Library Automation in SAARC Countries

Library Automation in SAARC Countries

Syed Habib Akhter JaffriPASTIC National Center

Islamabad. Pakistan

The main objective of library and librarians is to savethe time of the user and provide the better quality servicesas clearly visible from the history of library science. AsDr. S R Ranganathan had stated in his five laws of libraryscience “Save the time of the user” and for fulfilling thatobjective librarians are using different techniques.

In the era of manual working librarians have developedclassification schemes, AACR rules, different indexing andabstracting techniques etc.

As we moved into the machine age, librarians graduallystarted using typewriter, audio-visual adds, microfilms,microfish and computers.

The use of computers has started with the use punchedcards and as the technology had evolved we are in thecurrent age of computers.

This article is a study about the automation oflibraries in SAARC countries.

Geographic Location of SAARC Countries

The geographical hub of south Asia consists of thegreat plains formed by the coalescing basins of the Indus,the Ganga, and the Brahamaputra. They contain the nuclei ofPakistan, India and Bangladesh in their basins. South Asia'smountainous peripheral states are Nepal and Bhutan, nestingin the Himalayas on the north. In the south, Sri Lanka whileMaldives represents the tapering end of the coral leg of

this sub-continent. (South Asia in the Global ElectronicVillage: Issues and Implications by Jagtar Singh)

Automation of Libraries

Traditional library operation system is laborious andtime consuming. So to get rid of it and to save the time ofthe reader automation has been introduced in the libraries.In an automated system, the retrieval process becomeseasier, faster and comprehensive.

Library Automation refers to the processing of certainroutine works of the library, with the help of computers andother allied machineries. It relieves the library staff frommany day to day administrative or clerical functions.

Most commonly known house keeping operations areacquisition, serial control, cataloguing and circulation.Depending on the type of library all or some of thesefunctions are computerized according to their priority.Circulation control is usually given first priority in aPublic Library, while serials control in a Special Library,acquisition in a University Library. However, cataloguing isimportant for any library and its computerization must beone of the ultimate aims of the automation program.

(Automation Scenario of Some Leading AgriculturalLibraries of Bangladesh: An Overview by Md. Hanif Uddin, Md.Fazlul Quader Chowdhury and Md. Mezbah –ul- Islam)

When we talk about the automation of SAARC countries,we can divide two groups, first group consisting of India,Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka and other group consistsof three smaller states of Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives.

India

South Asia is characterized by asymmetry, in size,population, economic and military power. India is larger

than all other countries put together. It occupies 73.2 % ofthe total area of south Asia, four times larger thanPakistan and eleven thousand times larger than the smallestmember Maldives.

(South Asia in the Global Electronic Village: Issues andImplications by Jagtar Singh)

It’s population approximately 1,027,015,247 persons.With this, India became only the second country in theworld after China to cross the one billion mark. (India isthe 2nd most populated country in the world) and literacyrate of this country is 65.38.

The Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre(INSDOC), one of the pioneer institutions in libraryautomation field, started using computers for informationprocessing in 1964 utilizing the IBM 1620 at IIT, Kanpurfor its union catalogue. It also utilized the IBM 1620 atDelhi University for other related jobs. The DocumentationResearch and Training Centre (DRTC), Bangalore also startedthe computerization work in the late 1960s. A DocumentFinding System was designed and developed with programs toprepare catalogues on tape which was later tested on theIBM 1401 system at ISI, Calcutta. In 1970, the library ofNAL, Bangalore made efforts in computerizing thecirculation control with an ICL 1004 system.

