Egyptian librarian initiatives to serve the library community

The need of librarians' role will continue to exist regardless of every single resources go online. And also, over the time, the purpose and the professional term 'librarian' will change as per the society's perspective. Find out what Egyptian librarians are doing.

Training on Koha and Dspace

Royal Institute of Management conducted a four day training on Koha and Dspace for Bhutanese librarians of various disciplines. The training will immensely benefit librarians particularly RUB college librarians, who have installed Koha as the main OPAC for their library. Use of Koha, an open resource online library systems has been rapidly picking up in Bhutanese libraries. Dspace too has its life in Bhutanese libraries specifically in bigger academic institutions like RIM and RUB colleges. It is one of the most commonly used online digital repository system for libraries around the globe, since its published under public domain as an open source electronic resources management system.

These type trainings are frequently required for Bhutanese librarians to update their skills and also to meet the demand of 21st century users' need through various digital and physical mode. Lets help our librarians to improve their intellectual capacity and enhance their skills by conducting such trainings to help our society access to quality information resources.

We thank you RIM library for initiating this training.

Third Annual Bhutan Library Consortium Conference

On 9^th December, 2014, His Majesty the King launched the 2015 as National Reading Year with an audience of over 10,000 teachers and students at Tendrilthang, Thimphu.  At the same time, over 32 library professionals across the country gathered for the third annual Bhutan Library Consortium (BLC) conference at Samtse College of Education to discuss on how to improve library services in the country. A two day conference was attended by libraries from various colleges, government institutions, Non-governmental organizations and public library.

During the conference, participants had an opportunity to discuss on various issues including how to improve user service to the maximization of limited resources. They further envisage in formulating online union catalogue and digital repository within BLC members. The two days included practical trainings on reference interview skills, basic skills on information literacy particularly on web searching as well as strategic planning for BLC over the next one year. Participants also shared their experiences on the use of online library management systems (Koha) and security systems. More importantly, they have further strengthened their professional network which helps them in professional development.

Most participants said their favorite part of the workshop was the trainings on information searching and reference interviews. It was suggested that next year there be a session on copyright and intellectual property rights. To provide leadership, accountability and continuity, participants have elected Officers (Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer) for BLC and also identified tentative date and host for the next year’s conference. Participants strongly felt that libraries will always remain to provide a safe space for reading and learning.  As Dasho Pema Thinley (former Vice Chancellor) said, “you can judge the intellectual capacity of a society by the quality of its libraries and bookstores”. The two days conference ended by thanking all the participants for their unconditional support for BLC and the management of Samtse College of education for hosting the 3^rd annual BLC conference. BLC will continuously strive to work hard and step further with positive intent for the benefit of every single Bhutanese citizen at large. For this, the BLC Chair urge for teamwork and corporation from all the BLC member libraries across the country which will determine the success of BLC. 

 Participants of BLC conference

Agenda for Bhutan Library Consortium Conference

Third annual Conference for Bhutan Library Consortium  will be held in Samtse College of Education, on 8-9th, December, 2014. We are pleased to share a draft agenda for the conference.  Please don't hesitate to provide our comments and feedback or any other agenda for discussion during the conference.

For further information, please contact Yeshey Dorji (77257675 or libnies@gmail.com), or Sonam Wangdi (17311552 or somwangdi@yahoo.com).

Call for Bhutan Library Consortium (BLC) Annual Conference

Bhutan Library Consortium (BLC) annual Conference will be held at Samtse College of Education (SCE), on 8^th & 9^th of December, 2014.  Mr. Yeshey Dorji, a senior head librarian of SCE, the secretary of BLC will lead the conference and BLC officials will facilitate the program.  The officials will also prepare agenda in consultation with BLC member libraries. This year, a various book vendors and publishers within the country will be invited for the conference to build the library-publisher relationship in strengthening resources accessibility and information sharing. BLC member libraries are requested to register for the conference latest by first week of November, 2014. We also welcome any interested librarians across the nation to participate in the conference. For further information, please contact Yeshey Dorji (77257675 or libnies@gmail.com), or Sonam Wangdi (17311552 or somwangdi@yahoo.com)

Overview of Libraries in Bhutan

Background of library development
Libraries in Bhutan seem to have emerged as early as the monastic education system during the time of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel. The first Director of the National Library was Geshe Tshewang, a highly respected scholar monk, and followed by Lopen Pemala, indicating that the libraries were established in ancient Bhutan mainly at monasteries. Thus, Buddhist scholars were better skilled to managed libraries than others, and brought to its life. Today, we have a two giant and magnificent building, housing the national library of Bhutan with a massive collection of multi-disciplinary subjects. Thank you to all the librarians who have walked before us and gifted us with a wonderful library collection. However, from users’ perspective, we see the National library as a museum rather than a library. As such, the development of library infrastructure and capacity building has remained largely neglected area which has resulted into limited resources and users in libraries. A few sparely literatures are available in the field of libraries. The development of modern libraries in Bhutan seems to be relatively new and libraries were not given due importance as it deserves. Although the National Library of Bhutan was established four decades ago (1967), followed by public library (1974) and various other college libraries, we do not have a strong history of well-provisioned libraries or responsive library services. For instance, the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Public library, housed in a small traditional resident – ironically at the heart of the city. The library lacks a proper reading space which creates the library a less attractive place to read and work. Thereby, it discourages the use of library and alienates Bhutanese youths to inculcate reading habits.

On the journey to a gradually development of libraries, now the World Wide Web and the internet has been introduced in the country. With this, users have started to leap over the conventional way of accessing resources by being physically present at the library. Users seem to be finding their information need from the Internet, although not every bit of information resources. As it was evident that the Google is the most popular resources used every day by the respondents of survey, indicating that the internet is playing a vital role for users in the country. With the use of internet as a medium, libraries no longer require to have huge buildings. However, this does not mean that we don’t need library buildings. With the paradigm shift of libraries from physical access to virtual resources, librarians’ knowledge and skills need to be advanced accordingly rather than constructing a huge building.

