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Foundation of Library and Information Science

Notes the area. The Observatory on the Information Society monitors the impact of globalization
on knowledge societies through the collection of pertinent information and by observing
the trends. The UNESCO Free Software Portal gives access to documents and websites
which are references for the Free Software/Open Source Technology movement. It is also
a gateway to resources related to Free Software.
India became a member of UNESCO on 4th November 1946. UNESCO for the first time started
the first pilot project in library in India by establishing the Delhi Public Library in October 1951.
This later on developed into Delhi Public Library. The main aim of this project was to provide
information on the problem of public library service for the parts of India in particular and for
Asia in general.
The Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC) was set up in 1952 by the
government of India with technical assistance from UNESCO. In 1964, UNESCO assisted INSDOC,
again, in setting up its regional centre in Bangalore. Now Indian National Scientific
Documentation Centre (INSDOC) has merged with National Institute of Science Communication
(NISCOM) to form National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources
(NISCAIR) on 30th September 2002.
The Indian national commission is the official agency of UNESCO and National Information
System for Science and Technology (NISSAT) in the Department of Scientific and Industrial
Research (DSIR) is the focal point for UNISIST (PGI) and is also the coordinating centre for
ASTINFO programme. NASSDOC of ICSSR is the focal point for UNESCO supporting APINESS
programme.
Besides the above, the UNESCO honoured the Indian librarians by inviting them to advice upon
various library projects meant for the member country. The prominent among them were Dr. S.
R. Ranganathan, B. S. Kesavan, S. S. Saith and a few others.
India also organized a few conferences and regional seminars of UNESCO. Notable among
them are Seminar of the development of public libraries in Asia held at Delhi from October 6th-
26th, 1955; Ninth General conference at Delhi in 1956; Regional seminar on library development
in South Asia, University of Delhi library, 3rd-14th October, 1960; Seminar on Handling and
Retrieval of Chemical Information, Delhi, 1986.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
6. The General Conference consists of the representatives of the …………………… of the
Organization.

7. ……………….. works on a number of priorities that require a trans-disciplinary approach
alongside the traditional focus of its five programme sectors.
8. ………………… is a brainchild of UNESCO.

9. For compilation of bibliographies UNESCO has launched an ambitious project in
cooperation with IFLA known as …………………
10. UNESCO also helps its member states to rebuild their libraries during the ……………………

15.3 International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA)

IFLA is an independent association that represents libraries and library associations around the
world. At an international conference of librarians and booklovers in Prague in 1926 a proposal

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