Author: Editor TLT

28 July 2018

Monirul Islam

Librarian, Army Medical College Chittagong

Chittagong Cantonment

Nurul Islam Mahfuz, Deputy Director (LID, IIUC) & Faculty Member (LIS, IIUC) and Md. Monirul Islam, Librarian of Army Medical College Chittagong are going to attend the 3rd International Conference of Asian Libraries on Building smart libraries: changes, challenges, issues, & strategies.

The said conference is jointly organised by Central University of Kashmir (CUK), Kashmir, Asian Library Association (ASIALA), New Delhi and International Federation of Library Association (IFLA) taking place at CUK, Srinagar, Kashmir during August 6-8, 2018.

The research paper titled ‘Automation system at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) Library in Bangladesh: A status report’ authored by Nurul Islam Mahfuz and Md. Monirul Islam was accepted to publish in the conference journal earlier and authors are invited to give an oral presentation in a session on the paper.

Prodip Roy, Editor, TLT, 28 July 2018

Firstly, I am starting my writing with an excellent news in the Library and Information sector in Bangladesh. The Librarian and Assistant Librarian posts have been created in Dakhil, Alim, Fazil and Kamil Madrasas. It is undoubtedly good news for Bangladeshi library profession. When the process of recruitment of Librarian and Assistant Librarian to MPO affiliated madrasas will start public relations will be increased in the profession.

I personally applaud to the former and current leaders of the Library Association Bangladesh (LAB) and Bangladesh Association of Librarians, Information Scientists and Documentalists (BALID), including all public and private officials involved in this initiative. Madrasas are widespread educational institutions located all over Bangladesh. They are involved with educating children in rural and urban areas.

Madrasa Education Board was formed in 1978 under the Ordinance for the Modernization of Madrasa Education. According to the Madrasah Education Department, the total number of madrasas in the country is 9, 137. The Private Educational Institutions (Madrasa) Manpower Structure and MPO Policy-2018 was released on 19 July 2018. This announcement will create and open a significant job opportunity in Bangladesh as well as establishing an excellent scope for the library and information science sector.

But there are some inconsistencies in this announcement in compare to other positions, which require reforms.

Back history:  

24 October 1995:

Notification issued of Private Educational Institutions (Madrasa) Govt. Salary Part and Manpower Structure Policy-1995. Assistant Librarian positions were created in this announcement and the required qualification for this recruitment was a Graduate degree in any discipline with a Diploma in Library Science.

25 October 2011:

The Ministry of Education issued a circular on October 25, 2011, for the appointment of Assistant Librarian in Dakhil and Alim Madrasa similar to Secondary and Higher Secondary. It was said in the serial number of the Circular (d) “Submitted as Secondary / Higher Secondary and Assistant Librarian included in Alim Madrasa”. As a result, recruitment of assistant librarian in Dakhil and Alim Madras started.

15 April 2012:

On April 15, 2012, a circular was issued and Dakhil and Alim Madrasas stopped the recruitment of assistant librarian posts. It was said that these positions cannot be recruited until the educational qualification, the fixation of the salary structure and the appointment policy are made properly.

19 July 2018:

Notification issued of Private Educational Institutions (Madrasa) Manpower Structure and MPO Policy-2018. In this policy, Librarian and Assistant Librarian positions have been reformed for Dakhil, Alim, Fazil and Kamil Madrasas. However, the educational qualifications for these requirements have been kept different.

The new eligibilities for Librarian:

Private Educational Institutions (Madrasa) Manpower Structure and MPO Policy-2018, the new eligibilities for Librarian positions are,

a) Degree in Kamil under Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board/Islamic University/Islamic Arabic University and

b) Diploma degree in Library Science

or

a) Graduate and a Post-graduate degree in Arabic and

b) Diploma degree in Library Science

The new eligibilities for Assistant Librarian:

The new eligibilities for Assistant Librarian positions are

a) Degree in Fazil under Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board/Islamic University/Islamic Arabic University and

b) Diploma degree in Library Science

or

a) Graduate degree in Arabic literature with and

b) Diploma degree in Library Science.  

That means, after completing a Graduation and Master degree in other discipline and with a Diploma degree in Information Science and Library Management or evening Master degree holders in Information Science and Library Management and Honors and Master degree holders in Information Science and Library Management none is eligible to apply to the madrasas for Librarian and Assistant Librarian position. They will not be eligible for appointed for these positions which are unfair and discriminate policy.