This situation improved in the 1980s and the early1990s with the launching of national and metropolitannetworks. Further, during this period the prices of thecomputer hardware and software have started climbing downmaking them affordable to many libraries. Metropolitannetworks like CALIBNET and DELNET. In 1980 after theintroduction of CDS/ISIS by UNESCO many libraries startwith library automation projects using this software andnow situation of library automation in India excellent allof the special libraries working in automatic mechanism,

approximately special libraries have a OPAC other librariesalso perform automatically

Some Library Software Packages available in India

The library application software, integrating all theactivities and routines of the library is essentialsoftware for the libraries. There are many integratedlibrary management packages available in the market suitingto the needs as well as budgets. They range from Rs. 10,000to 6,50,000 and some library packages also free available.Following some library packages use in India

WINISIS

It is the Windows version of CDS ISIS, thebibliographic data management programme developed by theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) for use in libraries many Indianlibraries used this software, developed in India by ISSAT,New Delhi, its provide us OPAC facility

LIBSYS

Libsys is most widely used Library automation softwarein India. It is fully integrated multi-user system design torun on super, micro, mini, computer under UNIX/ VMS/ LANplatforms. Micro libsys, a subset of libsys is alsoavailable for PC's under DOS/ XENIX. It can be modified tooperate on any preferred database such ORACLE, INGRES etc.

SCIMATE

Introduced by Institute for Scientific Information isdesigned for use with IBM- PC, "the Apply -II, the TRS- 80model- II micro- computer running on the micro processors Z-80 or 8086 supported by CP/M -80 operating systems.

MINISIS

It is very powerful, comprehensive and easy-to-usesoftware developed by International Development ResearchCentre (IDRC), Canada to run on HP 3000 family of computers. MINISIS is compatible to renowned ISIS softwarewhich runs on IBM 360/370 main frames and conforms to theISO 2709 and UNIMARC international formats for interchangeof library data. HP 3000/37 is the low-end member of thepowerful, interactive family of HP 3000 computer systemwhich are ideally suited for information management andtransaction proceeding. This system along with the MINSISsoftware provides very attractive and cost effectivesolution for the needs of small to medium sized libraries inIndia.

SANJAY

Automated CD/ISIS package for library: With thedevelopment of CDS/ISIS capabilities by DESIDOC is beingimplemented as a model in Technology Bhawan, Library.

MAITRAYEE

This software package is an attempt to bring librarycomputerization and networking aspects on and integratedplatforms, commissioned by CMC LTD., a Government of IndiaEnterprises, NISSAT, die the complete feasibility study andcomeout with the well defined functional specification.

OASIS

This package has three modules standard, advanced andspecial, can be operated

on any compatible micro computer using MS and PC DOS- 3.1 orhigher equipped with 640 of RAM and IBM recommended 80 MB hard disk. For a fullyautomated Library with all functional requirements

Granthalaya

This GUI based (DOS & UNIX) modular LMS is developed onFoxPro by INSDOC (NISCAIR) for medium range libraries. Itincludes all the modules required for day-to-day libraryoperations. The package is made of seven modules – Libraryadministration; Query; Circulation; Acquisition; Serialscontrol; Technical processing and Data administration.

Based on object oriented design Supports CCF and ISO 2709 for import & export Generates a dictionary for various data elements for

easy searching Supports Boolean operators and range searching Provides online help through screen messages

SOUL The story of SOUL (software for University Libraries)

started with the development of ILMS (Integrated LibraryManagement software) by INFLIBNET in collaboration withDESIDOC. Two versions of ILMS (DOS & UNIX) were developedfor university libraries in India. But with the introductionof GUI based system and other revolutionary changes in thefield of computer software, INFLIBNET decided to develop astate-of-the art, user friendly, Window based system whichwill contain all the features/facilities available withother LMSs in the market. As a result INFLIBNET came outwith a LMS called ‘SOUL’. The package was first demonstratedin February 1999 during CALIBER-99 at Nagpur.

SOUL uses RDBMS on Windows NT operating system asbackend to store & retrieve data. The SOUL has six modules –Acquisition; Cataloguing; Circulation; Serial Control; OPACand Administration. The modules have further been divided

into sub-modules to take care of various functions normallyhandled by the university libraries.

