing). Computer Output Microfilm (COM) was developed in theUSAby Stromberg Carlson Company. The Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), previously known as the Ohio College Library Centre was started in August 1970. All these have successfully used computers for cataloguing of documents.

d) Serial Control:Serials are continuing publication having reasonably permanent titles and appearing usually at regular intervals. Their contents usually vary from issue to issue. An article as a single bibliographic unit may be published in more than one issue and even in more than one volume. Obviously, the users may be interested in an issue of a serial as a bibliographic unit, or an article spread over a number of issues as a bibliographic unit. So, serial control comprises complex operations of library activities because of the vary nature and characteristics of Serial as library material. Again, the conflict between the physical unit and the bibliographic unit makes Serial control a complex task.In case of Serial, the current issues, the retrospective or immediate back issues and bound volumes under every year of publication is an ongoing process. In this case, the library should encounter the search problem because of the conflict between the title and the corporate body, the old titles and the changed titles, nature of irregularity in publication (more than one issue in a single publication and the like). These situations pose the problem of listing, acquisition, accessioning, cataloguing and creation of records in the desired format.e) Circulation:The circulation activities are the life-stream of the library services.The library documents are for use and are intended for the users. At various points, documents are to be trapped for the users who have recorded their priority in using such documents. The circulation is a flow of document, but the flow should be controlled by library operations so as to serve the users in the best possible way with the available materials in the library.B) Library Administrations:In case of library administration, the library automation helps ina) Providing Access Right to Staff Membersb) Providing Access Right to Library Usersc) Exception Reportingd) Generation of Library Statistics / Report

C) Information Retrieval:Today, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) or sometimes Web OPAC facility provided by the library and information centres helps in easy retrieval of information. Computers are also used for searching Library Database: eg.International Nuclear Information System.D) Building Digital / Virtual Libraries Collection: Computers can also be used to build digital or virtual collection or for institutional repository of the library.E) Resource Sharing:In order to facilitate the provision of material request on inter library loan basis, the use of computers and other latest telecommunication devices is being put to use in almost all the countries of the world. The Online Union catalogue is also a product of computer application in library.F) Library Network:INFLIBNET, Developing Library Network (DELNET) is the example of taking library automation as its first step or base structure.G) Information System:World Science Information System (UNISIST), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLARS), illustrate the advanced stage of library automation.H) User Services:The library automation also helps to provide Current Awareness Service (CAS), Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) Services, Indexing and Abstracting Service, Web Based Translation Services, Computer Based Indexing and Abstracting Services, and so on.

Conclusion:Today, the computers have entered each and every area of a library. The library automation is the application of modern technologies including the application of computer hardware and software, different storage medias, telecommunications, etc. which help the mechanization of any activity in the library. To implement the computer in the library, the selection of proper hardware and software forms an essential part. If proper software is selected, it will automatically generate or create OPAC which will replace the traditional card catalogue of the library. The feature-rich software will also have the provision of retrospective conversion. It will help the library to enter minimum of details about the document in their collection in the database of some other libraries and will help in getting the full bibliographic record of the document that can be embedded in the local database.

Array and Chain

1. Introduction:The addition of a characteristic to a basic subject idea or an isolate idea leads to the addition of an array. The addition of an array implies the addition of a further division of a basic subject or an isolate idea as the case may be. Any isolate idea taken along with its succession of sub isolates is also an isolate idea. The succession of the isolate idea from the first to the last reached in this process is denoted by the term chain of isolate idea. A chain may similarly be formed in respect of basic subject idea.2. Array:The series of co-ordinate subdivision which are obtained by dividing a class or a division according to a single characteristic. Each co-ordinate division in array should exclude all the others and the whole array should be exhaustive of the context of the class. The order of the division in an array should be that deemed most helpful to users.3. Chain:The successions of division subordinate one to another expressing the relation. A includes B which in turn includes C (or conversely c is a part of B which is a part of A) constitute a chain of or it may also be defined as a hierarchy of term each containing or including all which follow it in the same series.4. Examples:Asia, India, Assam, Kamrup, Guwahati is a chain of isolate idea.

