Library and Information Services to the Research Fellows by Dr. Ambedkar International Centre (DAIC) Library A Study of Library Services

Manoj Kumar^1* and Neha Gupta^{2 *}Correspondence: Manoj Kumar, Department of Library and Information Science, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India, Tel: +91-8130789237, Email:

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Introduction

Collections that allow ideas, knowledge, and experiences can be finding at libraries which we passed down from one generation to the second generation and so on. Libraries develop collections which meets to the requirements and objectives of the field or organisations they support. Academic libraries, for instance, create collections for learners, educators, and researchers. The library has arranged this material in a systematic way so that reader can use it for his purpose.

In ancient time, libraries were solely seen as stores of information, with the librarian serving as the collection's keeper. The libraries were meant to be used independently by patrons. Instead of promoting the usage of the library, librarians focused more on collecting new books and information and then its maintenance.

Nowadays barriers are totally different. These are regarded as institutes of learning and assistance. In this situation, librarians not only improving their collection but also providing a
huge variety of services to support their interests, learning, and other work related tasks to their users. Reference and information services are a broad category that includes the assistance and services offered by librarians. These services help user to access the library resources, encourage the usage of library materials, and fulfill their informational needs.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar International library is a kind of unique and special in its collection. The main objective of this library is to create new knowledge through its scholars [1]. This library is focused on the acquiring and gathering of rich resources and information and the same time to disseminate or providing such rich knowledge and resources among the scholars.

This paper attempts to present comprehensive and up to date information on the services provided by the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre (DAIC) Library. It also tries to describe how this library helping to its research scholar through collecting and disseminating knowledge and resources as this library is very new and is still under development.

Literature Review

Devendra Kumar, et al., says that since sorting is not very effective, the conceptual and distinctive changes in research require assistance from the library or information centers. Therefore, if taken into consideration, the following ideas may assist give the library's current state a face lift. The provision of library services is extremely necessary to meet the demands of the nation and realise development objectives. The library undoubtedly raises the standard of living and promotes the diverse scientific and cultural legacy of the nation. It also serves as an intellectual stimulus for socio-economic development and for acquiring knowledge, education, and recreation. To boost the response rate for any user survey and to put the opinions that come out of the survey, the parent organization's management is urged to promote user surveys at regular intervals. Services like abstracting, indexing, bibliographical, CAS, SDI, translation, etc. should be offered in the library.

The study of Mohammad Reza Nooshi, et al., examined the opinions of library users regarding the impact of library promotion strategies on the use of library services and resources. The results show that "guiding and reacting clients" have the biggest influence on how much of the library's resources and services are used by the reader. As a result, while being familiar with the services and being encouraged to use them, we may understand the value of the human relationship between the librarian and the users. Therefore, it would be important to hire library staff with good communication capabilities.

As per Daulat Jotwan, libraries serve as models for organisations with excellent infrastructure, effective services, and attention to customer needs. These libraries offer their patrons access to a sizable amount of electronic resources in engineering, sciences, and technology in addition to maintaining good print collections. The teachers, research scholars, and students have benefited from these tools as they pursue their academic and research goals. Users greatly esteem these libraries for their assistance in advancing academic and research goals through user centered services, highly competent staff, and accessible collections. However, in order to advance or modernise so that they can maintain their iconic status, these libraries need to invest more resources [2].

Purpose of the study

The main objectives of this study are:

• To show the requirements and importance of library services to the research scholars,
• To discuss the facilities and services of the DAIC library,
• To study the research activities related to the marginalized section of society.

Methodology

The study of this paper adopted quantitative and qualitative research methods as tools for data collection from the DAIC. A very sophisticated questionnaire was used to collect the data which was taken directly from this library. The data analysis shows that the center is conducting huge research related to the various fields like economics, social science, marginalized sections of society, political science, Ambedkar, ecology, etc., and also the library is housing a good collection and is the key features which make it different from other libraries situated around it.

Discussion

About library services

Libraries offer a variety of services that are together referred to as Reference and Information Services in order to satisfy the information demands of their patrons.

Reference services provide direct, one on one support to users who are looking for information. It includes both direct services like how to use the library and its tools, help in searching and locating documents, ready reference and long range reference service, literature search and compilation of bibliography, etc., and indirect services like selection, organisation, and maintenance of library material for reference service, as well as other tasks of the reference section like keeping track of reference queries, prepare work, and so on.

