Urdu Science Board Lahore ( Inam U Rehman)اردو سائنس بورڈ لاھور
Mr. Inam Ur Rehman
Librarian Urdu Science Board Lahore
Urdu Science Board Lahore ( Inam U Rehman)اردو سائنس بورڈ لاھور Read More »
Role of Pakistani Universities in Interfaith Dialogue, Harmony and Relations An Index and Bibliometric of Produced Academic Dissertations
Dr. Raiz Ahmed Saeed, Dr. Saeed-ur-Rahaman, Rauf Ahmed, Abid Hussain
Abstract
Interfaith dialogue has become one of the most significant and interesting activities in contemporary socio-political and socio-religious global scenario due to its crucial role in the peace process and peaceful interfaith relations. Many groups of scholars, institutes, organizations, and even governments are promoting the activities regarding interfaith relations. Meanwhile, it is also assumed that Pakistan is one of the countries where interfaith dialogue activities are arranged officially on the state level. In this study, efforts are made to review statistically and to index the literature produced by Pakistani scholars and universities. A mixed
method research methodology is adopted for this study with a bibliometric approach to find out results. Almost 136 theses & dissertations have been produced by scholars in a wide range of Pakistani Universities on interfaith Dialogue, religious debates, harmony, and relations. The research produced by male scholars was 71 (52.21 %) and most 49 (36%) productive era was from 2011 to 2015. The majority of the research was for Master (38%) and MS/M.Phil (34%) level degrees and about one-fifth of the theses were on the theme of “Interfaith Dialogue in Pakistani context”. Therefore, it is suggested that the course on interfaith dialogue, harmony, and relations should be taught at M. Phil and Ph.D. Level in the discipline of Islamic studies and social sciences.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/113MWb4GlEhGwwwK9NrY_hnJfbPlqKFaTA6mBXAPIy04/edit?usp=sharing
Impact of Libraries on Economic DevelopmentImpact of Libraries on Economic Development (Fakhra Khalid)
Fakhra Khalid
Impact of Libraries on Economic DevelopmentImpact of Libraries on Economic Development
Economic development is a constant commitment to advancing human existence with quality of life including socio-cultural, political, economic, and general welfare of the people.Libraries play a vital role to the mentally growth of societies, as they gain knowledge for their career, educational, household and economically purpose. Access to information is one of the primary factors in economic development goals. Increased access to information and knowledge, underpinned by universal literacy, is an essential pillar of economic development “Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreement” (IFLA (2015). Increasing the access of information and knowledge across society,the availability ofinformation and communications technologies (ICTs), supports economic development and improves people’s lives.
“The Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development shows that libraries, information intermediaries, and development organizations are united behind the inclusion of access to information in the development framework”
With the underlying economic realities in our countrytheeconomy growth is at the stage of developing as inclusively, sustainably, and conductively; libraries intentionally focus on collecting, storing, and disseminating information across different sectors of the economy and bringing about a significant reduction in poverty and increased improvement of the economy.With the impact of libraries on the different institutional’ economy sections, it is shocking that the involvement of libraries in economically development policies has not been sufficiently defined. “Effective inclusion of Library and information services for sustainable development policies are continuously lacking” (Mngutyo et al., 2020).
The library extends its roles to see that all sectorshave global access to information resources and services tailored to the need of every sector especially economic needs. The growing presence of special libraries within private and public establishments makes it possible for the library to reach the specialized information needs of the organizations.Libraries of all kinds are all together helping to circulate needed information services to the respective sectors of the economy leading to the growth and development of the country. Valantin (2014) notes that the ability of the government to develop effective policies and plans depends on its capacity to interpret information relevant to the country’s economic, social, cultural, and financial situation.
Libraries, however, require sound policies to provide the necessary framework for the development of information and communication systems and services to meet the needs of all sectors’ economically requirements. Human knowledge is habitually enriched by information; hence, the collective intellectual abilities of a nation that is; human capital, which will also depend on access to information through a well-equipped library.
Use of information and communication technology in academic libraries
Fakhra khalid
Use of information and communication technology in academic libraries
Information Communication Technology (ICT) is a main compoundof the advancement and development of information in a technological way. Information, as power is effective an efficient resource and a vital tool needed for the development of all sectors in any country. It is an authoritativesystem in libraries to satisfying the information need of the users. The emergence of ICT has impacted greatly on the quality of information provided through academiclibraries. In this 21st century, the extreme role of ICT in library operations cannot be over emphasized. Many academiclibraries routines and operations that were performed manually are now converted into computerized system. Applications of ICT techniques providing better and faster services to the end users. According to Janakiraman and Subramaniah (2015):
“The world now experiences a digital scenario in which ICT has changed the possibilities of the library job promotions and has brought changes to expected library performances”
ICT is a generic term that refers to the technologies that are used to collect, store, edit and communicate information in various format (Raji, 2018). The use of ICT improves access to digital information. Adoption of ICT in libraries is a way of improving on information services provided in libraries. This is an era, when people need to access timely information with ease and fast, and this can only be done through the application of ICT to library services. It is also a way of contributing development of information of the country, since timely and effective provision of useful information can assist in building up a society ICT as an enabling tool, assist libraries in provision of information, which is very paramount to development of the various sectors in the nation. Libraries are playing a very important role facilitating access to global information and knowledge resources, using ICT.
Many institutions and organizations including libraries face technological challenges in the process of implementation ICTs to their services. Information provision is important to development and growth of any country’s success.ICT is a term used in the library to refer to application of computers and other technologies to library practices such as acquisition, storage, organization and dissemination of information. The world has become a global village and with ICT, many library users now have access to vast sea of information, without necessarily investing much time or energy. The process of generally and distributing information is now being facilitated through the use of ICT.
Benefits of ICT in Libraries
Globalization driven by ICT is presently having phenomenal impact on library practices ICTSs are significant and useful tools for sustainable development in all fields and all aspects of our society. ICTs provide means to actualizing developmental goals in education, health, agriculture, business and commerce among others.Internet provides up-to-date information on any subject. For the professional duties, computers are used to automate different manual functions. Acquisition, cataloguing of library materials, circulation, cataloguing of library materials, circulation and serials management are now automated in libraries, using available software in the market. ICTs enable libraries to locate store, retrieve and disseminate information. ICT tools such as CD-ROM and e-mail services are used in libraries for dissemination of information. In addition, digitization of information resources which involves converting print resources to electronic form is also carried out, using ICT.
Other benefits of ICT in libraries as stated by Ashikuzzaman (2014) include:
- Provision of speedy and easy access to information.
- Provision of remote and round the clock access to users.
- Provision of access to unlimited information from different sources.
- ICT enable easier, faster, cheaper and more effective library operations.
- ICT helps to manage information overload as information retrieval is made easier in computerized systems.
- Computerization helps the library to save space and reduce paper.
There is no doubt that integration of ICT into provision of library services is able to bring great benefits to the entire community and nation. ICT which remains an enabling tool for provision of timely and current library and information services is also indispensable to the sustainable development (Nwabueze and Ozioko, 2011) ICT can be applied to every aspect of human attempt to achieve excellent outcomes.
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