Assam Library Association

AssamLibrary Association:The Assam Library Association (Sadau Assam Puthibharal Sangha) was started in the year 1938 mainly by the personal enthusiasm of Shri Kumudeswar Borthakur (1893-1966), a man who devoted his life for the growth and development of libraries in Assam. He was fully assisted in the matter of public library services by Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi and other political and social workers. By establishing this Association, Assam became the 8th state in country in establishing state level library association. After the executive meeting held on 16th July 1972 ALA became inactive till 1996. However, on 22nd February, 1997 it got revived with a full fledged executive council.The Association has been performing the following functions and activitiesi) Making People Aware:After the birth of ALA an attempt was made for a wide publicity of the library movement through different avenues like Bihu festivals, public meeting, advertisement through the screen of Kelvin Cinema, Guwahati etc. With the help of daily newspapers and using the market places people were sought to be made aware of the library movement. Children were encouraged to demand books from their parents on the occasion of their birthday or as reward for good performance in examination.The lower income groups of people were approached for small contribution through mustibhiksha, which was a unique way of collecting handful of grains and the money thus collected from the sale of the grains was to be spent on libraries.ii) Organization of Rural Libraries:In the 1stconference of Assam Library Association in 1938 hardly 50 libraries were recorded to have been engaged in library work throughout the villages of Assam and during the span of 10 years (1938-1948) Barthakur organized 250 libraries. Between May-July, 1971 it established Goalpara, Tezpur, Jorhat, Nagaon, Nalbari, Barpeta, Dibrugarh, Mangoldoi, Guwahati Mahkuma Committee for carrying out its activities but in the subsequent years it did not give much fruitful result. The Association, further, at its Granthalok of 1972/73 listed 169 rural libraries of Assam with detailed address (Granthalok: 1973: 81-87) that were affiliated to ALA.iii) Draft Public Library Act:On the invitation of the 8thconferences (1964) of the All Assam Library Association held at Gauhati under the chairmanship of Pandit Dr. Maheswar Neog, Dr. S. R. Ranganathan prepared a Draft Public Libraries Act for Assam which was submitted to the Government and further in the 9th Annual conference held at Guwahati on 9, 10 and 11th April, 1971 reiterated its earlier demand but it has not got any fruitful result till now. The Draft Public Library Act was published in the Souvenir of Assam Library Association of 1971. Again, since 1998 attempt has continuously been made to enact the library legislation in Assam. A draft Assam State Public Library and Information Bill made by a Govt-appointed committee has been submitted and now it is in the process of being accepted.v) Publication:In connection with the 8thAnnual conference of 1964 ALA published one Souvenir; A Souvenir was also published by the reception committee with 9th Annual conference in 1971. At the 10th Annual Conference on 24th and 25th November, 1972 at Nagaon the half yearly official organ of the Association titled Granthalok took birth. In 1972/73 it brought out another volume of Granthalok. One newsletter was published in the year 1999.v) Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and Training:ALA also made an attempt to build up a voluntary village library system by organizing conferences in different districts and in this way has been able to arouse and enlist public support and sympathy for public libraries by holding different conferences at Dibrugarh (1938), Tezpur (1952), Nagawn, Jorhat (1953), Golaghat (1955), Bokakhat (1957), Mangoldoi (1959), Guwahati (8th conference, 24th and 25th October 1964), Guwahati (9th conference on 9, 10 and 11th April, 1971), Nagaon (10th Annual Conference on 24th and 25th November, 1972) etc.vi) Librarians Day Celebration:In 1998 ALA celebrated Librarians Day with Guwahati Library Association (GLA) at Guwahati and in 1999 with Jorhat Library Association. It observed its 12th Annual Conference on 12th August at Guwahati District Library Auditorium along with the Librarians Day which was also observed in association with the Department of Library and Information Science, Gauhati University and Guwahati Library Association.Through a resolution passed in the 8thConference (1964), the All Assam Library Association had resolved to start a certificate course in Library Science but till now it has not been implemented. The Association, however, is passing into an inactive stage day by day. Unless some young and energetic librarians take the responsibility, the future of the Association is not encouraging.

Association for Information Management (ASLIB)Association for Information Management (ASLIB):An exploratory conference held at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire in 1924 resulted in a decision to form the Association of special Libraries and Information Bureau (ASLIB). In 1983, name of the Association was changed to Association for information Management, but as the association is well know as ASLIB, its acronym retained.a) Aim and Objectivesi) To facilitating the co-ordination and systemic use of sources of knowledge and information in all public affair and in industry and commerce and in all the arts and sciences.ii) To increase the contribution of information to the economy, social and cultural life of community management.b) Membership:The membership of ASLIB is largely composed of bodies including industrial and business organizations, profession and learned societies, public, academic and national libraries publishers and database providers.c) Activities:The main activities of ASLIB are discussed bellowi) Conference and Seminars:Each Annual Conference of ASLIB takes up a specific theme for deliberations. Besides, ASLIB and its various specialist group regularly organize conference seminars and professionals meetings to discuss issues confronting the library and information specialists.ii) Training:ASLIB organize short term courses and training programmes for both members and non members.iii) Information Service:ASLIB through its outline information centre provide enquiry service concerning the availability of databases on specific subjects, coverage of data, search strategy and equipment and telecommunication.iv) Library:There are more than 30,000 volumes in the ASLIB library. Most of the books are related to Information Science and Documentation.d) Publication:Some of the publications of ASLIB arei) ASLIB Newsletter (Monthly)ii) ASLIB Proceeding(Monthly)iii) ASLIB Booklist(Monthly)iv) ASLIB Directoryv) Journal of Documentation (quarterly)vi) Program : News of computers in libraries (Quarterly)vii) Forthcoming International scientific and technical conference (Quarterly)viii) The hand book of special librarianshipix) Index to theses.

Basic Principles of Library Building DesignBasicPrinciples of Library Building Design:Some of the basic principles of library building design are mentioned below-a) Functional Design:A library building should have functional design rather than a monumental one. There should be provision for documents, users, staff, and service areas.There should be areas for senior professionals rooms, library staff, seminar room, binding section, reprographic section, digital library section with additional areas for acquisition section, technical section, reference section, reading room, room for stack book, circulation section, etc.b) Open Access:The availability of the number of library staff, the user demand and the type of collection are the deciding factors for a library to go for open access or closed access system. In a closed access library the users are prohibited to enter the library, they should write their demands in some slips. The building design for open access is also considered useful for closed access system. However, vice versa is not true. But, in both the closed and the open access systems, library property counter and some such a thing are a must, because the users are free to enter the reading room and the periodical section in both the cases. Both the systems require that the library building should have a single entrance and one exit point for keeping a proper control on incoming and outgoing users. The whole building should be accessible from the entrance to different parts of the building by means of simple and easy to understand plan requiring only a few directions or guides. Doors and windows should be protected by means of wire fabric to avoid any loss of books.c) Future Growth:A library building should be planned for at least next 20 years, keeping in view the rate of collection development, number of readers, technology enhancements, etc. The building should be extendable to allow for future growth with minimum of disruption.There should also be adequate provision for future expansion, both horizontally and vertically.f) Modular Design:A building on modular system is the one which is supported by columns placed at regular interval. The basic dimensions of library building should be in multiples or submultiples of some module/column. Even while only the columns are load bearing inside the building, outside walls may also bear the load. Columns, stairways, lifts, hearing facilities, plumbing and ducts are all fixed and everything else is movable. Thus, the modular system leads to flexibility.g) Economic:The design should be such that the operation of the library can be carried out with the minimum of staff and finance. The windows should be covered with net.h) Secure:The building should be free from dust, dirt, and cobwebs. To deal with other vermin the best remedy would be to have a rat proof building. The water may not enter the stack room either through ventilators and windows or due to leakage of roof. The stacking material should be fire proof. Sufficient number of fire extinguishers and fire buckets should be fixed at various strategic places in the building. The library building should also be designed to guard against some detrimental habits of the readers, visitors and outsiders.

