On Friday, November 16, 2007, Mysore University Library and
Information Science Student Association (MULISSA) of the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Mysore, Mysore organised an interactive discussion programme, first of its kind in the university campus, with the students and faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication on an interesting topic "Information and Change". Dr. Niranjana, Reader and Chairperson, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication along with Dr. Mallinath Kumbar, Reader and Chairperson, Department of Library and Information Science moderated the discussion.
Dr. Niranjana in his introductory remarks appreciated the Department of Library and Information Science and MULISSA for taking this initiative which would foster the mutual relationships. He said that library science and journalism disciplines and their respective professions complement each other like hardware and software in a computer system.
The discussion was started with preamble laid by two students, one from each department. In their talk they narrated the role of information in their profession and the changes that both the professions are undergoing.
Dr. Niranjana's comment that "Libraries are no more required as the number of users have diminished drastically" triggered a spirited discussion. One student from Journalism trying to reason out the comment said that when the information is easily available on Internet, libraries would become redundant. Moreover the lack of service and good quality collection in the libraries add to the problem, he said. Library Science students, found little offended by the comments, said that librarians alone can not be blamed for the situation. Moreover, the concept of libraries is changing from "four wall libraries" to "Wall less libraries". One student rationally argued, by citing the 10 reasons given by American Library Association, why Internet can't substitute a library. Dr. Mallinath Kumbar, who spoke in the mid of the discussion, said that libraries are under the tremendous influence of information and communication technologies. They have seen a paradigm shift in their approach to serve the users. While speaking on their turn, the library science students explained the changes in the profession by discussinginteresting issues like "Content Vs. Container", "Access Vs Ownership", "Myths of digital libraries", "Knowledge commission and libraries" etc.
Participants from Journalism also talked about media's role in acting as a catalyst to propel the change and impact on change in information society and emergence of e-papers.
Dr. Niranjana concluded the discussion by stating that both media and libraries work on the principle of dissemination of information to the society, Both together play an important role in shaping the society.
Dr. M. Chandrashekara and Dr. N.S. Harinarayana also participated in the discussion.
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