In your world of books
A librarian’s job goes beyond just issuing books.
Books
are a colossal gateway that leads you to a world full of imagination, ideas and
inspiration. It is books that make you curious, wander and wonder. Imagine if
you were the royal guardian of these books. Does that excite you? Well, if you
love reading books, then being a librarian is a career option for you and that
too a fruitful one.
Ask
anyone what a librarian does, and the answer will be: The librarian issues
books, ensures their return and keeps tracks of due dates. Well, that’s just
one aspect of what a librarian does.
Who can take it up?
The
minimum qualification required to take up a course in Library Science is
graduation, that is BLIS (Bachelor of Library and Information Science).
The
duration of the course is one year after which you can go on to do a master’s
degree. Being a librarian sounds easy, but it entails more than just keeping
books or dusting them off. One needs to have a basic interest in books and good
communication skills.
A
librarian should be able to anticipate the reader’s needs. Following up on the
trends relating to publishing, books, children’s reading pattern is an integral
part of being a librarian.
Librarians
are keepers of information. Hence, a huge bank of information will have to be
maintained, organised, acquired and disseminated.
It is
a slow but steady process, as you go from being a library assistant to a junior
librarian to assistant librarian and eventually a director and head the
library. Employment opportunities are available in foreign embassies,
information centres, news agencies, universities and academic institutions,
private organisations and special libraries.
Vani
Mahesh, founder of Easy Lib, Bangalore, believes that you can be a librarian
only if you are passionate about books. “It is something you’re going to be
doing everyday,” she says. “You have to possess a natural love for books. You
could be making or breaking into a child’s reading habits.”
Mahesh
is of the opinion that India needs more libraries, and definitely more
librarians. “Take a book shop for example.
Most
of these bookshop keepers don’t even know the kinds of books they have, which
is why I think we need more librarians.” The city is warming up to the idea of
developing the skills of a librarian.
The
Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan in collaboration with Hippocampus conducted
a Librarian Training Workshop in February in which teachers from over 20
schools participated.
The
trainers, Eva Von Jordan and Julia Willhem, who were from the Frankfurt Public
Library, Germany, taught the different aspects of librarianship.
T.
Vijayalakshmi, head of the library and cultural centre, British Council
believes that inspite of advancement in technologies, libraries are
indispensable.
“They
are powerhouses of knowledge in a format which is easily accessible to people,”
she says.
“If
libraries are crucial to house and disseminate knowledge, then librarians are
necessary to provide the right guidance on their appropriate use. They will be
able to direct a person to the right resource.”
Source
| The Hindu | 2 April 2013
Regards
Sucheta Chandanshive,
Librarian, KVSC, Pune
