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LIS Notes #05 - Career in Library & Information Science

A career in Library and Information Science (LIS) is diverse and dynamic, offering opportunities beyond traditional library roles. With the rapid growth of digital information, the field has expanded to include various technology-driven and specialised positions.

1. Core Library Careers

  1. Academic Librarian

    • Works in colleges or universities assisting students, faculty, and researchers.
    • Roles include subject specialisation, collection development, and information literacy training.

  2. Public Librarian

    • Serves the general public in community libraries.
    • Focuses on programming, community engagement, and access to diverse resources.

  3. School Librarian/Media Specialist

    • Manages libraries in K-12 schools, supporting curriculum development and teaching information literacy.

  4. Special Librarian

    • Works in specialised libraries within corporations, law firms, hospitals, or government agencies.
    • Handles niche collections like legal documents, medical records, or business intelligence.

  5. Archivist

    • Preserves and organizes historical documents, photographs, and artifacts.
    • Often works in museums, government archives, or cultural institutions.

2. Information Science and Technology Roles

  1. Digital Librarian

    • Manages digital collections, e-books, online databases, and repositories.
    • Involves metadata management and digital preservation.

  2. Data Curator/Manager

    • Organizes, maintains, and ensures the accessibility of large datasets, often for research institutions.

  3. Information Architect

    • Designs information systems and structures for websites and databases to optimize user experience.

  4. Knowledge Manager

    • Implements systems to capture, share, and manage organisational knowledge and information.

  5. Records Manager

    • Focuses on managing records lifecycle, including creation, maintenance, and disposal, ensuring legal compliance.

3. Emerging and Specialised Careers

  1. User Experience (UX) Librarian

    • Focuses on improving library services and digital interfaces by studying user behaviour and feedback.

  2. Information Analyst/Scientist

    • Analyses data trends and provides insights, often in corporate or research settings.

  3. E-Governance Specialist

    • Works with government bodies to manage digital records and ensure transparent information dissemination.

  4. Library Technologist/Systems Librarian

    • Manages integrated library systems (ILS) and ensures technological infrastructure supports library services.

  5. Open Access and Scholarly Communications Librarian

    • Advocates and manages open access resources, ensuring free access to academic content.

4. Education and Qualifications

  • Undergraduate Degree:
    Some countries offer bachelor's programs in Library and Information Science.

  • Master's in Library and Information Science (MLIS):
    A widely recognized professional qualification, often required for advanced roles.

  • Certifications and Specializations:

    • Digital Libraries
    • Archival Studies
    • Information Technology and Data Science
    • Records Management

5. Skills Required

  • Technical Skills: Knowledge of library management systems (LMS), digital tools, and metadata standards.
  • Research & Analytical Skills: Critical for roles in academic or specialised libraries.
  • Communication & Outreach: Essential for public services, education, and user engagement.
  • Project Management: Especially important in digital projects and knowledge management roles.
  • Adaptability: Libraries are rapidly evolving with technology, requiring continuous learning.

6. Job Opportunities and Work Environments

  • Libraries: Academic, public, school, and special libraries.
  • Corporations: Business research, information analysis, competitive intelligence.
  • Government & NGOs: Managing public information, e-governance projects.
  • Museums & Archives: Preserving cultural heritage.
  • Technology Firms: Data management, UX design, and information architecture.

7. Career Growth and Prospects

  • Entry-Level Roles: Library Assistant, Cataloguer, Junior Librarian.
  • Mid-Level Positions: Reference Librarian, Systems Librarian, Archivist.
  • Senior Roles: Chief Librarian, Library Director, Head of Knowledge Management.
  • Academic Pathways: Becoming a LIS educator or researcher.

