Prof A K Dasgupta (1926 - 2014)

Condolence Meeting of Sri. A.K.Das Gupta

By ALSD

Guest post by Mr. Kachiraju Nagaraja Rao

Prof. A K Das Gupta died on 27th July 2014 in Hyderabad.

Mr. Das Gupta a great personality in LIS field in India, a contemporary of Dr. SR Ranganathan, Prof. BS Keshavan, etc. An Octogenarian has worked in National Library, Calcutta, ICL, Insdoc, New Delhi and then migrated to Hyderabad to head the Library of Administrative Staff College of India in 1969. After a long Carrier with ASCI he moved to  Eenadu where he established a newspaper reference library. He was the President of IASLIC, 1999

A great inspiration to younger generation Librarians in India and particularly Hyderabad. He is well read and a scholar in true sense.  The Library fraternity (Academy of Library Science and Documentation), in Hyderabad expressed their deep felt condolences to him on 2nd August 2014.  It is incidental the Librarians lost another stalwart Prof. Neelameghan on the same day.

• Select list of scholarly articles by A K Dasgupta: 
• Management Sensitization to Information Use. 
• Prof. S. B. Ghosh, alias Badal, as I Know Him
• Union Catalogues of India

• Articles in  mainstreamweekly.net + Letter in mainstreamweekly.net

One extract:"The proudest moment of my professional life was his appreciation of the Eenadu library organised by me."

• His Letters to the Editor @ A K Dasgupta | Economic and Political Weekly

One extract: "The five articles by EW/EPW veterans (EPW, 10 and 17 January 2009) paying tributes to Sachin Chaudhuri, its founding father, helped me to refresh my memory about the unique economic journal. Incidentally, I am an avid reader of the journal since I joined the library profession in 1955 without a break."

• His published works:
• Where To Go From Here - A Guide To Educational & Career Opportunities, by K J Rao and A K Dasgupta, Educational & Career Information,  687 pp. : 2001, Reviews here and here. -- info courtesy  Manjula
• For more see Web Catalog: here and here  :

A.K. Dasgupta A 203 San Remo Apartments Masab Tank, Hyderabad 500 028 Phone: 66664498 (R) E-mail: arunkantid@yahoo.co.in

Prof. Arashanipalai Neelameghan (1927-2014)

►►Prof. A. Neelameghan (1927-2014) -- He was a great teacher of teachers in the field of library science. My sincere prayers for him, with deepest gratitude for all the nice and kind inspirations that he offered to everyone. A senior colleague and a great contributor in the school of Dr. S R Ranganathan...

Bio:

Arashanipalai Neelameghan , formerly Head, Section on Institution Building and Networking, UNESCO/PGI, Regional Advisor for Asia-Pacific, UNESCO//PGI. Undertook Technical Assistance missions to developing countries in Asia, Arab League States, Africa,  Latin America and the Caribbean sponsored by UNESCO/PGI, UNDP, IDRC, etc. These missions included  formulation of national  information policies, development of information institutions, organizing and teaching in national and regional training workshops in information studies. Established a regional post-graduate programme for training science information specialists in South Asia at the University of Philippines in Manila, the School of Information Studies for Africa at the University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a similar programme for Latin America at the University of Simon Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela, and a national training programme for China in Beijing. Initiated the regional information network ASTINFO for Asia.  Retired from UN civil service in 1986.

(courtesy: image seshu onter)

Following graduate and post-graduate studies in Madras, India, studied documentation and information in science in USA on Rockefeller Foundation and Fulbright scholarships. Worked in various special technical information centres in India before joining the Documentation Research and Training Centre, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, established by Dr. S.R.Ranganathan in 1962, retired as Professor and Head, in 1984.Currently associated with the Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science (1963-) and the Ranganathan Centre for Information Studies (1993-), both not-for-profit national charitable trusts  promoting research, lectures, and publications in information studies. [source: inst.at]

Works:

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Save the Time of the Godly: Information Mediators Role in Promoting Spiritual & Religious Accommodation

by Dr. Mohamed Taher.

This is dedicated to Professor Emeritus A. Neelameghan, a mentor of my mentors, and whose single outstanding contribution to the Multifaith world in an electronic document, OM Information Service (OMIS), overshadows all that is cataloged in the present article.

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Lessons from my Marathon by Tim Schindel

Info courtesy: Kevin Rogers.


'Lessons from my Marathon' @ Leading Influence, Updates and News on Leading Influence 
Extract:

Several years ago, my best friend turned to me and said.... 'I'm fat! You're fat! We should do something about that.'  Then he proposed a competition. He would find some other 'fattys' and challenge us all to a weight loss competition. We each put in $100 and the first one to lose 10% of their body weight, would take the prize.  There were 7 of us that each put our money in.  I didn't win the pool, but I won something better.  After years of being a 'desk potato', I discovered that I really enjoyed running.  I started with walking and decided that I could burn more calories quicker if I began to run.  Like Forest Gump, I've been running ever since.  I've run 5 half marathons (21.1kms) and decided after the last one that I wanted more of a challenge.  My only option was to run a full marathon.  I signed up for the training program and began my marathon journey in January... in the dark... and in the rain!  Over the past few months, I increased my distances, strength and general health. On May 4, I ran my first marathon.

