News You Shouldn’t Miss - Nov 2006

We need a better race and faith debate, says New Generation Network -20/11/06
New Generation Network has been set up by journalist and commentator Sunny Hundal, founder of Asians in Media and the acclaimed Pickled Politics weblog – which focuses on politics, media and society from a broad, mainly South Asian perspective.

Its founding statement is backed by Sunder Katwala (general secretary of the Fabian Society, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (writer and journalist), Gurpreet Bhatti (author of the banned Sikh play Behzti), Robert Beckford (TV presenter and black theologian), Simon Barrow (co-director of Ekklesia), Rohan Jayasekera (associate editor, Index on Censorship magazine), Catherine Fieschi (acting director, Demos), and writers Ziauddin Sardar***, Hari Kunzru and Dave Hill along with others. continue reading

See also Faithwise Review of the Week @ Multifaith Information Gateway

What makes the South a golden part of India?
CNN-IBN unveils the changing face of south India and celebrates the Dravidian spirit in a special series The Golden South.
The history of south India can be traced back to over 2,000 years. However, it was only 50 years ago when the four southern states were created along linguistic lines. continue reading

India a flawed democracy - Economist
Among the 54 flawed democracies India is seventh and overall 35th. South Africa, Chile, South Korea, Taiwan, Estonia and Italy are ahead of India in the category of flawed Democracies.

Indians can't stomach everything Western
MUMBAI: Wine is apparently fine for the heart, but what about the traditional gut?
At a time when Indians, especially those living in the metros, are aping Western lifestyles and diets, this wine quiz was served at the just concluded XIth World Congress on Clinical Nutrition held in the city to stir some delectable debate. The take-home message was simple: not everything Western would suit the Indian gut.
"The query is about the traditional gut and modern foods," said Canada-based Dr Tapan Basu, executive director of the International College of Nutrition.

Concession E-Mail To Hindu Sen.: 'Know Jesus'
(WCCO) Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, a practicing Hindu, was re-elected in District 50 last week on the Democratic ticket, netting 63 percent of the vote. But rather than placing a call to concede the race, his Republican opponent Rae Hart Anderson instead offered him an e-mail concession that he said read like an attempt to convert his religious beliefs. continue reading

see also related post:

Diversity Resources - Accommodation, Tolerance and Coexistence

***Dr. Ziauddin Sardar is a former librarian, information scientist, now an author and freelance journalist.

MEGA Website for Indian Public Libraries - Is there any?

While, there are many portals, directories, gateways, about libraries in India, is there one specifically for (31563) public libraries in India? Is there a directoy of (28) state level public libraries? Any help in finding this? Note: Based on my research, I will be updating the following directory of state libraries:

Andhra Pradesh @ WikiMap [image source: The Hindu]

Chandigarh About

Delhi

Gujarat

Haryana About

Karnataka State Library

Kerala

Maharashtra

North Bengal State Library

Tamil Nadu About

West Bengal

I checked the following, but found no help:

Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation

Finding a Public Library

http://www.wowdirectory.com/dir/16205/106.php

http://in.dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/India

Calcutta Library Network (CALIBNET)

Delhi Librabry Network (DELNET)

Mysore Library Network (mylibnet)

List of Conveners of State Library Planning
Committees of All States And Union Territories

State Libraries

Digital Library India

Libraries on the Web
Asian Libraries">

www.dmoz.org

www.ipl.org

INFLIBNET

IP Information Professional

Library & Information Science Gateway

The Digital South Asia Library

Department of Information Technology, "Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India

National Informatics Centre (NIC), Department of Information Technology, Government of India

SHIPPED SITES, e-Granthalaya (NIC), Department of Information Technology, Government of India

Images of other State Libraries: Central State Library of Punjab, more Much more

See also books and chapters:

Status of State Central Libraries in India : An Analytical Study / R. Ramasamy. Delhi, Gyan, 318 p., tables, maps, ISBN 81-212-0823-8.

