Dr. H. Anil Kumar Librarian, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Outline

• Business Schools Scenario in India

• Business Libraries

• Role of Librarians

• Changing character of Librarianship

India Skills Report 2014 by People Strong, Wheebox and CII

Source: Indiastats database

Good things happening for education…

• Economy poised to boom as a nation

• “Startup” mood of the nation

– Entrepreneurship

• Government is talking of global rankings and quality of access

• Placements and admissions are picking up

• Looks like learning is taking over the placement packages

• Quality schools are doing well

• Infrastructure expansion and renovation

• International orientation is gaining ground

– Students

– Faculty

• Research focus is gaining traction

Challenges faced by Indian bschools

• Global MBA schools in a churn – Demand variations

• Flexible, online, specialised, etc

– ROI – MOOCs – Entrepreneurship

• Technology • Challenges in placements • Faculty shortage • Need for pedagogical innovations • Changing career choices and

aspirations • Unprepared students

– Reading habits – Academic orientation

• Students who study by themselves for more hours each week gain more knowledge -- while those who spend more time studying in peer groups see diminishing gains.

• Students whose classes reflect high expectations (more than 40 pages of reading a week and more than 20 pages of writing a semester) gained more than other students.

• Students who spend more time in fraternities and sororities show smaller gains than other students.

• Students who engage in off-campus or extracurricular activities (including clubs and volunteer opportunities) have no notable gains or losses in learning.

• Students majoring in liberal arts fields see "significantly higher gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills over time than students in other fields of study." Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the smallest gains. (The authors note that this could be more a reflection of more-demanding reading and writing assignments, on average, in the liberal arts courses than of the substance of the material.)

• Google is deskilling information literacy skills

• Facebook is deskilling interpersonal skills

• Internet: Attention span reducing

• No distinction between first year and final year students project reports

• how the printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought.

• Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources

• Scrolling and skimming - Reading: Jet skiing vs scuba diving

Why go beyond formal methods?

• The 95 Percent Solution: School is not where most Americans learn most of their science by John H. Falk and Lynn D. Dierking

• Recent findings challenge the longstanding belief that the place for science knowledge acquisition is the classroom.

• International comparisons of trends in science knowledge over lifetimes suggests that much if not most science knowledge is acquired outside of school.

American Scientist: v. 98 (Nov-Dec), 2010

http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/paper-vs-plasma-how-digital-reading-shift-impacting-your-brain/

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/19/readers-absorb-less-kindles-paper-study-plot-ereader-digitisation

http://chronicle.com/article/How-E-Reading-Threatens/147661/

http://www.readingrockets.org

http://slowreadingco.com

What Libraries Can (Still) Do by James Gleick (http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/oct/26/what-libraries-can-still-do-bibliotech/):

• “In his new book, BiblioTech, a wise and passionate manifesto, John Palfrey reminds us that the library is the last free space for the gathering and sharing of knowledge: “Our attention cannot be bought and sold in a library.”

• For one thing, as Palfrey says, librarians will need to cherish their special talent as “stewards” while letting go of the instinct to be “collectors.” “