The announcement will hamper the current flow and development of LIS profession:  

Librarian and Assistant Librarian recruitment of the Private Educational Institutions (Madrasa) Manpower Structure and MPO Policy-2018 is clear discrimination between the madrasa and general education system and this discrimination cannot be accepted in any way in the librarian profession. The government has a mandate in establishing Digital Bangladesh and the LIS professionals are playing a significant role to support in the process. Very recently I came to know through a social media status that many graduates from other prestigious universities i.e. Dhaka University Business Faculty students have enrolled in Information Science and Library Management to study the subject due to the current importance and job prospects. This notice will be hindering the current flow and development of the LIS profession in the country.

Library and Information Science is a Unique and Universal Profession: 

Under the current curriculums of LIS education, a Graduate or Post-graduate or Diploma student in Library and Information Science are considered and eligible for working in any National, Academic, Public and Special Libraries. A student in Library and Information Science is being trained to work with any kind of libraries. Arabic is a language similar to other different languages in the world. The librarians are being developed in such a way that they can meet special needs in the specialized institution. The language is not a significant issue to get recruitment in madrasa as a librarian or assistant librarian. The technical terms in the LIS profession i.e. LCSH, MARC21, AACR2, RDA can be managed in Arabic/Urdu or whatever language collections are in the madrasa libraries.

Madrasa students are receiving equal opportunity:

The Education Policy 2010 seeks to bring all students of the country, irrespective of their religions, genders, physical limitations, socioeconomic and geographic locations, under one system. In a policy statement, the Government had taken specific policies to modernize the madrasa education system. And the recruitment of Librarian and Assistant Librarian are the part of the madrasa modernization policy similar to other compulsory subjects (i.e. Introduction to Environmental Studies), Information Technology, and Science.  As a result madrasa students are receiving equal opportunity to apply in accordance with the country’s traditional education system and job structure. The authority should follow the same rules for all ordinary students.

The process of recruitment of Librarian and Assistant Librarian in Dakhil, Alim, Fazil and Kamil Madrasas should be stopped until a fair and undiscriminating notice is issued by the authority. This announcement, particularly for Librarian and Assistant Librarian eligibility sections, should be re-considered before starting the appointment activity. Otherwise, other new crises will occur in the education systems.

The library professionals are seeking a quick settlement of this discrimination and injustice for the development of madrasas education systems and establishing equal opportunities for all citizens in the country.

Prodip Roy

RMIT University, Australia

email: [email protected]

Ahasan, Dhaka, 21 July 2018

The World Bank team on the 4th day of 17th Implementation Support Mission held a meeting with the officials and representatives of the beneficiary institutes of the UGC Digital Library (UDL) at UGC auditorium on Sunday 15 July 2018.

The library professionals from public and private universities, International and Research organisations attended the meeting and opined their views. Since the World Bank project is going to be ended soon, the subscribers have to pay the full amount for the membership instead of twenty percent payment. How the professionals will approach this fact with the respective authority, implementation effect, trail resources subscriptions and statistical facts and figures were discussed.

Up to June 2018 University Digital Library (UDL) provides 31000 e-books, 3100 e-journals, 10000 conference proceedings by 13 different publishers. At present there are ninety Bangladeshi organisations are subscribing to the UDL resources including 34 Public Universities, 51 Private Universities, 01 International University, 02 Research organisations and 02 training institutes.

Professor Dr Mohammad Yousuf Ali Mollah, Member, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC), delivered an introductory speech at the meeting with Professor Dr Md. Akhtar Hossain, Member of UGC, in the chair. Jaminur Rahman, Senior Program Officer of UDL, presented the progress report of UDL at the meeting. Dr Gauranga Chandra Mohanta ndc, the Project Director of HEQEP and other officials and consultants of HEQEP were also present at the meeting.

As the World Bank e-resources project for UDL is closing soon: What is next?

Syeda Mukta Begum, Dhaka, 22 July 2018

Ms Shaharima Parvin, Assistant Librarian, East-West University attended the 9th International Conference on Social Media & Society. This conference is an annual gathering of leading social media researchers from around the world. The conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark from July 18 to 20, 2018.

