Knowledge Society and Role of Libraries : Recommendations of The National Knowledge Commission Sangita Gupta Professor, DLIS University Of Jammu Jammu

National Knowledge Commission (NKC) The National Knowledge Commission has been set up by the Prime Minister with the challenging mandate to transform India of the 21st century into a knowledge society. It is expected to advise the PM on matters relating to knowledge creation, knowledge dissemination and knowledge application within the diversity of the Indian scenario. Acc. to the PM “The time has come to create a second wave of institution building, and of excellence, in the fields of education, research and capacity building so that we are better prepared for the 21s century”.

Objectives To build excellence in education system To promote creation of knowledge in S & T institutions and laboratories. To promote more knowledge applications. To promote the use of knowledge capabilities in making Government an effective,transparent and accountable service provider to the citizens. To ensure equitable access to knowledge cross all sections of society.

Institutional frameworks require to be developed to strengthen the education system, promote research and innovation and facilitate knowledge application in various sectors like health education, agriculture, water, energy and industry.

WHAT IS AN INFORMATION SOCIETY ? According to Cawkell Information Society can be defined as a society in which ultimately most of the people are engaged in ‘brain work’ rather than ‘physical work’. Martin and Webster have identified following criteria for the development of information society

Criterion identified for Development of inf. Society Technological – Introduction of IT has provided an important break-through in acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of information. Continuously decreasing cost and increasing improvements in technological devices have an added impact

Economic Knowledge becomes key to economic power and success. Growth of information (knowledge) industry has resulted into five broad groups: Education (e.g. schools, colleges, libraries) Media of communication (e.g. radio, T V, advertising) Information machines (e.g. computers, fax machines, mobile phones, etc) Information services (e.g. law, insurance, medicine) Other information activities (e.g. R & D). 

Occupational 50% population is involved in information work leading to professional society where labour market is dominated by knowledge workers such as scientists, inventors, teachers, librarians, authors, journalists Spatial Dissemination of information by crossing all the geographical boundaries to anyone, anywhere, anytime with the help of networks

Cultural It is a ‘media-laden-society’. Information, entertainment and educative programmes on media are available round the clock, helping an individual in self-development. Social Information as an enhancer of quality of life, creating greater information consciousness among end-users. Political Freedom of information leading to a political process characterized by greater awareness about democratic rights.

What is Knowledge Society It is a stage beyond information era. Knowledge society is about creating,using,applying and sharing of knowledge for economic, social and spiritual,cultural and other purposes. It is a society where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. Intensive utilization of knowledge can create extensive wealth for nation. Knowledge Society is a society which had institutions support in the form of R & D institutions, school, colleges, information institutions,etc. It should be supported by information society. So Information society is a part of Knowledge society.

FACTORS Universal access to information Skilled citizens who heavily rely on ICTs. Occupations- Creativity and management. Equal access to education Preservation and promotion of cultural diversity including multi lingualism Freedom of expression Network of Knowledge organizations and corporate culture Team work,collaboration and standardizations are the norms for knowledge sharing

NKC covers five focus areas of the knowledge paradigm: Access Concepts Creation Application Services

Access- Easy access to knowledge Literacy Language Translation Libraries Networks PortalsLiteracy Language Translation Libraries Networks Portals

Concepts School Education Vocational Education Higher Education Medical Education Legal Education Management Education Engineering Education Open and Distance Education School Education Vocational Education Higher Education Medical Education Legal Education Management Education Engineering Education Open and Distance Education

creation Science and Technology Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Innovation Entrepreneurship Science and Technology Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Innovation Entrepreneurship

Application Traditional Knowledge Agriculture Traditional Knowledge Agriculture

Services e-Governance

Role of Libraries As the prime focus of NKC is on five areas of knowledge paradigm Access to knowledge Knowledge concepts Knowledge creation Knowledge application Development of better Knowledge services

To fulfill the goal of knowledge society, information poverty in India must be overcome.. L & IS sector is committed to support the knowledge society by providing equitable high quality cost effective access to inf. and knowledge resources to meet the institutional, educational, recreational and cultural needs of the community.

A key task in this initiative is to open doors to knowledge, skills, imagination, and ideas available or accessible to the people. The libraries stand as a rich repository and resource. So it is the central objective of NKC to examine the present standards and services of the various types of libraries

Working Group on Libraries To redefine the objectives of libraries. To identify constraints, problems and challenges. To recommend changes and reforms To explore possibilities for innovations and initiate need based new programmes. To promote excellence in L & I S education. To assist in setting up more facilities to preserve and provide access to knowledge.

Recommendations 1Libraries should be included in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India by an Act of Parliament. This will facilitate the coordinated development of libraries across different sectors.

2National Commission on Libraries National Commission on Libraries. As an interim measure, a National Mission on Libraries should be set up for a period of three years which should be converted into a permanent Commission.

1. Advise the government on Libraries and Information Sector 2. Set standards for collection, services and technical processing 3. Encourage public/ private participation 4. Interact with State Governments 5. Conserve cultural heritage 6. Review and assess LIS education & In- service training needs 7. Support R&D/ technological development 8. Ensure access to all publications including government and institutional public documents

3National Census of Libraries A national census of all libraries should be prepared by undertaking a nationwide survey. Collection of census data on libraries would provide baseline data for planning A survey of user needs and reading habits should be conducted at the national level as part of the National Sample Survey.

4L&IS Education The LIS education and training (including in-service) should be revised and revamped. The Mission on Libraries must assess as soon as possible the manpower requirements of the country in the area of LIS management, and take necessary steps to meet the country’s requirement through LIS education and training.

5Promote Research Necessary encouragement should be given to research after evaluating the research status in this field. A separate well equipped Institution for Advanced Training and Research in Library and Information Science and Services should be set up. Indian Institute of Library and Information Science

6Finance /Funds 6Finance /Funds A specified percentage of the Central and State education budgets must be ear-marked for libraries. In addition, a Central Library Fund should be instituted to take care of upgrading existing libraries over a period of 3-5 years ( Initially 1000 crore rupees)

7Re-assess staffing of libraries B.Lib.Sc (for 50 students) ProfessorI ReaderI Lecturer2 M Lib.Sc(for 20 students) ProfessorI Reader2 Lecturer4

8Promotion of ICT application In Libraries Catalogues of all libraries on their websites. Networking of libraries National repository for Bibliographic records. Server to Central, State, District and sub division level libraries Broad band connectivity to block/village libraries

9 Networking of Libraries 9 Networking of Libraries Networking of Public Libraries by Phase I:1000 as a pilot project by DELNET and INFLIBNET. 2 Phase II :10,000 libraries. 3Phase III:Remaining Libraries

Collection Development Collection Development Public Libraries: o Local requirement based o 60% of Budget on Library Collection o 10 % of collection less than 5 years old. Academic Libraries o Need based o 6-10 % of total institutional Budget on Collection

10 Greater Community Participation in Library Management Community based Information system. Involvement of local community to conduct cultural and educational community based programmes.

Conclusion It is the high time that libraries and librarians have to realize their critical role in creating knowledge society by providing equitable high quality cost effective access to inf. and knowledge resources to meet the institutional, educational, recreational and cultural needs of the community. To attain this goal they have to change the present strategy of collection and acquisition of knowledge to the strategy of Knowledge access.

THANKS…… THANKS……