8. Professional Associations

  • International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
  • American Library Association (ALA)
  • Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)
  • Indian Library Association (ILA)
  • Special Libraries Association (SLA)

LIS Notes # 04 - Staff Formula by D. R. Ranganathan

 

Ranganathan's Staff Formula

Ranganathan's staff formula is based on the idea that staffing should be proportional to the size, functions, and services provided by the library. It considers factors like:

  1. Collection Size: The total number of books, periodicals, and other resources.
  2. User Population: The number of patrons served by the library.
  3. Library Functions: The variety of services offered, such as circulation, reference, technical processing, and special services.
  4. Operational Hours: The number of hours the library remains open.

General Formula Structure:

Ranganathan suggested dividing library work into distinct sections and assigning staff based on the workload in each area. The major divisions are usually:

  • Administrative Work
  • Technical Processing (Cataloguing and Classification)
  • Circulation
  • Reference Services
  • Maintenance and Support Services

For example:

  • Professional Staff = PP
  • Semi-professional Staff = SS
  • Clerical Staff = CC
  • Attendant Staff = AA

The actual mathematical formula might vary depending on the specific library type (e.g., academic, public, or special libraries). The allocation of staff is often guided by workload measurement, such as books processed per day or circulation transactions.

Application Example:

For a medium-sized academic library:

  • 1 Librarian (Head)
  • 2-3 Professional Assistants (for reference, cataloguing)
  • 3-5 Clerical Staff (for circulation, records)
  • 2 Attendants (for shelving and maintenance)

Reference:

For detailed explanations, you may refer to Ranganathan's works, especially:

  • Library Administration (1959)
  • Library Manual (1933)

LIS Notes # 03 - Difference Between Bibliometrics, Almetrics and Webometrics

 Bibliometrics, altmetrics, and webometrics are all methods used to measure the impact and influence of academic or scholarly works, but they focus on different aspects and sources of data. Here's a breakdown of each:

1. Bibliometrics

  • Definition: Bibliometrics refers to the quantitative analysis of academic publications and citations. It uses statistical methods to assess the impact, productivity, and development of scientific research over time.
  • Key Focus:
    • Citation analysis: How often a paper or author is cited by others.
    • Journal impact factor (IF): A measure of the importance of a journal based on citations.
    • H-index: A metric to assess an individual researcher's productivity and citation impact.
  • Common Metrics: Citation counts, journal impact factors, h-index, g-index.
  • Sources: Academic databases like Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.

2. Altmetrics

  • Definition: Altmetrics (alternative metrics) measure the impact and engagement of academic work in non-traditional outlets, including social media, blogs, news media, policy documents, and other online platforms.
  • Key Focus:
    • Social media mentions (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
    • Shares, downloads, and views of publications on academic platforms like ResearchGate or Academia.edu.
    • Blog posts, mainstream media coverage, or online discussions.
  • Common Metrics: Tweets, Facebook shares, news articles, online mentions, downloads.
  • Sources: Social media platforms, blogs, news websites, online repositories like Mendeley.

3. Webometrics

  • Definition: Webometrics (or cybermetrics) focuses on measuring the web presence and impact of scholarly institutions (universities, research centers), journals, and other academic entities based on their online activities and visibility.
  • Key Focus:
    • The online presence of academic institutions, including their websites, repositories, and research publications.
    • Website traffic, link structure, and academic content available on the web.
  • Common Metrics: Number of links pointing to a site, website traffic, external visibility, page rank.
  • Sources: Institutional websites, online repositories, citation databases, web crawlers.

Key Differences:

  • Bibliometrics focuses on traditional, citation-based measures of academic influence.
  • Altmetrics captures the broader, non-academic impact and attention on digital platforms.
  • Webometrics analyzes the online visibility and impact of academic institutions or their content on the web.

Conclusion: 

  • Bibliometrics is based on formal citation data, 
  • Altmetrics focuses on social media and online engagement, and 
  • Webometrics looks at the digital footprint of institutions or research entities.