Information services are offered in advance of the diverse demands of library users. Information services include Current Awareness Services (CAS), indexing and abstracting services, etc. These services are only offered in response to user requests.

The terms information service and reference service are interchangeable in literature. According to several professionals, there are two distinct types of services (Table 1).

Table 1: Reference services vs. information services.

We can also divide reference and information services generally into anticipatory and responsive information services. Users of libraries can request for the responsive information service, also referred to as passive information services. Information services that are offered in advance of user needs are often referred to as active information services.

About the DAIC library

Dr. Ambedkar international center is situated on the second floor in the heart of Delhi with a great aesthetics. The world class ambience makes this place living where every reader can feel special. It has a huge reading area, a digital library with well-equipped desktop computers to access an online library with almost millions of electronic resources. The library contains a separate reading area and a section developed especially for the study of the research scholar.

Additionally, a computer center is available for undertaking research. The purpose of the DAIC library is to serve as a portal to the world of knowledge in the chosen field by collaborating with esteemed domestic and international libraries [3]. The main feature of this library is below:

• It is noise free, cool, and peaceful in every part of the library,
• Huge space for deposit readers personal belonging at the property counter,
• Well-furnished air conditioned reference library,
• Well setup computer work station for pdf scholars for reference and study,
• Subscribing daily national newspapers, journals and magazines in Hindi and English,
• Membership of DELNET, and World E-book library services to access about 40 lakhsof books and other materials,
• World e-book library recourses subscription,
• Around 8300 collection of books,
• World constitutions (100),
• Braille books (238),

Sections of DAIC library

Property counter: The library has a huge capacity for keeping personal possessions for its readers and visitors.

Circulation section: Circulation is a very important section of every library which provides services like book lending services, display of new arrival, promotional works, and inters library loan services etc. to its reader. The membership enrolment can also be done from here. This section has references and also has a general collection of books.

Acquisition section: The acquisition section of Dr. Ambedkar international center library focuses on the rich collection of books and non-book materials which includes social science and humanities. The collection development is based on ongoing assessments of the information needs of library users, and analysis of statistics, and is normally affected by budgetary limitations. The collection development process includes; the formulation of selection criteria, planning for resource sharing, planning for new collections or collection areas, routine selection and de-selection decisions, etc.

Collection development policy, which specifies priorities and streamlines decision making in the selection of books and other documents, serves as the framework for these activities [4]. The following list includes the operations of the acquisition section:

• Receive books as per approval,
• Books are arranged in the meeting space of the collection development committeeaccording to the theme,
• Take approval of recommended books from the main authority,
• Giving order of approved books,
• Receiving the approved books,
• Processing of invoices,
• Accessioning then stamping accession numbers on books,
• Finally send books to the technical processing section for accessioning.

Technical processing: This section is crucial to the operation of the library. The acquisition of papers and circulation are connected by this bridge. The below listed work is provided by the technical processing section:

• Classification of books following DDC 23^rd edition,
• Cataloguing of books as per AACR-II,
• Preparing subject headings lists according to the Library of Congress Subject Heading(LCSH),
• Addition of bibliographic records in Koha software,
• Generating Bar-Code using Koha software,
• In the last, putting all the books in different sections as per their location,

Reference section: The resources of the reference section contain a sound reference collection for quick retrieval of information through encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, yearbooks, biographical sources, statistical documents, multi volumes sets on different topics, atlases, bibliographical sources, etc. in different spheres of knowledge.

Serial section: The serial section acquires periodicals in the field of humanities and social sciences including popular magazines and a large number of daily newspapers in English and Hindi languages. DAIC currently subscribes to 14 newspapers in English and Hindi newspapers, and 04 magazines in English and Hindi languages. Serial Section also receives magazines and journals on gratis from different ministries, departments and other organizations from time to time.

Reprography section: In every library a reprography section is situated. PDFs and DFS may get photocopies of documents on a payment basis.

Reading room: The well-furnished air conditioned reading room is a dedicated space in a library, or similar institution of learning, set aside for reading. The reading room is where you can browse the library's general holdings of books, journals, and newspapers.

