LIS KERALA

Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kalamassery, Kochi, Kerala invites applications for M.Lib.I.Sc. regular full-time programme for the academic year 2022-2024.

2022-02-04T13:53:00.000+05:30

Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (RCSS), Kalamassery, Kochi, Kerala invites applications for “Master of Library and Information Science” (M.Lib.I.Sc.) regular full-time programme for the academic year 2022-2024.

This two year, four semester master’s programme provide common and essential inputs covering the Library and Information Science. Building on these fundamentals, students undertake a dissertation in an emerging area of their interest. Programme lays more emphasis on practical aspects and is multidisciplinary drawing expertise from all the schools/centres of RCSS and other related institutions/industries in India.

Dept. of Library & Information Science

The Dept. of Library & Information Science (DLIS) of RCSS, established in 2005, is now conducting (i). 02 Year M.Lib.I.Sc.; and (ii). 06 Months Diploma in Library Automation (DLA). (iii). Research, Extension and Social Projects.

RCSS is an autonomous college, affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. It has First Rank (3.83 out of 4) as per NAAC 4th Cycle (2021) Accreditation and 31st as per NIRF Ranking 2021. RCSS is known for its well-crafted curriculum, sound theory, high quality teaching and unique experiential learning.

Admission Eligibility

Candidates with Degree in any subjects having 50% marks (CGPA of 2 out of 4 or 5 out of 10) will be admitted M.Lib.I.Sc.. Relaxation in Marks will be allowed to special categories, as per Rules.

Lateral Entry

B.Lib.I.Sc. holders will be admitted to the 2nd Year of M.Lib.I.Sc. Qualified Library Professionals / Working Librarians will be admitted to the DLA Programme.

Highlights of the Programme

Major highlights of the Library Science Programmes in RCSS are:- Excellent Faculty Team, Modern Library & Info Lab with One Computer for each Student, Internship/ Field Projects, Add on/ Value added courses by the Specialist Teachers, Placement and Career / NET / JRF Guidance and Coaching, National and International Seminars, Conferences and Workshops, Scholarship for Eligible students, Expert Coaching for IT, English, Statistics, Research Methodology, etc.

Faculty Members

The DLIS has 07 Regular Teachers, largest in India, 05 of them have PhD and all have published books and articles in reputed national and international journals and earned reputation as researchers, trainers, and consultants for many esteemed national and international agencies such as UGC, ICAR, DRDO, Govt. of India and Govt. of Kerala, Universities, etc.

Fr. Moses Library

The College Library is in the name, Rev. Dr. Abraham Moses, CMI, the first principal of RCSS. The Library is 17000 Square Feet size, 4740 Sq.ft. stack area and 300 seating capacity, functioning 8am to 8pm. The resource collection includes 30,000 books, journals in print and online, subscribing databases like ACM, EBSCO, IMC-E-Journals, J-Gate, Sage, Questia, N-LIST, DELNET, EPW, IMF-E Library, Turnitin Plagiarism Tool, Language Editing Tools, SPSS and so on.

Live Labs

Live Labs are Rajarigi’s unique contribution to social work education and practice which ensures strengthened experiantial learning environment. Rajagiri Centres for Skill Development, Sustainable Livelihood, outREACH, Family Counselling, Childline, Middle Level Training Centre (MLTC) for ICDS, etc. are major Live Labs.

Application Last Date: 31-03-2022.

For enquiries contact us at:

Website: https://rajagiri.edu/

Email: dlis@rajagiri.edu

Phone: 9140881625; 9496839409; 0484-291-1363

Free NET Coaching in Library & Information Science in Thrissur, Kerala

2018-08-06T13:36:00.000+05:30

Free NET Coaching in Library & Information Science for the December 2018 Examination is organised by the Academic Library Association (ALA) in Thrissur during 2^nd Saturdays and some holidays. The classes will start on 10^th1August 2018.

This is the 10^th Coaching Programme conducted in Thrissur. 10 professionals cleared NET during the July 2018 Examination itself. Total 60+ professionals already cleared the NET, 11 with JRF Score.

For more details and registration contact:

Dr. A.T. Francis,

University Librarian,

Kerala Agricultural University & Course Director.

Mob: 9496839409; francislaoor@yahoo.com

Dr. P.A. Pradeep,

Librarian, Veterinary College,

Mannuthy & General Secretary, ALA.

