Mahendra Prasad Adhikari

Roll No.20/075
4th Sem, CDLIS, T.U.
Changing role of LIS Professionals
Here are six major words are emerge its combination. Those are changing, role, library and information science
and professional. Each word has separate and interrelated meaning. In this title changing means shows,
frequently update according to situation and environment of working field collection of reading material,
service procedure system. Same as role means, according to user's need and interest the responsible person
have to be playing activities. Similarly, Library and information science means academic subject with the
relation library and information science. Library organization is by the people, for the people, of the people
and science means applied with techniques as a scientific principle. Therefore, here is also use of combination
of humanities and social science with applied science. Its main objective is save the time of users and staff,
easy to use and access, fast, making to uniformity in all others library activities of acquisition, collection,
preservation, dissemination, circulation, of all technical work. A Library means a house or organization where
doing the reading materials are collection, preservation, dissemination after processing and maintaining work.
An organization is a group of people who work together. Information means communicated to the recipient
and it should be in a language that is understood and must be in a suitable form also must be relevant for
achieving some propose is any form of communication that provides understandable and useful knowledge
for the person receiving it.
All printed or non-printed according to their source, its type, format and nature of reading materials including
audio, video, are acquiring and well managing process is call information centre's professional as a librarian.
Science means applied the technology in information centre for use of different functions, system and service,
information / reading material / methodology of functions and use of the techniques combination of internet
and computer or information communication with technology is call information technology. A person who
have possess academic qualification in library and information science. A man who has knowledge and skill
about the information management in differently according to principle of library and information science is
call library and information science professional (LIS). The role of LIS Professionals have been creatively
managing the information and resources of their firms on behalf of advocates and clients. The evaluation,
acquiring, organizing, sharing and distributing of information in all formats, including books, periodicals,
online services. Such as, internal work product documents and database resources, is an integral part of their
expertise. Similarly, providing comprehensive research services utilizing a wealth of legal and non-legal
resources is a service of long standing.
Library and information science professionals has getting Technical skills, leading skills, communication
skills, project management skills, time management skills, digital rights management, knowledge
management skills, user satisfactions. A LIS Professional aims to marketing and promotion of library service.
We can say LIS Professional is playing the role as manager in the information centre or library field.
Todays, we are living in the information age. Information is the important and basic requirement for every
human activity and it is essential as food, air and water. Information in itself has no value, but its value lies in
its communication to each other and use. Information is the life-blood of democracy in each country and it is
considering as the vital sources of power. Library & Information Science (LIS) professionals need to play an
important role in the education process by making people aware of a need and motivating the use of
information a new knowledge and a new ability.
Technology refers to methods, systems, and devices, which are the result of scientific knowledge being used
for practical purposes. It makes work easy, fast, and helpful in performing creative work.
Today the emergence of digital technology and computer networks has provided a means whereby information
can be stored, retrieved, circulated or disseminated and duplicated in a fast and efficient manner. On a global
level, digital libraries (DLs) have made considerable advances both in technology and its application.
With the advances in information and communication technologies, the libraries are now changing to it may
be call virtual or digital libraries. It has affected significantly the nature of delivery of library resources and
services.
Information is required for carrying out all the decision-making activities of an organization. The quantity of
the information is important for the flow of activities in business.
Information helps in making sense of our environment, which assists in achieving the performance objectives.
The right information, in the right form, and at the right time, is essential to make correct decisions.
Information plays a vital role in the accumulation of knowledge. Within a corporation, the importance of
efficient use of information

The traditional concepts of organization, bibliographic description and dissemination of information are to be
fine-tuned to the new environment by the library and information professionals. Therefore, the LIS
professionals working in the environment have to face challenges.
Hence it becomes important for the patrons/clients also to develop skill in information literacy so that
they can identify, evaluate and use the relevant information effectively. The emergence of a vast storehouse
of information on the Internet poses a different kind of problem Librarians, the traditional gatekeepers
of knowledge are in danger of being bypassed, their skills are ignored, their advice unsought. Search
engines send user straight to the information they require or users may think without any need for an
intermediary to classify, catalogue, cross-reference, advice on sources.
The location and provision of information services has dramatically changed over the last ten years. There
is no need to leave the home or office to locate and access information, which is now readily available on-line
via digital gateways furnished, by a wide variety of information providers. Most of the information is
electronically accessible from a wide variety of globally distributed information repositories.

Most of the library were by force handling by semi-professional or non-academic professional almost of them
unable to get opportunity for short-term training. Near about 70% campus library of Tribhuvan University
were run lack of professional employees. Every calendar year few number of LIS student were pass out from
Central department of Library and information science, T.U. In context of Nepal, there are several libraries in
fact only a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science is running now and its Council meeting held
in 2056/3/31(1999) under the Tribhuvan University structure at University Campus, Kirtipur and a Bachelor’s
Degree since 1995 is established under the department of Library Science as an academic degree in this
aspect. In countries like Nepal, where proper policy and planning are not executed in the library settings and
professional manpower development, library science cannot develop further.
Along with this, Nepal Library association along with other organization have developed Para-professionals
in a regular basis. However, the present context is far ahead with the technological advancement, it is utmost
in the transformation in the need of library users and a lot of changes has been made in the resources, services
and products of the libraries from every institution in the best level possible in order to compete in the national
and international level.
In light of Nepal, the exact number and the data relating the library data management usage and creation
patterns is not still clearly known. The role of LIS is that with increasing universities and libraries, there seems
still a lack of proper library and information management system that facilitates the updated availability of the
resources and its proper preservation, which further helps to strengthen the software utility and technical
advancement in the library science.