The features of SOUL are – Window based user friendlysystem with extensive help messages Client-serverarchitecture based system allowing scalability to usersUses RDBMS to organize & query data Multi-user software withno limitation for simultaneous access Supports bibliographicstandards like CCF & AACR II and ISO 2709 for export &import facility User friendly OPAC with web access facilityProvides facility to create, view & print records inregional languages Supports LAN & WAN environment Affordablecost.

SUCHIKA

This is developed by DESIDOC for libraries/technicalinformation centres of DRDO laboratories (around 42 Labs.).Presently two versions (DOS & UNIX) are available for smalland big libraries respectively. The package supports CCF,AACR II, ISO 2709 and allows data conversion from CDS/ISIS.SUCHIKA has four modules – Acquisition; Circulation; OPAC &Serial control and also has in built facility for datavalidation and data duplication checking. SUCHIKA [8,13] haspowerful retrieval facilities with the help of free textsearching, Boolean searching and various indexes createdautomatically on searchable fields.

TLMS

TLMS (Total Library Management Service) is developed inGermany by TRANCE group and marketed and distributed inIndia by OPAC Infosys Pvt. Ltd., Pune. It is SQL basedclient-server system with fully integrated Librarymanagement systems. It supports CCF, USMARC and IndianUNIMARC (as recommended by Central Secretariat Library, NewDelhi) and Z39.50. The package also provides variousadditional facilities like member card generation, emailreports, virtual Library, audio, video and scam management

within the database and use of digital camera. The featuresof TLMS include following supports –Printing of accessionregister.

AACR II card generation; Article scan management;Authority files creation; Auto cataloguing from web sites;Auto export & import; Auto keyword generation; Automaticbarcode generation; Letterhead creation; Dropdown matchingetc.

Barcode based issue & return and serial control; Autostatus generation for progress of processing of documents;Bulletin board facility; Kardex generation for serialcontrol; Complete Intranet support; Automatic claimgeneration for overdue & missing journal issues RTF, Dial-upnetworking, E mail and Printing of gatepass; GIST cardfacility; ID card generation; Arrival list generation;Multi-lingual support, Web access of OPAC; Power searchfacility; Fine calculation and receipt generation;Reservation of books; Retrospective data conversion; SDIservice; Search refining; Security enhancement; Statistics &graphs; Stock verification UNIMARC input sheet generation;UNIMARC cataloguing; Virtual Library creation; Z39.50 client& server; UNICODE support etc.

TRISHNA

TRISHNA is developed by NISTADS, New Delhi by usingCDS/ISIS (ver 2.3) under a NISSAT project. It supports datacreation, storage and retrieval in Indian language scriptsnamely Assamese, Bengali, Gujrati, Devnagari, Kanada,Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil and Telegu. NISSAT providesthis package at no cost with nominal charges for trainingand free technical support. The computer system must have aGIST card for the effective running of TRISHNA.

Some other CLMS, JEEVES, INNOVARE LIBMAN, HOMER, ALMPLIBRARYMGMT, LIBIFO , LIBMAN, LIBRA, LIBRARIAN, LIBRARYSYSTEM, LIMS LIPS MATRAYEE, NIRAMAL , WALKTHRU, WILSYS,WILTRAX,TULIB, UNLIB.

(Progress of Library Management Softwares: an Indian Scenario by Partha Sarathi Mukhopadhyay )

(A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO LIBRARY AUTOMATION by RajeshKr. Bhardwaj and R.K. Shukla)

Training activities of library automation in India

Some professional associations like ILA, AGLlS andIASLIC, and national institutions like NISCAIR (INSDOC),DRTC, and SIET started training programmers in automation oflibraries, Bibliographic database development using CDSIISISand other software packages. National institutions likeDRTC, NISCAIR (INSDOC) and DESIDOC, were actively engaged insuch programmers.