Phone: 9995087645

NET Coaching in Library & Information Science in Thrissur

2016-09-29T10:11:00.000+05:30

The Academic Library Association (ALA) and Kerala Library Association(KLA) are jointly organizing Free NET Coaching in Library & Information Science for the December 2016 Examination. Classes are going in Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) Central Library, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, during Sundays and holidays.

This is the 7th Coaching Programme conducted in Thrissur, the 1st, 5th and 6th Batches were held in KAU and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th in St. Thomas College, Thrissur.

A good number of students have already cleared NET and some of them with JRF through this coaching.

Fore more details and registration contact:

Dr. A.T. Francis, University Librarian, KAU, President, ALA, President, KLA Thrissur Region & Course Director: 9496839409; francislaoor@yahoo.com or

Shri. K. Rajendran, Chief Librarian, Kerala Sahitya Akademy & Secretary, KLA Thrissur Region: 9446637555 or

Sri. Sanjo Jose, Librarian, St. Thomas' College, Thrissur & General Secretary, ALA: 8156884113 or

Dr. V.S. Swapna, Treasurer, ALA: 9446434149.

Free NET Coaching in Library & Information Science in Thrissur

2016-01-15T09:27:00.001+05:30

Free NET Coaching in Library & Information Science for the June 2016 Examination is jointly organised by Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Academic Library Association (ALA) and Kerala Library Association (KLA). Classes will be held in KAU Central Library, Thrissur during Sundays and holidays. The classes starts on 13^th February 2016.

This is the 6^th Coaching Programme conducted in Thrissur, the 1^st and 5^th were held in KAU and the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th were held in St. Thomas’ College, Thrissur. A good number of professionals have already cleared NET & JRF through this coaching.

For more details and registration contact:

Dr. A.T. Francis,

University Librarian,

KAU & Course Director.

Mob: 9496839409;

francislaoor@yahoo.com

Shri. K. Rajendran,

Chief Librarian,

Kerala Sahitya Akademy & Secretary,

KLA Thrissur Region:

9446637555

Sri. P.A. Pradeep,

Librarian,

College of Dairy Science & Technology & General Secretary, ALA:

9995087645

Smt. V.S. Swapna,

Treasurer, ALA:

9446434149.

Free NET Coaching in Library & Information Science in Thrissur, Kerala organised by ALA and KLA in St. Thomas' College, Thrissur

2015-01-07T10:37:00.002+05:30

The Academic Library Association (ALA) and Kerala Library Association (KLA) are jointly organizing Free NET Coaching in Library & Information Science for the June 2015 Examination. Classes will be held at St. Thomas College (STC), Thrissur, Kerala during Sundays and holidays.

The classes will start on 18^th January 2015, Sunday.

This is the 4^th Coaching Programme conducted in Thrissur, the 1^st one was held in Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) and the 2^nd and 3^rd in STC. A good number of professionals have already cleared NET through this coaching.

Fore more details and registration contact:

Dr. A.T. Francis,
Head, Library,
College of Horticulture,
KAU, President, ALA,
President, KLA Thrissur Region & Course Director:
9496839409; francislaoor@yahoo.com

or

Shri. K. Rajendran,
Chief Librarian,
Kerala Sahitya Akademy & Secretary,
KLA Thrissur Region: 9446637555

or

Sri. P.A. Pradeep,
Librarian, College of Dairy Science & Technology & General Secretary, ALA:
9995087645

or

Smt. V.S. Swapna,
Treasurer, ALA: 9446434149.

NET Coaching in Library Science in Thrissur

2014-11-10T10:11:00.003+05:30

Free NET Coaching in Library Science jointly organized by the Kerala Library Association (KLA) and Kerala Academic Library Association (KALA) for the December 2014 examination is going on in St. Thomas College, Thrissur in Sundays and public holidays.

If any expert can provide information beneficial to the coaching, please provide the same to:

Dr. A.T. Francis, Head, Library, College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University & Coordinator: 9496839409; francislaoor@yahoo.com or

Shri. K. Rajendran, Chief Librarian, Kerala Sahitya Akademy & Secretary, KLA Thrissur Region: 9446637555

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE AWARD FOR THE KELPRO BEST STUDENT PAPER 2015

2014-09-30T10:22:00.001+05:30

KELPRO BULLETIN (ISSN 0975-4911), a bi-annual journal in Library & Information Science Published by KERALA LIBRARY PROFESSIONALS’ ORGANIZATION

Since 1997, through 18 volumes, KELPRO Bulletin has been a leader among scholarly journals in Library & Information Science in India. As part of its strategy to encourage budding LIS professionals, Kelpro Bulletin is announcing a call for “Best Student Paper 2015”. This competition supports KELPRO Bulletins goal of publishing the best articles from the next generation of Library and Information Science professionals. We are proud to recognize the best papers with special awards.

