Are the Library Associations in India Playing Their Role Properly?

[Dr. N K Pachauri]

Associations and Professional Societies are powerful forces representing the voice of the professional community to solve the problems related to the welfare, status, working conditions, physical facilities, education and training including the research and development activities. I think that, in our country National Level Library Associations are not playing their role in a proper manner on various issues like,
1. Non Teaching Cadre of the Community.

2. To improve the conditions of school libraries and school librarians.
3. Enactment of State library legislation.
4. The Growth and Development of Public Library System.
5. To improve the pay scales of AICTE, Medical Colleges, Polytechnic Colleges and status of library professionals.

Please share and communicate your views and suggestions;

[RAVI D.KALWAGHE]

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT SIR

[Dr. N K Pachauri]

yes

you are 100% right.....................

[Vikram Jadhav]

Yes I Agree Sir, because

1) In our country School Librarian post is included in Non-Teaching, 

2) In school - Librarian Post is Part Time

3) Part Time Librarian Scale is very low

4) School Peon Scale is more than School Librarian (Part Time)

[Dr. N K Pachauri]

1. Exploitation of LIS professionals in Private Institutes.

2. Low payed employee in Private Institutes.

3. No promotion chances 

[Shaikshavali Arkal]

Yes sir u r right

[Dr. N K Pachauri]

I strongly support you Mr. Jomy, LIS professional associations should raise our problems and issues in front of Government Authorities......

[pallavi]

u r absolutely right sir 

[Dr. N K Pachauri]

We need the support of young LIS professionals.

[ARUN JANGRA]

Yes I agree with u sir.  If they had played there roles properly, Centre government have to think about lis professional and take some strong action to improve status of libraries in india.

 

[Dr. N K Pachauri]

Absolutely right Mr. Arun K Jangra, existing LIS association should raise our voice ..................

[Siddhartha Shankar Ray]

Dear Dr. N.K. Pacahauri,

Thanks for your post and addressing an important and quite debatable issue. I presume that it is needless to say anything more about the viability of the topic as it already carries 10 comments from the LIS Linc members including yours! There is no denying that the roles of Library Associations certainly fall short of expectations but, isn't it also a fact to be realized that to what extent they are empowered to carry out certain jobs which many of us feel (& believe) that they should have done?

I am just highlighting just two examples to explain my comment: 

(a) Suppose the Associations write to all the Private Professional Colleges under AICTE to provide the proper scales to their Library professionals in different cadres as stipulated in the AICTE  rules & not to recruit any library staff on contract or on consolidated salary. Do you feel that the institutes will accepts it? And if not whether the Associations can do any harm to those institutes in any way? &

(b) More importantly, if the associations asks the Library fraternity to boycott such institutes & not to join service to any such institute offering lower pay scales, or contract service or consolidated salary.Now frankly speaking, do you expect that unemployed professionals ( & even retired professionals enjoying decent pensions) will comply to such appeals to retain solidarity among the library fraternity??

If the reality is this, there seems to be little scope for the Associations, at least in these two aspects!!

Well, on the basis of my aforesaid statements, one should not consider that I am pleading in favour of the Associations. I just request them to please have patience to read out my following lines. Because PICTURE ABHI BAKI HAI my friends!!    

It is not that the Associations have no options left. At least has been their DUTY to make certain appeals to the governments and different forums like AICTE, UGC, Education & Service Commissions. At the same time they should have been extremely proactive to LIMIT Degree/Certificate Awarding Agencies so that a market equilibrium can be maintained in this profession.

Had these been done, the picture would had been different altogether!!

Never-the-less, it is rather bitter yet truth that whenever situations came, then too, the Associations had been been rather slack in rising to the Occasion!! However, the Associations only are not entirely responsible for the scenario.

I wonder how many of the new gen professionals are conversant of D. P. CHATTOPADHYAY COMMISSION constituted after the 4th. CPC (1986) to review the activities of Libraries. Several illustrative professionals and dignitaries were members which include the then Scientist-in-Charge of INSDOC, the Director of the National Library, The Director of the Central Secretariat Library etc. to name a few.

As I can recall, majority of the members were Library Professionals and most of them were linked with Professional Associations (except, the Director of the then National Library). We as young professionals (in those days!) had high hope upon those illustrative stars in our profession but after some three and half years what they produced pathetically lacked vision!! Though the persons were stalwarts in the profession and were able leader as I still believe. The roles of the Library Associations too were rather lukewarm! they failed to foresee the developments in the profession though many of them (including the expert members) visited several western countries in "recent past"  at  that time. This I personally see as failures of moral duties which are rather unpardonable. In the mid-eightee's, when I went abroad a few times, I noticed the commencement of a new era with electronic databases and anticipated that a phenomenal difference in information service is in the anvil. I told my experience (As an young professional, I had been extremely influenced by a key note speech by Dr. Nancy Lorenzi at 5th. ICML at Tokyo in 1985) to several seniors in the professions comprising Association Officials and University Teachers. It was not that the things were unknown to people in our country itself. I must mention the name of Dr. N. Vijayadittya of the then newly established NIC (National Informatics Centre) as he envisaged the change in our profession quite early. But our Association people remained inert!! So, I must say, that the Associations failed to rise to the Occasions when situations came and extract the best out of the opportunities. Thats all.

Sincerely,

Siddhartha S. Ray, Calcutta

[Dr. N K Pachauri]

Respected Siddhratha S Ray Sir

Please I am trying to reply your query NO. a & b: 

Every school, college and institution is given the affiliation by various regulatory bodies like CBSE, UGC, AICTE, NCTE, DEC, MCI etc. All the associations formulate certain rules and regulation for the smooth and effective functioning of the institution.  In the present scenario a number of institutions are running under the self financing scheme. In such type associations the management of the school, college or institution is the supreme authority for the recruitment, salary structure and the working conditions of the employees. All of these regulatory bodies emphasis only the recruitment, salary and the working conditions of the teachers of the institution and give the approval to the teaching faculties, so the management of the institution gives the proper salary and healthy working atmosphere to the teachers not to the librarians. These regulatory bodies do not bother about the librarians, so  management offer only 2500 to 5000 rupees to the librarians because there is no strictness from the concerning regulatory bodies of the organization. I think so that only solution for the problem is that, these bodies should also look for the recruitment, salary and working conditions of the LIS Professional and give the approval for the same.     

          It is the duty of Library Associations should take feedback and make pressure on all the above mentioned regulatory bodies for the effective implementation of the recruitment, salary and working conditions of LIS professional in their affiliated institutes and organizations.

with regrads