STAFF REPORT ISB: Digitization of libraries, which are rich of knowledge, is imperative for socio-economic development of a nation as no progress could be made without prompt delivery of information in this age of information technology and global competition. Librarians have an important role to play and they need equip themselves with this latest IT tools to improve their performance.
These were the views of experts and classified academicians who spoke during a three-day national training workshop “Digital Content Management” recently concluded at the Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.
The event was organized by the Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Centre (PASTIC).
Main objective of this workshop was to acquaint the library/information personnel with the useful contemporary information handling techniques thereby enabling them to automate and better manage their libraries archives.
Member HRD, HEC Prof Dr. Raza Bhatti was the chief guest at opening ceremony, while Vice Chancellor QAU Prof Dr. Javed Ashraf was the chief guest at closing ceremony.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Javed said that information technology has revolutionized the whole world and with the advent of web-based technology now there is a shift from conventional or traditional systems to the digital ones in every arena of life.
“At QAU, we are taking initiative to shift from traditional paper file system to electronic one that would save time and money,” he said.
He appreciated PASTICs role for enhancing the capacity of information personnel for deploying suitable and effective ICT tools at their workplace.
He emphasized the role of PASTIC in capacity building by organizing workshops and trainings for researchers, scientists and information professionals for preparing them to meet the challenges of this information age, information resource sharing and exchange of information. In this regard, about 2300+ persons have been trained so far in various disciplines.
In his remarks, PSF Chairman Prof. Dr. Ashraf said the Foundation is working on marketing the PASTIC services to make it self-reliant.
He exhorted librarians to use the knowledge and skills they got during the training for modernizing their libraries. He said that the prompt delivery of information is a key to the success in present era.
Dr. Ashraf also highlighted the PSF mandate, scope and activities as well as its new initiatives. He said now PSF will fund only those research projects which are meaningful and have some application. He claimed that the Foundation will have very astounding success stories soon.
In his welcoming address, Director General PASTIC Prof. Dr. Akram Shaikh gave brief introduction of his organization.
He said that with the changing global scenario now focus is being placed on more web-based interactive information services ensuring optimum usage of ICTs for information retrieval and dissemination in line with the Vision 2025 and 11th 5-Year plan of government of Pakistan.
Dr. Akram said that PASTIC is committed to serve scientific and technological needs of the RandD and industrial community through anticipatory and responsive information services. He said PASTIC is also engaged in human resource development through such training programs.
Senior Librarian PASTIC, Syed Habib Akhter Jaffri presented a brief report of the workshop.
Explaining the objectives of the workshop, he said that this training will familiarize the librarians with the specialized Digital Content Management tools like GENISIS, Calibre, Greenstone and DSpace.
Member Human Resource Development, HEC, Prof Dr Ghulam Raza Bhatti, emphasized the importance of learning advance digital tools for information personnel as a custodian of the information.
He hoped that after getting this training the librarians would manage their digital contents efficiently and serve their user in a better way.
At the end, Prof. Dr. Javed Ashraf, VC, QAU, and Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ashraf, Chairman PSF, awarded certificates to 40 participants of the national training workshop.