Author: Prodip K Aich

National University and The Librarian Times Joint Seminar: Media coverage

Issue 03, Issue 22

The event news has got media coverage in 25 national dailies till 30 June 2018. Indeed this is a good sign for library professionals towards positive changes.

 

 

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University of Hull, UK team visited North South University Library

Issue 03, Issue 22

Tanveer,NSU, Dhaka, 30 June 2018

Lynne Barrow, Associate Dean (International), University of Hull, the UK with her team visited North South University Library yesterday (25 June 2018) accompanied by Dr Katherine Li, Director, Office of External Affairs, NSU. The purpose of the visit was to explore the NSU Library overall facilities, resources, access to information, research support, library space, the effect of services etc. prior to signing MOU. University Librarian, Dr Md. Zahid Hossain Shoeb outlined the strength and facilities of NSU Library mentioning the effective use of Main Study Hall, Cyber Center, Reference Section, Researchers Area, Archival Section, Quiet Study Area, General Study Area, Faculty Corner etc. which offering a calm, quiet, neutral space, where NSU Library users can access resources and information for work, research or leisure. Unlike these areas, students have a great affinity to the large Study Hall due to group discussion facilities.

Dr Zahid also discoursed that NSU Library is the pioneer of using state-of-the-art RFID technology, e-resource subscription, use of library research tools and training programme for the faculty members and the graduate as well undergrad students. The visitors appreciated the efforts of NSU Library. Sr. Asst Librarian, Mr MM Shoeb, Assistant Librarian, Md. Abdul Hakim, Library officer Tanveer Ahsanofficers other and support staff were also present during this visit.

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Eid reunion held at Chattogram

Issue 03, Issue 22

Ahasan, Dhaka, 30 June 2018

 

Post Graduate Diploma of Library and Information Science continued students and alumni namely PGDLIS student forum of IIUC (International Islamic University Chittagong) organized an Eid reunion on 22 June 2018 at National Public School, Bahaddarhat, Chattogram. Mr Mohammad Jashim Uddin, Chattogram District Education Officer was the Chief Guest while Mr Anwar Hossain Nuri, Divisional Counsellor, Library Association of Bangladesh (LAB) attended the event as the special Guest.

 

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BoiBodol forum has established a Library at Rajshahi

Issue 22, Volume 03

BoiBodol(Book Exchange), a social action project which roughly worked to exchange books between university students have now started to create small-scale libraries for young kids. The project has launched a pilot library at Dawatul Islam Girls Orphanage. It is situated at Dharampur, Binodpur, Rajshahi. A retired banker and his wife take care of the children as it is a family initiative, but local residents are also helping a lot for its operation.

BoiBodol initiated collecting books for the library in late May and collected books till 5th of June. In spite of being a small initiative and for lack of professional advertisement, 58 books and 2000 BDT were collected. Many students, job holders and even housewives also donated books for the kids. They not only gave away the books, as per the policy of the library project, they have also written beautiful quotes under the cover page of the books so that the kids could enjoy it more.

The volunteers, under the supervision of Nafisa Hasan, the co-founder of the project then enlisted the books in BoiBodol database. On 7th June, Saifullah Mahfuz, the founder of BoiBodol and Amimul Ehsan, a volunteer on the project started their journey to Rajshahi. They reached at Rajshahi in the next day morning and Miftahul Jannat Mouni, another volunteer for the project from Rajshahi hosted them before preparing for the event.

When the team consisted of Saifullah, Amim, Mouni reached the orphanage, Syeda Safika, representative of the orphanage and a university admission seeker, welcomed the team. The kids were very happy to have visitors. Rather than going to the place merely to give away the books, a few segments were arranged to enrich the reading habit of the children. At first, Saifullah talked about what kind of books have been brought to the orphanage. Then Amimul Ehsan shared his experience as a person who had no affiliation with books beyond the syllabus. He shared the story of struggle he had to go through as he had a little knowledge over everything before starting to read books from different genres. Then Miftahul Jannat had taken a session on why extracurricular activities, such as painting, reading story books etc can help a student to become more attentive to his/her studies.

A few fun games were also played in between the session. The most popular one was remembering as many as names of the books given by the BoiBodol team.

The orphans were overjoyed with this small but unique initiative. The owners of the orphanage also welcomed the team warmly. But they are also facing financial hardship as they are currently buying an addition portion of land for the orphanage so that they can accommodate a lot more orphans at their place, established their own school and for a playground. For this, they need 20 lakh BDT. Financial aid is hence, welcomed.

It was a great experience for the BoiBodol team as they never thought they would get this much response from the donors. They are looking forward to creating more libraries around the country.

We appreciate and congratulate the new initiative of Saifullah Mahfuz Orko, Founder of BoiBodol Concept and his dynamic team members.

