Initiatives Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) in India

India has over 400 university level institutions. Most of these Institutions offer Doctoral programmes in different disciplines. Over 130 theses are accepted every week for award of Doctoral degree by all these universities put together. A copy of each thesis in print format goes in to the collection of University library for preservation and future use. Systematic efforts have been made by various agencies at national level to achieve the bibliographic control of this valuable collection. The Association of Indian University publishes the list of theses accepted by the universities in India as part of it’s weekly publication ‘University News’. Consolidated lists of the same under broad disciplines are also published by this association. The Information and Library Network Centre (INFLIBNET) has created a bibliographic database having over 2,00,000 records. The DELNET, NASSDOC and Vidyanidhi Project have also initiated work in this area and maintaining sizeable records providing bibliographic information.

During last few years, quite a good number of universities have started creating Electronic Theses and Dissertations database covering full text of theses submitted to their universities using open sources software such as DSpace and E-Prints. Some of them have formulated policies to accept the theses in e-form besides the print. The Vidyanidhi: Digital Library & E-scholarship project has already put in over 600 theses in full text. INFLIBNET proposes to facilitate the universities to undertake the work of creating ETDs. To give an impetus and direction to the efforts in this area, the University Grants Commission came out with some regulations to be followed by universities for creating ETDs and sharing the information. All this indicates that, like many other developed and developing countries, there has been a strong desire in India to make this rich, valuable and unique information contained in the theses and dissertations available for furthering the scholarship.

What the author is attempting to do in this proposed paper is to critically look at each ETD project undertaken by the universities, R&D institutions as well as national level organizations in India using certain well established parameters and present the progress made along with their future plans. This paper will also present the issues and challenges faced by these institutions in creating the ETDs, particularly, the challenge of creating ETD in Indian languages. Paper would also present certain indicators which can be used to measure the success of these ETD efforts in the country.

Competencies for Information Professionals of the 21st Century

What is an Information Professional?

An Information Professional ("IP") strategically uses information in his/her job to advance the mission of the organization. The IP accomplishes this through the development, deployment, and management of information resources and services. The IP harnesses technology as a critical tool to accomplish goals. IPs include, but are not limited to librarians, knowledge managers, chief information officers, web developers, information brokers, and consultants.

What are Information Organizations?

Information organizations are defined as those entities that deliver information-based solutions to a given market. Some commonly used names for these organizations include libraries, information centers, competitive intelligence units, intranet departments, knowledge resource centers, content management organizations, and others.

For more information, mention below link
http://www.sla.org/content/learn/members/competencies/index.cfm

ISAN-International Standard Audiovisual Number

ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number), or ISO:15706-1 & 15706-2 (the ISAN standard), is a voluntary numbering system and metadata schema enabling the identification of any kind of audiovisual works, such as films, shorts, documentaries, television programs, sports events, advertising, etc. as well as their related versions.

Developed under the auspices of the International Standards Organization (ISO), by major players of the audiovisual industry such as producers, authors and rights holders societies, ISAN is now recommended or required as the audiovisual content identifier of choice for studios, broadcasters and Internet media service providers who need to encode, track and distribute video in a variety of formats. ISAN provides a unique, internationally recognized and permanent reference number for each audiovisual content registered.

Among the several benefits, ISAN numbers are being used in production and distribution systems, facilitating the interoperability and information exchange, contributing to improve rights management. ISAN is key in the content tracking and monitoring, as it has been integrated in several media solutions related to watermarking and fingerprinting technologies. ISAN has been made mandatory as a Content Identifier by the AACS, the encryption technology used in Blu-ray discs for the copy management and for all online transactions.

Founded by AGICOA , CISAC and FIAPF , ISAN-IA (the ISAN International Agency) is a not-for-profit Swiss association based in Geneva, mandated by ISO for implementing, running and managing the ISAN standard, the ISAN system and central database.

ISMN-International Standard Music Number

The International Standard Music Number (ISMN) is a unique number for the identification of all printed music publications from all over the world, whether available for sale, hire or gratis--whether a part, a score, or an element in a multi-media kit.
The ISMN is designed to rationalize the processing and handling of printed music and the respective bibliographical data for publishing houses, the music trade and libraries.

* As of 1 January 2008 the ISMN consists of 13 digits starting with 979-0
* Existing 10-digit ISMNs are prefixed by 979-
* The leading M- of the 10-digit ISMNs will be replaced by 0- (zero)
* The resulting 13-digit number will be identical with the EAN-13 number that is currently encoded in the bar code

ISO Standard 10957 gives the basic rules of the ISMN system.
The thirteen-digit number allows a billion items each to carry a different number.

