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The purpose of this paper is to find out about the collection development and management in the public libraries governed by the government or its agencies in Delhi and compare them with the international standards for public libraries.

In all, Delhi has three chains of public libraries namely Delhi Public Library (DPL), like Hardayal Municipal Public Library (HMPL) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) public libraries. The librarian/heads of selected branches were approached with a structured questionnaire aimed at collecting information on the collection development and managements in these libraries and selected branches. The data were then analysed and interpreted.

It was found that with the advent of ICT and its impact on the society, it is evident that the public libraries are not making the desired effort to reach out to the public and make it more appealing to the users. The main problem with the library remains to be the lack of membership. A few initiatives have been taken, but still there were not many digital services being provided by these public libraries in the present day digital environment.

The study was limited to the public libraries within the physical region of Delhi only.

The evaluation sheds light on the existing scenario of public libraries in Delhi and may contribute in their future development.

With the acceptance of the international standards as suggested in the study, the public libraries in Delhi would be better able to provide information resources and services to the masses. The better learned masses make the society more advanced. An information rich society would thus lead to an overall growth and development of the state.

There have been many studies in the past on DPL but none have intended to cover other public libraries chains like HMPL and NDMC public libraries which are governed by the government or its agencies and are established with aim of imparting information to the population of Delhi. Also, a similar the comparison with international standards was never done earlier.

In present networked society, almost all the entities are present on Google Maps. Google Maps has become the first preference for the users for searching and retrieving information about any place. Google Maps provides an opportunity for a user to post ratings and reviews for an entity, including public libraries about their facilities and services, etc. This study explores how users of public libraries in Delhi (India) use Google Maps to share their opinions on library facilities and services and to assess whether Google Maps have the potential to act as an interactive feedback system between users and the authorities.

The Google Maps platform was used as a data source. To classify reviews into distinct categories, a content analysis was performed. Further Sentiment analysis of reviews was executed to highlight the positive, negative and neutral aspects of selected libraries. Moreover, reviews, endorsements and ratings of library products and services were also checked.

The research reveals that the culture of posting online reviews is increasing day by day and most of the reviews are posted in the English language, with Non Local Guides as the most prolific reviewers. In the reviews, the total number of topics discussed were 685, of which (70.51%) contained positive sentiments, (15.32%) were negative and (14.1%) were neutral reviews. The majority of the negative topics were discussed among the staff category, followed by facilities. Environment and children's areas received positive feedback with five-star ratings and most of them were marked helpful by other users. Users also loved technology, location and collection. The study concluded that Google Maps can be used as a new interactive feedback tool that library authorities can use to connect with users, replacing traditional suggestion boxes and online forms.

The research is limited to a single platform (Google Maps) and the capital city of India (Delhi) and cannot be generalized across platforms and regions. Moreover, such libraries were taken under the scanner of this study which possessed more than 50 reviews.

The study will help to identify the shortcomings of the Delhi public libraries through Google Maps platform and help them to devise effective strategies to improve their management in view of suggestions and complaints.

This paper aims to determine the adequacy of the public library system with respect to the total population as well as the viable population of different regions of Tehran city, the capital of Iran, especially pertaining to book collections in accordance with the IFLA/UNESCO Guidelines.

A survey was conducted through a questionnaire distributed to librarians of the public libraries under study. The other resources of data used for this study are annual reports and official records of the libraries at the provincial and national level.

The findings reveal the ratio of book collections with respect to the viable population of different regions of Tehran. Only one of 22 regions has a book collection as per IFLA/UNESCO Guidelines.

This paper highlights how public libraries in Tehran are providing access to information resources and whether the book collections of the libraries are adequate as per international standards. It also suggests certain improvements for the existing system.

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the current practices related to e-resource collection development in management libraries of India with special reference to the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi with some constructive suggestions for improvement in this area.

A well-structured questionnaire was administered to the librarians of the nine management libraries under study.

The management libraries are actively involved in building e-resource collection. The budget allocation for purchase of e-resources has increased progressively over the years in majority of the libraries. The factors that, to a great extent, affect selection of e-resources include quality, subject coverage, license agreements and vendor support. The study found that libraries associated with management institutions such as ABS, DMS-IITD, FMS, BIMECH and FSM need to add more management-related databases.

The paper restricts the study exclusively to e-resources as the type of material and the librarians of nine major management institutions of NCR of Delhi as the respondents in its scope of discussion.