Role of library and information Science then and now as following

1. As Library of past were worked only as a preservation centre of information but todays are not only
for preservation, they works as an information dissemination centre to enlighten the society.
2. In early Libraries are only for elite persons but ethics of libraries of today's are for all; all are equal
facility to access information from the library because it is the primary aim of the LIS.
3. Library of today's pay more attention to promote the use of documents, so that the information carried
/ stored by them are easily and quickly communicate to the seeker.
 4. Library gives effort to inform the users, on what type of information are available through its various
bibliographical and documentation services; Current Awareness Services, Selective Dissemination of
Information, Indexing services, Abstracting Services, Cataloguing, etc.
5. Library also provides the translation services to eliminate the language barrier.
6. All the efforts of a library are directed towards the maximum communication of the information.
7. The retrospective and nascent information in the library are stored in an organized way, so that it can
be retrieved pin-pointedly on demand.
8. Various kinds of documents were collected and managed in the libraries to address the user's
requirements; Book, Periodicals and Serials, Government Publications, Dissertations and Thesis,
Reports, Pamphlets, Patent, Standards and Specifications, Geographical Sources, Photographs,
illustrations, Microforms, Audio-Video, Electronic resources etc.

Major role of Library and information science professionals for the people and society
1. To provide continuing education for people.
2. To assemble organize, preserve socialize and serve all kind of documents produce as a men's for
communication
3. To help in the transitions of the knowledge from the earlier generation to the late once.
4. To help in culmination and for the building of knowledge from generation, to generation
5. To help in the development of research is the life-blood of human society.
6. To provide all kind of reference services and sources.
7. To develop as a centre power of individualization.
8. To help in the self-dependent is a leisure time and increasing reading habit of public.
9. Help to change the problems and situations of the users/ society in every field.
10. To developed well civilized society
11. Marketing of information product or resources
12. To increase the competent workers.
13. To enlighten the power or acknowledge the society.

Challenges for LIS Professionals and their role.

1. Professional ethics
2. Resource building, as manager and preserver
3. Technological knowledge
4. Managing information and knowledge dissemination
5. Knowledge accumulation: education and life-long learning
6. Institution management
7. Managing Information and knowledge Organizations
8. Applying Information Tools and Technologies
9. As subject expert
10. As global information provider
11. As communicator
12. As financial manager
13. As time managers
14. As legal advisor
15. As personnel manager

A library where access points and housekeeping operations are computerized is call an automated library. The
graphic records are still print-on-paper publication.

Digital Library (DL):

DL is not only digitization of physical resources, but also thoughtful organization of electronic collection for
better access. Such organization provides coherence to a massive amount of shared knowledge base. While
the method of access provides convenient information retrieval for a wide range of global user. In all
probability, digital libraries are likely to augment traditional libraries, such as an on-line card catalogue
augments, rather than strictly replacing, a book collection. Design of technical architecture of digital library.
Planning, implementation and support of digital services; such as information navigation; consultation and
transmission of services. In digital library, face the challenges to digital literacy as following:

Critical
thinking
and Cultural
evaluation and social
Creativity
understan
ding

The ability
Functional Digital to find
and select
Skills
Literacy informatio
n

Collaborat
E-Safety
ion
Effective
communic
ation

Electronic Library:
Electronic Library is that a library that provides collections and services in electronic form and digital Library,
which is a library that provides collections, services in digital form.
Virtual Library
A virtual library means that a library that does not physically exist, most often used to denote a library with
distributed collections or services that appear and act as one.

ICT age
The internet where one can migrate from one chain of computers to the other is called the information super
highway. Information Communication Technology, ICT has caused socio-cultural, political, educational, and
economic change.
The introduction of ICT and new digital technology was a major challenge to librarians. Today the librarians
have to manage knowledge and trained themselves to fit into the information age acting as knowledge
manager.

Saring the
Knowledge

Providing
access
Managing
through
the
information Challange national and
internationa
face by LIS network

professionals

Transfering
Filtering the
the
information
knowledge

Skills Required Environment

The skills required for the management of digital information are vast, in exhaustive and range from the
generalized basic computer appreciation to the more advanced and library services related ones. That skills
needed in digital library services include among others those relating to:
 1. Selection, acquisition, preservation, organization and dissemination, Management of digital collection.

Conclusion
In the present digital environment, advancement in ICT, options of sources, tools, format of information and
way to flow of information has great impact on the role of library professionals. The development of collection
tools, techniques and approaches are become global. Therefore, the LIS professionals are forced to change the
way they are functioning in information need of their users. The change role requires different personalities of
librarians as well as different skills and knowledge. The Library professionals in libraries will become agents
of accessibility and integration, linking users in a range of digital information. The globalization through ICT
has posed various challenges before the library professionals in the nature of collection, the information
environment and the radical change in the expectation and needs of the users.

Today we all agree that to cope with the changing dimensions of digital environment. The explosion of
information and information products today users are increasing unable to deal with the problem of
information overload. The fundamental goal of library is to provide right information to right users at right
time and to fulfil this goal it is necessary for library professionals to keep pace with the changing need &
demand of users in present digital and market oriented environment. Technology will continue to change, and
libraries and library professionals have to use the changing technology to provide the best access of resources
and service to their users. Definitely, the electronic information environment creates challenges for the library
community and moving it away from the traditional paper-and-print format to an insubstantial world of circuits
and connectivity. The library is no longer defined simply as a building or a physical repository that houses
information. Therefore, library professionals have accept this challenge of digital age and change in their role
from custodian of knowledge to knowledge manager for their survival and sustain.