Bengal Library AssociationBengalLibrary Association:Bengal Library Association (Bangiya Granthagar Parishad), formerly known as All Bengal Library Association, was established in 1925 under the presidentship of Poet Rabindranath Tagore. Presently, the Association is housed in its four-storied building accommodating its office, library, class rooms and computer room at P64, CIT Scheme 52, Kolkata - 700 014.a) Objectives:The Objectives of the Association are:i) Propagating the importance of library and information services for individuals and for the society and developing awareness for the library and information services;ii) Suggesting measures for improvement and expansion of library services for all categories of libraries in the state;iii) Organizing movement for the improvement of the service conditions and proper pay and status of the library workers;iv) Organizing conferences and seminars to enlighten people about the various aspects of the library movement and library servicesv) Organizing training courses, refresher courses, workshops etc. and publishing books, periodicals, reports etc pertaining to library science and library services.b) Organization:The General Body, the Council and the Executive Committee form the organizational structure of BLA.c) Membership:Anybody interested in the library movement may become a member of the Association. There are five categories of members of the Association i.e. Patron, Honorary Member, Donor Member, Life Member, Personal Member and Institutional Member.d) Functions and Activities:The Association is performing the following functions and activitiesi) Library Service:The Association has a library of its own with a collection of more than 5 thousand books on library and information science and reference tools. The Library is open to all members and students.ii) Publication:The first periodical on Library Science in Bengal was published by the Bengal Library Association in 1937 as Bengal Library Association Bulletin Bangiya Granthagar Parishad Patrika. Presently, the Association publishes a monthly journal in Bengali with English Abstract named Granthagar. Besides this, the Association also regularly publishes books on Library and Information Science and library services in English and Bengali. The English collection includes Research Methodology, Book Classification, Phanibhusan Roy Commemorative Volume, Library Movement in India, etc.iii) Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and Training:Bengal Library Conference is a forum of the library users and workers where any person having interest in library services can participate.iv) Course in LIS:It has been conducting a Certificate Course in Library Science since 1937, Special Course on Computer Application in Library Services, and Refresher courses for working librarians.Bibliographic ControlAccording to UNESCO / Library of Congress Survey, bibliographic control means the mastery over written and published records which is provided by and for the purpose of bibliography. Effective bibliographic control should be made at subject and national level.A) National Bibliographic Control:The national library ensures the bibliographic control of all the books or book-like documents published in that particular country. It has the provision of legal deposit by a host of different programs such as a cataloguing in publication service or similar mandatory practices. By cataloguing in publication service, the Library of Congress gives a complete catalogue entry of a book to any publisher who sends a final draft or some form of galley proof of a book currently in production.B) International Bibliographic Control:One of the main goals of a national library is fulfilling their nation's part of the common international goal of universal bibliographic control. The International bibliographic control is done by the exchanges and also by fostering the creation of standard conceptual tools such as library classification systems and cataloguing rules. The most commonly used of these tools is the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD). It applies to books and periodicals, but also has variants for other book-like material such as the ISBD (ER) for Electronic Resources or digital documents or the ISBD (A) for Antiquarian documents.C) Conclusion:New ideas are generated in each and every branch of human activity from time to time. Apart from new ideas we give new interpretation to old ideas, at times we also borrow ideas from other discipline and try to apply them in a new content. As a result more and more information are produced in a variety of forms leading to information explosion. There is a need to keep track of this information explosion by way of bibliographic control.

