GyankoshCommunique Issue 1 : January, 2010

As a 21st century librarian you deal with information in many formats, including books, magazines, newspapers, audio and video recordings, manuscripts, photographs and other graphic material, databases, web and digital resources.

An information professional, you are trained in library and information science and experienced in the organization and management of information services and materials for those with information needs.

Your focus is on meeting the educational and teaching needs of students and faculty respectively. Which is why our focus at Gyankosh is on helping you deliver.

Gyankosh is an initiative brought to you by Elsevier, designed specifically to put world class information and tools right into your hands. Thus, helping you and your community to become increasingly more effective and productive in your work.

We will be doing so via this regular newsletter which will arrive on your desk every quarter. Our aim will be to provide you with information that is relevant, up to date and comprehensive so you can ensure quality care for all, while maintaining your profession's credentials, code of ethics, standards, and competencies, and continuing education. At Gyankosh we are proud to be part of your community and to participate in the advancement of your field of specialization.

We would also greatly appreciate your feedback on this first issue of Gyankosh: Did you find it interesting and informative? How can we improve it? What more can we add by way of topics and subjects relevant to you? We would like to get your opinions and inputs on how to value-add to it, to make it more involving and knowledgeable for you. Please email us at: contactus@elsevier.com

Ajit K Sharma

Chief Custodian, GyankoshElsevier Health Sciences, India

At Elsevier, the world's leading publisher of science and health

information, we have absolutely no doubt that you play an extremely

significant role in advancing and enhancing the education of the

students in your college. It is your assessment and understanding of the

students and teachers needs for text books and other reading material

that ensures that they both get easy and relevant access to the knowledge

they need to take their education, and teaching skills, forward.

To help you do this, you need to be able to source the right reference

materials for teachers and faculty; the facilities to impact training,

conduct research and build a storehouse of knowledge in the form of

a comprehensive, up-to-date library. By delivering to you, world-class

information and innovative tools, we aim to increase the efficiency and

effectiveness of your library - and now would like go further to help you

fulfill your crucial mission.

An initiative with the focus on librarians,

Gyankosh is designed to help you deal

with the plethora of information you

receive about printed and online

publications, and ensure that your

students and faculty have access to the

most relevant sources, in the shortest

time, at the least cost.

You may have already joined the

Gyankosh initiative, but just in case you

haven't, we would really appreciate it

if you could please fill in the Gyankosh

Acceptance Form to enable us to take

your suggestions and preferences on

board. This will ensure that we meet the

needs and requirements of the widest

cross section of teaching professionals

and their students.

It would also give us the opportunity to send you a personalised

welcome gift - our way of welcoming you to Gyankosh. By sending us

the filled in Acceptance Form, you would be part of the fast growing

ranks of librarians, from Dental and Medical colleges, who have

already been welcomed into the Gyankosh family… 300 to date and

still growing...

Message from the Chief Custodian Presenting Gyankosh:

Elsevier's focus on Librarians of Medical

and Dental Colleges

Please complete Gyankosh Acceptance Form

as soon as possible and fax it back to us at 011-41664558

or e-mail us at contactus@elsevier.com.

We express our heartfelt gratitude...

Around the World: Science & Health News...

How Reed Elsevier's gREen Teams Nurture NatureBy Marcia Balisciano, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Reed Elsevier, London, UK

In 2006, a Reed Business Information

gREen Teams helped clean up Harlem's

St. Nicholas Park.

To help carry forward Reed Elsevier's environmental objectives, we've set up gREen Teams covering 75% of our key facilities and involving some 400 employees. gREen Teams focus on environmental improvements at the local level.

Each year we focus on one of our core environmental impact areas. In 2006,

The change saved approximately

US$2,700 annually, eliminated the

problem of bottle storage and avoided

environmental impact (like petrol and

emissions) associated with transported

bottled water.

Reed Business Information office in New York, organized a day for colleagues to clean up St. Nicholas Park in Harlem.

Using paid volunteer days available to all RE staff, the group painted and spread mulch in the park under the guidance of the New York City Parks Department.

gREen Teams help us reduce our

environmental footprint on a local basis. They engage colleagues throughout our company on environmental issues and empower all Reed Elsevier staff to make a difference.

this was transport and our Hollywood magazine, Variety, produced a poster encouraging employees to consider environmental friendly travel options. Also during the year, gREen Teams ran environmental fairs, providing advice on commuting alternatives, ran bike weeks and hosted presentations from external consultants and government bodies. Further, on World Environment Day in June, Reed Elsevier CEOCrispin Davis sent a special message to all staff.

