LIRC@SFIT

Week 7 Thing 9: Evernote I am in the process of downloading Evernote..it is taking a bit more time for download since my Internet connection is slow and besides the file size is also 48.5 MB. More on this next time after I explore it! Yes..I have finally downloaded Evernote..and started using it too..made entries for the to-do list. Also downloaded the Web Clipper..yet to use it. - Chinmayee Bhange

Week 6 Thing 8: Google Calendar I have been using Google Calender off and on for the last 3+ years. I actually use it when I have to go on a vacation and still not forget my professional meetings. I am in the process of integrating the Google Calendar in my library blog to keep a record of all the library activities and events. _ Chinmayee Bhange

Week 5 Thing 6: Online Networks and Thing 7: Real-Life Networks "Social Networking"...the term keeps popping in every now and then! And that's the essence of it..we cannot   do away with socializing - be it apparent or virtual. Networking enriches your growth, if practiced in a meaningful manner. In the olden times, we networked ( is equal to socialized) with our family and friends at festivals and get-togethers. However, it assumed a new meaning with the onset of online networks. The inherent meaning remains unchanged, although new dimensions creep in! Having said that, let me become a bit more professional: LinkedIn: Yes, I am on LinkedIn. Facebook: I and my library - both are on FB. LISPN, LAT and CILIP: I am not a member of any of these groups but let me tell you about a few on this side of the World: LIS-Forum :  A first of its kind in my knowledge in the series of online networks! Since 1995 NMLIS (New Millennium LIS Professionals):  Since 1999. G...

Week 4 - CPD23 Thing 5: Reflective Practice [Image Courtesy: Microsoft Office Image] Took a long time for this Thing 5 on Reflective Practice. Well, I actually was honest and reflected eagerly on what I have learnt in the past 3 weeks. Being in the field of Information Science needs that we acquaint ourselves with the right information at the nick of time. As such, I am thankful to CPD23  for making available this wonderful learning tool. To start with, I already had a blog from April 2010, but being in CPD23, meant I kept our library blog updated to hook the potential information aspirants. And, let me confess, that is a tedious task. I am still working on it. Secondly, although I had my personal Facebook page, I recently created one for the library to keep them updated about the new arrivals or the newspaper clippings. Twitter is yet to be explored! The CPD23 impressed me a lot as it threw open an enormous list of blogs of my fellow librarians, most of which ...

Week 3 - CPD23 Thing 4: Current Awareness - Twitter, RSS and Storify I know I am a bit behind schedule but I am sure to catch up in the next week. As for the CPD23: Thing 4 on current awareness, as I had mentioned in my earlier post, I have maintained two separate accounts on Facebook – one is my personal and the other is SFIT Library. I am keener on keeping active my professional account – SFIT Library as it seems to be the order of the day. Unfortunately, I have been able to gather only 5 people. Just hope I will learn the marketing tactics through the CPD23 course as I proceed! Twitter : To be unpleasantly honest, I am a bit apprehensive about setting up a Twitter account and giving the usual updates about “every happening thing” around me. All the same, I know this is just one side of the coin and so I would set up a Twitter account for SFIT Library in the following days. RSS : I have been using Google FeedBurner on my library blog. Storify : Yet to learn ...

When Gajanan Deshmukh read about a unique meet for 100-year-old public libraries, he was determined to travel for more than 10 hours from Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district to Mumbai. Rare books at Dadar Sarvajanik Vachanalay . More than 40 representatives from 83 libraries in the state were felicitated by the Maharashtra Seva Sangh. Last week, Deshmukh made that long journey to the city to represent Lokmanya Taluka Vachanalay that was started by his great grandfather in 1887. More than 40 representatives from 83 public libraries of Maharashtra were felicitated by Maharashtra Seva Sangh, a cultural organisation, as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations. “The library is very close to my heart and the next step is to computerise the library so that rare books are preserved,” said Deshmukh, who retired as a school principal in 2001 and is now involved in library work. The oldest library was in Ratnagiri, set up in 1828 and libraries such as the Dadar Sarvajanik Vachanalay – ...

Week 2 - CPD23 Thing 3: Consider your personal brand Maintaining a consistent image – both personally and professionally reveals the nature of a person. Moreover, it makes more sense when you are in a service-oriented profession – like ours! People almost (always) refer to us as a Librarian and most of them do not even know our names. Thus branding becomes important in more than one ways. It is up to us to decide whether we would be like to be referred to as “Library Madam” (as they call it!) or “Chinmayee Bhange”. I feel I would not mind either, although I would be elated if they know me personally! For the Thing 3: Consider your personal brand, I am a bit thoughtful, since my online presence is linked with my library’s online presence and vice-versa. Both of them almost go together, except for the Facebook account (which I admit was linked to my personal account earlier). I am beginning to take it easy with my online presence as I feel; an overdose would maul the positive...