Librarians updated about quality info services

Kohima, May 17 (EMN): A workshop about ‘identifying quality indicators in library and information services at higher education institutions’ was conducted on Wednesday in the conference hall of the directorate of Higher Education. Addressing a gathering of librarians from several institutions of higher education, Kuholi Chishi, director of Higher Education said that “Library is the heart of any institution but very often, a forgotten aspect in an institution.” Stating that “librarians work very hard to ensure that we are able to get the right books and caters to the needs of the students and the teachers as well,” she maintained “while we are very busy with the transaction of knowledge and the teaching-learning process that takes place in the classroom, we often forget how important this place is for the students as well as the teachers.” In this regard, Chishi pointed out also that teachers do tend to think libraries as places for students who are poor to afford books. Speaking further on the significance of library, Kuholi Chishi said the workshop was conducted to ensure the ‘quality aspect’ in library management and library ‘transaction.’ Adding that, “NAAC emphasizes so much on quality in terms of library performance”, she called upon the librarians to participate enthusiastically. Session Chair for the inaugural event, Menuokholie Kire, joint director for Higher Education said that currently ‘a little more importance’ is being given to classrooms. However, he said a time will come when the importance will shift to libraries. The resource person for the one day workshop, Dr. T. Temjen, deputy librarian of Nagaland University, said that quality, in the context of a higher education institution, was multi-dimensional wherein the functioning of a library can be said to manifest one such dimension. Pointing out that library is the fulcrum of support for the entire range of academic activities on an educational campus, he stressed on the importance of improving the quality of Library and Information Services. He further deliberated on the topics such as woes of a librarian, management of library and information services, services provided to users, extent of the use of services, best practices in library and information services, collection and services, use of information and communication technology in libraries among others.