Challenges faced by business libraries

• Low Usage of the library – Education system

– Reading / learning

– Changing Information Channels

– Inadequate and in appropriate library spaces

– Visualization of a “no-print” library

• Library Illiteracy of the Leadership

• Ineffective Library Leadership

• Quality and quantity of LIS Personnel

Character of a Library

Users

• Students

• Faculty

• Others

Collection

• Physical

• Digital

Staff

• Professional

• Others

Services

• Physical

• Digital

• Collection

• Accessibility

• Space Physical

• Content

• Accessibility Digital

TRENDS

USERS

Technology

Collection Staff

Characteristics of Bschool libraries

• Print Collections

– Books, Reports, Statistics / Data and Newspapers

• E-resources

– Scholarly

– Statistics / Data

– Reports

• Videos /CDs

Libraries

• Student Projects / Dissertations

• Working papers • Syllabus and course design • Cases, Technical / Case

Notes • Course Materials • Student made

Tools/Materials • News Paper Clippings • Question papers

• Commercial

– Books / Reports

– Videos / CDs

– Online resources

– Statistics / Data

• Open Access

– Books

– Journals

– Stats / Data

– Educational Videos

– Educational courseware

Tech

no

logi

es

in L

ibra

rie

s Library Automation

Proprietary to OSS

Storage

Devices to Cloud

Identification

Barcode, Tattle-tape, RFID, Biometric, etc

Information Capture

Key board, Scanner, Digital Cameras, Mobiles

Network

Client-server, P2P, Internet, Cloud

Databases

Books, articles, reports, aggregators, publishers, IRs

Integration and Management

Catalogs, IRs, Multimedia, Datasets, Archives, etc

DOS to DISCOVERY

• Ownership to Access

• Closed to open systems

• Mass to Niche

• Skills to knowledge

• Referral to reference

• Search to Discovery

Trends

S.No Institute Name Website Remote Access Online Library Guides

1 Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi, New Delhi Yes NA Yes

2 Great Lakes Institute of Management Chennai NA NA NA

3 Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi Yes NA Yes

4 Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) Yes Yes Yes

5 Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) Yes Yes Yes

6 Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) Yes Yes Yes

7 Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM-I) Yes Yes Yes

8 Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K) Yes Yes Yes

9 Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) Yes NA Yes

10 Indian Institute of Management, Shillong (IIM-S) NA NA NA

11 Indian School of Business, Hyderabad Yes Yes Yes

12 Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad Yes Yes Yes

13 International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi NA NA NA

14 Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai NA NA NA

15 K.J.Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research Yes NA Yes

16 Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon Yes NA Yes

17 Narsee Monjee Instiute of Management Studies, Mumbai NA NA Yes

18 National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai NA NA NA

19 S.P Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai Yes Yes Yes

20 Shailesh J Mehta School of Management, IIT Mumbai NA NA NA

21 Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) Yes NA Yes

22 Xavier Labour Relation Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur NA NA NA

14 8 15

Top 10 bschools libraries (2011 to 2015) (Business India- Business Today - Business World Rankings)

• Integration with curriculum and pedagogy

• Proactive in nature – topical displays, recommended readings, public lists, etc

• Preparing for the future needs (New programs, happenings like Vodafone case, etc)

• Going beyond books – scholarly information, innovative services, etc

• A balance of best sellers, text books, reference books, comics, movies, etc

• Facilitating a “good library experience”

Focus on bschool activities

• PGP / MBA – Orientation, topical displays, term-wise relevant books, institute

publications, local travel / history, etc

• Conferences, seminars – Topical displays, faculty publications, research methods, handbooks,

manuals, new products, etc

• MDPs – Topical displays, Relevant bibliographies, Sector reports

• Notice Boards

– Best sellers, Faculty publications, Institute news, Management education, Industry reflections

• Research

– Current research trends, research bibliographies (ex: emerging economies), updates on special issues of journals, current contents of journals, etc

• Placements – collate, distribute and display relevant and topical resources – Annual reports

– Sector reports and statistics

– Faculty publications

– Books by visitors

– Technology showcasing

• Accreditation – CSR

– Technology adoption / showcasing, etc

• Academic activities – Author workshops, seminars, etc

– Hands-on workshops – writing, publising, etc

– Student clubs

– Book exhibitions

Focus on the bschool activities

Partnering in the pursuit of knowledge

• Research Assistance

– Data requirements (Indian and International)

– Convocation speeches, Institutional Building

– Bibliographic lists and References management

– Research Data management

– Faculty publication validation

• Technology assistance

– New resources set up, Mobile Apps

– Configure systems for convenient access

– Passwords / Accounts

– Remote Access

• Showcasing faculty publications and student research

Going beyond …

• Generating revenue thro LIS services and programs

• Administrative roles: Finance, Warden, Estate, Placement, chairing various committees, etc

• Technology roles: Website, ERP, Networking, Digitising, RFID systems, etc

Taking the library conversation beyond…

• Academic roles: bschool journal committees, journal listings, school rankings, etc

• Become a faculty

• Driving MDPs for non-LIS sectors

• Faculty in MDPs of the bschool

– Education • Bschool Deans and Directors

• Engineering colleges

• Polytechnics

• Primary / Secondary Schools

– Technology

– KM

• International Conferences on LIS and non LIS areas

• Book Exhibitions in various conferences of the bschool

Practicing management • Professional Management

– Meetings and Minutes

– Monitoring and follow-up

– Statistics and MIS

– Financial focus (negotiation, savings, etc)

– Spaces

• Engaging with users

– Faculty

• Books (Lists, Books, cover pages, etc)

• Papers (A and B lists and first page)

• Newspaper writings

– Students

• Clubs (Consult club, Marketing, Finance, etc)

• Placement

• Library Committee

– Know your library quiz

48 Q’s 9600 R’s 246 P’s

TAKEAWAYS

• Professional management is always expected.

• “Unhappy user” is lost forever?

• “Happy user” is a temporary thing!

• Continuously in a justification mode.

• Team is the key to unlock leadership potential.

• Making library ‘relevant’… is from the outside

• “Library Space” is very important

Particulars 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

(Jan-Oct)

Daily Walk In (Average

per day) 167 171 205 204 259 355 389 452

Circulations (Average per

day) 80 84 80 77 82 90 101 108

Inter Library Loan and

Reference (Average per

month)

83 76 83 93 82 117 181

213

Books Added (Average per

month) 231 175 231 273 263 242 624 227

Database views /downloads

Average per day 972 12,632 8,592 8,021 8,457 22,490 28092 42537

Journals downloads

Average per day 354 471 368 468 580 608 560 715

EBSCO Discovery (Articles

download Average per day) 21 75 139 135

Library OPAC

page views / per day 653* 640

Library Website

page views / per day 438** 545

Institutional Repository

page views / per day 386** 586

* Mar-Dec ** April – Dec

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school...“

- Albert Einstein