Pramod Kumar Singh
As the previous speaker (Sudip) told, that charging for the lib. Info Services is not at all a new thing/ concept, in publicly funded libraries it can be traced as far back as the mid 18th century when British public Libraries began the practice of purchasing some books from special funds derived from user fees. And by the late 18th century and early 19th century, the charging of user fees for some library products and services had become a fact of life in many public and academic libraries in the US. In the present age of information that the world is witnessing, at the end of 20th century information is held as a key resource for the economic, socio-cultural and political development of a nation. Organizations make greater use of information as an economic resource to introduce innovation and to increase their effectiveness and competitive position. People, in order to ensure better standards of living, use information more intensively in their day to day activities so as to firm-up their choices between alternative products and services. This is so, availability of right information for the right user at right time and at right cost becomes all the more vital. The scenario has posed major challenges to the information sector whose prime function is to satisfy the complex and increasing demands for information products and services. There were times, when the librarians and Information Managers (LIMs) used to remain busy (and satisfied) with functions aimed at acquiring, organizing and providing reading materials only when there was a request for the same, are over. The profession today is being geared to aim at something beyond that. Something beyond, in the context of Library and Information Centers (LICs) means that the Library & information Managers (LIMs) will have to chip in and accept the challenges by playing a more pro-active role. Library & information Managers (LIMs) will have to appreciate that just having information and storing it will serve no purpose unless it is put to effective use by those who need it. Library & information Managers (LIMs) will have to bring the user and information together. However, increasing technological advancements are putting more and more pressure on Library & information Managers (LIMs). First, the technology of information work is vastly extending the scope of their work. It is now possible to gain access to and process much greater quantities of information than was possible only five years ago. Computers and CD-ROMs have found increasing acceptance in Library & Information Centres (LICs); multimedia has shown much potential for Library & Information Centres (LICs); and information networks have broken down time and space barriers. Second, user expectations are rising constantly, creating a demand for ever more sophisticated, high-quality information products and services'.
In the same breath, it is also appreciable that information is becoming increasingly expensive and so is its packaging and repackaging. Value addition to the information, makes it even more expensive. There is a further rise in the cost of information when IT (acquisition and upgradation) is to play its role in designing and delivering information services and products. Further, the age-old concept of certain social services like health, education, justice, etc. being made available, free of cost, is becoming irrelevant as the time goes by. This is true with library and information services (LIS). Institutions engaged in all such services are being asked to become self-sufficient, if they are to survive in cost conscious and competition oriented social and environmental set-up. Public funding for such purpose is being questioned. The other side of the coin is that the LICs have, over the years, spent enormous amounts of money, expertise and other valuable resources to come up to a stage where they are at present in terms of service delivery. They continue to do so, even as of now. Mobilising resources, particularly the finances may not be now that easy an affair as it has been in the past. But, in the demands and expectations from their users, there won't be any looking back. In such a situation, not only will mere survival of the systems to the expectations of their users be a major challenge for the Library & information Managers (LIMs) but their sustained development will be a big question. The only way out seems to be that the development of Library & Information Centres (LICs) will have to be only in accordance with more exact and specific needs of their users. Towards this end and keeping the concept of a resource-constrained regime in mind, the services offered will have to be internally efficient and externally effective.' It is true that by using a variety of IT tools and techniques, Library & Information Centres (LICs) are now able to generate various kinds of information products and services in addition to performing the routine tasks. But, it is a little unfortunate that these remain largely underutilized, or even, in cases, wholly unutilized. Gireesh will discuss the reasons for this and how to increase the utilization of the information. The view of the impeding demise of print-based libraries is not altogether surprising. It reflects popular opinion. It also illustrates that if change occurs without the opportunity for policy makers and the general public to rethink the balance between public good and commercial profit, the nature of our social service and education systems, including libraries, will undergo dramatic change in the future. Those that argue that libraries provide public good services can see the tragic consequences resulting when shared public resources functioning as a public economic ‘’commons’’ are destroyed by individual who are allowed unrestrained freedom for exploitation resulting in personal gain.