Documentation section: The documentation section has documents and files of Dr. Ambedkar foundation, Dr. Ambedkar international center documents, and library related documents.

Computer section: Technical assistance for the library is provided by the DAIC technical section. This area assists with the organisation of information, storage, maintenance, access, retrieval, and information transfer. The responsibilities of the technical section are; hardware and software selection, purchasing of hardware and software for the library, installations of hardware/Software, tasks including network participation, providing internet, the development and maintenance of a library website portal, resources digitization, creation and maintenance of database belongs to the library collection, and other jobs related to the library section [5].

Dr. Ambedkar International Centre (DAIC) Academics: This is the main part of this center which mainly focuses on the research activities related to the goal related to social justice and empowerment. We can categories its activities in the following headings:

Conferences and seminars: DAIC conduct conferences and seminars in a fix time interval which is very helpful for its scholars.

Lecture series: The center conducted numerous world class lectures and various programs were expended on these academic programs.

• Friday lecture series: Friday lecture series were organized on various issuesthroughout the year. Eminent speakers from across the country participated in it.
• Dr. Ambedkar lecture series: Dr. Ambedkar was a multifaceted genius of India. Asthe of paying gratitude for his contributions to the nation and to disseminating theknowledge related to his sacrifices, DAIC organized this lecture series with eminentscholars on Dr. Ambedkar.
• The constitution of India: As part of the project to bring out various less knownfeatures of the constitution of India, DAIC organized this series with known experts onthe constitution of India.
• Lecture Series for and by the scholars: DAIC encourages its scholars to impart theledge among them. In this connection, the post-doctoral scholars of DAIC deliveredlectures as per their expertise throughout the year. All doctoral and post-doctoralscholars were asked to join the series. This series not only proved valuable for scholarsbut also created a platform for personality development and furnishing presentationskill.

Projects: The academics section of DAIC is initiated various projects and successfully completed projects on the following themes:

• Calligraphy and Illustrations in the constitution of India.
• Disseminating knowledge and awareness on Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

Policy feed: This is one of the most important parts of the research activity of DAIC and with the help of short term research and analysis by the research section, DAIC created and submitted the following policy feed:

• Backyard industries development,
• Dalit entrepreneurship,
• Water ATM policy,
• Dr. Ambedkar Mohalla schools,

Publications by DAIC: Dr. Ambedkar international center has its own publication platform through which it published its magazines and papers on different themes and topics. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Samajik Nyay Sandesh, is a magazine with full of knowledge related to deprived ormarginalised sections of society,
• Book on Nationalism in the constitution of India,
• “Living conditions, learning status and educational performance of tribal students' in R.R.Patil (Ed.) tribal development in India: Challenges and prospects in tribal education,By Dr. Dhaneswar Bhoi”.
• “Social diversity, inequality, academic competence and struggle for equity in highereducation: An attempt to heard voices of dalits torment in South Asia’, In D. Parimala(Eds.) higher education in South Asia: Challenges and possibilities, By Dr. DhaneswarBhoi".

Scheme of ministry of social justice and empowerment for the research: Dr Ambedkar foundation is running Dr. Ambedkar post-doctoral and doctoral fellowship scheme. This is generally awarded to the student who are doing their research in the field of social justice, Dalit community, Dalit literature, socio-economics of marginalised sections of the society, women empowerment, tribal society, political science, economics, law, and social science, etc. (Tables 2 and 3). The year wise beneficiaries of the scheme are as follows:

Table 2: Financial year 2020-21.

Table 3: Financial year 2021-22.

PDF and DF and the role of their contributions: As above said that this fellowship generally given to the student who are doing their research in the field of social justice, Dalit community, Dalit literature, socio-economic uplifting of marginalised section of the society, women empowerment, tribal society, marginalised and weaker section of the society, programmes and schemes of government, etc., which shows that through this scheme we get in depth research data which is very crucial for government to understand the issues of a particular mass so that government can frame programmes and also improve it for betterment (Table 4).

Table 4: Area of the research vs. No of DF scholars

Findings and Analysis

• Subject wise analysis of Doctoral Fellows (DF scholars): Figure 1 shows that there isa broad area of research of doctorate scholars which covers subjects like society,economics, religion, literature, women empowerment, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Dalits,education, etc. As per Figure 1, we can say that the most likeable fields for research byscholars are society, economics Dr B. R. Ambedkar, women empowerment, politics,religion etc. The most important thing the data shows is that most of the researchscholars have interdisciplinary areas of research [6].

