Can you share some glimpses of your background and journey towards librarianship?
I have been in the Library profession for 24 years.
(Lecturer in Library and Information Science: 01 year, College Librarian: 20+ years, Director, Knowledge Resource Centre/ University librarian: 3 Years)
Reading is one of my favorite habits. I came to know regarding the library profession and higher education in library science from one of my friends who was studying library science. So I decided to enter the Library Profession after my graduation.
What are your day-to-day responsibilities as a “librarian position”?
Planning and Management of the Library i.e. Acquisition/purchase/subscription of Print books/Journals and e-resources, Management of Classification and Cataloguing of books , E-resource access management including remote access, Plagiarism checking, Digitization of Ph.D. Theses and uploading to Shodhganga., Automation and modernization of Library, planning and organizing training programs for the Library users, Planning and implementing modern infrastructure for the library and overall Management of the University Library.
What were some of the major challenges you faced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic?
During the pandemic I was working as Director, Knowledge Resource Center, Gondwana University, Gadchiroli where I found difficulty in providing remote access/ off campus access to e-resources and print resources as that time the physical teaching learning process was stopped and the library users were not allowed to physically enter the library .
How have you been able to overcome or adjust to the challenges faced?
Implemented MyLOFT remote access tool in the Gondwana University first and then now in the University of Mumbai. During the covid pandemic the remote access facility helped all the academicians to access the e-content for the teaching learning and research process. It helped to increase the usage of e-resources subscribed by the university. With this remote access facility user can access the e-resources anywhere, any time.
What subject, topic, or issue has piqued your interest recently? What are you doing to further your learning as a librarian?
Modernization and renovation of the University Library is in process, Implementation of new technologies like remote access to e-resources, discovery services, Electronic Resource Management, Library Automation and digitization of Ph.D. Theses etc. are few recent areas of my interest.
I use to read books and journals, attend training programs to learn and understand new concepts.
What would you consider the most rewarding parts of your job?
Satisfying user (Students, Teachers and Researchers) needs with traditional and modern techniques and Implementing New Technologies for information storage, retrieval and dissemination are most rewarding parts of my job.
Tell us something more about yourself, what do you do in your spare time?
I spend my spare time with my family as well as reading books and traveling to various places.
If you could take a trip right now to visit any library in the world, which would it be and why?
I would like to visit Library of Congress USA (The de facto national library of the United States.) As LC is one of the oldest Libraries with a large collection. Its collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages.
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