I vaguely remember my college library. The
memories that have remained are of being intimidated, bored, confused and
uncomfortable, and even of being scared of earning the librarian’s reprimanding
glance. Maybe it was just me, or it was the context of it being ‘long ago’ — a
time before libraries woke up to the fact that they are not just places for
storing books but also service organisations.
“‘If someone steals my book, I am only happy
because that person wants to read it,’ is a quote I’ve read and like,” says Dr.
S. Venkadesan, Director, Learning Resource Center, Indian School of Business
(ISB), Hyderabad. This is the kind of attitude makeover that libraries across
the country need to undergo, he feels. At a time when universities are cutting
budgets and space for libraries, it is imperative to diversify the purpose of
this knowledge repository to make it indispensable.
“The meaning of learning should not be
restricted to just books. A library’s catalogue should be diversified to
include multimedia and even games like in the library of the Hong Kong
University that has a gaming room with a large screen,” he emphasises.
Venkadesan and his peers voiced similar
ideas, concerns and solutions at the Librarians’ Day celebration organised by
Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development (WeSchool), Mumbai.
The speakers representing libraries of universities, corporates and independent
organisations, centred their discussions on incorporating technology into the
library practices and increasing footfalls, physically and virtually.
Ambience
Libraries everywhere are reinventing
themselves as social spaces too, which seems to be doing the trick of getting more
people to actually visit one. And this begins with attractive design and
amenities.
“Come, visit us, eat in our round–the–clock
cafeteria and our lovely courtyard where you can relax with a book and coffee,”
reads the British Council, Chennai’s library webpage invitingly. Similarly,
Amity University’s library has a Café Coffee Day outlet. Such facilities that
go out of the way to get you to read can only be encouraging.
But a library should be a place of serious
study, you say? Then straight-back chairs, a straighter posture and
caffeine–free atmosphere are only killing the will to study longer.
ISB, Hyderabad, has made its library a
perfect place to study but by being a lot less restrictive. You can bring along
your coffee or whatever it is that you wish to drink, stay on till two in the
morning and till 4 a.m. on exam days, no need to bother about a dress code or
the right posture.
“You can put up your feet on the table for
all we care. And statistically speaking, the number of books that have been damaged
by spilt coffee or water are negligible,” reveals Venkadesan. He also adds how
some university libraries abroad have lounge chairs especially for students to
take a quick nap between their study sessions!
Some like the Biblioteca de Santiago, Chile,
go all out to reach out to the public. They have vending stations in the
subway, Biblioboat — a library on boats; Bibliobike — a library on a bicycle,
open-air market-lending points, plus there are no prohibition signs in the
library — “Everything is possible in the Library,” reads its website.
Even a fine ambience can work wonders rather
than having mono-chromatic hard wood interiors. In the West, the Downtown
Denver’s Public Library, for instance, also doubles up as a high-profile art
centre by showcasing sculptures, murals and other art work that attract art
lovers and tourists alike.
The Rotterdam Public Library has an in–house
movie theatre which also hosts festivals showcasing the work of local and
student filmmakers, and the National Library, Singapore, houses The Drama
Centre, a performing arts centre with a theatre.
Ajay Pagare, manager, Library, Kotak Mahindra
Bank, added events like author readings, competitions, exhibitions, hobby
workshops and ‘Bring your children to the library’ Day to the list of
suggestions to make a library more interactive and welcoming.
These ideas serve to stress the point voiced
by Prof. Harsha Parekh, Ex–Professor and HoD, Department of Library and
Information Science, S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Mumbai, “The success of
libraries today depends on initiatives that go beyond the individual library.”
Echoing that, Sri Venkateshwara College of
Engineering, Chennai, has an arrangement with the libraries of Indian Institute
of Science, Indian Institute of Management and the Bangalore University,
wherein faculty and students can visit and use the resources offered at any of
these institutions’ libraries by just flashing their college ID cards.
Technology-enabled
Libraries may have assumed secondary status
vis-à-vis the Internet as sources of information, but the former still scores
higher on credibility of information. “Not all information is easily available
on the Internet, especially scholarly information,” says Prof. Parekh. “But
going the tech-way, libraries now have made available access to e-resources.”
E-journals, e-readers, audio books, podcasts,
online catalogues, wi-fi, web pages, recommendations, alerts and apps — the
adoption of technology is now more than ever. Multi–media rooms with access to
numerous audio and video resources are a regular feature in most libraries.
An article on Pew Internet on innovating
library services highlights just how much libraries in India need to catch up
on the tech-adoption front: “The Skokie Public Library in Illinois, U.S., offers
a digital media lab, a space with content creation tools that allow patrons to
create and share video, music, photography, and design projects. Additionally,
the Skokie media lab has a green screen wall for video projects.
The Cuyahoga County Public Library, Ohio,
U.S., has a smartphone app which features a Digital Books and Media channel
that makes locating and downloading e-books and e-audiobooks from the library’s
collection a lot easier.
More on technology, the National University
of Singapore Library Express has set up a book borrowing and returning machine
at University Town.
Despite all these innovations, technology
only remains a tool, not a solution. If attitudes of libraries — librarians and
management — do not change, no amount of technology can help libraries feature
as an option in an information-seeker’s mind.
Source | The Hindu | 18 September 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment