A Survey of Collection and Services of Medical College Libraries

A Survey of Collection and Services of Medical College Libraries

A Survey of Collection and Services of Medical College Libraries in Uttar Pradesh: Prospects, Problems and Proposal for their Modernization

Introduction

Libraries are the soul of any research or academic institution. They form the most vital forum of education, especially in the field of technical education. Due to the rapid pace of development taking place in various fields of science and technology (S and T) it become imperative for the libraries to remain up-to-date with the latest advances in technology so that the dissemination of information becomes efficient, quick, feasible, economic, accessible and useful.

The utility of a library depends largely on its collection. Therefore, it is very important that utmost care should be taken to select and maintain a good and strong collection of documents such as books, periodicals, hand books, reference books, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias and various other related information. Building and developing a library collection able to meet the needs of users, such as scientists, students, research scholars and others adequately is a major task of a good library. The quality of services provided and the satisfaction of the users depend a great deal upon the kinds of collections made available. A comprehensive, balanced and up-to-date collection is to have documents of different types in various physical forms to satisfy the informational needs of the users.

The basic aim of a library is to provide efficient services to its users. Therefore, user satisfaction should be the main goal of a good librarian. This goal can not be achieved unless and until the library management has got a clear idea about the user needs and demands. The library should be well-equipped besides having a good and strong collection of documents. Variety of services should be offered to cater to the needs of its users. Latest and up-to-date technology should be adopted in order to provide better services.

In the modern era of information explosion which has led to the evolution of multidisciplinary domains in the different fields of S and T the user demand and expectations have grown tremendously. In order to meet this challenge the library should be well equipped with the modern tools of information storage and its retrieval so that the right information is made available to the right user at the right place and at the right time.

With the advent of computers and Internet a transformation is taking place in the information infrastructure leading to the development of digital or electronic libraries. The latest advances in the field of information technology, telecommunications, software, networking, multimedia and scanning technology have produced a revolutionary change in the field of library and information technology. Networking technologies have resulted in the creation of virtual or on-line libraries which are immensely popular with the users and proving to be a boon for the society as a whole due to the instant access of information anytime and anywhere in the world. Thus the barriers of time and space have been shattered and the vast world has been reduced into a "global village" where anyone can have immediate access to the information of his/her choice by using the techniques of computer software, networking and scanning technologies.

A digital library may be defined as an electronic version of a traditional library where all the information is stored and preserved in digital form. In a digital library the data accessed includes non-text information such as photographs, drawings, illustrations, works of art; streams of numeric data (satellite information, cosmological data); digitized sound and moving visual images and 3 D representations (holograms) besides traditional text based information.

There are many Allopathic Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh where digitization and networking of libraries can give a big boost not only to the enhancement of the quality and standard of services available in the hospitals but also help to a great extent in the promotion of medical studies and research. But the implementation of this process of digitization and networking of libraries depends a great deal upon the role and attitude of the librarians towards this comprehensive process for its success.

Review of literature

Many sources of information both published and unpublished have been consulted to develop a clear concept of the proposed study. It has been observed that the digitization and networking process in the field of library and information science has helped to a great extent in the effective and instant dissemination of right information at right cost at right time to the right user.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the proposed study are as follows: -

1) To assess the role and attitude of librarians in the success of the digitization and networking process in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

2) To study the size and nature of collection in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

3) To examine the level of digitization in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

4) To study the methods employed for digitization and networking in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

5) To study the existing library services and facilities offered by the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

6) To study the digitization and networking process in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

7) To study the effectiveness and efficiency of the digitization and networking process in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

8) To assess the demand and popularity of the digitization and networking process in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

9) To study the problems and challenges faced by librarians in the process of digitization and networking in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

10) To make suggestions for improvement in the process of digitization and networking in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

11) To discover the limitations in the process of digitization and networking in the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.

Scope

This study will be based on the survey of the libraries of the Allopathic Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh. For this purpose the libraries of only those Allopathic Medical Colleges are included which have been approved by the Medical Council of India (MCI) to run MBBS course of study and entitled to award the degree of MBBS and other degrees related to Allopathic Medicine and Surgery. The names of such Allopathic Medical Colleges selected for the proposed study are given below: -

S.N. Medical College, Agra.

G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur.

Institute of Medical sciences, B.H.U, Varanasi.

Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Allahabad.

Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh.

L.L.R.M. Medical College, Meerut.

Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Jhansi.

B.R.D. Medical College, Gorakhpur.

Santosh Medical College, Ghaziabad.

Sardar Patel Institute of Dental and Medical Sciences, Lucknow.

Era Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow.

Subharati Medical College, Meerut

HYPOTHESES

A hypothesis may be considered as a tentative generalization of the problem under investigation. It is meant to provide the researcher with an opportunity (prior to the actual data collection) to predict the results of the study. A hypothesis is an expectation about events or a shrewd guess or a prediction of the results of the study.

As hypotheses are predictions, therefore, these are formulated before the collection of data. No hypothesis should be formulated once the data are known.

The following hypotheses have been formulated for the proposed study: -

1) The libraries of the Allopathic Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh are having a rich collection of documents.

2) The Allopathic Medical Colleges' Libraries are providing a variety of services to their users.

3) The libraries of the Allopathic Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh are facing certain problems.

4) There is an urgent need for the modernization of the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh according to the latest techniques such as digitization and networking of libraries.

Methodology

It is planned to adopt the following method for the completion of the proposed study: -

1) Literature Search: - It shall be done by consulting the vast literature existing on the subject of digitization and networking. For this purpose different books by noted authors as well as journals and seminar papers will be studied thoroughly.

2) Questionnaire: - In order to conduct the proposed study the most important tool for the collection of data is the questionnaire. Therefore, a comprehensive questionnaire shall be designed to collect all the important and relevant data. This questionnaire shall be sent to the librarians of the concerned libraries. After obtaining the filled questionnaire the data shall be analyzed and interpreted according to the objectives of the proposed study.

3) Library Survey: - It is planned to conduct library survey for a systematic collection of data concerning libraries, their activities, operations, staff, use and users, at a given time or over a given period.

4) Interview of Librarians: - In order to collect the accurate data and obtain the views and opinion of the librarians of the concerned libraries it is also proposed to conduct personal interviews of the concerned librarians.

UTILITY OF THE STUDY

The following may be the utilities of the proposed study: -

1) It may be helpful in finding out the problems and difficulties faced by the librarians of the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh.

2) It may be helpful to the concerned authorities in the effective implementation of the digitization and networking process.

3) It may be helpful in finding out the prospects of the adoption digitization and networking process of the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in Uttar Pradesh.

4) It may help in finding out the solution to some of those problems, which are retarding the progress of the digitization and networking process in the libraries.

5) It may be helpful to the libraries of Allopathic Medical Colleges in resource sharing and connecting with each other via networking.

CHAPTER WISE BREAKUP

The proposed study will be divided into seven chapters, which are as follows: -

Chapter - One Introduction

Chapter - Two Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Allopathic Medical Colleges in U.P.: An overview.

Chapter -Three Allopathic Medical Colleges' libraries in U.P.: Present status and functions

Chapter- Four Digitization and Networking process in libraries and information centers: A brief background.

Chapter-Five Present status of digitization and networking process in the libraries of Allopathic Medical colleges in U.P.

Chapter-Six Comparative study of the status of the digitization and networking process in the libraries of Allopathic Medical colleges in U.P.

Chapter - Seven Conclusion and Suggestions.

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_(By Dr. Mohammad Azeem Siddiqui).