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This study investigates the extent of publication output and functional areas of Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals. The research has been undertaken based on the primary data collected from the LIS professionals working in the various eight-state universities in Kerala, India. The population of the study consists of two hundred and sixty-six regular LIS professionals. The Census method was used for the collection of data. A questionnaire was designed and used as the instrument for extracting publication output and the relevant data. Based on the data analysis, the results show that the highest mean score for the publications of LIS professionals is in the conference papers followed by journal articles. It was also observed that the main primary functional area of most LIS professionals is in the circulation section, followed by the maintenance section and reference section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the extent of publication output and functional areas of Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals. The research has been undertaken based on the primary data collected from the LIS professionals working in the various eight-state universities in Kerala, India. The population of the study consists of two hundred and sixty-six regular LIS professionals. The Census method was used for the collection of data. A questionnaire was designed and used as the instrument for extracting publication output and the relevant data. Based on the data analysis, the results show that the highest mean score for the publications of LIS professionals is in the conference papers followed by journal articles. It was also observed that the main primary functional area of most LIS professionals is in the circulation section, followed by the maintenance section and reference section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the possible predatory journals in Library and Information Science research in India, including the affiliation status of the authors publishing in those predatory journals, frequency of returning authors, and country-wise distribution of authors. The paper used Beall's list to find out the predatory journals in LIS published from India. Publication trends, affiliations of authors, and the status of the 22 LIS journals under the study were critically analyzed. The result shows that the predatory journals were diminishing slowly; in 2016, there were eight active journals, while in 2021, it was reduced to four journals. Similarly, the publication trends show that the highest number of articles (398) was published in the year 2015, and it was only 66 articles in 2020. It is revealed that academics hailing from state universities (42.88%) are the highest contributors to the predatory journals, followed by professionals from government colleges (16.76%). The results indicate that predatory publishing was rampant in the early years but declined gradually. Researchers from India have published the most articles, totaling 1760 (93%), followed by those from Nigeria (64, 3.3%), Bangladesh (10), and Saudi Arabia (eight articles). It is also revealed that 21.66% (n = 438) are returning authors who have published more than one article in the sample journals. The paper discusses the role of the government and especially the University Grants Commission (UGC) in curbing the menace of predatory publishing. The authors also discuss the possible role of library professionals in stopping the plague of predatory publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Assistive technology (AT) is like the eyes of visually impaired users (VIUs) and plays a vital role in making them independent in accessing a wide range of library resources and services. It is a revolutionary way to improve the academic performance of VIUs and amalgamate them into mainstream library services. This paper aims to explore the familiarity and understanding of AT among VIUs in accessing library resources and services of three special institutes of Haryana state, India. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a survey method, and data were collected using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended questions focused on participants' familiarity, understanding and key barriers VIUs face in accessing existing AT facilities. Scope of the study is to include three special institutions' libraries serving to VIUs in Haryana (India). Purposive sampling technique was adopted for data collection. The data are tabulated and analyzed with descriptive statistics methods using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0, and the results are presented in tables, diagrams and graphs. Findings: The study found that most of the VIUs are highly familiar and reported an expert understanding of Daisy player and digital voice recorder, whereas refreshable Braille display, Braille printer/embosser and scanning and reading devices are least familiar with and reported poor understanding. In the software category, it is noted that VIUs are more familiar with screen reading and speech synthesizer software than other software, and participants confirmed a good understanding of the said software. Practical implications: The literature review revealed that the majority of library staff in the institutions being investigated had limited knowledge about the availability of the most suitable AT tools. So, the study will be beneficial for them to select the most popular AT tools for their libraries to amalgamate VIUs. The study also highlights some barriers VIUs face in using the existing AT facility of their respective libraries that may be helpful for librarians to understand the root cause of low utilization of available AT tools and how to address this problem effectively. The study can also help policymakers in formulating AT policies for academic libraries. Findings will also help to develop a cost-effective AT workstation suiting the needs of VIUs. Originality/value: This study will provide an idea to library professionals about which AT hardware and software are more popular among VIUs and useful for developing/improving cutting-edge AT facilities in their libraries to amalgamate VIUs in the mainstream of the library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilingual retrival systems are very important for countries like India, where we have multiple scripts and many languages for verbal and written communication. The creation of a multilingual interface for the retrival, management, and processing of information and knowledge needs systematic efforts and requires related features in the Library Management Software and the availability of bibliographic records in catalogues. This paper is an effort to study various related aspects of multilingual record creation and retrival provisions in Union Datanases. The development of a multilingual environment for accessing and retrieving library resources among the users as well as library professionals is essential. The article is divided into five sections. The first section deals with the introduction. It