Bibliography1. History of the Bibliography:the word bibliography originated in post classical Greek times. It has been derived from the Greek word biblion which means books and graphein is to write. So etymologically bibliography changed practically. Since 1763 from writing of books to writing about books. The term bibliography was first used by Louis Jacob de Saint Charles in his Bibliographia parisiana (1645-50) and Konrad Gesner regarded as the father of bibliography, he attempted to list of all scholarly publications in bibliotheca universities which appear in 1545. Great German bibliographer Ebert define bibliography as the science that deals with literary production Copinger define bibliography as the grammar of literary investigation C. W. Claps defined bibliography as the systematic listing of the records of human communications. The bibliography as defined by Louis Shores is a list of written, printed or otherwise produced record of civilization, which may include books, serials, pictures, films, maps, records, manuscripts and any other media of communication. According to Ranganathan the bibliography is a list of document listed together for some purpose. The purpose is to bring to the attention of the reader an exhaustive or selective lis of document relevant to his pursuit of study or enquire. ALA glossary of library and information science defined bibliography as a list of works, documents or bibliographic items, usually with some relationship between them. E.g by a given author on a given subject or published in a given place and differing from a catalogue in that its contents are not restricted to the holding of a single libraries or group of libraries.2. Aims and Functions of Bibliography:Librarianship is a profession in which what is recorded by what so ever of librarianship is bibliographies. Bibliography generally serves the following functions:a) It is a guide to the literature of a subject: bibliography is actually an index compiled systematically on a subject, so it serves as a guide to the literature of the subject.b) Finding the existence: A bibliography enables one to find out what has already been written on his subject and allows him to keep himself well informed and up to date. This avoids duplication in research, saving him both time and money.c) Verification of bibliographic detail: Whenever we are to verify a title or collect information on any subject we are to consult a bibliography (subject bibliography). It also helps us to as certain bibliographical data about an author thus helping in the identification of a document.d) Location of material: A bibliography helps in locating the material or book in terms of place of publication, location in the library on point of purchase.e) Book selection: A bibliography by adding a note to each document being listed, indicate the value of the document to a given type of user. So it helps in books selection i. e. which book should be consulted for a given purpose.f) It preserves documents: bibliography by listing of documents preserve all books, good, bad and indifferent from oblivion.g) It provides list of prior records of civilization: bibliography provide information about the prior records of communication. Thus it is a vital aid to the study of history.3. Types of Bibliography:Bibliographies are of the following typesa) Analytical Bibliography:According to Roy B Stokes on analytical bibliography involves investigation of the physical nature of the book which can be and frequently is sufficiently exhaustive to enable all the circumstances of the book manufacture and history to be revealed. Analytical or critical bibliography therefore rests to a large extent upon imperfection in the production process and as such it has been defined as the physical examination of books. There would have been virtually no need of analytical bibliography if every step in the production process was perfectly accomplished and a perfect book produced in every care. But unfortunately such perfection has been a rare thing in the history of book production or has at latest happened in exceptional case.b) Descriptive Bibliography:Descriptive bibliography is the application of analytical bibliography to the external form of the book i.e it concern itself with the materials forms of books and not with their literary contexts. its function is primarily that of recording the bibliography details of the book which has been established during the process of analytical bibliography. In Descriptive bibliography the bibliograph details are kept to minimum because the basic purpose to listing. Descriptive bibliography aims to describe all variation from this ideal form. But due to standardization of books production the importance of descriptive bibliography has decreased greatly.c) Textual Bibliography:It is an application of analytical bibliography to the contexts of books. It is a bibliography applied to textual studies. The main purpose of such a bibliography is to determine the effect of writing or the printing process on the correctness or completeness of a text. It helps ascertain the variety of authorship edition etc. thus textual variation between a manuscript and the printed books or between various reprints or edition. So the textual bibliography is more interested in the authors wards and tries to determine the exact words that the author intended should constitute his work. The aim is to prepare definite edition of the original author. We can say therefore the textual bibliography is an area which seems to be of great importance for literary critics rather than librarians or bibliographies.d) Historical Bibliography:The study of books as object of art may be termed a historical bibliography. It is concerned with art of writing, printing, illumination and binding. The historical bibliography makes an attempt to achieve a broad understanding of the milieu of the book in the context of the world of books, and social and cultural conditions in existence at the time because the significance of books is very great in every phase of civilization and of life. Historical bibliography has to content itself with the evolution of typefaces from its very early manuscripts origin. Then again the very material of which the book is compared paper as we know it, from its handmade stage to that of machine manufactured.e) Systematic Bibliography:systematic bibliography is nothing but the listing of books and other reading material according to some useful system of reference scheme. According to Arundell Esdaile to assemble the resulting entries, simple or elaborate as the case may required into logical and useful arrangement for reference and study is called systematic bibliography. Esdale in his students manual of bibliography has divided bibliography into two categories namely primary and secondary.a) Primary Bibliography:Primary bibliographies are those which are the original record of the whole or part of their content.i) General or Universal Bibliography:In general or universal bibliography, it attempts to include books published in every country and age and on all subject. It is a survey of all records of civilization in all fields of knowledge for whatever the time, place, language, subject or author. It does not matter. In fact there is no universal bibliography as such but the publish catalogue of great libraries of the world can be stated to be the nearest approaches to this type of bibliography. Eg. Library of Congress Catalogue of Books., British Museum General Catalogue of printed books. Also Konard Gesner, the father of bibliography attempts to list all scholarly publication in the world which appears in 1545, under the title Bibliotheca Universalisii) Incunabula Bibliography:This type of bibliography lists the early printed material upto 15thcentury. It was considered a cradle period of printing and the systematic order in arranging various parts of the book was not followed. Eg. Proctor Robert An index to the early printed books in the British Museum from the invention of printing to the year 1300 with notes of those in the Bodleian library. Konard Burgers index, London 1960.iii) Bibliography of anonymous and pseudonymous works:These types of bibliographies are arranged alphabetically by title with notes of author, details of publication and annotations and notes about authority for the ascription. They are also provided with an index of initials and pseudonyms. Sometimes the titles are arranged alphabetically with names of the authors in square brackets and notes about the authority for the attribution at the end. Eg. Dictionary of anonymous and pseudonymous literature.iv) Trade bibliographies:These types of bibliographies are brought out by large publishing firms engaged in book production or trade. The books available for sale or purchase are listed therein. Eg. Whitakers cumulative book list, London, Whitaker British Book in print etc.v) National bibliography:it is a comprehensive, almost complete record of both written and printed output in a given country, furnishing description and supplying verification which cannot found in the less complete bibliographies. So in short a national bibliography list all documents published in a given country. The national bibliography is compiled on the basis of the materials received by the National Libraries under the copyright act as promulgated in various countries. A national bibliography is considered a national heritage and its purpose is intellectual not commercial (selling). It is useful for the researcher and the posterity. Example: Indian National Bibliography, Kolkata, Central Reference Library, British National Bibliography, LondonB) Secondary Bibliography:Secondary bibliographies are those in which material registered elsewhere is rearranged for the convenience of research. In these documents already recorded in primary bibliographies are selected, analyzed, and rearranged either by subject, author, period or typography.i) Subject Bibliography:A subject bibliography is a comprehensive list of all books, periodicals articles, pamphlets and other analytical materials that have appeared on that subject, such a bibliography is international in scope since it covers everything that has been appeared on the subject in different languages and in different countries of the world. Example: Education Abstract, 1949 to date, Paris, UNESCO.ii) Author Bibliography:An author bibliography is the list of writing by an author together with the works on him by others.Example: Mahatma Gandhi: A descriptive bibliography, compiled by Dr. J. S. Sharma, Delhi, S. Chand, 1955.iii) Personal Bibliography:A personal bibliography is a list of writings by others on the different aspects of the life of a great man together with what he himself has written, printed and delivered in the form of oratory. Kindly note that personal bibliography is different from that of author bibliography.Example: Jawaharlal Nehru: A descriptive bibliography by Jagdish Saran Sharma, Delhi, S. Chand & Co, 1955.iv) Bibliophilic Bibliography:A bibliography that records old and rare books, first editions of celebrated authors is known as bibliophilic bibliography. These bibliographies are only for those who have a craze for old and rare books, especially for first edition of books of celebrated author. They have fancy for such book for their magnificent look, distinctive physical feature, colorfulness, sumptuous binding, decorative covers, brilliant illustration and pictorial ornamentation, grand illumination and beautiful type face, sometimes on sentimental ground and sometimes for getting original thought of the author.Example: Johnson, Merie de Vore, American first editon, 4thed, revised N. Y. Bowker, 1942.v) Selective Bibliography (Elective):This kind of bibliography is concerned with the listing of only selected and the best books. This is useful to those who want to record only the best. This is also serves as a valuable book selection tool to small and medium-sized libraries.Example: The best books: A readers guide, 3rded, by W. S. Sonnenschein, London, Routledge, 1910 35, 6 Vol.vi) Unit Bibliography:It is a list of different editions adaptations, abridged forms, translations, dramatization, versification, criticism, etc of a single literary work conveniently arranged in order to give a comprehensive picture of its literary excellence and popularity. Every literary work by every author does not deserve a unit bibliography. It is only in the case of such works which have sound scholars curiosity by dint of their great literary merit, universal appeal and enormous popularity that unit bibliographies are compiled.Example: The Arabian Hights Entertainment with its numerous adaptations and translations.vii) Bibliography of Bibliographies (Bibliographic Index):As the bibliographies in various subject fields have multiplied now a day the compilation of this kind of bibliography has become imperative. It is a list of bibliographies recorded in a systematic and logical order. It includes all type of bibliographies in various subject fields, separately published. This kind of bibliography is also known as bibliographic index.Example: Besterman Theodore, A world bibliography of bibliographies.

