Seminar
on New Directions for Libraries in the Internet Age
Aga Khan University Faculty of Arts and Sciences
(AKU-FAS) held their first academic seminar on November 10 and 11,
2005, titled 'More than Books: New Directions for Academic Libraries'.
For this important topic, the University had invited
an international panel of experts who had hands-on experience of
building libraries. Ms Lorin Ritchie, University Librarian of the
American University of Sharjah, UAE, was the Guest Speaker at the
seminar. Together with moderator, Mr. Ernie Ingles, Head Librarian
and Vice Provost of the University of Alberta, Canada, they gave
informative presentations on the changing look and feel of libraries
in the 21st century. Ms Ritchie, a specialist on electronic resources
for libraries, challenged universities and their libraries to work
in partnership with information technology managers in order to
transform the services offered by libraries to students and faculty.
"In the 21st century, library buildings are
being transformed into centres of teaching and learning, with computer
centres and 'information commons', and librarians now partner with
faculty to ensure that students develop research and information
expertise,"
Ms Ritchie observed. "Library staff are changing their own
work so that it becomes more relevant within their evolving institutions,
and it has become imperative for library and information technology
professionals to work together to deliver library services and information
available through new technologies, giving students and faculty
access to the library even in their homes and residence halls,"
she continued.
Ms Ritchie also examined the way in which Pakistani
universities can have improved access to print and electronic collections.
She encouraged faculty to become more involved in building collections,
and discussed methods by which librarians can make their libraries
more central to the learning and research objectives of faculty
and students.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr Shamsh Kassim-Lakha,
President, AKU, in which he said that the objective AKU-FAS would
be for students to develop their capacities for critical analysis
and apply these skills to an understanding of their own cultural
and religious traditions. "Today's libraries are no longer
just repositories of information but a place where individuals can
actively engage with their environment through multi-media presentations
or online collaborations," he said. He also complemented Dr
Marcia Grant, Head, Academic Planning, AKU-FAS, for her efforts
in the planning of AKU-FAS and for organising this important seminar.
In a pre-seminar workshop, Mr Jack Bazuzi, Managing
Director, VTLS Europe, demonstrated a new library information package
called 'Virtua' which illustrates the role of information technology
in all traditional library functions of acquisitions, cataloguing,
circulation, and financial resource management. In addition, the
new information technology supports managed electronic resources
and makes them easily available to library users. In a post-seminar,
Mr David Swords, Vice President of YPB of Baker and Taylor, discussed
building library collections and how the library services company
can offer expert help to universities in contacting all the major
publishing centres.
This is the first academic event for AKU-FAS, which
is presently at the planning stage. The library at AKU-FAS will
be the largest modern library of its kind in Pakistan. It will be
designed to hold over 500,000 volumes as well as electronic resources
and will be equipped with the latest Information Technology system
which would transform the services of the library.