covers the multilingual system, with reference to multiscript bibliographic control, the objective, and methodology of the study. The second section examines the contours of multilingual bibliographic control, in particular in the Indian context. The third section deals with the multilingual cataloguing procedure and The fourth section deals with the "Situation in India in Terms of Multilingual Bibliographic Database and Issues." issues, challenges, and solutions. The fifth and final section of the article is concerned with the conclusion. The objective of this paper is to analyse the issues and challenges in the Indian multi-lingual and multi-script bibliographic retrieval systems. Through the analysis of available bibliographic data and database interfaces, the authors evaluate the adoption of multilingual and multiscript processes and procedures for bibliographic data creation. The study's findings will aid in understanding the current status of multilingual bibliographic record creation and the need for policy-level intervention to maintain and develop multilingual records for the creation of qualitative bibliographic databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal component of this paper is to ascertain the prominent variables of technological, organizational, environmental, and financial constructs that influence library cloud computing (LCC) among the library users and professionals in the selected universities of India. This paper discusses the advantages, opportunities, challenges, and Models of Smart Library in the ICT age library management system. The study also commissioned tools viz. EFA, CFA, and structural equation assess the degree to which selected factors were associated with LCC adoption. Empirical research proposed four hypotheses by selecting the technological, organizational, environmental, and financial constructs and 16 manifests in the specified model. The model was then tested on a sample of 510 respondents of 26 major states, central and private universities of India using SEM-ANN. First, SEM was employed to find out which variables had a meaningful influence on LCC. Secondly, the output of ANN outlined the rank of influencing predictors obtained from SEM. It is evident that technological factors, greater scalability (TF_1), tech-readiness (TF_2), and easier back-up (TF_3), are the most robust antecedents of LCC. Whereas in organizational factors- recognized usefulness (OF_1), are the robust manifest, but in environmental factors-geographical reach (EF_1), administrative support (EF_2), conducive application interface (EF_4), are the significant predictors. Eventually, financial factors- costsaving (FF_1) and better return on investment (FF_2) are the considerable predictors obtained from ANN. The findings further indicate that behavioural intention to adopt the library cloud yielded novel insights that significantly benefit users and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New and emerging technologies have always been playing the vital role in shaping the different services of libraries. These technologies not only help the users to quick, quality and efficient services but also provide a chance to library and information professionals to think outside the box to make their services effective and responsive. Top trends will be familiar to some readers who will hopefully learn of new equipment to expand their knowledge. Other readers will be made aware of trends that are outside of their experience. This is the nature of trends in our current technological and educational environments. The change is constant, but it affects different libraries at different level. With the arrival of affordable smart mobile phones, libraries all over the world have been trying to utilise them for the betterment of their services. QR code is one of the technologies which can be used with smart phones. In India the use of QR Code and smart phones though started late but in these days emerging as basic element of their day to day life and accelerating technology adoption. In this paper author has discussed and highlighted on QR codes and their use in library. It discusses on how the QR Code technology can enhance the library services with Quick and Quality as prime role. This paper is limited to the library based use and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, a part of author's doctoral research, examines the various e-resources to which the users of Agricultural Universities in India have access and how frequently these resources are being used by the agricultural scientists, researchers, students. Data collected through a structured questionnaire from 242 users and 20 Librarians from 20 State run Agricultural Universities in India constitute the database for the present investigation. Additionally, the study also investigates the membership of various consortiums availed by the users and whether the respondents have access to some of the key e-resources of other institutions including frequency of usage of subject gateways, blogs and wikis in the domain of Agricultural Sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Open source software is used widely across different continents though its adoption in libraries depend upon varioius factors. Type of library, availability of staff, qualification and skill sets of the librarian and other staff, support of the management, library budget, time availability, independence to the librarian are just some of the factors that may determine adoption of open source software. This paper tries to understand if gender of the librarian also has any significant impact on adoption of open source software. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study is conducted in India focusing on libraries of the private management education institutions in the Noida and Ghaziabad of the Uttar Pradesh, a state of India. Data is collected using Google Forms. After normalization of data, analyis of the data is conducted using SPSS 18 version after conducting reliability analysis on the major vaiables for reliability of the data. The sample is chosen due to very large number and different types of educational institutions providing management education in this geographical area. Findings: This study confirms that more and more libraries are adopting open source software now however adoption rate of open source software among female libraries is lesser. It is evident from the study women are not lagging behind due to qualification or skill sets but their other responsibilities i.e. family responsibilities cause work-life imbalance and hence they do not take much risks and try to adjust in pre-defined boundaries. Survey results also indicate if employer provides risk free environment to female librarians then adoption of open source software may become faster. Originality/Value: This study is entirely original work of the authors and is based upon data collected using google forms after distribution among various libraries. Results of this study may help in employers and government to take up women-friendly measures that ensure worklife