OBJECTIVES

™ To encourage LIS students to present research papers addressing, the current trends in Library and information Science; ™ to encourage the students to understand and participate in professional activities and thereby promote communication, co-operation and unity among the library professionals.

PARTICIPANTS

™ Students include Post-graduate, M. Phil and Research Scholars in LIS, below the age of 40 years are invited to submit high quality research papers to this competition. Single author/joint author (maximum 2 authors) papers are invited.

THEME OF THE PAPER

The theme is “Library websites and Portals”. Research paper should address the significant issues facing todays Librarians, Information Scientists and Faculty members on the above topic. Case studies, best practices and pure research papers are welcome.

The sub themes are : ™ Design and Development - Standards and Practices, Creation and maintenance of dynamic library websites and portals, Content management and content providers.

™ Web based services and tools: Sharing of resources and services, Database search, Instant Messaging and Virtual Reference Desks, Web based user education tools and information literacy services. ™

Evaluation of Web content: Social media and Web 2.0, Social informatics, ™ Case studies: Library websites and portals of various types of libraries - Public/Academic/Special/ Other types - best practices and

Websites and Portals as hub of knowledge and information

SELECTION OF THE PAPER

An expert committee constituted by KELPRO will select the best paper for awards. Paper will be judged on the basis of originality of thought and observation, ™ depth of research and scholarship,. ™ topicality of the problem addressed ,™ Quality of ideas, research methods, results or argument ™ and quality of writing and referencing. The decision of the expert committee will be final in this regard

AWARDS

Three prizes will be given in this competition of the Best Student Paper-2015. ™ First Prize - The author of the Best Student Paper will be honoured with a cash prize of Rs.10,000/- a Certificate of Merit and free subscription of KELPRO Bulletin for 2 years. ™ Second & Third Prize - The author of the second & third Best Student paper will be given a Certificate of Merit and free subscription of KELPRO Bulletin for 2 years. (In case joint author paper winning the award, the prize money will be shared equally).

PAPER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND DUE DATE

Length of the paper should be in the range of 4000-6000 words. ™ Language: English. ™ Reference should be given on author date system. (For more details see Instructions to contributors in KELPRO Bulletin). ™ Paper should be submitted in CD format done in MS Word together with a printed copy. Also electronic submission to: kelpro1993@gmail.com

Due date of submission: 28th February 2015

Manuscript should be send to Dr. S. Humayoon Kabir, Editor, KELPRO Bulletin, Post Box No. 5543, University P. O., Thiruvananthapuram - 695034, Kerala. (C/o Associate Professor, Dept. of Library and Information Science, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 034, Kerala).

PAPER SHOULD BE ATTACHED WITH THE FOLLOWING ™

A certificate showing the details of enrolment of the student from the Head of the LIS Department, proof of Date of Birth of the student (attested true copy) and declaration stating that the paper is an original work of mine and has not been published in any journal/book or presented in any seminar/ conference. The award winning papers and few selected papers will be published.

Stanley James Pradeepam Dr. R. Reghunathan Nair Dr. Mehaboobullah. K General Secretary, President, Convener,Organising Committee, KELPRO KELPRO KELPRO Best Student Paper 2015

FREE NET COACHING IN LIBRARY SCIENCE IN THRISSUR, KERALA

2014-08-04T10:01:00.000+05:30

The Academic Library Association (ALA) and Kerala Library Association (KLA) are jointly organizing Free NET Coaching in Library Science for the December examination.

The classes will be held in St. ThomasCollege, Thrissur during Sundays and holidays. ?Final yearmaster degreestudents canalsoattend.

