Day - 3:

February 8, 2008 (Saturday)

(Sessions I & II)
PARTNERSHIP OF SECTORS FOR BUILDING KNOWLEDGE REPOSITORIES

The first two sessions of the final day addressed the core issue of partnerships for building knowledge repositories. The theme of the morning session was Libraries + Archives + Museums = Heritage Sector. Chaired by Mr. S.P. Singh, Director National Museum, it was truly cross-sectoral in character as the presenters were drawn from all the three sectors. Mr. Ostby, the pioneer of cross-sectoral co-opearation in heritage sector in Norway, acquainted the delegates with the collaborative activities of the Library, Museum and Archive sectors and ABM-Utviking. Dr. Charu Smita Gupta's presentation on content building for knowledge repository in the Crafts Museum was painted in vibrant colours. Ms Lucy Tedd from UK summarized the initiatives worldwide to create unified repositories for 'memory of the world'. Mr. Anurag Arora from Kaladhavni and Mr. Rajeev Gujral of Micrographics India in their presentations analyzed the applications of ICTs to creation of collaborative heritage repository.

The focal area of the second session was Knowledge Repositories for Communities, Corporates and Institutions. The session was chaired by the gentle scholar Prof. S. Arunachalam who offered equal opportunities to eminent invited speakers and young paper presenters. Prof Uma Kanjilal, IGNOU, talked about several projects for developing knowledge repositories for educational institutions. Dr. Sanjeev Singh, University of Delhi, made an effective presentation on Educational Resource Planning for Universities. Mr. Tanay Krishna from C-DOT offered solutions to build cost-effective knowledge repositories to enhance organisational effectiveness. The contributed papers included interesting presentations by professionals involved in creating knowledge repositories for various communities of users such as rural folks, school children, university students and others.

PANEL DISCUSSION ON

FUTURE OF KNOWLEDGE REPOSITORIES
GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE REPOSITORY: A VISION
 

The concluding session of the conference was marked by a panel discussion on the vision of a Global Knowledge Repository The composition of the panel reflected the truly cross-sectoral nature of the conference. On the panel were the widely respected educator and professional Prof. S. Arunachalam, the distinguished conservator Shri. S. P. Singh, dynamic educator-administrator Prof. R. L. Raina, eminent university librarian Dr. S. Deshmukh and the exponent of Open Source & Access Dr. ARD Prasad. The renowned librarian Dr. R. K. Chadha moderated the discussion. The panel highlighted the need to collaborate and co-operate across sectors for sharing knowledge so that the vision of a global knowledge repository becomes attainable in near future.

VALEDICTORY SESSION

Prof. R.L. Raina, chairperson of the Valedictory session, complimented the organizers for planning such a successful convention and bringing together so many diverse streams on a single platform for discussing issues both in context and threadbare. The Rapporteur –General Dr. Tariq Ashraf presented his report on the conference and emphasized the need for continuing with such kind of endeavor in future so as to institutionalize the concept for the larger benefits of the producers and disseminators of knowledge. He also put forth the recommendations of the conference.

At the end Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Deputy Director, National Resource Centre, NIFT thanked all the delegates, the eminent speakers, the collaborators and sponsors on behalf of NIFT. Mr. S. P. Singh, Director (Conservation), National Museum, was felicitated for his unconditional support to the conference initiatives of the National Resource Centre of NIFT both in 2007 and 2008. Dr Kumar thanked Dr. Savita Singh, Director, Gandhi Smriti & Darshan, for providing the idyllic venue of Gandhi Darshan for the conference. The members of the Organising Committee especially, Dr. Tariq Ashraf, Dr. Jindal and Mr. P.K. Upadhyay were thanked for helping in various ways during the process of planning of the conference. The staff members of NIFT were also felicitated for their hard work and co-operation.

RECOMMENDATIONS of the conference

The international conference was successful in attaining its main objective of cross-sectoral collabrations as many participants were initiated into an inclusive thought process that would definitely lead to collaborations and co-operation across sectors in future. The dogmatic professionals in the libraries, archives and museums were sensitized to the collaborative initiatives world over for building a united 'Heritage sector'. It was indeed a fitting tribute to the demands of our time - concerns of a growing knowledge-driven economy - to have such disparate groups on a common platform and allow a free flow of ideas. The vision of a global knowledge repository no longer seemed unrealistic to the participants as traditional boundaries were effectively transcended during the sessions.

Facilitating and enhancing cross-sectoral collaborations among institutions for developing digital repositories through a nodal agency

Establishing a National Depository for Digital Objects being produced by scholarly societies and institutions

Promoting open access standards for convergence and collaboration through research and training.
 

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