Celebrated in India as the Librarians’ day, 12th August hold a special place. Every year on this day, the birthday of the father of Library Science in India, Dr. S. R. Ranganathan, is observed. As a gesture of paying tribute to the founding father, Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University (KKHSOU) in association with Assam Library Association (ALA) and Assam College Librarians’ Association (ACLA) organized a day long Regional Seminar on “Entrepreneurial Approach of Library Professionals” at Shilpgram, Guwahati on 12th August, 2012.
The
occasion was graced by the presence of Professor Srinath Baruah, Vice
Chancellor, KKHSOU, Bhadra Borah, Ex Prof in Library and Information Science,
Gauhati University and Axom Sahitya Sabha awardee for 2012 on “humor writings”
in Assamese, Mr. Mahendra Borah, working President, ALA, Dr. Narendra Lahkar,
President, ACLA and other dignitaries.
The
programme began with the traditional lightening of the lamps and inaugural
speech. In his inaugural speech, Prof. Srinath Baruah highlighted the great
achievement of Dr. Ranganathan and his extra ordinary service and dedication to
the field of LIS. He spoke on the integration of technology with LIS so as to
provide unlimited opportunities for the students and professional engaged in
the field. Prof. Narendra Lahkar in his speech spoke on the life and times of
Dr. Ranganathan and his important contributions to the field of Library
Science.
There
were two technical sessions and papers were presented by students, researchers,
and professionals. In the first technical session, Dr. Badan Barman in his Key
Paper “Time to be Independent of Library Settings: Alternative Avenues for
Librarians” stressed on the need to acquire skills to develop an
entrepreneurial approach towards LIS. He cited the examples of his websites NET
UGC (www.netugc.com) and
Indian Employment News (www.iemploymentnews.com) which is created for greater
benefit of a large population. He focused on the fact that LIS professionals
have enough scope to work and be self-employed, if the attitude towards
entrepreneurship was positive. The other paper presenter were Mr. Nirmal Ranjan
Mazumdar on “Entrepreneurial Approach of Library Professionals” and Ms.
Bijoya Ray on “Entrepreneurial Approach of LIS Professionals for Self
Deployment”. The first sessions was chaired by Mr. Mahendra Borah.
In
the second technical session, Mr. Dipen Deka presented a thought provoking
paper on “Entrepreneurship Opportunities for Library Professionals: an
outlook”. In his paper, Dipen Deka emphasized the different avenues of
interests where a LIS student and professionals can play important role and
land a career as an entrepreneur. The session was chaired by Prof. Narendra
Lahkar. The other paper presenters were Mrs. Kankana Baishya on “Entrepreneurial
Approach in Librarianship: An Unpaved Way to Self Employment for Librarians”, Mrs.
Pushpanjali Deka on “Prospects of Entrepreneurial Approach among Library
Professionals of Assam in Chasing Job Dissatisfaction” and Shrutimala
Baruah on “Public Library Professionals as Social Entrepreneur”. All
papers were innovative as they dwelt on different themes of the Seminar.
Eminent
LIS teacher and recipient of Phani Talukdar Dolly Talukdar Byanga Rachana,
award by Axom Sahitya Sabha, Bhadra Borah was accorded warm felicitation in the
meet.
The
evening session was the “Panel Discussion” participated by Panelist Prof.
Narendra Lahkar, Dr. Badan Barman, Mr. Mahendra Borah, Dr. Nabajyoti Das, and
Dr. Dhrubajit Das followed by the “Open Discussion” coordinated by Dr. Sanjay
Kr Singh. The last session was the “Problem Solving Session” wherein problems
faced by the LIS Professionals are highlighted and probable solutions was
searched by the delegates. The delegates
were enthusiastic and actively took part in it.
Towards
the end, Dr. Lahkar made an interesting note that the drive towards
entrepreneurship in LIS was low but with the technological advancement and
motivational spirit, there is a bright scope. The seminar concluded
successfully and the man behind it, Dr.
Badan Barman was lauded and praised for bringing up a relevant and challenging
area and for sharing his experiences which could serve as an inspiration for
others LIS professionals.
The
Seminar topic was new and path breaking for all the participants and caught
their interests. They felt that there was a need to change the mental set up
and look for more opportunities in the field of entrepreneurship. The lack of
incentive, motivation and non-recognition of LIS in academics could be now a
distant past with new technology and ideas that can bring not only revenues but
also employment opportunities. The Seminar recognized the importance of
information science in the 21st century and how it can change the
world for a bright and better future.