Interested persons can contact:

Dr. A.T. Francis,
Head, Library,
College of Horticulture & President, ALA;
9496839409; francisaloor@yahoo.com;

K. Rajendran,
Secretary, KLA Thrissur Region:
9446637555; rajendranavittathur@gmail.com;

Sri. P.A. Pradeep.
General Secretary, ALA:
papradeep08@gmail.com; 9995087645

Inauguration of Graduate Library Membership - Mahatma Gandhi University Library

2014-06-28T10:18:00.000+05:30

Mahatma Gandhi University Library cordially invite you to the Launching of Graduate Library Membership and Inauguration of Electronic Theses (ETD) Lab by Hon'ble Vice-Chancellor Dr. Sheena Shukkur on June 30, 2014 (Monday) at 11.30 am in the University Assembly Hall.
Programme

Welcome: Sri. M.R. Unni, Registrar
Report of the Project: Smt. Laila T. Abraham, University Librarian-in-charge
Inauguration: Dr. Sheena Shukkur, Hon'ble Vice-Chancellor
Acceptance Speech: Dr. Cyriac Thomas, Member, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions & Former Vice-Chancellor
Graduate membership

Graduates from any University who are residing permanently in Kerala are eligible to seek Membership under this scheme, which has to be renewed annually. Download Graduate Membership application form from here.
Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Lab

University library has digitised 1874 PhD theses awarded by the Mahatma Gandhi University till recently which can be accessed through www.mgutheses.org. The site has received three coveted recognitions-Excellence Award of Government of Kerala in e-learning and commendations from UNESCO and INTUTE Online Service Consortium of Universities (UK). The ETD Lab had been set up in the University Library at a cost of Rs. 7.5 Lakhs using the grant received from UGC.

One day Workshop on Managing Literature for Scholarly Writing at KLA – Centre for Professional Development on 13 July 2014

2014-06-24T10:21:00.005+05:30

Kerala Library Association Centre for Professional Development (KLA-CPD) is organizing a one day Workshop on Managing Literature for Scholarly Writing.
About the workshop
This workshop will empower the researcher to systemically identify, capture, organize, and use the scholarly literature. The researchers also will be able to learn how to manage the numerous PDF files they already have in a proper way and how to add notes and annotations to them. Further it will also provide insights about how to use its bibliographical information to generate the references / citations and to insert them in MSWord / Open Office during the paper / theses writing process in the required citation style.

read more: http://liskeralaseminars.blogspot.in/

3 Days National Workshop on Design and Development of Automated Libraries using Koha.

2014-02-06T15:31:00.000+05:30

SH College Library, Thevara, Ernakulam in association with Mahatma Gandhi University organize three days workshop on Koha Open Source Library Management system.

Date: 24-26 February 2014.

Venue: SH College, Thevara, Ernakulam

Read more: http://liskeralaseminars.blogspot.in/

National Workshop on Social Responsibility and Professional Ethics in Librarianship, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences,Kalamassery

2014-01-09T18:42:00.001+05:30

Dates: 6-7 February,2014

Venue : Fr.Jose Alex CMI Hall,Rajagiri College of Social Sciences,Kalamassery.

Registration: A maximum of 50 Participants will be permitted. Admission is on first come first serve basis.

Read More : http://liskeralaseminars.blogspot.in/

Assessing the Impact of Library Discovery Technology on Content Usage

2013-12-16T18:17:00.001+05:30

UKSG, with the support of Jisc, partnered with LISU to carry out the research project: Assessing the Impact of Library Discovery Technology on Content Usage.

The final report, Impact of Library Discovery Technologies, has now been published and is available to view.
The project was carried out by LISU at Loughborough University, in collaboration with the Department of Information Science, Loughborough University and Evidence Base, Birmingham City University.

Find out more here.

To evaluate the impact that library discovery technologies (such as link resolvers and web-scale resource discovery services) have on the use of academic resources

To provide evidence to determine if there is a case for (a) investment in discovery technologies by libraries and (b) engagement with library discovery technologies by publishers and others in the academic information supply chain (unless no positive impact is found, in which case to provide evidence to this effect)

To provide recommendations for actions that libraries, publishers and others in the academic information supply chain should take to engage with such technologies to best support the discovery of resources for teaching, learning and research

To identify additional research, data, discussion, initiatives or other activities required that will support the implementation of the findings of this study.

The project was overseen by UKSG through the UKSG Research Subcommittee and Jisc through the PALS group. UKSG staff provided support as needed.

The goals of the study were:

To evaluate the impact that library discovery technologies (such as link resolvers and web-scale resource discovery services) have on the use of academic resources

To provide evidence to determine if there is a case for (a) investment in discovery technologies by libraries and (b) engagement with library discovery technologies by publishers and others in the academic information supply chain (unless no positive impact is found, in which case to provide evidence to this effect)

To provide recommendations for actions that libraries, publishers and others in the academic information supply chain should take to engage with such technologies to best support the discovery of resources for teaching, learning and research

To identify additional research, data, discussion, initiatives or other activities required that will support the implementation of the findings of this study.

courtesy: http://www.uksg.org/researchstudy

Google Scholar library

2013-11-26T16:35:00.003+05:30

Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Google Scholar helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research.