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The National University and The Librarian Times Joint Seminar held

Issue 22, Volume 03

30 June, 2018

 

The National University and The Librarian Times Joint Seminar on “Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: Enriching LIS Education, Research and Professions in Bangladesh” was held on June 27, 2018, at Govt. Teacher Training Colleges Auditorium, Dhaka

This seminar was jointly hosted by National University Bangladesh and The Librarian times. Two speakers from the Library and Information specialist backgrounds gave the presentation on their expertise.

The event was divided into two different sections. The first session presentation titled “Library and Information Science Education: The USA Perspective” conducted by Dr Hasan Zamir, Lecturer, School of Information Studies, Dominican University, USA. This session covered LIS education system, research, library services, professional affiliation, and library and information job perspective in the USA. It presentation particularly focused on the admission process in LIS schools, requirements and funding opportunities for the students who want to go to the USA for higher studies. The audiences were able to ask questions of the presenter on various topics about the LIS sectors.

The second session was conducted by Dr Anwarul Islam, Associate Professor, Department of Information Science & Library Management, University of Dhaka. His presentation titled “Potential South Asia (SA) Chapter in ASIS&T: Hope for LIS Communities in Bangladesh.” The presenter discussed on how ASIS&T is playing a significant role for career development, edits, publishes and disseminates publications concerning research and development, networking opportunities through prominent professors, helping to facilitate for possible collaboration and to find research supervisors. The audiences were able to ask questions of the presenter on various topics to know what is the benefit of being a member of ASIS&T, how to make network with the world famous researchers, recruiting process in university, Chapters role, Special Interest Group (SIG), how to get awards, possible funding for attending conferences and others.

 

One of the aims of the event was to have a meeting point of the LIS academics, professionals, researchers and students where everyone had the opportunity to get to know about Dr Zamir’s work in the USA and inspire some networking and socializing with other professionals from different organizations. The border aim was to share knowledge among the fellow library professionals in Bangladesh.

The session was chaired by Professor Dr Nasiruddin Mitul, Dean, National University Bangladesh. Professor Kaniz Sayeda Bente Sabah, Principal, Govt. Teachers Training College, Dhaka delivered her inaugural speech at the event while Mamtaj Sahanara, Vice-Principal Govt. Teachers Training College, Dhaka attended the event as the special guest. Dr Dilara Begum, Associate Professor and Chairperson Department of Information Studies and Library Management & Librarian (Acting) East West University attended in the session as an expert. Mr Prodip Roy, founder and editor of The Librarian Times, greeted the participants via online from Australia.

The Two- hours presentation including questions answers and expert opinions about the session made the event successful.

Evaluation

A post-seminar survey was circulated to the participants shortly after the conclusion of the event. The reactions and comments are very positive. We requested participants to leave their feedback on the event with a number of questions e.g., How likely are they to attend one of our events in the future? How likely are they to recommend events to a friend? Did the seminar meet its objectives?

And the result we have received is 100% positive.

Total number of registration: 149

Total number of attendees: 80

Overview: Attendance and Locations

The location of the event was convenient for all. Overall participants were happy with the choice of venues.

Overview: Content

Attendees were in general very happy with to presentation topic and the presenters’ expertise.

Further Recommendation:

Technology:

The organisers need to consider how they will meet technology needs (e.g., live video, live interactive tools, availability)

Invitation:

Information on Invitation to participate in the Seminar organised by The Librarian Times and NU was not disseminated properly. It could have been more organised to make the presence of the professionals many more in the seminar. Many interested participants missed the event.

Refreshments:

Attendees recommended improving the quality and quantity of the food at future events.

Topics to cover at the future seminar:

The participants recommended for future conferences are but not limited to, Open Access movement, Digital Library software for building Institutional Repository (IR), How to apply successfully in International Events like IFLA, OpenCon.

Media coverage:

The event news has got media coverage in 25 national dailies till 30 June 2018. Indeed this is a good sign for library professionals towards positive changes.

The media links are here

Overall, the seminar proved to be a very worthwhile experience, not just for the organisers, but also for the participants.

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Training on Skill Development: building information modelling’ held at BUET Central Library

Issue 21, Volume 03

Ahasan, Dhaka, 22 June 2018A two-day long Training on “Skill Development: Building Information Modelling’ from 09 June 2018 to 10 June 2018 was held at seminar room of Central Library, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). The Department of Architecture, BUET, arranged the said training under a subproject of Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) titled “Development of ICT based teaching and learning facilities at the Department of Architecture, BUET to enhance the quality of architecture education in Bangladesh”.

Dr Gauranga Chandra Mohanta ndc, Project Director of HEQEP, attended the inaugural ceremony of the training as the chief guest with Dr Md. Ashikur Rahman Joarder, professor of the Department of Architecture, BUET, and also the SPM of the subproject in the chair. Professor Dr Khandaker Shabbir Ahmed, Head of the Department of Architecture, BUET, delivered a speech as the special guest on this occasion. Md. Mizanur Rahman, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, BUET, conducted the training as the instructor. A total of 25 students of the Department of Architecture, BUET took part in the training.