BlogBlog:The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. Then Peter Merholz, jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in 1999, from where it becomes popular as "blog". Thus Blog is derived from Weblog. Blog or weblog is a web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles normally in reverse chronological order with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.1. Definition:Blogs have different meaning to different people, ranging from online journal to easily updated personal website. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.According to Concept Websites Ltd (http://www.conceptwebsites.com/SEO/common-terms.htm), a blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.In simple, it can be said that it is a web based website where articles posted will automatically be arranged in reverse chronological fashion or in a chronological fashion. The owner/member will post message which are sometimes rich with graph, audio, video and hyperlink periodically enabling others to view and comment. Topics often include the owner's/members daily life or views on a particular subject or topic of important to the group. The original post with its associated comments and discussion provide a very insight to the topic at hand.Many blogs are frequently updated and publicly accessible i.e they allow anybody to sign up at any time; some others are private where entry to the group is restricted. Some advanced users have server-side software, and often implement membership management and password protected areas. Others have created a mix of a blog and wiki, called a bliki.2. History:At the initial stage of internet development, Usenet, e-mail lists, Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), chronicles, commonplaces, diaries, and perzines were used as a form of Citizen Media. Bulletin Board is a service whereby messages and points of interest can be posted to be read and replied to unlike list server. The news group provides access to thousands of topic based discussion group services which are open to all. The news reader software allows one to post an article to any group for others to read. A comment to the message (original) can be added to the thread of the article. In recent times these are effectively replaced by the blog.During recent days, blog has evolved into a tool that offers some of the most insightful information on the Web. It provides self-publishing phenomenon represented by blogging and becoming much more common in LIS, as librarians, libraries and library associations have begun to blog as a way of communicating with their patrons and constituents. Many librarians world wide also publish their personal blogs that offer a wealth of information about librarianship, their parent institution and sometimes to their personal lives as well.The emergence of blogging provides a medium to give readers of the library new perspectives on the realities, as well as often offering different viewpoints from those of its official news sources. Many bloggers began to provide nearly-instant commentary on televised events, creating a secondary meaning of the word "blogging": to simultaneously transcribe and editorialize speeches and events shown on television (liveblogging).3.Anatomy of a Blog Entry:Blog uses web interfaces that allow anyone over the Internet, to create blogs by their own. It usually does not demand the maintenance of server software by the users themselves. It also does not demand to go for the HTML. A blog entry typically consists of the following:a) Title:The main title, or headline, of the post;b) Body:Main content of the post;c) Permalink:The URL of the full, individual article;d) Post Date:Date and time the post published.A blog entry optionally also includes the comments or feedback. Comments are a way to provide discussion on blog entries. Readers can leave a comment on a post (a way of correcting ones error) or they can also leave their personal opinion on the previous post(s).4. Types:There are various types of blogs, and each differs in the way content is delivered or written. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic, the ability to quote another user's post with special formatting in ones post is also a special feature of many blogs. Generally, blog can be categorized as follows:a) Linklog:A blog comprising links;b) Moblog:A blog written by a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA);c) Photoblog:A blog comprising photos;d) Podcasting:Blog containing audio;e) Vlog:A blog comprising videos.Blog can also be categorized based on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs, legal blogs (often referred to as a blawg), Library blogs, Academic Library blogs, Librarians blogs and so on.5. Importance:Blogging combined the site with tools to make linking to other pages easier specifically permalinks, blogrolls and TrackBacks. This, together with blog search engines enabled bloggers to track the threads that connected them to others with similar interests.a) Blog as a Forum:The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format and the scope for adding more than one author in a blog, can be used to create discussion forum. Wordpress comments at the bottom of a blog post allow for a single-threaded discussion of any given blog post. Slashcode, on the other hand, is far more complicated, allowing fully threaded discussions and incorporating a robust moderation and meta-moderation system as well as many of the profile features available to forum users.b) Blog as a Group:The Blogs RSS Feed or Atom by burning with some feed burning services can be used to provide email subscription option (some blog hosting service even produce it by default). This feature can be used as a group to notify the intended users or reader or subscribers about some announcement.Blog also have blogrolls (i.e. links to other blogs which the owner reads or admires), and indicate the social relationship of a particular blog to those of other bloggers. Pingback (links to other sites that refer to the entry) and trackback (one of three types of Linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents) allow one blog to notify another blog, creating an inter-blog conversation. In summary, blogs engage readers and build a virtual community around a particular person or interest, which have immense implication in library and information science.c) A Major Part of the Internet:Blogs are easy to create and maintain as compared to websites. As a result, people are turning towards blog as a publication medium. Day by day, its volume as well as quality increases and now we are in a position where we can say that if one is unable to locate any information over internet by searching in the traditional general purpose search engine then it must be in blog.d) Latest Information:The literature search forms the backbone of any research activities. In recent times, a part of this business relies on internet and for a comprehensive list of resources over internet, the search should extend to blog also, as it contains the latest, up to the minute information on a given topic.e) Substitute of Mainstream Media:Blog increasingly considered as a substitute of the mainstream media for news services, consultants, etc. As blog becomes a standard part of the publicity arsenal, it is used extensively as a tool for outreach and opinion forming and as means of applying pressure upon concern authority and like other. It can also be used to push the messages directly to the public by avoiding the filtering process of the mainstream media (the editorial board of which often cut down the massage as a means to avoid the legal liabilities, to present credible news or at times to justify their presence!).6. Finding a Blog / Blog Search Engine:The general purpose search engines generally avoid displaying results from blogosphere. So, for searching the blog over internet, reliance must be placed on the specially designed blog search engines. Several blog search engines are used to search blog contents (also known as the blogosphere), such as blogdigger, Feedster, and Technorati, which helps one to find out what people are saying on any subject of his/her interest. In the following paragraph an attempt is made to list and discuss some of the most popular blog search engines.a) Blogdigger (http://www.blogdigger.com/index.html):Blogdigger is a blog and media search engine founded in March 2003 by Greg Gershman. Blogdigger began as an experiment with RSS and search technologies, developing into a search engine that provides fast, up-to-the-minute search results of the latest posts collected from blogs and syndicated content feeds, such as RSS and Atom.b) Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com):Bloglines is a web-based news aggregator for browsing weblogs and other news feeds. Mark Fletcher founded the site in 2003 and sold it in February 2005 to Ask.com. Bloglines uses an interface with the blogs names in one frame and their most recently updated content in another pane.c) Feedster (http://www.feedster.com):Feedster was founded in March 2003 by Scott Johnson. In June 2003, it merged with RSS-Search founded by Franois Schiettecatte. Feedster began as a weblog search tool, indexing and archiving individual blog posts based on a site's RSS feed. Feedster gained popularity with blog enthusiasts because it indexed new information fast, let users sort search results chronologically, and made it possible to subscribe to search results as an RSS feed. It has now expanded to offer a wide range of related services, including "Feed of the Day".d) IceRocket (http://www.icerocket.com):IceRocket is an Internet search engine specialized in searching blogs. IceRocket is backed by Mark Cuban and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. In 2005, CNet reported that it may be re launched as Blogscour.e) PubSub:PubSub is an Internet search engine for searching blogs which was founded in 2002 by Bob Wyman and Salim Ismail. The site operates by storing a user's search term, making it a subscription, and checking it against posts on blogs which ping the search engine. When a new match is found, the user is notified, even if it occurs months after the initial search. This feature has led PubSub to call itself a matching engine. Results can be read on the service's website or on an optional sidebar, available for both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. PubSub is currently having problem as noted in by Bob Wyman.f) Sphere (http://www.sphere.com):The Sphere search engine delivers blog posts based on algorithms that combine semantic matching with authority factors to deliver results relevant to the search query. Sphere also organizes bloggers by topic. The company produces an application called Sphere It! allowing users to seek blog posts related to news articles based on the contents of a particular web page they're viewing. The function is accessed from a browser navigation bar plug-in. Upon clicking the plug-in button, a semantic analysis is performed on the text within the page and blog posts related to the text of the article are returned.g) Technorati (http://www.technorati.com):Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs, competing with Google, Yahoo, PubSub and IceRocket. As of November2006, Technorati indexes over 60 million weblogs. The site won the SXSW 2006 awards for Best Technical Achievement and also Best of Show. It has also been nominated for a 2006 Webby award for Best Practices. Technorati provides current information on both popular searches and tags used to categorize blog postings. Blogs are also given rankings by Technorati based on the amount of incoming links and Alexa Internet based on the web hits of Alexa Toolbar users.h) Google Blog Search (http://www.google.co.in/blogsearch?hl=en):Google Blog Search is a search engine focused on blogs, with a continuously updated search index. Results include all blogs, not just those published through Blogger. Results can be viewed and filtered by date. Google provides following option to search for blogi) Google-style interface (blogsearch.google.com)ii) Blogger-style interface) (search.blogger.com)iii) The Blogger Dashboardiv) The Navbar on any BlogAll of the above provide same search, no matter where one searches. The Navbar, however, provides two buttons: one to search the blog that one currently viewing, and one to search all blogs. It also provides Advanced Search features where one can specify titles, authors, languages and more. After getting the search results, it also provides an additional link that allows to switch between displaying the results with either the most relevant or recent results at the top.7. Blog Hosting Services:Blogs are generally hosted by dedicated blog hosting services or on regular web hosting services. Most of the free blog hosting services are ad-supported but generally have unlimited posting bandwidth and storage space.Generally, a small advertisement square banner is placed on the user blog, which does not affect the overall make up the said blog. Many blog hosting services also notified the blogger when someone adds some comments on his/her blog. Examples include the followingi) Blogger (https://www.blogger.com/start):Blogger was started by Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan (Pyra Labs of San Francisco) in August 1999 and was purchased by Google in February 2003.ii) coComment (http://www.cocomment.com/):coComment is a Swiss startup company funded by Swisscom Innovations and focused on providing high quality services to internet users worldwide. The company is based in Geneva, Switzerland.iii) LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com/):Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal in March 1999. The LiveJournal can be used as a private journal, a blog, a discussion forum, a social network, and like other.iv) Open Diary (http://www.opendiary.com/):Launched in October 1998, soon growing to thousands of online diaries. Open Diary becomes the first blog community where readers could add comments to other writers' blog entries.v) Pitas.com (http://www.pitas.com/):Andrew Smales created Pitas.com in July 1999 as an easier alternative to maintaining a "news page" on a website, followed by Diaryland in September 1999, focusing more on a personal diary community.vi) Xanga (http://www.xanga.com/):Launched in 1996, had only 100 diaries by 1997, but over 20 million as of December 2005.Other blog hosting service includes Blog (http://www.blog.com/), DreamHost (http://www.dreamhost.com/), Salon.com (http://www.salon.com), Tripod (http://www.tripod.lycos.com/), Vox (http://www.vox.com/), WordPress (http://www.worldpress.org/), etc.Book OrderBook Order:Once a book has been selected for purchase, then an order has to be placed to acquire it by typing from the book selection slip in a sheet or two. In case the book being ordered is an additional copy or a new edition of an available book, the staff would put down the call number in the book order slip. The ordering procedure relates to three stages-i) Pre-ordering Work:Pre-order work includes the various jobs connected with the invitation of tenders or quotations, tabulating the quotations, fixing the suppliers, signing the contracts, and so on.ii) Order Placing Work:Order placing work consists of tallying, scrutiny and elimination.iii) Intimation to the Indenters:The library should inform the indenter(s)/user(s) about the action taken by the library for their demanded books.The library generally tries to possess every type of information sources based upon the demand of the user which includes books, journals, books on tape, videocassettes, CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, electronic journals, online databases, etc.The book selection section is responsible for the identification of potentially useful materials by consulting publishers' catalogues and flyers for the final selection to be made by the appropriate decision maker. Sometimes the acquisition unit is the primary collection development unit for the library. Activities centring acquisition also focus on securing items wanted by the library's end-users and handling financial transactions that are associated with the purchase or leasing of the item(s). It is a process that involves which materials the library should acquire by purchase or otherwise and getting the materials.Book Selection TheoriesBook Selection Theories:There are some principles of selection of documents which guide the librarian in making a judicious choice of a document and thus help to develop a meaningful collection of documents in the libraries.

