How to scale up excellence in LIS

Taking honest attitudes and practices from some professionals and spreading it into rest of them is not going to be easy. On the other hand we can subtract the bad habits already existing among us to instigate a better/true academic culture and thus by rise our performance bar. What made me think over it is a question, I realized and a fact I saw among the PhD students in our LIS; Is it a good practice to outsource the analysis part of our project work to an outside agency by blaming the time constraints?

Analysis is one of the main keys to knowledge. Since we are entering into a premium group; are we evading ourselves from the professional integrity/accountability by doing this?

We all know that the data we are getting during a PhD study is huge and diverse; with which sometimes it is very time consuming to study the various statistical methods/software(s) like t-test, Chi square test, SPSS…etc. only for these purpose, but, being a professional always confronting the professional status questions, I find it inevitable to master those areas in depth, whatever will be the reason. It is such simple steps at the master’s course will add quality contents to our syllabus. I think when we deliver our services with such empowered dimensions, the professional status will definitely improve.

Attract diversity and breed innovation

Now a day’s one subject alone cannot function to its full potential. It always necessitates the idea amalgamation from other subjects to extend its contribution to the future demands. Statistics mathematics and computerscience have already played and playing a big role in LIS and they will continue to do so even with the help of other subjects.

When I was a student in University Campus, all of my teachers were from the LIS field. But by seeing the current situation of our profession and its increased threats, I wish our younger generation should get a different approach. Like IT should be taught by Software professionals, statistics by statisticians… Some project based studies and case studies can also be incorporated. See the Management got its status when IIMs defined the syllabus for it, they included much needed statistics, mathematical analysis by studying the current trends in that field. With that a lot of problem based case studies, quizzes, debates…etc to enable the candidates to live a fuller life in their profession. They are even aiming a targeted education by considering the students background. And it worked for them, of course I am not proposing a sea change, but a different approach is much needed, whether it is to analyze the huge amount of data using latest statistical software(s) or developing an appropriate software by considering the future data flow.(Earlier I thought of working at the conceptual level in any technology by our professionals,  but now the situation demands us to work in the development stage also. As it is how long we will wait for a novel,  alternative Indigenous developments  of  MARC, FRBR, GSDL, DSpace,…etc  by our own professionals ? )

I am not an expert in all these things; these are my thoughts, it might contain some inadequacies but sometimes I presume weird ideas like this will work and will ultimately scale up the excellence and as a byproduct our professional status. When we gain it in that way I think it will stay forever.Some of the recent ‘LIS professional status’ forums (not salary) can be read in connection with this forum.

It is only by learning the other subjects we can counter their invasion into our place (existence threat); and it will enable us to tackle them to assist our own profession.In any way these are all part of education and if it is entertaining you, you are living your passion: Librarianship.

For a better future.

Subeesh A C

Pune.