The said conference was organised by the Social Media Lab at Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University and hosted by the Centre for Business Data Analytics at the Copenhagen Business School. The conference provides participants with opportunities to exchange ideas, present original research, learn about recent and ongoing studies, and network with peers.

Ms Shahrima presented a poster entitled “Government activities on Facebook: A Content Analysis of Selected Government Ministries’ Facebook Pages in Bangladesh”. The conference was focused on the best practices for studying the impact and implications of social media on society.

Here it is mentioned that earlier Ms Shaharima Parvin was selected as a fellow of the Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program for 2016.

Congratulations to Ms Shahrima Parvin on her continuous achievement and successes.

Ahasan, Dhaka, 21 July 2018

Cox’s Bazar District Government Public Library organised several competitions including book reading, easy writing, recitation, and drawing on the occasion of the Independence Day and National Day of Bangladesh, Bangla New Year, and the 119^th birth anniversary of the National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. To give awards and certificates, the library organised a prize and certificate award session on Sunday 15 July 2018 at District Government Public Library, New Circuit House Road, Cox’s Bazar.

Mr Md. Kamal Hossain, District Commissioner Cox’s Bazar was present in the event as the chief guest while Muhammad Ashraf Hussain, Additional District Commissioner (Education and ICT) Cox’s Bazar presided over the event.

Mr Md. Kamal Hossain, District Commissioner Cox’s Bazar, emphasised on book reading, cultural activities and its importance in his speech.

Mr Rishikesh Paul, Librarian, Cox’s Bazar, District Government Public Library initiated to organise the event. He delivered a welcome speech on the occasion. The continuing students from different age groups of several educational institutions took part in the mentioned program.

Ahasan, Dhaka, 21 July 2018

The Post Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Science orientation program was held on Wednesday, 18 July 2018 at Institute of Library and Information Science, Nilkhet High School, Nilkhet, Dhaka. Dr Jalal Ahmed, Director (In Charge), Division of Sale, Marketing and Reprinting, Bangla Academy and Member Adhoc Committee, ILIS, Dhaka, was present in the event as the Chief Guest while Mr Kazi Abdul Majed, Principal, ILIS chaired the session.

Three hundred and fifty-Seven students have enrolled for the session 2018-2019. This institute is being affiliated by the National University, Bangladesh. At present there are 26 Institutions are conducting this course under the National University, Bangladesh.

In the said event, Professor Dr Nasiruddin Munshi, Department of Information Science and Library Management, University of Dhaka; Mr Shakawat Hussain Bhuiyan, Deputy Librarian, University of Dhaka; Mr Bepin Behary Karmaker, Principal Librarian, BIRDEM; Mr Hamidur Rahaman Tushar, Assistant Director, Department of Public Library; Ms Anita Helen, Lecturer, National University were present among others. The Diploma Program is twice semester system in a year. The faculty and staff members of the Institute and other invited guests were present to make the event successful.

Mr Hossen graduated with B.S.S (Hons.) and M.S.S degree in Information Science & Library Management from University of Rajshahi.

He is a life member of the Library Association of Bangladesh (LAB).

Congratulations Mr Alamgir, you’ve just been promoted!

Md. Habibur Rahman

University Librarian, CVASU

Chattagram, 21 July 2018

A daylong Workshop on “Information searching for knowledge discovery: strategies and techniques” was held at the Administrative Building conference room of Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) on 17 July 2018.

Professor Dr Goutam Buddha Das, Vice-Chancellor, CVASU was present as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the workshop.

Md Habibur Rahman, University Librarian, CVASU presided over the ceremony while Professor Dr Md Rayhan Faruque, Dean, Faculty of Food Science and Technology; Professor MA Halim, Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine were present as the special guests.

Professor Dr S. M. Zabed Ahmed, Department of Information Science and Library Management, University of Dhaka was the key resource person at the workshop. The workshop was focused on how to search scholarly articles using different search engines within the quickest possible time. Dr Zabed discussed on types of searching, formulation of search strategy, search techniques, Boolean logic, parenthesis, use of truncation and wildcards with practical examples. He also discussed the importance of Open Access publishing, publishing process of Open Access journals. He shared the idea of predatory journals, its characteristics, and demerits of publishing articles into predatory journals and how to avoid predatory journals.

The faculty members of CVASU, who participated in the workshop enthusiastically enjoyed the session on the topics and appreciated. The participants expressed that such type of workshops should be arranged frequently by the central library.