balance and provide a women-friendly environment so that they can use their knowledge and skills for betterment of their libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This biobibliometric study highlights the major aspects of the career of the Indian librarian and information scientist, Bimal Kanti Sen. As a professional librarian, he took major initiatives toenhance practical scientometric programs in India. He has contributed 390 writings since 1964 to 2018, i.e. over 55 years, including his service and retirement period. He authored seven writings per year on an average. Of the 390 writings, 184 are research articles, which means he contributed about three papers per year consistently over hisentire career period. Other than research articles, his contributions include technical and popular articles (55, 14%), writings on terminology (48, 13%), course materials (37, 10%), books (12, 3%), letters (12, 3%), book reviews (9, 2.5%), catalogue (9, 2.5%), review articles (5, 1.3%), reports (5, 1.3%) and bibliographies (4, 1%). The year-wise distribution of authorship pattern, collaborative authors and degree of collaboration, author productivity, core journals and highly cited publications are identified in this paper. Different academic indicators of Bimal Kanti Sen are calculated on the basis of citation data available from Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar. His academic and research activitiessteadily increased with his age. His most notable research work was normalization of the Impact Factor and identifying Impact Factor of non-SCI journal. His other notable works include biobibliometric analysis, history of science, lexicography, etc. He is still academically active and continues to add to the knowledge repository. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries play a key role in encouraging literacy and cultural interest in students, staff and the community. In the present-day world, theft and vandalism has become very common and a severe problem in academic college libraries. This research paper mainly deals with work of the library professionals in investigating the book theft, vandalism, mutilation activities, and planning polices to control these malicious activities. A structured online questionnaire was prepared for the college librarians to the gather data for the research study. The research data was collected from forty library professionals. Insufficient copies of text books are the main cause for vandalism agreed upon by the majority 85% of the respondents. 80% of the library professionals mentioned to have CCTV installation which can reduce malpractices in the libraries As per the research study 100% of respondents agree that by conducting orientation program, checking the requirements of the patrons, providing the necessary resources required by them, by using wire mesh for windows and having a single way for entry and exit will help in combating vandalistic activities in the academic libraries. This study will also help the library professionals as well as the patrons to preserve and guard invaluable academic wealth of libraries for potential generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is an attempt to understand the research attitude, engagement and competencies of LIS professionals in higher educational institutions in India. It was found that out of 170 respondents, 145 (85.3%) respondents read research literature regularly and 75 (44.1) expressed that reading research based articles is their regular activity. But 95 (55.9) do not read journal articles. 155 (91.2) respondents revealed that they have conducted research after obtaining the formal degree. Majority of respondents 47 (27.6) revealed that their preferred mode of dissemination of research has been publishing paper in conference proceedings, followed by publishing a paper in refereed journals 35 (20.6). Maximum respondents 72 (40.0) followed a theoretical approach in conducting research, followed by survey method 55 (30.6). 'E-resources' (160) and 'Bibliometric Study' (120) has been the most preferred areas of research publishing. 'Lack of funding support' (160), 'time constraints' (155) and 'Problems in data collection' (150), have been identified as major constraints in carrying out research. The main purpose for conducting research is to find the academic performance indicators (APIs) 150, followed by personal growth (102). The study suggests that funding agencies and universities need to come forward to encourage LIS professionals to pursue research and publishing. This will add value in delivering the best library services to academic community and also improve research activities in academic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a digital era, library professionals are not only responsible for efficient transaction services but also act as custodian of materials in all forms. With the constraints of funding, more and more librarians are relying on different technological advances such as Electronic Security Systems (ESSs) to provide security to library materials, buildings, and premises. The present paper uses survey methodology to assess the perception of library professionals especially librarians of select libraries of Northern India on the different ESSs such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Closed-circuit television (CCTV), Biometric and Burglar system, and the related applications, benefits, and problems. The work highlighted that most of the libraries are relying on technology such as RFID or Electro-Magnetic (EM) Tags and Surveillance System than Biometric and Burglar for the security of library materials. The study raises awareness of the importance of ESSs for the betterment of the libraries and emphasizes the need to implement such security systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the awareness and use of cloud computing technologies among the library professionals in the Kerala University Library system, India. A survey was conducted using questionnaire among the 102 library professionals employed in the central and departmental libraries of the University of Kerala. The study revealed that 42.16% of the library professionals did not have much idea about cloud computing technology. Analysis showed that Facebook and Google Apps like Gmail, Google Doc etc are the cloud computing technologies used by majority of the respondents. It is also worth to note that the library professionals in Kerala University Library are using cloud computing technologies without being aware of doing so. Library professionals' awareness of cloud service models is relatively very low. Web OPAC and Journal Discovery Service are the areas known to the respondents in applying cloud computing technologies in libraries. Out of 102 respondents, 14.71% of the library professionals in the University of Kerala have average skill in using these technologies. The findings of the study throw lights into the need of providing training for the library professionals in handling technology enriched library services to the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]