Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to study the extent to which outsourcing of human resources (HR) is used and the attitude of the library staff towards outsourcing in science and technology libraries in Delhi and Chandigarh, India. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is the result of a survey conducted in 25 science and technology libraries of Delhi and Chandigarh, India. Questionnaire and interview tools of survey were used to collect the primary data. Findings -Most of the Indian libraries have been using selective outsourcing for many years, which has had favourable impact on the activities and services of these libraries. Outsourcing seems a viable solution, as a majority of the libraries lack the required permanent HR. Normally, outsourcing is considered to be an anti-staff and an anti-professional activity. However, the study found the library professional staff supportive of outsourcing because it reduced their workload and improved their skills and professional competencies. Originality/value -This paper explores the hidden practices of Indian libraries to fill the gaps present in required and available HR. However, they hesitate to accept openly that outsourcing is a tool for managing resources and services that are not available in-house.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study and highlight the implementation and implications of crowdsourcing around the globe.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a review of the literature related to applications of crowdsourcing.FindingsCrowdsourcing via the Web is a creative mode of user interactivity. It is an online problem‐solving model that has emerged in recent years and its scope and implementation are being explored extensively and rapidly.Practical implicationsIt is used to attract interested and motivated crowds of individuals who are capable of providing solutions for tasks that require quick results.Originality/valueAlthough much has been written, not one study could be found on crowdsourcing analysis. This study presents evidence on the actual utilization of crowdsourcing.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the status of digitization of manuscripts in India and to give suggestions to transcribe these manuscripts easily, effortlessly and expeditiously. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on the analytical study of the literature available on global efforts in respect of documentation, preservation, conservation and digitization of manuscripts with special emphasis on the efforts of “namami” (acronym for National Manuscript Mission) for Indian manuscripts. Findings Meticulous analysis of literature and case studies give an overview of the diverse practices of public participation/crowd collaboration to transcribe and tagging of the rare and old historical documents around the globe. However, Indian libraries are far behind in adopting such practices. Practical implications India has a very rich cultural, educational and research heritage preserved in the form of manuscripts. These thousands of manuscripts are significant source of knowledge base for many researchers, however, despite their heritage value, these remain inaccessible to the researchers because of their being scattered and unpublished form. Moreover, even the digitized manuscripts remain difficult to use by the researchers because of immense linguistic diversity and scripts. Documentation and digitization of these manuscripts will not only preserve the invaluable heritage of India but also will enable their easy and vast access by the researchers globally. With the rapid growth in digital information and web-based technology, galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) around the world encourage and engage public participation in various digitization projects to enrich and enhance their digital collections and place them on the web. However, Indian GLAM still refrains to accept and adopt such practices. Thus this paper will encourage and motivate the Indian GLAM to expedite their digitization and uploading them on web for tagging and transcribing. Originality/value This is an original paper and has great implementation value. During the study enormous literature was available on digitization of Indian manuscripts. However, not even a single study could be found on tagging and transcription of these manuscripts, specifically crowd contribution in this area. Hence, the paper, by presenting the evidences of crowd participation for the tagging and transcription of manuscripts globally, proposes the Indian GLAM to exploit the benefits of this practice for Indian manuscripts also in order to expedite the tagging process to enhance their usage.
Purpose -The paper aims to study the status and future trend of outsourcing in science and technology libraries in Delhi. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is the result of the detailed literature survey and a survey conducted on 40 science and technology libraries of Delhi, India. Questionnaire and interview tools of survey were used to collect the primary data. Findings -The paper reveals that most Indian libraries have been using selective outsourcing for many years, which has had favorable impact on these libraries. The majority of libraries outsource professional-automated and non-professional activities and services. They are still not ready to outsource professional traditional library activities and services, whereas the literature shows that internationally libraries outsourced tradition activities and services equally. Indian libraries also want to continue and expand the use of outsourcing in the future, especially digitization, RFID tagging and maintenance. Originality/value -The Indian library science literature gives just the reflections of outsourcing being practiced in various libraries and no traces of survey(s) conducted in this area. This paper is the first attempt to glance at this widely used concept in almost all types of libraries in one way or another.This paper may open discussions on an area that is being used by all, although they refrain from accepting it, considering outsourcing as an anti-professional activity.
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