418 ICAL 2009 – MANAGEMENT MODELS AND …

1 418 ICAL 2009 MANAGEMENT MODELS AND FRAMEWORKA bstractUniversity Grants Commission and higher educationexperts are concerned about quality of higher educationand they want to develop higher education infrastructurekeeping in view the quality as yardstick. The paperprovides UGC s data about universities, colleges,teachers and students which have grown over a periodof last 58 years. It defines best practices as an applicationof procedures to yield superior results which means wayof doing things in particular organization as guidelinesfor good practices. Explains NAAC s concern for qualityof library practices as well as NACC s set of best practicesin academic libraries. Some features which should havebeen included in the set meant for improving the servicesof the college libraries are being proposed here whileevaluating the criteria of selection of the best academiclibraries.

2 Explaining Peter Brophy s comparison ofacademic libraries with an automobile industry for thepurpose of quality of MANAGEMENT with a set of indicatorsThe paper provides a few examples of the best practicesexperienced in libraries in different situations by Indianlibrary scientists like Dr. Ranganathan and elaborates upon Prof. Tikekar s comment that blindimitation, false competition, status symbolism will notwork and finally submits that best practices of Britishlibraries and American Center Libraries operating inIndia should have been included for our Grants Commission has been striving forensuring quality of higher education since its inception,and more so during last two decades. There has beentremendous surge in educational institutions comingup particularly after creation of All India Council ofTechnical Education AICTE in 1987.

3 The surge is morein private sector which has opened flood gates inprivate sector institutions. Number of deemeduniversities and colleges which have come up recentlyneeds assessment by higher educations experts. Nowa days it has become a fashion to have a college ofengineering and medical sciences. Norms have beenflouted with impunity and how technical colleges areapproved by AICTE is open secret. According to latestBest Practices in Academic Libraries in India: A VyasLibrarianNALSAR University of LawHyderabad, India provided by present UGC Chairman thecapacity expansion in higher education has increasedmanifold which is evident from the following figures:19502008 Universities25431 Colleges70020, LakhsSource: Emerging Issues in Higher Education,Approach, Strategy and Action Plan in the 11th Delhi, UGC. such a huge number of academic institutions inIndia it needs efforts to bring quality in library servicesimmediately.

4 Joseph M. Juran says that 21st Centuryis devoted to quality whereas 20th Century was for production . We have to discuss the issue of qualityto improve library customers satisfaction. Highereducations experts are much concerned about qualityof education provided by the universities and collegesin India. There is apprehension that education receivedin these institutions is not commensurate with thefees charged from the students. Education expertsfeel that this is cheating with the people. It is becauseof this reason Government of India, UGC and NAACare seriously concerned as to how to improve standardsof education and establish best practices in theuniversities and colleges and their of Best PracticesODLIS (Online Dictionary of Library and InformationScience) describes best practices as follows: In the application of theory to real-life situations,procedures that, when properly, applied consistentlyyield superior results and are therefore used asreference points in evaluation of the effectiveness ofalternative methods of accomplishing the same task.

5 Best practices are identified by examining empiricalevidence of success. 419 MANAGEMENT MODELS AND framework VYASO xford Advanced Learners Dictionary describes bestpractices as quality of high standard, excellence,highly improved, outstanding, par excellence service. It means way of doing something that is usual orexpected way in a particular organization or situation,guidelines for good practices. In this process ofdeveloping best practices we take action rather thangood ideas, and we improve our skills. What is quality? It is customer satisfaction throughproduct or service. In an academic library student andteachers are the customers who are part of theacademic we look at the history of higher education in Indiawe find that Radhakrishnan (1948) and Kothari (1964)Commission Reports have already recognized the roleof libraries in higher education.