i) L. R. McColvin: Theory of Book Selection (1925):According toL. R. McColvinbooks in themselves are nothing. They have no meaning until they are made serviceable by demand. So he gives much stress on demand and gives stress on the selection of only those documents which are demanded by the users for their information needs.ii) Drury: Book Selection (1930):It states that the right book will be provided to the right reader at the right time. In this principle the reader is the central theme. A document is right or otherwise is to be provided when the user needs it for use. The selector should know the users and their requirements. He should select only that material which caters to the informational educational and recreational needs of the users.iii) Haines: Living with book (2nded, 1950):The first edition ofLiving with Booksappeared in 1935. It was one of the first true textbooks aimed at training librarians in the art of book selection. Although Haines died in 1961, her legacy continues to be felt. Through the 1970s,Living with Booksremained the standard text on book selection, and it is still referenced on many collection development course syllabi.iv) Ranganathan: Library book selection (1952, reprint 1990):The first three laws of library science enunciated by Ranganathan are also helpful in formulating the principles of selection of the documents for libraries.v) Deweys Principle:According to Dewey, the library should select the best documents within the finance available, which may satisfy the information need of the maximum number of users.Besides the above, we may mention Rovert BroadusSelecting Materials for Libraries, 2nd ed. New York: H.W. Wilson Co, 1981 andBuilding Library Collections: 6th Ed.By: Arthur Curley, Dorothy M. Broderick, and Published: January 1985 as important books on book selection.