LIS Notes # 02 - AI Tools for Literature Review

There are several AI tools available for conducting a literature review, helping with research discovery, summarization, citation management, and analysis. Here are some of the best AI-powered tools:

1. Research Discovery & Paper Search

  • Semantic Scholar – Uses AI to find relevant academic papers.
  • Elicit – AI-powered search for extracting key insights from research papers.
  • Connected Papers – Helps visualize connections between research papers.
  • Scite – Shows how papers cite each other (supporting, contrasting, or mentioning).

2. AI Summarization & Reading Assistance

  • ChatPDF – Allows interaction with PDFs and summarizes key points.
  • Scholarcy – Summarizes long research papers into key insights.
  • QuillBot – AI-powered paraphrasing and summarization tool.

3. Citation Management

  • Zotero – AI-assisted reference management.
  • Mendeley – Organizes and manages research citations.
  • EndNote – Helps with citation generation and reference management.

4. Writing & AI Assistance

  • Grammarly – AI-powered writing and grammar correction.
  • Trinka AI – AI for academic writing and language improvement.
  • Jenni AI – Assists in drafting and structuring research papers.

[Koha-bugs] [Bug 34276] upgrading 23.05 to 23.11

Got a problem while upgrading Koha database from 23.05 to 23.11.....

 

While upgrading it shows the above error

Solution: 

1. Login to MySQL with root 

mysql -u root -p

[enter password]

2. Choose the database 

use koha_library;

3. Execute the below SYNTAX

SELECT RefCons.constraint_schema, RefCons.table_name,
RefCons.referenced_table_name, RefCons.constraint_name, KeyCol.column_name
FROM information_schema.referential_constraints RefCons
JOIN information_schema.key_column_usage KeyCol ON RefCons.constraint_schema =
KeyCol.table_schema
     AND RefCons.table_name = KeyCol.table_name
     AND RefCons.constraint_name = KeyCol.constraint_name
WHERE RefCons.constraint_schema = 'koha_nit';
 
[replace koha_nit with your database name]

4. Locate illrequests_ibfk_1
It may not be available and while dropping the above, it may not allow. 
5. Execute the following syntax to solve the problem
ALTER TABLE illrequests DROP FOREIGN KEY illrequests_ibfk_2; 
ALTER TABLE illrequests DROP KEY illrequests_bibfk;

6. Exit from MySQL database.  
7. Now execute the below syntaxt to upgrade database from root. 
koha-upgrade-schema nit [replace nit with your database name] 
 
It will upgrade your database!
 
Enjoy !
 
Thanks 
DP Tripathi 
 
 
 

LIS Notes# 01 - Difference between COUNTER and SUSHI

COUNTER and SUSHI are related standards in the context of managing and reporting usage statistics for electronic resources, commonly used in libraries, publishers, and institutions. Here's what they mean:

COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources):

  • COUNTER is a standard for measuring the usage of electronic resources like e-journals, e-books, databases, and other digital content.
  • It ensures that usage statistics are consistent, credible, and comparable across publishers and platforms.
  • COUNTER reports provide key metrics, such as:
    • Total item requests (e.g., downloads or views of articles or chapters).
    • Searches within a platform or specific resource.
    • Access denials due to lack of subscription or permissions.
  • The latest version of the standard is COUNTER Release 5, which simplifies and unifies reporting formats compared to earlier releases.

SUSHI (Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative):

  • SUSHI is a protocol designed to automate the retrieval of COUNTER usage reports.
  • It uses a machine-to-machine API, making it easier for libraries and institutions to collect usage data from multiple vendors without manual downloading.
  • SUSHI works by enabling systems (like library management software) to directly connect with publishers' platforms and retrieve COUNTER-compliant usage reports.
  • This automation saves time and ensures timely and accurate data collection.

How They Work Together:

  • COUNTER provides the framework for what data to collect and how to present it.
  • SUSHI provides the mechanism for libraries to retrieve COUNTER reports efficiently.

These standards help libraries justify the cost of subscriptions, analyze resource usage, and make data-driven decisions about their collections.

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