The Sub-Project Manager (SPM) & University Librarian Mr Md. Habibur Rahman assured that CVASU central library will keep continuing its activities including arranging the similar workshop in the near future.

The workshop was organised by HEQEP sub-project CP 2184: Modernization of central library and Establishment of an E-resource Centre of CVASU and financed by the World Bank.

Ratan K Das, Dhaka, 22 July 2018

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the founding father of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. He is the noblest and the greatest Bangalese in a thousand years. He was born on 17 March 1920 in Tungipara Upazila of Gopalganj. He dedicated his life for the welfare of this nation. He was the first president of Bangladesh. He was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1971 until his assassination on 15 August in 1975. Since then August is the blackest month of our national life.

It is the most disgraceful tragedy in the history of Bangladesh. The nation observes this month as national Mourning Month. Each year the Government and different organisations chalked out nationwide programs to monitor the month at the state level. Among others, two publishing houses, Srabon Prokashoni and Boinews, will organise a book fair titled ‘Bangabandhu Mobile Book Fair’ as part of the month-long programs.

The fair will begin in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munsiganj, Gazipur, and Manikganj on 1 August. Several book-laden pickup vans will stay on the premises of educational institutions including schools, colleges, and universities of Dhaka and adjoining districts. The event will be ended on 31 August.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a first-class writer. Inspired by his wife, he started writing autobiography during his time in jail. He wrote ‘Oshomapto Attojiboni’ (The Unfinished Memoirs). His second memoir is ‘Karagarer Rojnamcha’ (Prison Diary). These two books will be displayed and sold in the coming book fair along with the 100 best books on Bangabandhu by distinguished writers. Any reader can buy these books from the fair with a 25 percent discount.

Courtesy: BSS

Ahasan, Dhaka, 22 July 2018

A six-day long training program on Library Automation and Digitisation held at Bangladesh National Bureau of Educational and Statistics(BANBEIS), Dhaka from 15 July 2018 to 22 July 2018, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm  (except Friday).

Participants learned hands-on training on Integrated Library Management System “Koha” which includes data entry, editing, patron management, searching, installation etc. The central server will be maintained by BANBEIS where different college libraries/Institutions will be able to stretch input to the server. Initially, twelve colleges and twenty-four participants attended the said training program.  Participatory institutions and training participants are MS. Shahnaz Parvin, Program Officer and Mr Md. Nazmul Hasan Rajib, Office Assistant Cum Typist, Bangladesh National UNESCO Commission, Ms Mahmuda Akter, Librarian, Ministry of Education, Ms Kanij Mouluda Akter, Librarian, Mr Parimal Sarker, Assistant Librarian Dhaka College, Ms Jahanara Begum, Librarian, and. Mahmuda Khatun, Assistant Librarian, Government Eden College, Dhaka, Mr Md. Rabiul Alam, Librarian, Dhaka Mohammadpur Central University College, Mr Rafiqual Islam, Assistant Librarian, Rajuk Uttara Model College, Ms Tahhida Hossain, Librarian, Mirpur College, Dhaka, Ms Anjuman Ara Shimul, Librarian, and Mr Md. Asadul Haq, Assistant Librarian, Teachers Training College, Dhaka, Ms Fatema Akter, Donia College, Dhaka, Mr Md. Abdul Kader, Librarian, Dhaka Imperial College, Mr Md. Shamsul Alam, Librarian, Adamjee Cantonment College, Dhaka Mr Nurul Islam, Librarian, Gazipur Cantonment College, Gazipur, Mr Md. Rafiqul Islam, Documentation Officer and Ms Maksuda Khatun, Library Assistant, National Academy for Education Management(NAEM), Ministry of Education, Mr Md. Abdul Jalil, Cataloguer, Mahera Shahnaj, Library Assistant, Mr Md. Rafiqual Alam, Office Assistant cum Computer Assistant, Mr Md. Asab Uddin, Compiler, and Mr Md. Rabiul Islam, Library Helper, BANBEIS.

An inaugural ceremony was held on 15 July 2018 at BANBEIS Auditorium for this event. Dr Aruna Biswas, Additional Secretary (Admin and Finance), Secondary and Higher Secondary Division, Ministry of Education was the chief guest while Mr Md. Fashiullah, Director General presided over the session.