British Librarys Automated Information SErvice (BLAISE)British Librarys Automated Information SErvice (BLAISE):Blaise is an online information retrieval service that includes access via a new graphical interface on the World Wide Web. It is a library network which was introduced in April 1977 and now it is the world largest commercial service. It is an online interactive computerized information retrieval and cataloguing system and the individual databases are stored on an IBM-370 computer located at Harlow. Teletype compatible terminals are used together with the ordinary public telecommunication system to access BLAISE. Thus BLAISE can be called up from anywhere in the UK and Europe. The system is available from 9-5 on Monday to Thursday and 9-4.30 on Friday. To access BLAISE, subscribers are given individual identity numbers and passwords.The following services are available through BLAISE-a) BLAISE Line:It is operated from the existing computer installation at Harlow, Essex. It host British library bibliographic database. Telnet access is also available. The Web version of BLAISE-LINE is calledBLAISE Web.b) BLAISE Link:It is the official host providing full access to all US National Library of Medicine MEDLARS databases, in the UK and Ireland, via the British Library. It is also involved in processing UK / Irish contributions to the MEDLINE database. The BALISE Link provide access to the followingi) MEDLINE:The MEDLARs databases are available through online in the form of Medline.ii) SDI-Line:It contains the latest months reference to be used primarily for current awareness.iii) Chem-Line:It is an online dictionary files which enables the user of Toxline to describe chemical substances before beginning the search.iv) Mesh:It is a controlled indexing structure of MEDical Subject Heading.c) Catalogue:The catalogue production is made through Local Catalogue Service (LOCAS) which is an integral part of BLAISE.d) Database:BLAISE provide access to 21 databases containing 18.5 million bibliographic records.e) Editors Software:It was developed by British Library. The editor system of BLAISE allows records to be transferred from MARC files and edited. The new records can also be created and added to the main database.Blaise gives access to a wide range of bibliographic information that includes not only British Library catalogues but also complementary bibliographic databases, some of which are produced outside the British Library. Blaise has other value-added features, such as its link to the British Library Document Supply Centre for ordering loans and photocopies and its ability to supply fully formatted catalogue records for use in local automated catalogues. Blaise has traditionally been used by trained librarians in other libraries. Recently, Blaise has added a World Wide Web option that makes it much easier to use by untrained and inexperienced searchers.According to Allen Kent "the success and survival of libraries will much depend on how much and to what extent the libraries cooperate with each other in future". Further, tremendous explosion of information, financial constraints, information in different forms, etc., compelling the libraries to form network and consortia is an essential facet of modern library practices.In library network the particular focus is forming online networks by using computers and linking members to the computer resources by means of telecommunication connections. When a group of libraries using computers decide to exchange information, a network is developed.The library network deals with the development of software for library automation, automation of the member libraries, retro-conversion of records, cooperative acquisition, creating union catalogue, development of database of the holdings in member libraries, conducting training, workshops and seminar, providing DDS, Email, CD-ROM, internet access facilities. It also provides reference service, referral service, and provides technical support to member institutions in the selection of hardware, software, and technical problem faced by the member libraries. But till now except DELNET and INFLIBNET, most of the other library networks have yet to develop databases of library holdings in a significant way. Even these two networks have to go a long way to cover in their databases the entire holdings of all the participating libraries. Unless this is achieved, the networks would not be able to achieve significant resource sharing as well as rationalization in library acquisitions.