Throughout each year, conference calls bring together gREen Teams to share best practices and ideas. For example, the gREen Team at Elsevier's office in Chevy Chase, Maryland, recognized the environmental impact of using bottled water and worked with their facilities department to switch to a filtered water system.

Research supports UN millennium development goals -Sarah Huggett

In September 2000, the United Nations

(UN) gathered at the Millennium

Summit in New York to discuss their

role at the beginning of the 21st

century.

• The meeting culminated in the adoption of the UN Millennium Declaration.

• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were derived from this declaration, and include targets that were adopted in 2001.

Targeting the biggest killersThe eight MDGs represent a global commitment to improve the most basic indicators of standard of living for all (see box). Large increases in funding and attention to malaria have accelerated malaria-control activities in many countries. The incidence of

Malaria death rates and research high

in Thailand, Kenya and IndiaThe bulk of recent research on the disease comes from the USA, Europe and Australia, where disease burden is low; however, Thailand, Kenya and India do suffer significant malaria death rates.

Tuberculosis death rates high in Sub-

Saharan Africa and Eurasia. The USA

and Europe publish a large proportion

of the research on tuberculosis, but

other countries such as Brazil, China,

South Africa, Japan and India also

make it into the top-10 most-prolific

countries.

“India's focus on tuberculosis research right now is phenomenal – and this is matched by the volume of publication emerging from the country,” observes Dr Brian D. Robertson, Deputy Director of the Centre for Integrative Systems Biology at Imperial College, London.

Alan D. Lopez, University of Queensland, Australia, adds: “The five-fold variation in HIV/AIDS papers compared with malaria and tuberculosis from the USA is interesting, given that there is at most a two-fold variation in death rates.”

TB is expected to be halted and begin to decline before the target date of 2015.

UN Millennium Declaration also stands as a moral imperative for wealthier countries to assist in relieving the burden of disease in the most-afflicted countries.

Millennium Goals :

• End poverty and hunger

• Universal education

• Gender equality

• Child health

• Maternal health

• Combat HIV/AIDS

• Environmental sustainability

Deaths from HIV/AIDS are highest in

Sub-Saharan AfricaThe burden of HIV/AIDS is heaviest in sub-Saharan Africa. Although research on HIV is concentrated in the Western world, it is interesting to note that China and South Africa are exceptions to this generalisation, ranking second and fifth respectively, in terms of article output on the subject.

approach Elsevier for their books and journals requirement.

A: I strongly believe that students are losing interest in books and they look for the short cut to success by reading some help books rather than the prescribed text books.

A: Students nowadays are looking for the easier help books or reading material from Internet.

A: No, so far this method of increasing the budget to find new resources is helping the students and faculty. I don't think it's bad.

A: Yes, students come to me regularly and I take down their requirements, bring them to the notice of the management and try to fulfill them.

A: Yes, I have links with the publishers as well as the distributors of books, and also I remain continuously in touch with other college librarians.

A: Whenever the budget is being decided, we take the view of faculty and student representatives, and their requirements are then forwarded to the management, who decide on the budget.

Q: Do you feel that students are losing interest in books? Or is the book reading habit still going strong?

Q: Are students still using text books for reference? Or are they doing all their reading on the Internet?

Q: Do you find that your budget is being stretched between finding resources for computerization and getting the relevant text books?

Q: Do you find that students come to you with suggestions for books that they want to read?

Q: Do you do a lot of research on the kind of books the library should have? Do you get a lot of materials/mailers from various sources selling you books?

Q: When it comes to deciding how to spend the budget you have, what are the factors that come into play?

A: We should keep a feedback form in the library so the students and faculty can write down their requirements and then the librarian can add to the collection on the basis of their requirements.

A: To start with, close co-operation between teachers and librarians will ensure that the library is always well stocked with the relevant reference material that will make for more effective and easy learning by the students.

Also, holding conferences or seminars on the importance of having a good library would help. In such forums, librarians and teachers can give their views on which books to be kept, what should be the environment of the library, the disciplinary norms to be maintained in the library. All these should help to enhance the education of the students.

Q: How can the librarian and teachers help each other when it comes to enhancing the education of the students?