Google Scholar library is your personal collection of articles. You can save articles right off the search page, organize them by topic, and use the power of Scholar search to quickly find just the one you want - at any time and from anywhere. You decide what goes into your library, and we’ll keep the links up to date.

You get all the goodies that come with Scholar search results - citing articles, related articles, formatted citations, links to your university’s subscriptions, and more. Best of all, it’s easy to quickly fill up your library with the articles you want - with a single click, you can import all the articles in your public Scholar profile as well as all the articles they cite.

http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/about.html

Training on APA

2013-10-11T08:51:00.003+05:30

Central University of Kerala is organizing a one day training programme on: IN-TEXT CITATION AND REFERENCING PATTERN [According to American Psychological Association (APA) Standards]

read more: http://liskeralaseminars.blogspot.in/

Mahatma Gandhi University Library, Kottayam moves to Koha

2013-08-19T13:41:00.001+05:30

Mahatma Gandhi University Library, Kottayam, Kerala officially moved to Koha Open Source Library Management system on 13 August 2013. Dr. Sheena Shukkur, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University inaugurated Koha system at MGU Library.

MGU Library team completed data migration from SOUL (ver. 1) software last month. Bibliographic, user and transaction data could successfully moved to Koha from SOUL. Acquisition, Circulation, Technical (Cataloguing), Periodical and Maintenance sections have started to use concerned modules. Now all modules of the software are functional after one month trial period.

Koha installed in a server, which housed in the library building. In near future, the same server can make use to install multiple Koha instances for other department and study centre libraries. Now the Koha service is available inside the campus only. Online catalogue can access from anywhere inside the campus.

Few months back, library staff had received one week hands on training. A team of Koha experts are now available in the library to provide continuing support and training to staff. We received only the support of Koha community for the successful implementation of the Open Source library management system. We are thankful to all Koha community members from India and abroad for the quick and enormous support during our migration process.

Type anywhere in local language

2013-08-01T08:48:00.001+05:30

Google Input Tools for Windows is an input method editor which allows users to enter text in any of the supported languages using a Latin (English / QWERTY) keyboard. Users can type a word the way it sounds using Latin characters and Google Input Tools for Windows will convert the word to its native script. Available input tools include transliteration, IME, and on-screen keyboards.

http://www.google.co.in/inputtools/windows/

Google Input Tools for Windows is currently available for 22 different languages: Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Persian, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinya and Urdu.

Interaction Programme for Ph.D. Research Scholars, Calicut University.

2013-07-23T18:59:00.000+05:30

From 20.08.2013 to 09.09.2013

Faculties: Language, Science and Social Science and Humanities.

The course consists of three National Workshops of 6 days duration each on Research Methodology

For more details: www.universityofcalicut.info

KERALA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (KLA) NATIONAL SEMINAR 12-13 July 2013, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

2013-06-27T18:12:00.004+05:30

MAIN THEME:
"New Information Technology Interfaces in Libraries and Information Centres (NITILIC)”

REGISTRATION
Individual participants: Rs 1250.00
Institutional participants: Rs 1750.00
Concessional rate for KLA Life Members and Research Scholars in LIS: Rs 1000.00
Students: Rs 750.00

Read more: http://liskeralaseminars.blogspot.in/

Workshop on Koha and Dspace. 20 June 2013 to 22 June 2013

2013-06-07T18:03:00.002+05:30

College of Engineering, Cherthala organizes 3 days workshop

Read more : http://liskeralaseminars.blogspot.in/

2 days National Workshop on CLOUD COMPUTING APPLICATIONS IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH on 19th and 20th June 2013 at the University Library, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod

2013-06-01T16:11:00.002+05:30

Topic: CLOUD COMPUTING APPLICATIONS IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Date: 19^th and 20^th June 2013

Areas Covered

1. Preparing cloud based online questionnaire.

2. Online cloud based data collection.

3. Sharing documents online.

4. Online editing and correction in cloud environment.

5. Other cloud based applications in research.

National Workshop on KOHA at Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod from 4th to 6th March 2013

2013-02-15T10:28:00.001+05:30

The University Library, Central University of Kerala located at Kasaragod, Kerala is organizing a 3 day National Workshop on KOHA LMS from 4th to 6th March 2013. The Workshop will be a hands on training in which all the areas from installation to use will be taught by experts.