Budgeting

Budgeting:Budget is defined as an estimated often itemized or expected income and expense or operating results for a given period in the future. Thus, a library budget is an estimate of the expected income and expenditure of the library for the coming year. As a budget is an estimate, it can be altered if and when the circumstances change. It needs to be flexible enough to meet the changing needs. In a budget, the diversion of funds should not be done for some unnecessary events or causes and it is actually not permitted.a) Need and Purpose of Library Budget:Since a library is a non-profit organization, the financial responsibility on its part is much more important. The need and purpose of library budget can be looked at from the following pointsi) Through budgeting a library is able to limit its expenditure to its income;ii) A budget helps to spend the finance in a systematic way;iii) Budgeting is the primary means by which formulated plans can be carried out;iv) It serves as an effective management tool.v) It gives overall direction to the library services;vi) It coordinates all administrative functions by guaranteeing exchange of information on policies, program and finance;vii) It is a most important control device to measure the programmes of a library and their effectiveness;viii) It reflects the goals and objectives of the library.b) Budgeting Method:The following methods are generally used in budgeting-i) Line Item:Here the expenditure is divided into broad categories such as salary and wages, books and periodicals, equipment, binding, stationary, miscellaneous, etc. However, this brings inflexibility, whereby money from one item cannot be shifted to another one easily.ii) Lump Sum:In this approach a certain amount of money is allocated to the library, the libraries decide as to how that amount is going to be allocated to different categories.iii) Formula Budget:Here predetermined standards are applied for the allocation of money. The formula is mechanical and easy to prepare.iv) Performance Budget:It is based on the expenditure for the performance of activities of a library. It gives justification for and description of services to be achieved by the proposed programme.v) Programme Budgeting:It is concerned with activities of organization but individual items or expenditures are ignored.vi) Per Capita Method:In this case a minimum amount per head of the population is fixed and financial estimates are prepared accordingly.In case of university and college libraries, the UGC Library Committee way back in 1957 suggested for a provision of Rs. 16 per student and Rs. 200 per teacher. Kothari Commission in 1966 suggested for allocation of Rs. 25 per student and Rs. 300 per teacher.vii) Proportion Method:In this method a certain proportion of the general budget of a parent organization / state is recommended for providing library services.Dr. S. R. Ranganathan suggested that 6% of the education budget of a local /state / federal government, as the case may be, should be earmarked for public library purposes. UGC Parry Committee (UK) suggested that 6% of the total budget of a university may be provided to university library. Education Commission recommended that 6.5-10 percent of the total university budget should be spent for the university library.viii) Method of Details:In this method all the items of expenditure of a library under various heads and subheads in detail are calculated. The expenditure should be estimated under non recurring expenditure and recurring expenditure. It is generally done by projecting current expenditure to the next year adding the increase of cost.The UGC Library Committee (1957) staff formula can be used to determine the number of staff and their pay scale. The cost of books and other reading materials can be based on the number of students and teachers. 5% of the total cost of books is allocated to stacking, storing, and serving of books.ix) Planning Programming Budgeting System (PPBS):PPBS is a technique which combines the best of programme budgeting and performance budgeting. In this method the emphasis is given on the planning of the total system, the different parts of the system and their expected level of performance. All these are considered for assigning the cost of the whole system.x) Zero Based Budget:It was developed by Peter Phyor to achieve greater effective planning and fiscal control. The term zero based is derived from the first step in the process- the development of a hierarchy of functions based on the assumption that the unit or agency is starting operation for the first time (i.e point zero). Thus, the focus of budgeting is on the purpose(s) of the unit and on the function which it should perform so that it meets the reason for its existence. Basically, it is not concerned with what happened previously but rather with what is required to be done in future.c) Expenditure:While estimated expenditure is planned three factors are kept in mind-i) Comparison with past expenditure;ii) Budgeting in accordance with the work programme andiii) Using arbitrary stands and norms.Depending upon the size of the library, the types of library expenditure headings vary. The general forms of expenditure which can be applied to all types of libraries are given below.Sl. No.ItemPercentage of Total Budget

InitialRecurring

1)