Library corporations and services
Libraries purchase and house resources that are expensive to procure, posing challenges to limited budgets. However, we do not have a mechanism to share those resources among different libraries which would substantially increase the maximum utilization of resources. As a response, we have organized and coordinated a Bhutanese librarians’ workshop for the first time in the history of Bhutanese librarians’ profession, which was funded by the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment on 4th November 2012. The workshop was conducted with two main objectives: building the resource sharing network through formulation of a consortium and strengthen the collaborative relationship among librarians. We also established a consortium called the Bhutan Library Corporation (BLC), and also proposed for an annual library conference. This initiative has heightened a collaborative relationship and mutual support among librarians in the country. This is a right time for the Bhutanese librarians to stick together to play a significant role in the society.

Current challenges
The 21st century world is driven by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and librarians’ profession too is being persuaded along with it, and the paradigm of library’s function is getting shifted towards the virtual world including reference interview to the accessing of resources. For instance, the internet is increasingly being used in the country which generates a new challenge particularly for librarians and information providers. Not only unable to keep the pace of changing technologies, they are also faced with pressing issues of not having enough resources to cater the needs of users.

On the other hand, electronic and digital resources such as e-books, e-journals and videos are growing faster than traditional collections (Jewell et al. 2004) ultimately decreasing the number of physical library users. To this end, “libraries are increasingly viewed as outdated, with modern internet-based services, such as Amazon and Google, looking set to inherit the throne” Chad & Miller (2005). As a result, the society has a low recognition for librarian’s profession. For instance, some of the schools considered their librarian as a baby sister for teachers. Given the platform and opportunities for librarians to update and enhance their skills and knowledge, librarians can contribute to our society much more than this, like any other determined group of professionals. Most of us tend to think that the librarian’s task is just to arrange some books, procure some reference material, check out and check in books. That’s it. To delve deeper, the librarians have a huge task. Just to quote Ranganathan’s five laws:

1. Books are for Use
2. Every Reader His Book
3. Every Book Its Read 
4. Save the Time of the Reader
5. A Library is a Growing Organism

Basically, every bit of librarian’s task is a projection of these five laws. Just to describe the last law, how difficult it would be to nurture and bring life to a growing organism? For instance, to grow up a child from a baby to adult, how parents have to struggle and suffer. Librarians are exactly the same as parents to their own library and users.

Moverover, currently, librarians are struggling to accustom with a new library systems such as koha, greenstone digital library and the libraryworld. As they lack a new knowledge and skills to use these systems. Easy access of resources from the internet has heightened the user’s expectation and librarians are technically challenged to make their resources accessible online. With updated knowledge and skills related to ICT and new library systems would be the only option to tackle these challenges.

Opportunities
Currently, the information world is undergoing transition from a Library-centered to an information-centered entity and a paper-based environment to a predominantly digital interface. These changes create various opportunities to learn and develop new skills. The transition is a platform, whereby libraries can also collect and store a huge number of e-resources produced from the government and other agencies for future retrieval, which is not happening in the country. Furthermore, we also need to reconsider some of the critical questions such as is there a need for Libraries and Librarians in the electronic age? and how libraries are relevant to the modern society?

We have an opportunity to learn new skills and knowledge related to library automation and new method of service delivery through the internet. Research and comparative analysis on various library software packages such as E-print, Dspace and Fedora, electronic resource management systems (ERMS) both commercial and open source can be carried independently.

All these challenges and pressing issues, which we are currently facing as a librarian of the 21st century provides us a strength to establish the BLC, although it does not have a simple answers.

Training opportunities
The use of information technology such as an Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) and the internet to deliver library service is relatively new in the country. Moreover, a significant number of libraries are run by staff without library qualifications or without library related trainings (Ransom, 2011). Although the Ministry of Education (2010: 94) states that “there should be provision for the training of library staff at all levels”. Perhaps to have a professional staff is a challenge for every developing country, as the government has a priority for other basic needs such as health care, education and poverty reduction. A study conducted in 2011 demonstrated that training of a practical nature was not only needed, but requested by the staff (Ransom, 2011). The government seems to be sceptical and partially blaming to lack of fund for such trainings. Keep aside the trainings, to attend a few days workshops or conferences within a country is a problem for libraries.

Update on Bhutan Library Consortium (BLC) 

• The first resources sharing workshop of its kind has been conducted in December, 2012 at UWICE, Bumthang
• Recently, the first annual BLC conference was held in December, 2013 at RTC, Thimphu
• BCL member comprises of various libraries across the country (19 libraries)
• BLC charters and bylaws has been endorsed during the recent conference
• Three officers (Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer) has been selected on unanimous consent to provide leadership, continuity and accountability to BLC
• Next year, the annual BLC conference will be held either at Samtse College of Education or Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment or Royal Institute of Management
• Creation of union catalogue within the BLC member libraries will be the first target in 2014

Conclusion
Developing nations have an obvious challenges and problems for libraries to remain relevant for the 21st century users. The use of internet and World Wide Web has further added a challenge of not being able keep the pace with rapid change of technologies. This not only generates challenges and but also creates an opportunity for libraries to play a centre role for the society with the use of various integrated library technologies. The library corporation service such as a BLC is seen as a viable alternative for the lack of funds to procure resources. The mission and objectives of BLC is clear to all the member libraries. Although we have to go through various hurdles and impediments, with unflagging support from all the member libraries we will see through it.

Sonam Wangdi
UWICE Librarian
Bumthang