Training Program on DSPACE and KOHA at College of Engineering Vadakara on 22-25 February 2013

2013-02-11T11:08:00.002+05:30

Short Term Training Program on LIBRARY DIGITILIZATION USING OPENSOURCE SOFTWARE with Special emphasis on DSPACE and KOHA ILS (latest version) From 22 to 25 February 2013

Organized by : Central Library, College of Engineering Vadakara Sponsored By TEQIP Phase II (A Project of Govt. of India)

Google launches Dead Sea Scrolls online library

2013-01-10T11:03:00.002+05:30

More than six decades since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls — and thousands of years after they were written — Israel on Tuesday put 5,000 images of the ancient biblical artifacts online in a partnership with Google.

The digital library contains the Book of Deuteronomy, which includes the second listing of the Ten Commandments, and a portion of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, dated to the first century B.C.

Israeli officials said this is part of an attempt by the custodians of the celebrated manuscripts — often criticized for allowing them to be monopolized by small circles of scholars — to make them broadly available.

"Only five conservators worldwide are authorized to handle the Dead Sea Scrolls," said Shuka Dorfman, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority. "Now, everyone can touch the scroll on screen around the globe."

Last year, Google partnered with the Israel Museum to put five scrolls online.

The scrolls, considered one of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, are thought to have been written or collected by an ascetic Jewish sect that fled Jerusalem to the desert 2,000 years ago and settled at Qumran, near the shore of the Dead Sea. The hundreds of manuscripts found in caves near the site have shed light on the development of the Hebrew Bible and the origins of Christianity.

Google says the new digital library took two years to assemble, using technology first developed by NASA. The multimedia website allows users to zoom in on various fragments, with translations and Google maps alongside.

Google hopes to further expand its project. Two months ago Google launched a "Cultural Institute," a digital visual archive of historical events in cooperation with 17 museums and institutes around the world.

"We're working to bring important cultural and historical materials online and help preserve them for future generations," said Yossi Matias, head of Google's Research and Development Center in Israel. "Our partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority is another step toward enabling users to enjoy cultural material around the world."

Online: www.deadseascrolls.org.il

Harvard’s Alternative to Google Books.

2013-01-10T11:00:00.003+05:30

Universities launch a digital public library.

In 2004, Google decided to seek out millions of books gathering dust in library stacks, digitize them, and make them available to you at the click of a mouse. All you had to do was notice the advertisements in the margins.

But after Google extended its archiving effort from books in the public domain to those under copyright, the U.S.-based Authors Guild filed a class action lawsuit in 2005. Then, while negotiating a settlement, Google decided to sell not merely ads but the books themselves, with or without the specific consent of copyright holders, on the ground that the guild could stand in as their legal representative.

Not so fast, said federal judge Denny Chin, as he rejected one Guild-Google settlement after another. And as the case went forward, it raised a question in the minds of librarians, writers, and archivists: Should we really put the entire repository of human knowledge in the hands of one company?

In 2010, university librarians met in a national conference and decided to create an alternative called the Digital Public Library of America. Operating under the auspices of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, it would archive every book in the public domain and offer them online to anyone. The library’s prototype is expected to launch this year.

“This is a civic-minded engagement,” says Kenny Whitebloom, who manages the library project. “There was a fear that Google Books was a commercial project, and this was an opportunity to create a digital library on its own terms.”

The Digital Public Library has a lot of things going for it. It won’t try to sell you ads when you read books online, and it won’t try to sell books it doesn’t have the right to. What it doesn’t have is money—or at any rate not enough of it to scan and organize every book in the United States. (The rest of the world is a matter the organization will have to leave for another day.)

Instead, the Digital Public Library will serve as the archive for other archives. All around the country, from the Library of Congress to the Internet Archive in Northern California, libraries have been scanning books and setting up individual databases for their collections. The Digital Public Library of America hopes to produce a search engine that will coordinate with these institutions, creating a single search portal that will direct users to every single book they need, in any collection.

Whitebloom expects to finalize the legal deals with the various partners in the coming year. But if he gets the project going, he just might be able to offer what Google won’t: words without ads. “It’s free and open to all,” he says, “a sustainable national resource that will not be beholden to commercial influences.”

This article originally appeared in print as "Read Free or Die." courtesy: http://spectrum.ieee.org