National Workshop on Scholarly Writing at Tumkur University

Department of Studies and Research in Library and Information Science, Tumkur University will be organizing a National Workshop on Scholarly Writing: Strategies and Techniques from 7 to 9 February 2020.

The Workshop aims to impart knowledge and skills in scientific application of research methodology in scholarly writing.  The workshop will be a hands-on experience.  The number of seats is limited to 50.

Hurry! Register for the Workshop.  Log on to http://sampathkumar.info/workshop.htm.

How to make reading a regular habit: lecture delivered on 17th March

I delivered a lecture on “How to make reading a regular habit” on 17th March at Government First Grade College, HSR Layout, Bengaluru.

This Huge statue of Hanuman welcomed me at the entrance of HSR Layout

What an enthusiasm among students! The lecture was bilingual, i.e., in Kannada as well as in English.  I found it very unique for the simple reason that the entire event was organized and managed by the students, which is very rare to find in a college running undergraduate courses.

Hosting the event, invocation, welcome, proposing thanks, photography, hospitality – everything was managed by students.  Kudos to the Principal, teaching and non-teaching staff of this college who have nurtured the students’ skills.

Watching the introductory remarks by a student

The objective of the lecture was to make students appreciate the benefits of reading and understand its importance in life.  I drew out the differences between data, information, knowledge and wisdom.  Reading is a complex congnitive process and a means of language acquisition.

Principal Dr. Vidya S Naik welcomed me

I shared my ideas on the types of reading:

• Academic or research-oriented reading
• Recreational Reading
• Factual reading (reading for information or facts)

Lecture starts off

People who are more inclined towards academic or research-oriented reading are more likely to find careers in Science, Technology, Education.  Those inclined towards recreational reading are likely to be more creative and imaginative and hence, seek such fields as Arts, Cinema, Literature.  Persons with inclination towards factual reading tend to fare well in Statistics, Surveying, Journalism, Media, Commerce, Marketing, and Diplomacy.

Interaction goes on…

Thanks to the Principal Dr. Vidya S. Naik and Librarian Ms. Nirmala for the opportunity.

Dr. Vidya in her summarizing remarks

It is important to detect one’s inner reading inclinations early in life in order to find a befitting and successful career.  It is possible to make reading a regular habit only when one considers it as a basic need next only to air, water, food, clothing and shelter. The different cognitive domains of the mind, viz., knowledge, experience, intuition, intelligence, and logic blend better to give ‘wisdom’.  Reading makes a person wise.

I concluded saying that the role of libraries in promoting reading is pivotal.  The ultimate aim of libraries is to make people wise.  Means are many, but the end is one.

Use of Social Media by the library – a white paper by Taylor & Francis

It’s time libraries realized the power of social media in building relationships with readers.  Taylor & Francis takes a closer look on the use of social media by the library-the current practices and future opportunities.  Interestingly, one of the focus groups of study is from India.

Read the report at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/access/white-paper-social-media.pdf

The Changing Landscape of Library and Information Services

New, lower cost educational  programs are undermining the  perceived value of traditional  programs says this white paper on “The Changing Landscape of Library and Information Services” by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR).

The paper unveils several interesting things on how digital technologies are changing the landscape of libraries.  Download the paper at http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub162/pub162.pdf