Livelihood in Library Science
Manish Kumar Singal

Mention of library science brings to one's mind the image of a librarian issuing or reissuing books. But a librarian's work is not limited to this. It is a full-time job where one is expected not only to manage books but also deliver information relating to texts, journals, periodicals etc.

A career in Library Science broadly falls into two areas. One option is to become a librarian in state-run or private libraries and the other is to take up teaching of the subject in various colleges and universities.

Every academic institution, training centre or university needs to have a good library for the students. This makes the scope for professionals trained in library science vast. Most learning centres and training institutes need a good librarian and supporting staff to maintain their books and records.

Says Dr. S.C. Jindal, Sr. Assistant Librarian in the Central Science Library, University of Delhi, "Library Science is the need of the hour. It has become more important now, especially with the coming up of a number of private colleges and universities in the country." He says that every institution needs to hire trained librarians as only these professionals can run a library efficiently. Providing specific kinds of books to students and arranging reference material for them is a vital role performed by these professionals.

Eligibility

One has to be a graduate with minimum 50 per cent marks to get admission to a one-year course in Bachelor of Library and Information Science (B.LISc). To get admission to the Master's programme, one has to have scored a minimum of 50 per cent marks in B.LISc. Thereafter, students can opt for M.Phil and Ph.D.

Nowadays, even big corporate houses and multinational companies are hiring these professionals. For example, Ranbaxy, State Bank of India and Cipla are some of the companies who have hired a number of information analysts. And they are paying these professionals a handsome sum too. The starting salary ranges between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per month.

The profession is a satisfactory and well-paying one. Dr Jindal says that the salary for a librarian in a medium-level management institute is between Rs. 30,000 and Rs 40,000 per month, which equals the professor-level scale of Delhi University. Of course, certain years of experience is a must for a senior librarian's post.

Librarians can further specialise in a subject like political science, science, information technology and so on. Librarians possessing knowledge of a specific subject in addition to a degree in library science have an edge over others for getting a job in the library of a technical institute.

According to Dr. R.K. Bhatt, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, "To be a good librarian, one should possess good computer literacy as most of the libraries are connected through the Local Area Network (LAN). In Delhi and surrounding areas only, there are 200 libraries that are connected through LAN. A student can access any of the libraries through Internet facility provided in hostels or academic institutions."

Some of the institutions offering the course are:

• Department of Library Science, University of Delhi.

• Punjabi University, Patiala.

• Panjab University, Chandigarh.

• Kurukshetra University, Haryana.

• Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

• Gujarat University, Ahmedabad.

• Department of Library and Information Science, Dr. Zakir Hussain Library, Delhi.