The study is of great importance to information professionals of similar management institutions in India. The recommendations made could also help solve some of the challenges that are being faced.

Very little is known about the electronic resource collection development practices followed in management institutes’ libraries of India owing to lack of significant research undertaken on the topic. This study is, therefore, significant because its findings fill up the existing knowledge gap in this area.

This chapter outlines current developments in Indian libraries, information services and cultural sector collectively highlighting recent trends and developments as India increasingly takes centre stage in the area of libraries and information literacy development. The chapter also provides a critical analysis of library and information science education in India and highlights the need for government strategies and policies related to public libraries. Some 17 federal states and union territories in the Republic of India have no public library legislation and therefore low literacy rates. India needs public awareness campaigns, civic engagement and community developments including the grass-roots empowerment of public libraries. Financial reforms, modernization and federal funding strategies for public libraries are also required to energize cultural organizations and national libraries. A recent major development is the establishment of a National Commission on Libraries following recommendations by the National Knowledge Commission. However, Indian public libraries do not cater sufficiently for the growing youth population or other strata's of Indian society. The growing Indian higher education sector also necessitates information policies for open access, digital preservation and repositories development.

This paper discusses the status of information and communication technologies usage in Indian libraries with special reference to special libraries and the efforts made by various institutions to propagate e‐information products and services. This paper highlights the consortia efforts in India like JCCC Consortium, INDEST Consortium, CSIR E‐journal Consortia, and UGC Infonet. It further discusses digitisation efforts in India at NISCAIR, New Delhi, IIITM, Kerala, C‐DAC Pune, and the Digital Library of India. In addition it incorporates details on major information systems in India (such as NISSAT)and major library networks in India (such as INFLIBNET, DELNET, CALIBNET etc.). The paper concludes with challenges for library and information science professionals and an overview of initiatives taken by Government of India.

You only realise the value of something when you haven't got it. That simple truth was brought home to me during my recent sojourn in India as a Unesco Consultant for the Pilot Public Library in Delhi.

This paper aims to study the open source integrated library management systems, i.e. Koha and NewGenLib, to inform librarians about what considerations to make when choosing an open source integrated library management system (ILMS) for their library.

The paper provides a detailed comparative analysis of both types of software, i.e. Koha (3.2.4) and NewGenLib (3.0), which are undertaken in the study. The methodology used for the study is “Evaluation method” which is followed with the help of structured evaluation checklist prepared after the thorough study of reference tools, reference statistical data available and related literature. Both types of software are evaluated and compared qualitatively and quantitatively.

Both types of software are web‐enabled and support library automation. Koha has more specific characteristics of open source ILMS. Koha needs to upgrade, modify and improve its features. Koha requires very little hardware and is easy to install. Koha has advanced database features. NewGenLib has better functionality of modules than Koha. More formats and standards are supported by Koha. Digital library functionality of NewGenLib is more specific in terms of technology, data structure and programming. Also NewGenLib provides more user help and support whereas Koha provides more user‐friendly downloads and a documentation facility. NewGenLib has more enhanced features which are significant for ILMS while selecting software for automation.

The comparative analysis of the open source ILMS done in the study will help librarians in making necessary considerations while choosing an open source software for the library.

The paper presents a detailed evaluative study carried out using a comprehensive checklist designed for the study.

Public relations departments have done their job and people coming to Africa and Asia no longer expect to find us living in mud huts, picking our way to work between pythons and puff‐adders, or speaking in words of one syllable to our local library staff. Instead, our large white concrete buildings, our well‐educated and multilingual local staffs—many of them now holding senior positions—our enquiry desks, batteries of microfilms, punched cards, and other gadgetry, and the comfort in which many of us live, are taken for granted by the increasing number of professional visitors who find their way to us from the Western world.

I AM MOST GRATEFUL for the opportunity to contribute a foreword to this special Ghana issue of THE LIBRARY WORLD. Barely ten years ago, there was nothing of a library service worth the name in Ghana. Today we have a national wide library service, and a great measure of the success in this great experiment to provide books for a predominantly unlettered population is of course due to the support and patronage of the Government. The first step towards a national library service was taken in 1950 with the passing of the Ghana Library Board Act. By this legislation, not only did the Government give its recognition to the need for inculcating the reading habit among the literate masses, but also committed itself to providing the necessary financial support.