Central Library
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
Cordially invites you to the 5th Library Lecture Series and Outreach Programme
Topic: Depleting Archives and Disintegrating Histories
Speaker : Ms. Shilpi Rajpal
PhD Scholar, Department of History, University of Delhi
Chairperson: Prof. Mridula Mukherjee
Professor,
Centre for Historical Studies,
School of Social Sciences, JNU.
Date: Wednesday, 16th May 2012 at 3:00 pm
Venue: Committee Room, Central Library, JNU, New Delhi
About the Talk
The proposed talk is based on personal experiences of the researcher in various archives and libraries of India. It was her doctoral research that brought her face to face with the working of the Indian archives. The Public Record Act which was passed in 1993 regulates the management, administration and preservation of public records. The talk will highlight weaknesses in the Public Record Act in dealing with present scenario. The Researcher believes that various government departments have little clue regarding the preservation and maintenance of the valuable historical documents that are being look after by them. The art of conserving, classifying and weeding out of these documents largely remains unknown to most of them. It would not be an exaggeration to state that the Indian archives are facing a deep crisis as far the maintenance of its public records is concerned. The talk reveals the dismal condition of archives in India. It further seeks new ways i.e. what more needs to be done in order to preserve the documental legacy of India.
About the Speaker:
Ms. Shilpi Rajpal is PhD Scholar in the Department of History, University of Delhi. At present, she is in final phase of her thesis writing entitled ‘Madness and Delinquency in Colonial North India’ 1850-1947’. She was awarded the University Teaching Assistantship in 2009 for the period of four years in the University of Delhi. She has also taught as a Guest Lecturer in Department of Germanic and Romance Studies, Arts Faculty, University of Delhi (August 2007 – March 2009). She has presented papers in several national and International Conferences.
Please make it convenient to attend.
Previous Lectures:
17th April 2012
Topic: Creating Socio-economic Value through Open Public Data
Speaker: Ms Waltraut Ritter,Research Director, Knowledge Dialogues, Hong Kong &
Visiting Professor, International School of Information Management, Mysore.
About the Topic: At the ministerial OECD meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy in June 2008 in Seoul, the member states agreed on the need for governments to work with business, civil society and other parties to promote and expand access to public sector information and promote the re-use of data worldwide. Public sector organisations produce, collect and share vast amounts of information, such as meteorological, traffic and socio-economic data, health and statistical data, cultural information and others. Public sector information is the “raw material” for new added value services, but it is often difficult for third parties to re-use it. Many countries have updated their public information laws to adapt to the new opportunities through the digitisation of information. PSI re-use (Public Sector Information) goes beyond traditional e-government concepts and transactional information exchanges between public sector and business/citizens. The awareness for PSI issues, from policy to legal and technological questions varies from country to country and depends on open information flows between different stakeholders, as well as a change of mindset in the public sector. This new thinking encourages new forms of public engagement and leads to democratization of government data.
What are the trends and developments in public information in India?
Will the Electronic Delivery of Service Bill (EDS) increase transparency and enhanced cohesion?
About the Speaker:
Waltraut Ritter is managing director of Knowledge Dialogues which she founded in Hong Kong in 1997, specializing in applied research relating to innovation, knowledge, and intellectual capital. She has worked in information and knowledge management since 1989, when she served as information management consultant for the United Nations Development Programme in Geneva and New York. In recent years, she has focused on the knowledge economy and innovation initiatives for national and international agencies in the public sector.She is visiting faculty at the International School of Information Management the University of Mysore (India) and was Professor for Knowledge Management at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She holds an MA in Information Science and Sociology from the Free University of Berlin and an MBA from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.She has been involved the UN World Summit of Information Society process from 2003 to 2005 and subsequent UN Internet governance forum (IGF) working group on Open Data. She is a founding member of the New Club of Paris, a knowledge economy research network supported by the Worldbank, OECD and EU. She also serves on the Digital21 Strategy advisory board of the Hong Kong Government and as research director for the Asia Pacific Intellectual Capital Centre, a non-profit think tank on knowledge economy.
20th March 2012
Topic: E-books: Choices and Challenges
Speaker: Ms. Linda K Parker, Information Resource Officer,
American Centers in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka,
U.S. Department of State
About the Speaker: Ms. Linda Parker began a lifelong love of books as a child in Japan, where her father was serving in the Air Force. She read every book in the public library there and decided that there could be no greater joy than to help others discover the wonder found in books. She attended the University of Texas, first majoring in English Literature and also gained a Master's Degree in Information Science with further specialization in Digital Resources. She has worked as a Public Librarian, Library Director for the U.S. Department of Labor, Mining, General and Law Libraries. She is currently an Information Resource Officer with the U.S. Department of State. She is posted in New Delhi, with regional responsibility for the American Centers in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka. She has previously served in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Germany and Africa.
3rd February 2012
Topic: Embedded Librarianship
New ways of building relationship with Faculty
Speaker: Dr. Triveni Kuchi, Director of South Asian Studies Program,
Sociology & South Asian Librarian,
Research & Instructional Services
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
10th January 2012
Topic: Documentation of Oral History: Experiences at South Asian Oral History project at the University of Washington Libraries
Speaker: Dr. Deepa Banerjee,
South Asian Studies Librarian,
University of Washington Libraries
About the Topic : South Asian Oral History project at the University of Washington which captured the history of South Asian Immigrants to Pacific Northwest. through Oral History interviews. The interviews are now part of National Museum of Immigration in Ellis Island and a book " Roots and Reflections: South Asian Map Pacific Northwest" by the oral historian Amy Bhatt and Nalini Iyer is being published by University of Washington Press (Publication due 2012) based on my project. http://content.lib.washington.edu/saohcweb/index.html
About the Speaker: Dr. Deepa Banerjee joined University of Washington Libraries in 2006 as a South Asian Studies Librarian and has been working closely with the faculty and students from South Asia programs at the University of Washington. As a general Reference and Research Librarian, she assists students with their wide ranging research needs from various subject areas through individual consultations, virtual chat and working at the reference desks. She plays an active role as a member of various local and national library committees. Examples include Scholarly Communications Committee, Diversity Committee, CONSALD (Committee on South Asian Libraries and Documentation), Association of American Libraries, ACRL / AAMES (Asian African and Middle Eastern Division). She has served as a Chair of the AAMES Publication Committee and AAMES Conference Planning Committee. She has also been the editor of AAMES newsletters.
Deepa also has publications, conference presentations and projects to her credit. One of her projects " South Asian Oral History Project" has received national acclaim and led to a book publication titled " Roots and Reflections : South Asians Map the Pacific Northwest" by University of Washington Press co authored by Dr Amy Bhatt and Dr Nalini Iyer based on the project. Publication is due in September 2012.
Deepa has worked in a variety of library settings in Australia, Canada and US prior to her current position. Deepa has an MLIS from Australia and a PhD from India.