6 They hadrecommended the need of a first class library for thecollege and universities. Moreover UGC LibraryCommittee Report (1965) headed by Dr. provided firm base to academic libraries. INFLIBNET since its inception in 1989 has beenproviding financial support to the academic librariesto automate library operations. Today INFLIBNET claims that it has supported more than 150 universitiesfor library automation. It is hoped that within a decadealmost all the universities will have library automation. However our journey towards college libraries is long,and shall take time to cover all the colleges of thecountry. National Knowledge Commission Report(2007) also realizes the significance or the role ofdifferent types of libraries. National Accreditation and Assessment Council(NAAC) and Best Practicesa)University Grants Commission created a highereducation body (whose job is to assess the qualityof university and college institutions) in 1994 inBangalore on the recommendation of NationalPolicy of Education (NPE) in 1986.

7 This isNational Accreditation and Assessment Council(NAAC) which strives for quality and excellencein higher education and advocates for enhancingthe role of library and Information Services inimproving academic environment. Documentprepared by NAAC for Best Practices inAcademic Libraries says : Best practice may beinnovative and be a philosophy, policy, strategy,program, process or practice that solves a problemor create new opportunities and positively impacton organizations. NAAC developed a set of bestpractices followed in academic libraries andpresented under the following four broad and Administration of and of User of database of documented practices is available onNAAC website and they assure that regular updatingwill be made with consultations on contributinginstitutions. For college libraries NAAC has developedthe following set of best practices for college libraries:lComputerization of library with standard of sufficient information about the libraryin the college student / teacher statisticslDisplaying newspaper clippings and a clipping filemaintained employment information serviceslInternet facility to different user groupslInformation literacy programmeslSuggestion BoxlDisplaying New ArrivalslConduct book exhibition on different occasionslOrganizing book talkslInstituting Annual Best Use Award for studentslOrganizing competitions annuallylConduct user survey periodicallyHowever the above set of best practices for collegelibraries prepared by NAAC can not be termed as thelast word.

8 The following set of practices too shouldhave been included in of a Path Finder to the librarylKeeping the library premises neat and cleanlCompiling a list of Current Serials/ catalogue and maintaining library websitelMaintaining useful statistics regarding the use ofthe library and displaying them on the library wallslCompiling checklists on different subject/topicsas a part of documentation servicelLibrary Committee formationlDistribution of useful handoutsNAAC in its publication Library and InformationServices: Case Presentation (2006) explained itsefforts towards quality. Prof. Tikekar s commentabout the examples of best practices given under foursignificant areas of LIS are from a very few and strayand from of the same universities and colleges. Someof them are very peripheral and not of core nature. Itis a matter of discussion that the institutions includedin the list are the only the best academic libraries.

9 The name of the colleges and universities listed arenot well known except few. It is recommended that NAAC should hold a NationalSeminar on Best Practices in academic libraries every420 ICAL 2009 MANAGEMENT MODELS AND framework year. The participation in the conference should beby paper presentation. Selection of papers forpresentation is subject to peer review. Academic libraries are part of the large academicbodies. Generation, organization and disseminationof information and knowledge are subject to constantchange since 1980s. Most academic libraries havethe facility of Internet resources which supplementthe print collection of the library. These changes aresubstantial. The problem with us is that many changeswe come across, we immediately take it as a part ofroutine. Internet facility helps in saving time, repetitionand redundancy, time lag and delays.

10 We cancommunicate with information service providers withinno time in case of any problem, change or addingnew things to existing collection or services. Librarymanagement has to become more integrated throughsoftware. Librarians will have to study the potentialof library software as many features are still not knownto Brophy s The Library in the Twenty-first Century:New Services for the Information Age has devotedone chapter on what is a good library explains howresearchers and patrons view goodness in the library. A library in order to survive should acquire resourceswhich are useful to users in present as well as thesewill be in future too. The question of goodness is notonly related to efficiency and effectiveness of theprocess, but also adaptability and responsiveness ofthe library to its environment. Different organizationshave different set of indicators to judge the quality ofthe library.