• Subject wise analysis of Post-Doctoral Fellows (PDF scholars): As per Figure 2, thebroad area of research by the Post-doctoral scholars are society, economics, law,women empowerment, education, tribes, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, and govt. schemes, etc. which draw conclusion that the majority of scholar are doing their work on topics likesociety, economics, women empowerment, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, etc., which isaccording to the objectives of the fellowship (Table 5).

Figure-1: Broad area of research of doctorate scholars which covers subjects like society, economics, religion, literature, women empowerment, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Dalits, education, etc.

Figure-2: PDF scholar

Table 5: Assistance to the PDF and DF by the DAIC library.

Assistance with using the library and its resources

Users who are inexperienced with the library are given assistance in using the collection and library resources, including OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogues), reference materials, etc. The user, who is visiting the library for the first time, is looking for this information. These readers require pointers on how to utilise library resources. The basic layout of the library, the locations of the racks where newspapers and magazines are displayed, the positions of textbooks and reference volumes, the presence of a card catalogue or computerized terminal for accessing the library collection, etc., are all things users should be aware of personal support is offered in a variety of ways to these consumers. Among the ways to help them is by giving them a brief tour of the library, which will also include:

• The section of stacks where paperwork is neatly sorted, with bay and shelf guides forperusing books and choosing any needed item. A common example has been used toillustrate how books are organised and placed
• To regular and periodical reading rooms, which are part of the libraries
• The counter at the library where books are checked out and returned for home reading
• The use of the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) is briefly illustrated through asearch for a book and document by its author, title, or subject
• The areas for acquisition and processing, which are often off limits to users
• The librarian's office, where users can visit for guidance, consultation, or any other reason

A guide/ booklet of the library which deals with its collection, facilities for use, and services offered are also given to users for consultation. To familiarize the students with the library and its services, the academic libraries, normally offer regular “user orientation” or “user education” programmes for the new entrants in each academic session.

Importance of DAIC library and role in the field of research: This is an excellence center for study, research, analysis, and policy making in the area of socio-economic transformation. The primary objective of this center is to lessen socio-economic inequality through thorough and reliable research.

Resources of DAIC, types of resources, medium of outreach: The reference and information services that libraries provide differ from one library to another based on the type of its collection, and the number of staff members. However, regardless of their staff and collection, all types of libraries provide the following basic or fundamental services: circulation services, reservation of books and documents, inter library loan facilities, support for using the library and its services, reference services, reader advisory service and, library orientation service.

Circulation service: This service entails the temporary books and other library materials lent to the library's registered users. The circulation service is another name for the offering. For this reason, each library has its own procedure for issuing books to patrons and collecting them when they return them. This service is provided by all libraries, including academic, public, and special libraries. However, the policies governing the circulation service can vary from one library to another. In some libraries, problems and book returns are handled by hand. This service is automated in some libraries.

Reservation of documents: One of the main services offered by the library is document reservation. If the book a user needs is not in stock or has already been issued to someone else, the library will place a reservation for it in their name when they utilize this service. The library tells the user in whose name a book was reserved when it is returned by a borrower. The user can utilize this to ask for a certain book to be supplied for use.

Inter library loan: Academic, public, and specialty libraries all develop collections to meet the demands of their patrons and to advance the goals of the parent organisation to which they are affiliated. However, not even the biggest library could afford to have a large enough collection to meet every user's needs. Sometimes a user required a document that may not be library holding in their own library but is available in another library. Libraries generally have a reciprocal sharing agreement with other libraries because of this. The user is then given the required document after it has been inter library loan from another library in compliance with this arrangement.