(Library Automation in India By A. Lakshmana MoorthyTechnical Information Centre, Defence Research & DevelopmentLaboratory, Hyderabad-500 058)

Pakistan

After Bharat Pakistan is a SECOND largest country ofthis sub continental, It has 796,096 sq km area andPopulation of this country Estimated 155.36 Millions. Theoverall literacy rate is 46 per cent, its have approximately1430 libraries over all the countries.

Computer was introduce in 1960-70 but libraryautomation was started in 1980 PASTIC was also stared hislibrary automation science 1880 in recent times most ofpublic and privet universities and special libraries areworking fully automated and mostly have a OPAC if we lookshistory of computerised library services in Pakistan

according 1993 survey by the Maqsood libraries which usecomputers in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Themajority have IBM compatible personal computers, and mostlibraries concentrate on cataloguing and acquisition. Stafftrained in library automation work in only 39 per cent ofinstitutions. About the knows status of Lahore libraries didthe survey in 995, where out of 40 automated libraries, 19are specialist, 15 are academic and six are public. CDS/ISISis generally used for automation, and most of the librarieshave automated their cataloguing functions

(The development of computerised library services inPakistan A review of the literatureKhalid Mahmood University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan)

Library software use in Pakistan

INMAGIC

INMAGIC is used successfully in Lahore University ofManagement Sciences (LUMS), NWFP Agricultural University,Peshawar and some other agricultural libraries in thecountry. The software was originally developed forminicomputers in 1980. Since 1983 it has been available foruse with IBM PC and compatible machines.

LAMP

LAMP: The Library Automation And Management Program hasbeen developed by the Netherlands Library DevelopmentProject-Pakistan (NLDP-P). with the collaboration of thePakistan Library Association (PLA). It has been designedspecially for Pakistani libraries and was developed entirelyin CDSISIS with the help of PASCAL. The first version ofLAMP when come out 25 libraries were started libraryautomation with this package in the whole country, includingsix legislative libraries of the Senate and national andprovincial assemblies.

WINISIS

WINISIS: A number of libraries in Pakistan are workingon WINISIS. The range of ISIS users includes all types oflibraries. ISIS was developed by UNESCO and is beingdistributed free of charge, PASTIC is the distributor agencyof WINISIS in Pakistan.

Kitabdar

Developed by silicon Systems Ltd. Kitabdar is based onPASCAL. It is the first Urdu Library software in PAKISTAN.

Pak Library Software

Pak Book Corporation develops a package for medium-sizelibraries. Using FoxBASE version 2.0the software issued in1992.

LIMS

Library Information and Management System (LIMS)software is developed by team effort of Pakistan libraryautomation group, (PAKLAG) is based on MS Access. Thissoftware is free of cost available on PAKLAG web and alsoprovides its training and support through messenger, email,phone or visits to the libraries. LIMS is being used in morethan 50 libraries, of every type.

BULIMS

Bahria University Library Information Management System itsused Bharia university of Islamabad.

Training activities of library automation in Pakistan

In the Pakistan Library and Information professionalsare trained by the Library school, Professionalassociations, different Govt Organization. Library school is

trained that student or professionals using for differentlibrary soft ware. Professional associations are arrangeddifferent Workshops, Seminars, and Lectures, about thelibrary automation. PULSAA arranged the first short courseon the use of microcomputers in libraries in August, 1989,PLA (Pakistan library association) arranged many trainingprogram about the library automation specially many timearranged the training on WINISIS every province in Pakistan.PASTIC, PARC, AKHNCRD (Akhtar Hameed Khan National CentreFor Rural Development & Municipal Administration) these aregovernment organization many time arranged Workshops,Seminars, and Lectures on library automation PASTIC isprominent organization in the Pakistan about his WINISIStraining, AKHNCRD arranged every year tow program aboutlibrary automation.

