Quick click to join the librarian fraternity

WEB WATCH

Help a Librarian (HAL) at www.HelpALibrarian.com is a community-powered service that unites librarians from all over the world. The librarians congregate here to help one another with solutions, share information and enhance their knowledge of the group’s cultural backgrounds.

Founded in 2010 by Heather Negley, the HelpALibrarian platform has connected librarians from Massachusetts to Portugal, Malta to Egypt, Manila to Athens and more. The community comprises librarians from more than 50 countries. The members at HAL provide answers to queries posed by other members on the forum.  

Here are some recent examples of the kind of questions posted and the responses received:

*A library student in Rhode Island, who was looking for Portuguese language material, received help from nine librarians from around the globe.

* A MLIS student sought details of plant libraries with large digital image collections. He was advised to check out the Missiouri Botanical Garden’s Preserving and Digitizing Plant
Images project at www.mobot.org/mobot/imls/index.asp.

Community members not only receive answers but are also able to reach out beyond the subject specialty and geographic area to connect with fellow librarians. Here are a couple of more online networks which connect librarians in our country.

* The Kendriya Vidyalaya Librarians Network, the largest group of professional school librarians in India can be contacted at www.grou.ps/kvlibrarians.

This online network facilitates sharing of ideas, work in collaboration, and discuss issues pertaining to school librarianship. The new libraries in Kendriya Vidyalaya schools have been spearheading a quantum shift in concepts of school librarianship in India. Each user can access both traditional and modern information resources and services.

The KVL Network, which provides a public social networking environment, is a professional network of librarians in Kendriya Vidyalayas, in India and abroad. However, others who are interested in school librarianship issues can also join as guest members.
* The Maharashtra Librarians Online Study Circle  at www.sites.google.com/site/mloscsite/scholarships-and-awards-1.

This is a Google group formed to resolve issues related to librarians. This circle helps garner library  information and knowledge, and disseminate it among librarians, spread out far and wide in our country. The group facilitates discussions on routine problems, research needs and other innovative topics, innovations, new softwares, application of new technology and employment news.

All librarians are invited to join in as members, participate and host pages to help one another.  
*LION: Library Information literacy Online Network, at http://liontv.blip.tv/.  This is a virtual library resource centre dedicated to helping educators, students, librarians and patrons learn all about research.

The content at LION is derived from the Animated Tutorial Sharing Project, (ANTS), a collaborative project by professional librarians who work together across institutions to develop programmes. To stay updated about LION, visitors may subscribe to its updates via iTunes, Miro, or RSS feed.