Library: A center stage?

Ganesh ViswanathanDepartment of Chemical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology BombayPowai, Mumbai - 400076

Workshop on Meeting Users ExpectationsIIT Bombay

27 May 2013

Acknowledgements

• Dr. Jotwani, Librarian, IIT Bombay• Vasan S S, Senior Business Dev. Manager, Public Health England• Many colleagues for coffee table discussions and more …

Library is an icon

The boogie-woogie Google boys, it appears, dream of taking over the universe by gathering all the "information" in the world and creating the electronic equivalent of, in their own modest words, "the mind of God." If you are taken in by all the fanfare and hoopla that have attended their project to digitize all the books in a number of major libraries (including the University of Michigan and New York Public), you would think they are well on their way to godliness.

I do not share that opinion. The books in great libraries are much more than the sum of their parts. They are designed to be read sequentially and cumulatively, so that the reader gains knowledge in the reading.

--Michael Gorman(Former President of American Library Association)

LA Times, Dec 17, 2004

Library: A linchpin for innovation

• Goal of a scientist is to innovate• Tons of information required• Integration of information important

• Can Library be a center stage to facilitate innovation?• Innovative ways to capitalize on the ICTs?• For research support• For teaching support

Some thoughts …

Engine(s) of innovation

Ideas

Work People

Innovation

Library

Met

hodology Creativity

Implementation

Three necessary aspects† for creativity:• Preparatory activities: Deep knowledge in an area

and related areas 10 years suggested!• Period of incubation: Ability to hold problems in

background (thinking) for a very very long time Illumination• Consolidation: Ability to live with loosely structured

ideas and structure them over time

Creativity

(† Understanding Creativity, Herbert Simon)

Library can facilitate these…

Creativity: Preparatory activitiesDeveloping one's creativity is a matter simply of developing one's problem-solving habits and one's motivation

-Herbert Simon

Taking relevant courses is the way to go

A repository of relevant offline and online courses needed

• Make available courses (and related materials) in various subjects• Make available links to various courses (from other

universities)• Make a list of books – not textbooks – in the library that

would be of use for these courses

MIT opencourseware, NPTEL, Stanford online courses, Harvard online courses, etc..

Moodle @ IITB managed and archived by Library?

Creativity: Incubation

• Seek information in regular intervals about a certain problem• Typically search for information in literature• Often specific books, monographs and journal articles aid

incubation process Not so easy to identify these…

How can library facilitate this using ICT?

• Books: Display of table of contents of a book can greatly facilitateDisplay other related books – catalog number

• Journal articles: Many portals already facilitate this. Is it possible to integrate?E.g.: Info. from various portals can be displayed in one go.

• Other libraries in town, what kind of books or journals related to the subject are available with them

• Easy access to information from other libraries (IPR/Subscription issues?)

Creativity: Consolidation

• Unstructured information bring structure (Litmus test according to Prof. Julio Ottino)• Introspection into the problem• A lonely activity• Demands quality, undisturbed time

• Inter-college students were asked “What do you like best about libraries?”• Two-thirds responded: “A quiet place, a peace-filled

environment!”• Faculty/Scientists are challenged with endless

distractions• Alternative office space in library, which already has the

necessary environment in place

Research methodology• Very problem specific• No simple way to extract relevant research methodology• Only partial information or some loose way forward may be

known• Deep knowledge is needed

• Traditional knowledge is usually scattered in many books• Gorman’s observation true… • Can we improve accessibility to knowledge?

• Novel and recent methods typically in research articles•Most science and engg. journals emphasize on separate methods

section• Create a (non-commercial) database of various methods •Maybe non-trivial for subjects beyond science and

engineering

A serendipity machine?

• Seamless information about connected methodologies• Predictive capability based on the partial information provided• For e.g., method for analyzing psychology of kids• Statistical analysis needed?

Implementation

• Appropriate implementation in needed• Usually collaborative•Maintain a database of local expertise available• Provide small – 10 seater – round-table discussion rooms,

particularly encourage students to meet for various activities• Good sound proofing can ensure necessary library sanctity• Coffee shop – a lot of things can happen over a good coffee

break !

Research related support services• Access to as many Books and online journals• Efficient journal article finder portal•Maintain archives of as many (online) journals• Article delivery from storage:• Service to provide copy/PDF of articles from print journals• Easy, fast self-scanning facility

• Automated Interlibrary loan or purchase service for library members (ILLiad)• Corpus monies to absorb the associated costs

•Maintain a site license for citation related softwares like EndNote, RefMan, etc.• Short courses on information access and management• Efficient use of EndNote or BibTex or RefMan…• Copyright and plagiarism related issues• Grant writing (IRCC conducted one a few years ago)• Data organization and metadata creation• Platform talk or poster presentation

• Host and maintain system-wide electronic lab notebook (ELNs) • Contur, Mediawiki• Institutional data repository• Centralized backup of information• Can come handy for research reporting and

patenting• Guaranteed confidentiality needed

• A moderated forum to exchange ideas• Lecture series on success stories• Repository (links) to perspective articles on various

research related activities (For e.g. Ten Simple Rules portal by PLoS Computational Biology) • Restricted access retiring room with constant soothing

music

Research related support services

Pedagogy related support services• Constantly improve paper-based books repository • Paper-based books have their own special purpose

(Gorman’s observation)• Books are mentors and ICTs are sophisticated servants

• Repository of online courses, webinars, lectures• Courses available in a subject area in the town• Tag each of these with information on • books relevant to these courses• their availability• other relevant references

• Dissemination of scientific (and not-so-scientific) discoveries. Inspiration for college and school going students?• Permanent display of simple models• Transfer TechConnect displays to library?

• Database of breakthrough research articles – Nobel Prize winning articles and related ones

• Paper-based books have its own place• Facilitation of easy access to information• Integration of information• Support services: Make as many available

Library can• Foster ideas, work• Nourish people involved in both• Provide good environment and ambience• Greatly impact innovative research and teaching

Conclusions

We want to do all we can to make knowledge accessible. But the ancient lore of our people is precious. And if we forget that, the learning process will become a very empty thing.

-John LienhardEngines of our ingenuity, Episode 597, 2001.

Library is a center stage for innovation and learning

Thank you. Questions?