Sri Lanka

Sir Lanka has 64,740 sq km area and his population is20,222,240 about the serve of 2003 his literacy rate is 92%The computer age began in Sri Lanka in 1967, with theinstallation of the first computer by InternationalComputers Limited at the State Engineering Corporation andby International Business Machines (IBM) at the PetroleumCorporation. The introduction of CDS/ISIS in 1986 had anenormous impact on library automation in Sri Lanka. Amicrocomputer was made available to SLSTIC by UNESCO forISIS work. SLSTIC organized a workshop in November 1986 for10 librarians selected from the scientific libraries.Librarians were given a basic training in using the package.

Library Software Use In Sri Lanka

Majority of libraries in Sri Lanka use CDS/ISIS or Win ISISfor the automation of library activities. But some other librarysoftware also use in Sri Lanka.

LIBSYS

The British Council, Library of the Central Bank of SriLanka are using a commercially available integrated librarysoftware package named Libsys, which was developed in India.this software have a facilities of Acquisition,Circulation , cataloging, and serial control.

Alice for Windows

The Sri Lanka National Library and DocumentationServices Board (NLDSB) and the Charted Institute ofManagement Accounts (CIMA) of Sri Lanka had switched fromISIS to another Indian software package named Alice forWindows, this software have a facilities of Acquisition,Circulation , cataloging, serial control and also OPAC.

LIB SUIT

The universities of Kelaniya, Colombo, Sri Jayewardenapura,Open University, Peradeniya and Moratuwa had recently switchedfrom ISIS to other software packages respectively LibSuit, Alicefor Windows and Libsys. The libsuit software is only provedcataloging facility.

PURNA

PURNA DOS version was first distributed to 42 librariesthrough SLSTIC. Now it has been upgraded using Win ISIS. PURNAhas 6 modules: acquisition, cataloguing, circulation, serialmanagement, current awareness, OPAC. A simplified version forschool libraries “Taksila” has been developed using Win ISIS andis in the process of distribution. Presentlyone school library is using it.

PURNA also maintains a Union Catalogue (P-cat) by mergingmonograph records of the PURNA Backup database. P-Cat is hostedby the National Science Foundation (NSF). P-Cat is the first SriLankan Union Catalogue on the Internet.

And other many library software are use in Sri Lanka e.g.

Infomix, Isuru.

Training activities of library automation in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, presently, only the Sri Lanka LibraryAssociation offers a Course on Library Automation. In additionSLSTIC offers basic training on CDS/ISIS. SLSTIC also organiseworkshops and seminars on information retrieval through Internetand CD ROMs and on application of IT at different levels.

(Library Automation in Sri Lanka: an overview By DeepaliTalagala & Premila Gamage)(Effective Inter- Library for promoting e-Learning ofUndergraduate &Postgraduate students in Sri Lanka By J. A.Amaraweera)

Bangladesh

150,448,339 populated this country have a 133,911 sq km areaand literacy rate of this country is 43% The status ofInformation technology (IT) in Bangladesh is not at par withthe other developed countries, but recently the situationhas changed significantly. The first mainframe computer cameto Bangladesh in 1964 but the use of PCs by the commonpeople was started very late due to the lack of awareness.(Growth and development of information and communicationtechnologies in Bangladesh by Anwarul Islam & Anisur Rehman)

The process of library automation was started in 1986 afterthe introduction of CDS/ISIS by UNESCO some libraries startwith library automation projects using this software. Thegraphical user interface version of CDS/ISIS made thingseasier to the user. Now WINISIS has become popular and someof the special libraries, public and private universitieslibraries are using this as well as various types of othersoftware. Some of them are making available their catalogueservices through the internet.

(Library Development in Bangladesh: An Overview by Dr. Md.Hanif Uddin)

The   following   libraries   are   being automated:

1. International Centre for Diarrhoel Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDRB) Library

2. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Library

3. Bangladesh National Scientific and Technical    Documentation   Centre (BANSDOC) Library

4. Centre for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) Library

5. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Library

6. Bangladesh   Agricultural   Research Council (BARC) Library   .

7. Public Administration Training Centre (PATC) Library8. SAARC   Agricultural   Information Centre (SAIC)

Library

Training activities of library automation in Bangladesh

Bangladesh two-year Master's course was introduced atDhaka University. At the same university 3-Year BA (Hons)course was introduces in 1987-88. And the nomenclature ofthe Department was changed to Department of Library andInformation Science.

