SAARC Documentation Centre - NISCAIR documentation...105 SAARC Documentation Centre Establishment of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library for SAARC Countries Glimpses of the Workshop

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SAARC DocumentationCentre

SAARC Regional Centres established in Member Countries promote regional cooperation in different areas assignedto them. The SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC) was established in 1994. It acts as depository of informationincluding regional and international databases on various disciplines as well as development matters. The Centreconducts training courses in the area of Information Technology for Information Management. It is currentlyengaged in the establishment of TKDL for SAARC nations. During the year 2005-06, the following activities havebeen carried out by the Centre:

Human Resource Development A major activity of the Centre hasbeen to impart training to the libraryand information professionals ofthe member countries. Theemphasis of all trainingprogrammes is on effectiveutilization of informationtechnology in library andinformation science. Since itsinception, SDC has conductedvarious training programmes andimparted training to more than 250participants from SAARC MemberStates. The training programmesconducted during the year 2005-06are as below:

(a)Short Term CoursesTwo Short-term trainingprogrammes on Information

Technology for InformationManagement were organized.The first programme, conductedduring 16 May 2005 -17 June2005, was attended by 12participants from Bangladesh (1),Bhutan (2), India (2), Maldives (2),Nepal (2), Sri Lanka (2), andSAARC Secretariat (1) . Thesecond programme, conductedduring 19 Sep. 2005-21 Oct. 2005,was attended by 11 participantsfrom Bhutan (2), India (2),Maldives (2), Nepal (2), Pakistan(1), and Sri Lanka (2).

Attechment Training Programmes

The Attachment TrainingProgrammes on InformationTechnology for Management areorganized for a period of three

months. These programmes arespecially designed to suit thespecific needs and backgroundof the trainees. During this year,two Attachment TrainingProgrammes were conducted.The f i rs t programmecommenced on 16 May 2005 andcontinued up to 12 Aug. 2005. Itwas attended by 6 professionals one each from Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,and Sr i Lanka. The secondprogramme commenced on 19Sep. 2005 and continued up to16 Dec. 2005. Six professionals one each from Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,and Pakistan attended.

(c)Associateship in Information Sciences

Since 1999, candidates fromSAARC countries are beingadmit ted to INSDOCsAssociateship in InformationScience (AIS), a Masters levelprogramme in Library andInformation Science. For the2004-06 batch, one participantfrom Sri Lanka after completingthe first year of formal trainingin August 2005, is working onher dissertation in her owncountry. For the 2005-07 batch,one part ic ipant f romBangladesh and one from Nepalhave been admitted and areundergoing formal training.

SDC Library

NISCAIR Annual Report2005-06

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Third NFP-SDC Coordinators Meet

NFP-SDC Coordinators Meet at SDC

Governing Board Meeting of SAARC Documentation Centre

The Third Meeting of the Coordinators ofSAARC Documentation Centre Cells atNational Focal Points (NFP-SDC was held atNISCAIR during 7-8 Sep. 2005. The meetingwas attended by the Coordinators fromBhutan, Maldives, Nepal and India. It wasproposed to bring out SAARC Abstracts forDevelopmental Matters, to update theDirectory of Training Facilities in Library &Information Science of SAARC Nations, toprepare database on Medicinal and AromaticPlants in SAARC region, to provide e-journalsaccess facility at each NFP-SDC Cell forSAARC member states, and to organize aworkshop on Intellectual Property RightsIssues. NFP-SDC Cell Coordi-nators agreedto provide the relevant data for directories,databases and newsletter on regular basis.

Eleventh Meeting of the Governing BoardThe Eleventh Meeting of theGoverning Board of SDC was heldduring 20-21 Sept. 2005 atNISCAIR, SV Marg, New Delhi. Allthe members of the GoverningBoard attended the meeting. The

agenda included performancereport for the year 2004-05, reporton 3rd NFP-SDC Coordinatorsmeeting, establish-ment of TKDL forSAARC Countries, Workshop onRecent Developments in Library &

Information Science and Creationof Digital Libraries, recruitment ofprofessionals, programmes &budget for 2006 and auditedaccounts for 2004.

