S. Ajeemsha ¹, K. G. Pillai Sudhier ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Library and Information Science University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, IN
2 Institute of Distance Education, University of Kerala, Senate House Campus, Thiruvananthapuram 695 034, Kerala, IN

Abstract

Information literacy encompasses learning to learn and ability to research, evaluation and apply information. Information literacy helps in overcoming the problems of identifying and retrieving right information for the right person at the right time in a right manner. Building an information literate community is a complex process. The purpose of this paper is to briefly examine initiatives by the Government of India in bridging the digital divide. The success story of creating an information literate school community in Kerala has been presented as a model worth replicate.

Keywords

Information Literacy, E-Governance, School Education, Government Policy.

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K. G. Pillai Sudhier ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Kerala, Kariavattom Campus, Thiruvananthapuram –695 581, Kerala, IN

Abstract

The obsolescence and aging studies are important areas of citation analysis in Library and Information science. The paper attempts to examine the obsolescence of literature in Physics by citation analysis and reviewed various studies already done in the field and outlined the results. The study is based on the 3,180 citations, cited in the 12 doctoral dissertations of Physics awarded from Department of Physics, University of Kerala, India during the period of 1999-2003. It is observed that journals and books are the most preferred bibliographic form of citations used by the Physicists, and they occupy 82.08% and 12.92% respectively. The findings show that the half-life of journal citations was 14 years and for books it was 25 years. The mean year of journals was calculated as 17.58 and 23.09 years for the books.

Keywords

Obsolescence, Half-Life, Physics Theses, University of Kerala.

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S. Suma ¹, K. G. Pillai Sudhier ²

Affiliations
1 Library & Information Science, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, IN
2 Library & Knowledge Centre, School of Distance Education, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 034, Kerala, IN

Abstract

In this paper an attempt has been made to highlight quantitative growth and development of the CSIR- National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science&Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram in terms of publication output for the years 2007-2011. During the period, a total of 1080 publications and 110 patents were published. The average number of publications per year was 216. The highest numbers of papers (242) were published in 2008 and 41 patents awarded in the same year. Authorship and collaboration trend were towards multi-authored paper and the degree of collaboration was 0.986. There were 1066 (99%) multi-authored/collaborative papers and only 14(1%) single authored publications. The most preferred journals for publication by the scientists were: Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Journal of the American Ceramic Society and Bio resource Technology.

Keywords

Authorship Pattern, Co- Authorship Index, Degree of Collaboration, Kerala, National Institute For Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Scientometrics, Thiruvananthapuram.

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V. S. Midhula Soman ¹, K. G. Pillai Sudhier ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Library and Information Science, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram-695034, Kerala, IN
2 Library & Knowledge Centre, School of Distance Education University of Kerala, Senate House Campus, Thiruvananthapuram-695034, Kerala, IN

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the information seeking behavior of hearing impaired students in school libraries. The study was based on a questionnaire survey and data was collected from students from Government Vocational Higher Secondary School (VHSS) for Deaf, Thiruvananthapuram. The analyses revealed that the information needs of hearing impaired students have become complex and problematic due to the insufficiency of adequate information sources and services and there are quite a number of challenges faced by the hearing impaired students in accessing information from the libraries. It has been found that, even though assistive technologies are playing a vital role in the educational aspects of differently-abled students, it is not playing a role in the progress in library services for differently-abled. Most of the students are not aware of the assistive technologies available to assist them in accessing information. The overall result of the study was that, though the library services provided in the school are useful for their studies, the respondents cannot make use of them because of barriers. The study comes out with some practical suggestions to improve the library facilities for hearing impaired students with the help of assistive technologies.

Keywords

Government VHSS for Deaf, Hearing Impaired Students, Information Needs.

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L. R. Divya ¹, K. G. Pillai Sudhier ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Library and Information Science, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram-695034, Kerala, IN
2 Library and Knowledge Centre, School of Distance Education, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram-695034, Kerala, IN

Abstract

This paper focuses on the use of internet tools and services by research scholars of the faculty of applied sciences in the University of Kerala. Questionnaire method was employed for data collection and out of the 59 respondents, 41 are female and 18 male scholars. Majority of the research scholars were under the age group of 26-30. The study revealed that majority of the research scholars use internet for e - journal access and research purpose. Most of them access internet from departments, and spent more time for internet access (mean value 2.46). Results indicated that e- mail is the most commonly used web service among research scholars. Most of the time they use internet for organizing and maintenance of information. It is evident that Google, Yahoo, and Alta vista are the most widely used search engines. The study also revealed that major obstacles faced by research scholars are overload of information and distraction from the initial purpose for accessing the Internet.

Keywords

Internet, Internet Services, Research Scholars, University of Kerala.

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