REPORT ON A TWO-DAY NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON EMERGING
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS AND INNOVATIVE PRACTICES IN
LIBRARY SCIENCES
On Monday, the 29th of January 2024 at 9:30 am the Department of Library and Information Science of Swami Vivekanand College of Commerce organized a two-day national workshop on “Emerging technological advancements and innovative practices in Library science”. The workshop aimed to focus on the goal of using emerging technologies to enhance user experience, improve efficacy and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. The two-day workshop served as a vital platform for library professionals from academic libraries, students and researchers to exchange ideas and explore the latest trends in library science to render innovative services.
The day started with an inaugural ceremony as the students of swami Vivekanand College of Commerce welcomed anyone with a song of praise and worship along with Mrs Kalpa Gobre who sang a devotional song during the lighting of the lamp. Dr Shekar Sawant gave the opening remarks of the inaugural function this was followed by Shri Minanath Upadhye from the local management who spoke a few words about the workshop.
Mrs. Gayatri Behare introduced the guest of honour Dr Sandesh Desai, librarian of Goa University and requested him to say a few words. Sir Girish Kapdi an Assistant Professor in commerce from Swami Vivekanand College welcomed the chief guest Shri Govind Gawde the honourable minister of Goa Art, culture and Sports along with other dignitaries, marking the opening of the inaugural function. The inaugural ceremony ended with Mrs Sonia Dessai, librarian of Swami Vivekanand proposing the vote of thanks.
The first keynote speaker Dr Keshav Dhuri, Assistant Director of the Directorate of Higher Education Government of Goa spoke about a brief introduction about the entire workshop, and the objectives, followed by an overview of the entire technical sessions.
The technical session began with Professor Shalini R. Lihitkar, department of Library and Information Sciences, RTM, Nagpur University introducing two topics “Emerging technologies in libraries” where she lectured on open access resources, information literacy, scholarly communications, technological trends in libraries and application of emerging trends in libraries in navigating the future of information access. The second session was on the topic “Research matrix and strategy to enhance scholarly visibility” and “plagiarism way to avoid it in research and publication.
The second resource person Shri Nitesh Naik, librarian of Prabodhini College of Commerce, education, computer and Management Goa shed light on the topic of “artificial intelligence (AI) tools in Academics such as Chat GPT, paper digest, semantic scholar, consensus, scispace research rabbit and so on.
On the second day 30th of January, Tuesday 2024 the day began with the resource speaker Shri Chetan Taksale founder director, and president of Aksharmudra Pratisthan Library Pune bringing clarity on “Library Automatization and Digitalization” he spoke on the topic of library management software, such as, DSpace and Koha, digitalization of documents, and institutional repository.
The session was later continued on the topic of “computer literacy training for the visually impaired” which was carried on by Ms Sanjosh K.S. The session was to educate professionals on how visually impaired students can get access to this facility of using computers thereby encouraging differently-abled students to explore this new field of reshaping the landscape. He also gave a live demonstration on how students can use a keyboard in such situations where is Inclusivity can be adapted in classrooms, where high- tech devices and accessibility adjustments could be designed to help people with disabilities. The introduction of these new systems would set a bar for making remarkable unending changes in such mutating times, where electronic and more sustainable ways could be implemented to satisfy individuals’ needs with disabilities.
The workshop ended on a special note of our honorable Chief guest Dr Sushant Tandel, Curator, Krishnadas Shama, of Goa State Central Library Government of Goa as he spoke about the practical aspect of managing the library in a more efficient manner and steps to be taken by librarians to encourage students into healthy reading practices. He emphasised making libraries more accessible for students and how can students develop the love for reading.
The chief guest Shri Sagun Velip director of art and culture, at the government of Goa, spoke about library education and implementation of library practices. The two-day session ended with a valedictory function. Participation certificates for the participants were distributed, and feedback was collected from all the participants.
Altogether, the closure statement to the Workshop can be stated as an amalgam of willful knowledge gain, interactive learning and an insightful event. The Workshop ended successfully with everyone feeling contended with every aspect and a huge vote of thanks and gratitude was extended to the honorable guest speakers for their time and incredibly good talk on the various topics. Finally calling this remarkable day off with the singing of the National anthem.