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SAARC DocumentationCentre

Establishment of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library for SAARC Countries

Glimpses of the Workshop Organized by SDC at Bhutan

In the Programme Committeemeeting of SAARC nations heldduring 8-9 Nov. 2005 at Dhaka,Bangladesh the proposal for

Establishment of TKDL for SAARCCountries was approved. AConcept paper for Establishmentof TKDL for SAARC Countries was

prepared which provided relateddetails to SAARC Secretariat andMember States.

SAARC Workshop on Recent Developments in Libraryand Information Science and Creation of Digital LibrariesThe SAARC Workshop on RecentDevelopments in Library andInformation Science and Creationof Digital Libraries was held during21-25 Nov. 2005 in Bhutan. Theworkshop was organized by theRoyal Institute of Management,Thimphu in collaboration with theSAARC Documentation Centre,New Delhi, India.

The Workshop was designed

to train participants from SAARCmember countries in the area of (i)Current Developments in Libraryand Information Science, and (ii)Creation of Digital Libraries. Theaim of the workshop was to impartknowledge and skills (bothconceptual and technicalcomponents) on library automationand digital library technologies, toprepare and acquire strategies for

the design and maintenance ofdigital libraries.

About 22 participants withvarying level of qualification andexperience in library managementfields from Bhutan, Bangladesh,Maldives and India attended theWorkshop. Guest observers fromdifferent local institutions andagencies also attended some of theworkshop sessions.

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Twentieth Anniversary of Signing of SAARCCharterWINISIS Training Programme onthe occasion of commemoration of20th Anniversary of signing ofSAARC Charter was conductedduring 5 - 9 Dec. 2005. Sixparticipants from Maldives (2), SriLanka (2) and India (2) attended thetraining programme.

SDC WebsiteThe website of the SAARCDocumentation Centre http://www.sdc.gov.in, was created in theyear 2005 which is a comprehensiveone providing the calendar andschedule of activities for the year,brief on important activities held,information about the forthcomingevents, and job opportunities inSDC. It also contains informationrelated to SAARC Secretariat andother establishments of SAARC. Itprovides links to various otherrelevant websites.

Directory of Periodicals Visit of Delegation from Mongoliain SAARC Countries -2005 The Directory of Periodicals,covering 2428 periodicals ofSAARC Countries, has beencompiled by the SDC during theyear 2005. This Directory is a usefulresource on periodicals publishedin the seven SAARC Member States.It will serve as an important toolfor information professionalsand research community in theregion.

Collection Development SDC has a modest collection of reports and documents produced in theregion. The Centre has acquired several new documents in core areasduring 2005, which include reports of various international organizations.In response to the appeal from H E Chenkyab Dorji, Secretary GeneralSAARC, SDC received gratis publications from Bhutan, Pakistan,Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Mr Tarlok Singh, ex-member, PlanningCommission, gifted publications on planning poverty alleviation,globalising the economy in SAARC and South Asian region.

Visit of Joint Secretary(SAARC), MEA, IndiaMr P K Kapur, Joint Secretary (SAARC) MEA, India, visited SDC andNISCAIR on 25 Aug. 2005. Mr Tarlok Singh, ex-member, PlanningCommission, eminent scholor and statesman accompanied him. Mr V KGupta, Director, SDC and NISCAIR, gave a brief presentation on theactivities of SDC, NISCAIR and TKDL.

Mongolian delegation visited SAARC Documentation Centre and gotacquainted with the activities of the Centre.

From left: Mr P K Kapur, Mr V K Gupta and Mr Tarlok Singh at SDC Meeting

Visit of Mongolian Delegation

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SAARC DocumentationCentre

R & D Management ConferenceCSIR conducted R&D ManagementConference on Innovation: A Routeto Competitiveness in GlobalEconomy during 3-4 March 2006,

at New Delhi. Four participantsfrom Bhutan (1), Nepal (1), India (1)and Sri Lanka (1) participated in theconference on behalf of SAARC

Nations and SDC sponsored theirparticipation.