The   Bangladesh   Library Association introduced Post-Graduate Diploma course from the academic session of 1989-90. A similar course started at. Rajshahi University in1991. Library   and   Information   Science   was introducedas an optional subject in BA in 1991-92. The RajshahiUniversity also started 3 year BA (Hons) course in 1992-93The Institute of Library and Information Management (ILIM)introduced Post-Graduate Diploma course in 1996-97. In 2002as many as seven institutions offered courses in Library andInformation Science.

Nepal

Total area of this country is 18,147 sq mi (47,000 sqkm). His literacy rate is 42% (1995 est.) and totalpopulation of this country is 2,327,849, a government entitywas using mid-size computers in the 1970s, the localretailers really pushed the door of hardware and software.Today 80486 and Pentium computers are quite ubiquitous aswell as a wide array of Apple and some IBM and other brandsincluding NCR, etc are use. In this country total numbers oflibraries are about 1200 and library automation was startedafter the inward of UNESCO software CDS/ISIS since 1980,approximately Less than Ten (excluding Mission Libraries) areworking as automated and three in progress for automationMajority of them use WINISIS for automation and we can sayin Nepal only use WINISIS for library automation, nationallibrary of Nepal also use WINISIS for English and Unicodefor Devanagari

The Parliament Library and Nepal National Library alsohas been computerized . The UNESCO software CDS/ISIS is usedfor automation of the database. It also has a cardcatalogue.

Training activities of library automation in Nepal

The concept of library and the subject library andinformation science are considered to be new in Nepal.Tribhuvan University, the oldest university in the country,has introduced the subject of library and informationscience for 8 years to produce the library professionals inNepal. Before that time, people had to go to India. Thereare other institutions like Nepal National Library, NepalLibrary Association, Tribhuvan University Central Libraryand Tribhuvan University Library Science Alumni Associationwhich organise short term (35 days) training programmes toproduce semi-professionals in this field. In addition, therewill be some other small (one week) training programmes inrural areas so as to give basic library management idea tothe staff of the community and other libraries of thoseareas. Nepal National Library is one of such institutions

which provide week long training throughout the country inassociation with other institutions.

(Inter Networking In Nepal, by: Sanjay Manandhar)(LibraryManagement Training at Local Level by Dasharath Thapa)

Bhutan

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in theHimalaya Mountains, sandwiched between India and thePeople's Republic of China in South Asia. The local name forthe country is Druk Yul. It is also called Druk Tsendhen(land of the thunder dragon), because the thunder there issaid to be the sound of roaring dragons.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan)

Bhutan has a total area of 47,000 square kilometers,According to 2003 ,National Statistical Bureau estimatedthe population at 734,340, the overall literacy rate ofBhutan is approximately 43% According to the UNDP,

(http://www.apcdproject.org/Countryprofile/bhutan/bhutan_intro.html)

The development of libraries and librarianship is stillvery limited. According to my information, no libraryjournals are published from this country. But its has a somegood libraries these libraries are also have a web Page.These are motioned below.

Library of Royal Institute of Management of Bhutan

The Royal Institute of Management was established in1986 as a training Institute. In 1990, it was granted anautonomous status under the Royal Charter 1990. The Charterentrusts the Institute with the task of developingmanagement and public administration human resource capacityin the country, its also focal point of SDC, SAARC

The library, as the learning resource center, housesmore then 13,000 volumes of books and subscribes to over 60journals and magazines. It also holds over 3000 reports andseveral audio-visual materials to enrich trainingactivities. Its web site is http://www.rim.edu.bt/.