Please, note:
Before January 1, 2008 the ISMN consisted of four elements comprising ten digits,
for example, M-2306-7118-7
M the prefix M which distinguished the ISMN from other standard numbers;
2306 a publisher ID which identifies a certain music publisher;
7118 an item ID which identifies a certain music print; and
7 a check digit which validates the number mathematically.
The old ten-digit as well as the new thirteen-digit ISMN can be converted into a bookland code and printed with a scanner raster:
http://www.ismn-international.org/

RDA: Resource Description and Access

RDA: Resource Description and Access is the new standard for resource description and access designed for the digital world. Built on the foundations established by AACR2, RDA provides a comprehensive set of guidelines and instructions on resource description and access covering all types of content and media.

For more information, click on following link below
http://www.rda-jsc.org/rdafaq.html

DOI System

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI®) System is for identifying content objects in the digital environment. DOI® names are assigned to any entity for use on digital networks. They are used to provide current information, including where they (or information about them) can be found on the Internet. Information about a digital object may change over time, including where to find it, but its DOI name will not change.

The system is managed by the International DOI Foundation, an open membership consortium including both commercial and non-commercial partners, and has recently been accepted for standardisation within ISO. Approximately 40 million DOI names have been assigned by DOI System Registration Agencies in the US, Australasia, and Europe.

To learn more about DOI names, see the Overviews, and begin with the Introductory Overview and Introductory Slide Presentation. The Factsheets, including the most recent on The ISBN System in Relation to the DOI System, and an updated DOI System and Internet Identifier Specifications discuss key topics about the system. For the most complete description of all aspects of DOI System technology and policy, consult the DOI® Handbook.

ISBN and ISBN-A
The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a 13-digit identification number and system, widely used in the international book trade for over 35 years and assigned through a network of international ISBN Registration Agencies. It applies unique ISBNs principally to physical books but also to related materials such as eBooks, software, mixed media etc.
The DOI® System offers a persistent actionable identifier for use on digital networks. A "DOI name" refers to the syntax string within the "DOI System". The ISBN-A ("the actionable ISBN") is a service powered by DOI®, in which an existing ISBN is expressed in the DOI System.

Syntax of ISBN-A
The ISBN-A is constructed by incorporating an ISBN into the allowed DOI syntax:
Example: 10.97812345/99990
The syntax specification, reading from left to right, is:

* Handle System DOI name prefix = "10."
* ISBN (GS1) Bookland prefix = "978." or "979."
* ISBN Publisher prefix = variable length numeric string of 2 to 8 digits
* Prefix/suffix divider = "/"
* ISBN Title enumerator and checkdigit = variable length numeric string of 8 to 2 digits

Note:

* the total length of the "Bookland prefix", the "ISBN publisher prefix" plus the "ISBN Title enumerator and checkdigit" will always equal 13 digits.
* the check digit from the ISBN remains unchanged; the DOI system does not use check digits.

NET exam paper of June 2009

Section-2
1. What is WIPO? Explain its functions.
2. What is ‘right to information act’?
3. Mention the important publications of IASLIC.
4. Distinguish between print and electronic sources of information.
5. Enumerate the key parameters for evolution of web resources.
6. Define ‘Digest’ and explain the steps involved in its preparation.
7. What is RDA? Explain its initiatives.
8. What are the standards devised for exchange of electronic information?
9. Explain the concept of information consolidation and repackaging.
10. What is bandwidth?
11. Describe applications of XML.
12. What is web browser?
13. State the distinguishing features of DOI and URL
14. Explain ‘sampling error’ with example.
15. Distinguish digital libraries from Virtual libraries.

Section-3
1. Discuss the economic and social implications of information in the knowledge society.
2. Enumerate the states which have enacted library legislation in India so far.
3. Define a database. Describe the various types of database with suitable examples.
4. Examine the need for classification and cataloguing in digital era.
5. Explain the different bibliographic standards available for library practices.

Section-4
The emerging trends in ICT have revolutionized the pattern of information seeking and use in libraries. How information literacy programmes help to improve the usage of information.
OR
Knowledge management is a fate of corporate sector. State the extent to which the contemporary librarians can claim as knowledge managers.
OR
The Scenario of collection building underwent sea changes with the advent of electronic resources. In the light of the statement discuss the collection development policy required in the 21st century.