ଗଙ୍ଗାଧର ମେହେର ବିଶ୍ୱବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ, ସମ୍ବଲପୁର, ଓଡିଶା
Gangadhar Meher University, Sambalpur, Odisha
The School of Library and Information Science was one of the new academic programs of Gangadhar Meher University, which was introduced in the academic session 2019-2020. Realizing the importance of library and information science education, research, and practice, Prof. Atanu Kumar Pati, the former Honorable Vice-Chancellor of the university, pioneered the course, intending to furnish the libraries in the region with vivid and skilled manpower. The inception of the school, led by retired Professor Rabi Narayan Mishra, was driven by the ambition to achieve excellence in providing outstanding education in library and information science through its various programs. Currently, the school provides a two-year master's-level program in Library & Information Science (MLIS) and a doctoral program in Library and Information Science (PhD). Furthermore, the school also offered a one-year Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) program and a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Library Automation and Networking (PGDLAN) program, both of which were discontinued in the year 2022. The course is designed, keeping in mind the current development in the field of LIS in India, to prepare library and information professionals in the knowledge society of the 21st century. The syllabus is based on the CBCS pattern, and as a professional department, it provides advanced knowledge on the subject by offering strong theoretical as well as practical classes. It is a matter of great privilege and achievement for the school that more than twenty students have been placed in different capacities as assistant librarians and library trainees in premier libraries in the state of Odisha. Ten students have successfully cleared the NET examination, and one student cleared JRF till 2023. Our students are proactively taking part in national seminars and conferences and co-curricular activities organized in the university and other universities, adding feathers to the school from time to time.
To become a centre of excellence for imparting quality education in the field of library and information science and prepare efficient, skilled professionals who are ready to meet the technological challenges of the contemporary, ever-growing knowledge society with credibility, integrity, and ethical standards.