Tibetan Buddhist Resource Centre

TBRC has also a digital library on web. Its URL ishttp://www.tbrc.org/kb/tbrc-dl.xq;jsessionid=F97B8543A587864F1367CAFB0F9239E1 you canbrowse through above mentioned web address easily accessBuddhist religious personality

National Library of Bhutan

The National Library was established in 1967 with theprimary objective of collecting and preserving mainlyancient Bhutanese written and printed resources. The multi-functional library now can pride itself on being a modernlibrary with a number of service and research facilities. Itaccommodates a sizeable and a steadily growing stock ofbooks, scriptures and written documents as well as a hugeamount of wood printing blocks for religious books. Ittreasures one the largest holdings of Mahayana Buddhistliterature in the world, originally written in classicalchoekad choekad (chos skad ), the lingua franca of thelamaist world. The library also holds a representativecollection of English or Western-language books mainlyrelated to the Himalayas, Bhutan and Buddhism.

The National Library of Bhutan is in progress ofautomation with library software Libware is developed byJigme Consultancy Services.

Virtual Library in Bhutan

Under this URL http://vlib.org/topics/p230394201 webshowed the one virtual library of Bhutan.

Library training in Bhutan

SDC conducted a .Workshop on Library Automation. inBhutan during 25-29 March 2003.The workshop was attended by17 participants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal andSri Lanka. Topics of the workshop besides library automationalso included IT application to library activities, Resourcesharing, Digital/Virtual libraries and Database design. Theworkshop was conducted by resource persons invited fromNISCAIR. SAARC Charter.

(Development of Library and Information Science Periodicalsin Asia, with Emphasis on South Asia: Problems and Solutionsby R. N. Sharma)

Maldives

The Maldives or Maldives Islands, officially theRepublic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of agroup of atolls in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is locatedsouth of India's Lakshadweep islands, and about sevenhundred kilometers (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka. TheMaldives' twenty-six atolls encompass a territory featuring1,192 islets, .area of this Approx. 41,500 square miles(107,500 sq. km)  roughly two hundred of which are inhabitedby local communities, population of this country 260,000about(1997 official estimate) and literacy rate is 98.2%(Age group 10-45 ).(http://travelin-maldives.com/maldives/factsandfigures.htm)

Maldives libraries The libraries in Male are at various stages of

development. There is an urgent need to carry out a nation

wide survey to see the status of various libraries acrossatolls and islands.

National Library of Maldives

http://www.nlm.gov.mv/main/it.php

The National Library of the Republic of Library wasfounded in 1945 as the "State Library " of the Library byAmeer Mohamed Amin Didi, then the head of the Department ofEducation. The Library was renamed "Majeedi Library " in1948 after one of the most popular statesmen of theLibrary , Ameer Abdul Majeed Didi.In the climate ofdevelopment and modernization that has prevailed since 1978the library was named "The National Library" by H. E.President Maumoon Abdut Gayoom on the 1 st June 1982.Services

Lending Service

The main objectives of the National Library lendingservice are to provide access and preservation ofinformation. Books are placed on open shelves and freelyaccessible to the readers. The readers can borrow two booksat one time for two weeks.

Reference and Information Services

Besides these essential books service, there are manymore facilities that are offered to the public. There is aseparate Reference Section in the Iibrary where periodicals,newspapers and the books for ready reference services aremade available for consultation. Reference service is toassist the clientele to use resource of the Library in aneffective manner leading to their optimum utilization.Reference and information service is the most intensive kindof personal service, which attempts to bring together theuser and information in a personal way.

The Library collects various articles and news itemsfrom Newspapers, Periodicals etc. mainly for the use of ourreaders and filed according to the subjects which isavailable at the magazine rack. The Library also providesabstracts of important articles appearing in the newspapersand periodicals. This is part of the Library extensionactivities and attempts to bring about an awareness ofcurrent affairs among our clients.

College Library

The Maldives College of Higher Education library aimsto give equal access to all its users. It is divided intodifferent branches. It has the central library, Engineeringlibrary, Business Library, health sciences library andMaritime studies library. This library has a collection of54,290 books. Users have free internet access.