Here are some highlights.

1) Sharing the journey makes it easier.

2) I get by with a little help from my friends!
3) Encouragement is powerful! 
4) Listen to the Music! 
5) Share the love... continue reading

TEACHABLE MOMENT shared a joke list of '37 Slogans for College Majors if They Were Actually Honest'

TEACHABLE MOMENT

Posted on March 14, 2014 by kgriegel | 5 Comments

"So. This joke list is going around Facebook at the moment, and it’s called, “37 Slogans for College Majors if They Were Actually Honest.” Definite potential for humor there, and since I teach college, I had to click on the link and read them... continue reading:

TEACHABLE MOMENT

Click on the image to see the complete 37 Slogans:

 

On the same shelf:

• Value of College Education @ huffingtonpost.com  includes articles on:  The Great Debate: Is College Still Worth It?  / Why Gaining Work Experience Is More Important Than Your Education / Why We Won't Need College in 15 Years
• For-profit colleges call new Obama administration rules unfair

Robots in the Library: Is this the end of the world as we know it?

Note: This question (Is it the beginning of the end of human relations in librarianship, or what is next...???) is multifaceted, multidimensional and multinational. Let us know if you and answer or any leads to know the fact.


In the above Video's comic a person gets the library card from the card machine, locates the book in the computerized catalog (OPAC), and checks out the book out from the self-check out machine. In short, there are no librarians in the whole process. (This summary is paraphrased from a comment by a Librarian @ ALA FB's page).

• Canadian University Report 2014: Resources, The university library of the future, ERIN MILLAR, The Globe and Mail -- "Early in the planning process, the university decided that instead of devoting square footage to its collection, it would prioritize collaborative, high-tech learning spaces. Six metres below the first floor, two million volumes are packed into a space one-ninth the size of conventional shelving. Select a book from the electronic catalogue, and a robot will deliver it within five minutes."
• Visual Literacy is an elephant, we are like the six blind... Meaning, Message and Medium Revisited
• Libraries become tech hubs for the digitally inclined
• Central Library of AU to be digitised soon - The Times of India -- "But this does not mean that the distant users can get the access to the books", informed Singh. This is just the beginning of our plan to make the central library fully digital."

• 5 Myths About the 'Information Age' By Robert Darnton, The Chronicle Review
• Automated Book Picking Robot For Libraries 
• Human Relations in the Digital Library Environment 

• BBC NEWS | Technology | Robots get bookish in libraries

• Robots in the Library Survey

• Robots in the British Library - Inspired by... blog

Readings (Amazon.com):

• Robots in Academic Libraries: Advancements in Library Automation by  Edward Iglesias 
• The Librarian's Psychological Commitments: Human Relations in Librarianship (Contributions in Librarianship and Information Science) by Florence E. DeHart
• Technology and Professional Identity of Librarians: The Making of the Cybrarian by Deborah Hicks
• Academic Librarianship by Design by Steven Bell
• The Image and Role of the Librarian (Reference Librarian)   by Linda S Katz
• A librarians guide to personal development: An annotated bibliography (Bibliographies / Special Libraries Association) by Valerie Noble
• Reinventing the Library for Online Education Frederick J. Stielow
• Remote Access Technologies for Library Collections: Tools for Library Users and Managers (Premier Reference Source) by Diane M. Fulkerson
• Recent Developments in the Design, Construction, and Evaluation of Digital Libraries: Case Studies (Premier Reference Source) Colleen Cool
• The Expert Library: Staffing, Sustaining, and Advancing The Academic Library in The 21st Century by Scott Walter
• Re-engineering and Redefining University Libraries in the Context of Modern Information and Communication Technologies by A. T. Francis
• Digital Consumers: Re-shaping the Information Profession by  David Nicholas
• The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts by Ken Haycock
• Academic Librarianship by Design by Steven Bell
• Designing and blending to maximise users' experiences.(Academic Librarianship by Design: A Blended Librarian's Guide to the Tools and Techniques)(Book ... article from: The Australian Library Journal by Helen Dunford
• Interactive Open Educational Resources: A Guide to Finding, Choosing, and Using What's Out There to Transform College Teaching by John D. Shank
• Reference Reborn: Breathing New Life into Public Services Librarianship by Diane Zabel
• Transforming Research Libraries for the Global Knowledge Society (Chandos Information Professional Series) by Barbara Dewey
• Recent Developments in the Design, Construction, and Evaluation of Digital Libraries: Case Studies (Premier Reference Source) by Colleen Cool
• Inside, Outside, and Online: Building Your Library Community by Chrystie Hill
• SPEC Kit 327: Reconfiguring Service Delivery by Kay Vyhnanek