Libraries continue to play a central role in providing open and free access to information and ideas: Ansari

Vice President M. Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said that libraries continue to play a central role in providing open and free access to information and ideas.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 19th National Convention on Knowledge, Library and Information Networking - NACLIN 2016, here today, Ansari said the explosion of information now being produced in digital form has dramatically changed expectations about the production as well as the use of knowledge.

He further said that social networks and social media have become more important in people's learning strategies. Changing paradigms of knowledge production, expanding sources and modes of dissemination, faster and broader accessibility to a growing range of information - also have the ring of opportunity, he pointed out. Libraries must transform and avail these opportunities to remain vital forces of knowledge dissemination in the years ahead, he added.

The vice president said, "We are living in the information age and this implies that the main sector of economic productivity is changing from agriculture and manufacturing to creation and processing of information and knowledge."

He pointed out that in the present context; the libraries have the obligation to act as equalizers. He further said that by providing equitable and affordable access to knowledge and information to larger numbers in society, they can allow a larger proportion of the society to participate in the knowledge driven growth. It is relevant to remind ourselves that technology in the service of humankind has its limits, he cautioned.

The event was jointly organized by the Tezpur University and Developing Library Network, New Delhi.

Governor of Assam Banwarilal Purohit, the Minister for Irrigation, Handloom and Textiles, Government of Assam, Ranjit Dutta and the Vice-Chancellor of Tezpur University, Professor Mihir Kanti Chaudhuri were present on the occasion.