Law Library

The law library in Male' is a library providingspecialized services to people in the field of law. Inaddition, the public is given access to the collections.Members can borrow books for a period of 2 weeks. It has1219 English books, 330 Arabic books and 60 Ohivehi books.In total there are 1755 books. In addition it also hasleaflets and newspapers.

IGMH Medical Library

This library serves the medical community. Staff ofthis hospital has access to a collection with 2383 Englishbooks, 90 Ohivehi books. In addition there are newspapers,magazines and internet access for staff.

Children's Multimedia Library

On 1st December 2005, the Children's Multimedia libraryopened its doors to children under the age of 12 yearsproviding opportunities for reading and entertainment Theopening day was hailed as a great achievement for theNational Library.

Previously the National Library had a designated areafor children, which was limited in space and not a conduciveenvironment for children. A fully equipped children'slibrary was a much-recognized need.

The new children's library comes with adequatefacilities, to name a few:

A kiddy corner for children under the age of 3, whichhas educational, games and toys.

A Mini-theatre where children can watch movies ondesignated days.

Computers for using multimedia and browsing theInternet.

An outdoor playground where children can have fun. Parent corner where parents can relax with a magazine

while the children are using the library. Last but not the least, books, which are divided into

different age categories in both English and the nativelanguage Dhivehi.

School libraries

There are 16 school libraries in Male' the capital ofMaldives. These libraries are at various stages ofdevelopment. There are 63 school libraries in the islands.

Library Education Maldives

The Maldives have no library schools to make thetrained manpower available to cater to their informationneeds.

The Maldives Library Association in conjunction withthe National Library ran a Basic Librarianship Course forLibrary staff in the capital, Male'. This was attended bystaff from schools, higher education institutes andgovernment ministries and proved very popular. 

The Advanced Distance Education Programme in Libraryand Information Science (ADEPLIS), a three-year diplomacourse run by the Sri Lanka Library Association continuedinto its second year. The course is attended by ten studentsfrom libraries in Male' and is coordinated by Melanie Weeksa Teacher-Librarian recruited through the British-basedorganization Voluntary Service Overseas. 

Library Associations of Maldives

The Library Association was formed and registered in theyear 1987. It was founded by Habeeba Hussain Habeeb and Ms ZulfaAhmed. Its aim is to promote the libraries in Library, upgradingthe standard of local libraries and strengthen the corporationamong libraries

The Maldives Library Association has taken an activerole in providing relief assistance for the Tsunami-affectedlibraries of Maldives. The first major program conducted bythe Association was carried out in collaboration with theNational Library of Maldives and the Maldives NationalCentre for Linguistic and Historical Research (MNCLHR) in2005. This programme was targeted at all the librariesaffected by the Tsunami. Under this project, readingmaterial amounting to 16,321 was forwarded to 45 libraries.

  A second project was put forward to cater to the worst-hit libraries. As such, 10 libraries (5 public libraries and5 school libraries) were selected based on the informationreceived from the National Disaster Management Centre,Ministry of Education, and other reliable sources.

Conclusion

Today’s world discusses about paper less library and E-reading habits and now we are discuses about libraryautomation in SARRC countries, when we are proud we are heirof civilization of Harapa and Moin-jo-Daro, thesecivilization showed the path of knowledge.

Use of Database Management Systems (DBMS) in LibrariesIndia

India (1)Pakistan (2)Sri Lanka (3)Bangladesh (4)Nepal (5)Bhutan (6)Maldives (7)

Conclusion

The problems faced by the professionals and authorities in selectingand using a librarysoftwarecan be solved to a great extent by establishing a machinery to analyse the software requirementsand softwares. This machinery can evaluate the available softwares and make suitablerecommendations for practical application. Such a system will not onlyprovideguidelinesin theselection of a standard and appropriate software and also boost the process of developing

standard softwares in future. A permanent platform to see the problems related to the softwares