"Union/State Library Bills," and "Growth of library movement : statewise analysis," in Libraries in India - National Developmental Perspectives: A saga of Fifty years since independence, by Mohamed Taher. New Delhi, Concept Publishing, 2001

M. K. Jain, Chief Editor; P. B. Mangla, D. R. Kalia and Neela Jagannathan, Editors. Library and Information Services in India - States and Union Territories on the Eve of Millenium. Delhi: Shipra Publications, 2000. BOOK REVIEW

Public libraries: An idea that can transform India

Public Library Revitalization in India: Hopes, Challenges, and New Visions, by Ajit K. Pyati
First Monday, Volume 14, Number 7 - 6 July 2009

Reliance's plans for book retailing in India

Are India's libraries ready?

Reliance's plans for book retailing in India
A report in The Economic Times (Oct 03, 2006) throws some light on Reliance's plans for book retailing in india.


Reliance has tied up with Delhi-based publication house Roli Books and is in talks with Prabhat Prakashan, which publishes books in both English and Hindi.

Book sections in Reliance’s proposed retail outfits would also sell home videos and multimedia music formats, along with related gift articles. read the full story

Libraries to go online in Andhra Pradesh: Minister

Copyright UNI.
Hyderabad, Nov 3 (UNI) Taking a cue from China, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to take up an ambitious Universal Digital Library project, State Libraries Minister N Rajyalakshmi said.

''All the major libraries in the state will go online shortly'', she said while taking part in the ''Conference of the Chairmen and Secretaries of the Zilla Grandhalaya Samasthas''. Under the projects major state and district libraries would be computersied and networked to enable researchers trace books of their choice anywhere in the state, she said yesterday.

Making it clear that the government was not in a position to release grants to meet all the needs of libraries, she urged them to take donations from philanthropists, including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), who were eager to make contributions.

Listing out the steps being taken to bring a large number of people back to the libraries, the Minister said, in an effort to inculcate book reading habit among children, many of whom were glued to television, she would issue an order to ensure that a library hour was made compulsory in all schools.

Ms Rajyalakshmi said recognising the power of the internet, all text books were made available on its website for the benefit of students.

Though the number of people reading books had come down to an extent due to proliferation of television, value of books had not diminished at all, she said, asserting that the government was committed to revive the library movement. Some of the major libraries would be air-conditioned for better ambience, she added. UNI SM SBA VP0426

See also

Information Professional

http://www.lisgateway.com/

Promoting Multiculturalism in Libraries: Best Practices, Series One

Auckland City Libraries: Diwali
October to November "The Festival of Lights" is a Hindu celebration of the return of a prince to his country after fourteen years of banishment. His people celebrated by lighting lamps everywhere. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, is also worshipped during this time.
Some books about Diwali are:

Divali
By Howard Marsh
Diwali
By Kerena Marchant
Diwali
By Mike Hirst
The Divali Story
By Anita Ganeri

Join in Diwali Celebrations at the Library
The Ironwood Branch of Richmond Public Library (Ontario, Canada) will be celebrating the Indian festival of Diwali with music, stories, games, Indian treats, and prize draws

Festival of Lights (Diwali) Celebration Aldergrove Library and the Aldergrove Kinsmen Community Centre will celebrate the Festival of Lights (Diwali) on ... Fraser Valley Regional Library, Abbotsford, BC, Canada

Richmond Public Library - Press Releases The library is co-sponsoring this Diwali celebration with SUCCESS (Richmond office), and the program will take place in English and Punjabi. ...

Diwali celebration in the library. All students will have a. chance to learn more about this important celebration.

Maple Ridge Library features a Diwali celebration at 6 pm, with friends and storytellers from the library's Punjabi storytime.

Eid/Diwali craft activities in Ipswich County Library, Suffolk County Council, UK.

Previous post:

Diversity Resources - Accommodation, Tolerance and Coexistence

Multifaith Resource Series - Religious Diversity in Society

'Versed': The Bulletin of the Office for Diversity

See also:

Internet Librarian Day 1: Using Ethnographic Methods to Know Your Users

Multiculturalism in Libraries

The Changing Culture of Libraries: How We Know Ourselves Through Our Libraries