Browsing by Author "Bhat, M Ishwara"

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    Increasing the Discovery and use of e-resources in University Libraries
    (INFLIBNET Center, 2009-02-25) Bhat, M Ishwara
    There is a large quantity of subscribed e-resources in our libraries and they contain quality information, though expensive. In spite of advantages in terms of access and search capabilities, they are underused. Systematic plan has to be in place for their promotion of use. While a good ICT infrastructure is a prerequisite, it alone will not do. Proactive strategies are required and these need to be adopted imaginatively. Access to e-resources need to be made easier for both on campus and off campus users. As a priority, active users need to be identified and they need to be converted to heavy users of eresources. Secondly, non users be converted to active users Various methods have to be tried in order to grab the attention of the users towards the e-resources. User training will increase the confidence level of the users. Traditional awareness methods include : Personal visits, user training, brochures, posters and displays. Newer technologies from the Web 2.0 such as RSS alert service, Blogs, Wikis and Facebook make the interaction with the library not only interesting but also add more value. Finally, the effectiveness of various promotional strategies need to be measured by monitoring the usage and user feedback.
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    Transformation of Indian Libraries: Review Based on Selected Library Websites
    (2013-12-12) Mehta, Deepak; Bhat, M Ishwara
    Indian libraries have witnessed a transformation during the past two decades. The paradigm shift has been driven by Information Technology enabled services and machine learning. New services have been introduced in the area of remote access, 24x7 access, use of Web 2.0 for interaction and feedback and all these make the library use more convenient and enriching. Many new products like digitized documents, pictures and audio-visual documents have been made available during the past few years. One of the most important changes has been in the area of library marketing for which the Web 2.0 serves as a vital tool. Services such as SDI have been made more efficient now with tools like RSS, Atom and through email alerts. This paper presents a study of 71 library web sites which showcase the varieties of services the libraries are rendering now. The libraries represented in the study are public, academic, special, circulating and children’s libraries. The paper includes recommendations for further improvement of library services.
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    Use of Open Source Softwares in Indian Libraries
    (INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar, 2014-09-25) Mehta, Deepak; Bhat, M Ishwara
    Since last two decades, we have been witnessing a growing application of Open Source Softwares (OSSs) in Indian libraries. The present study is an attempt to find out the impact of OSSs and how they are driving the transformation of Indian libraries. The research was undertaken by studying the websites of 127 libraries which use one or the other OSS in India. The main OSSs used are: DSpace, Greenstone, NewGenLib, EPrints and Koha. The authors studied the contents of these library sites and noted how the OSSs were deployed to launch a variety of new services including Digital Archives, New Book information, Online SDI apart from marketing the libraries and providing a 24x7 access. New content made available through library sites using OSS include: Pictures, Theses, Research Papers, Book Chapters, Patents, Annual Reports, Videos/Audios, PPTs, Rare books, Institutional publications, Book Cart facility, etc. OSSs have also made library experience more interesting by facilitating self uploading/downloading of documents and user interaction online. OSSs have also been instrumental in promoting resource sharing besides serving as a tool to librarians to develop their IT skills. The paper recommends Indian librarians to explore other useful OSSs too, such as VuFind, Library Find, Calibre , PMB, Evergreen, OpenBiblio, etc. Other recommendations include development of guidelines for uploading/downloading documents, improved design for institutional repository webpages, use of standard subject headings, regular update and enriching library sites with more content.