In conversation with...

Q: Does your vision of a college library fall within your philosophy of education?

Q: What according to you, is the role of the librarian in a college setting? And what changes do you hope to bring to the library?

Q: What kind of library attracts the students and faculty?

Q: How do you develop and maintain a library collection that will meet the needs of the students and faculty?

A: Education should be combined with extra curricular activities like seminar, conferences and workshops and my college definitely follows this philosophy.

A: The role of librarian is to ensure easier access to all the reading and reference material, by arranging the books and journals in the library subject-wise. Plus, the librarian should constantly be sensitive to the requirements of the library users.

As far as the changes are concerned, I would make sure that I improve the arrangement of the material available in the library on a continuous basis.

A: The library should not only include the course/text books but also a comprehensive collection of fiction, books on politics and autobiographies of famous personalities.

How to stop worrying and love the budgetIt is important for library administrators to have a thorough understanding of how their budgets function. Understanding their budgets well can help library administrators guide their staff, services and organizations to success in good times and in bad. Understanding their budgets can also help library administrators lobby more effectively for funding, no matter what the economic climate. Understanding the budget is essential for any library administrator focused on developing a stronger budget. Learning how to stop worrying and love the library budget is relatively simple.

Innovation at Elsevier

Mr Amit Arora, LibrarianGenesis Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Moga Road, GT Road, Ferozpur

Q: How do you encourage students to read?

Q: How did you find the program and your feedback on it?

A: By asking the students about their requirements for the new text books, reference books or any fiction books; and stocking them, they are encouraged to read.

A: This program is really useful and it has created a common platform through which colleges can directly

The library should not only

include the text books but

also a comprehensive collection

of fiction, books on politics

and autobiographies of famous

personalities.

Our Mission

To build a community

of Librarians who can

interact & share

knowledge and

expertise amongst

themselves.

To build a Librarian community

We would like to hear from you.

To enable Gyankosh to better serve your needs and

requirements, it is imperative that we get feedback from

you:

Your opinions on the subjects we feature

Your suggestions on how to keep enhancing and

improving the look and feel of every issue

Your take on new and innovative thinking and

theories in the education and information

management space

All these are of great importance to us, so please email

or call us at the contact points given.

1

2

3

Elsevier, a division of Reed Elsevier India Private Limited14th floor, Building No. 10B, DLF Cyber City, Phase-II, Gurgaon, Haryana, India-122002

Tel: +91-124-4774444 Fax: +91-124-4774100

E-mail: contactus@elsevier.comWebsite: www.elsevierhealthindia.com

Brain Teasers! The Gyankosh Quiz.

Take this quick and snappy quiz on health related subjects. Have some fun with friends and colleagues and win a reward.

Fax or email us the answers and a lucky draw will decide the winner.

6. How many calories does water contain?

7. When is the World Diabetes Day observed?

8. What is the human trachea also called?

9. What is the H1N1 virus popularly known as?

10. What is the definition of Bi-Polar Disorder?

50 100

None

May 1st November 14th June 15th

Windpipe Lungs Small Intestine

Dog Fever Swine Flu Cat’s Nip

Manic depressive disorder Bipolar affective disorder All the above

1. Where in the body is the labyrinth?

2. The tongue has more than

3. White blood cells are also known as :

4. To which part of the body does the term 'brachial' refer?

5. Oncology is the diagnosis and treatment of which disease?

Ear Throat

Eye

2000 tastebuds1000 tastebuds8000 tastebuds

Erthyrocytes Melanocytes Leucocytes

To the stomach To the heart To the arms

Tuberculosis Kidney Failure Cancer

Gyankosh Help Desk: A Contact Point

Meet Dr. Jasneet, Gyankosh - Relationship Manager

To contact us, please call Dr. Jasneet at:

011-46074929

011-41664558

contactus@elsevier.com

We would like to introduce

Dr. Jasneet, who will be your

first line of contact at Gyankosh.

Dr. Jasneet will be happy to answer

your queries, provide touch points,

help to gather relevant information

- in short, facilitate interaction between Gyankosh

and your community of professionals.

We look forward to your feedback on your spheres of

activity and interest, as well as your suggestions on what

we can do to enhance and improve Gyankosh. And as

we are keen to collaborate with your institute by helping

your faculty publish with us, we will be happy to receive

articles to be published in this newsletter.