Reference service: In answer to the user's request, a reference service is a personalised service that is delivered. A response to a fact finding question, a literature searches to address a research issue, the creation of a bibliography, or general assistance may all be sought. Dr. S. Ranganathan defines reference service as “personal service to each reader in helping him to find documents, answering his interests most pin pointedly, exhaustively and expeditiously.” It is also he says, “To provide the right book to the right reader, in the right personal way.” The library has a broad selection of encyclopaedia and handbooks. In the reading area, reference staff is also on hand to make recommendations for informational sources and offer guidance in accessing the needed materials. In order to deliver the service, the librarian may make use of both inside and outside the library resources. The librarian may provide information directly or the documents holding the information, depending on the user's needs. Basic offerings in this area include:

Ready reference service: This service provides answers to fact related questions from the users. Questions such as what is the currency of India? Where can I find information on another country? Who is the president of India? When will the next total solar eclipse occur? When our planet is facing global warming? Standard reference sources like dictionaries, encyclopaedias, yearbooks, almanacs, gazetteers, etc. are reviewed in order to provide answers to these what, why, where, who, and when types of queries. Finding solutions to these questions takes only a very little amount of time between a few minutes to about 30 minutes. This kind of reference service is also referred to as a "ready reference service or short range reference service" for this reason (Table 6).

Table 6: Ready reference service or short range reference service.

The majority of student requests that libraries receive are for ready reference materials. However, the proportion of ready reference questions that each library handles varies. In one study, it was discovered that 40% of the queries addressed by library were for background information on a subject, while the remaining 60% were quick to reference questions. It was discovered that 40% to 50 % of the questions in an academic library were of the ready reference variety. Many libraries also provide this service over the phone, by writing, via e-mail, or on the Internet, so customers are not restricted to asking questions in person when they visit the library.

Long range reference services: Usually, this service is demanded by experts like R and D personnel, professors, business executives, or professionals like doctors, engineers, etc. They explore data to finish a study project, deliver a lecture, write a paper or accomplish some other task. Information may be searched in a variety of places, including printed and electronic sources like databases and the Internet. Organizational and unofficial sources are occasionally checked as well, depending on the question, to deliver the service. Compared to the ready reference service, this service is more labour intensive to manufacture since a large variety of sources must be reviewed. This service is referred to be a long range reference service for this reason.

The information needed may be of a highly specialist nature, contain an opinion or point of view on a certain subject, come from sources written in a different tongue for which translation services must be obtained, or be of a very subjective nature. The amount of time it takes to search for and offer the information will depend on the type of question.

A fast reference service provides data or facts, whereas a long range reference service provides documents, journals, or reports that contain the needed information.

Reader advisory service: This service focuses on giving consumers reading recommendations. This service's main goal is to encourage patrons to use the library and develop positive reading habits. The service aids readers in choosing the ideal book for both educational and leisurely reasons. Typically, public libraries and schools provide this service. Children in schools usually require these services. Schools should promote a good attitude toward libraries in order to help youngsters understand the significance of the library and its resources for lifelong learning and personal development.

Journals/Periodicals section: As the main source of knowledge, journals and magazines are crucial to support research activities and are regularly needed. To support present research efforts and to widen the scope of potential future research efforts, a number of foreign and Indian publications, mostly are being subscribed to full text online. After the pandemic, the DAIC libraries have subscriptions of 14 newspapers and 18 journals and magazines.

Library ‘Online Public Access Catalogue’ (OPAC): Through the online public access catalogue, the library provides automated catalogue search capabilities. More than 8300 items are included in this online catalogue listed in this library. There are enough PCs in the user area for faculty and students to access the OPAC. Additionally, you can conduct a web search of our library catalogue.

User orientation: Libraries, especially academic libraries, commonly provide "user orientation" or "user awareness" programmes for new students at the beginning of each academic session. The library's general policies and procedures, holdings and where they are situated, the catalogue and how to use it, lending and borrowing alternatives, and reference and information services are all covered in these programmes that introduce users to the library and its resources. Familiarising new users with the library and its services is the main objective of the user orientation programmes. These activities take the form of a lecture by the librarian followed by a tour of the library, a handout that provides the students with all the information they need, or an online course.

Conclusion

Dr. Ambedkar international center library is an example of excellent services and user oriented and quick responsive organization. This library houses a huge and rich collection related to law, economics, literature, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar collection, social science, political science, history, and a special collection of Braille books, etc., which stack very nicely and definitely helped the reader, faculty, and its research scholars to pursue their goals. This library always got endorsed by its patron. However, this library still needs to focus on the modernization and digitization of their resource so that they can assist more to their faculty, research scholars, and general reader.

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