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Training on Community Engagement for Public Libraries held at Bogura

Issue 21, Volume 03

Ahasan, Dhaka, 22 June 2018

A two-day extended training on “Community Engagement for Public Libraries” from 08-09 June 2018 was held at Hotel Naz Garden, Bogura. Seventeen participants from different government public libraries working in the northern region of Bangladesh participated in the training programme. Libraries Unlimited project and the Ministry of Cultural affairs were involved in arranging this training. Several topics including Identifying Stakeholders among the Community, Analysing Community Engagement Practices, Activities by Government public libraries, BRAC Gonokendro, British Council Library, Bisso Sahitya Kendra, Levels of Community Engagement, Ways or Types of Engagement with the Community, Working with Community Advocacy,Social Mobilization, Programme Communication, Skills for Community Engagement, Evaluation of Community Engagement Activities, Outlining a Community Engagement Plan were covered in the training. To learn the mentioned topics, organisers followed different methods and techniques such as brainstorming, self-image, Card Collection and Clustering, Small group work and presentation, participatory discussion and feedback.

To make the event successful a group of resource persons conducted the sessions including Mr.Shakil Sinha and Mr Ali Ahmed. At the end of the training the participants and the resource persons visited several historical places of Bogra including Mohastangir as part of sightseeing tour.

The similar type of event was also held at Barishal on 04-05 June 2018.

Little note: In collaboration with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and supported by Department of Public Libraries, the British Council in Bangladesh are re-imagining the public library sector through an exciting project, Libraries Unlimited.

Ms Sonia Naznin has been awarded MPhil degree

Issue 21, Volume 03

Apu, Dhaka, 18 June 2018Ms Sonia Naznin has been awarded MPhil degree in Information Science and Library Management from the University of Dhaka. Her research topic is titled “Information for Social Innovation: An Evaluation of Government and NGOs Initiatives in Bangladesh.” The primary supervisor for this study was Professor Dr Md Shiful Islam.

Ms Naznin obtained both her B.A (Hons.) and M.A degree in Information Science and Library Management from the same University. Currently, she is working at Eastern University, Dhaka, as an Assistant Librarian and In Charge of the Library.

As a researcher, her research interest areas included digital library: software, systems, services, ICT, E-Resources, E-Learning, user behaviour, open access, information literacy, knowledge management, social and service innovation.

Prize and Certificate Award Session Held at Chattogram Divisional Government Public Library

Issue 21, Volume 03

Ahasan, Dhaka, 22 June 2018

 

Chattogram Divisional Government Public Library organised several competitions including Book reading, Easy Writing, Recitation, and Drawing on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, Birthday of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Intendance Day and National Day of Bangladesh, Bangla New Year, and 119th Birthday of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. To give award and certificate, they organised a Prize and Certificate Award Session on 11 June 2018 at Chattogram Divisional Government Public Library, Chattogram.

Mr Md. Habibur Rahman, Additional District Commissioner, Chattogram was the Chief Guest while Mr Abdul Alim, Associate Professor, Chattogram City College, Chattagram was the Special Guest. Mr Riaz Uddin, Principal Librarian Cum Deputy Director Chaired and presided over the event. Different age groups of several educational institutions continuing students took part of the mentioned event.  To form a bridge to the community and public library this kind of events are received appreciation to all.

Library Consortium of Bangladesh (LiCOB): What is happening?

Issue 21, Volume 03

   

Special Coordination meeting held at Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS)

To discuss the progress of current activities of the Library Consortium of Bangladesh (LiCOB), a meeting was held on 19 June 2018 in the Conference Room of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS), Agargaon, Dhaka. Seven library professionals and one from another field including Prof. Dr SM Zabed Ahmed, Librarian (Acting), University of Dhaka, Dr Abdullah Shams Bin Tariq, Department of Physics, Rajshahi University, Dr Md. Nazim Uddin, Sr. Manager, Library and Information Services Unit, International Center For Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dr Mirza Mohd. Rezaul Islam, Librarian, Islamic University of Technology(IUT), Dr Md. Anwarul Islam, Librarian, Sher e Bangla Agriculture University(SAU), Mr. Hossam Haider Chowdhury, Librarian, Independent University Bangladesh (IUB), Ms. Hazera Rahman, Librarian, BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology, Dr. Dilruba Mahbuba, Chief Librarian, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies(BIDS) were invited for the said meeting.  Bangladesh INASP-PERI consortium formally started in 2007 with 13 institutions. Now the regular member of this consortium is around 50, and they are accessing several journals, e-books and databases under the consortium.