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Foundation of Library and Information Science

Notes Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
13. The clients of higher education must contribute toward the …………….. of learning
materials.

14. The Library/information centre transforms the students into ……………., by developing,
cultivating and stimulating the use of imagination.
15. A major responsibility of the university library is to build up a sound collection of
documents and other ……………….. materials.
16. The University library makes long lasting and economical arrangements for providing
access to sources of information available ………………….. form.

Case Study Virtual Reference Service (VRS) in Academic Libraries

echnology is developing at a very fast rate and what looks a myth a few years back
is becoming a reality now. The largest single factor which caused the significant
Tchanges in library operations and services in this century is undoubtedly the
evolution of information technology. Technology has changed the way the libraries serve
their users and this change will continue in future also. While continuing to provide many
traditional information services, libraries are developing new skills and taking new roles
that are necessary to support technology based services.
In the libraries and information centres “Reference Service” is an important personalised
service. Traditionally, it is a one-to-one service with user and reference librarian. The user
is helped by the variety of sources available to meet the information needs. But in the
present era, the library and information profession is facing the challenges of so called
‘electronic age’ and being transformed by technology.
So the advancement in information technology has brought out incredible changes in
almost every aspect of information services. It has been observed that many large and
modern libraries in abroad and also in India have a general reference desk, full time
reference librarians with subject specialists and off desk responsibilities. This type of an
environment need to be cultivated in academic libraries, especially in Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), where the thrust is on
imparting education and pursuing research and consultancy. Thus, with the advancement
of changing technology the mode of providing reference service in the academic libraries
is gradually changing. It is now presented to the user in a new and more developed form
that is “virtual reference service”, which is otherwise known as “digital reference service”.
The increasing globalization of economy, growth of industrial and technological sector in
India coupled with competition for limited resources have brought unprecedented pressure
and challenges to the management and technical education as a discipline. At the same
time, it has also offered an opportunity to improve the economic growth and the quality
of life. The need for professional management and technical education has never been
more crucial than today specially in the era of changing global digital environment. So,
the task of producing a large pool of well-trained management and technical professionals
in a resource starved environment provides the need for establishing IITs and IIMs. At

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