HRD IN. INDIAN LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION CENTRES
HRD as discussed in this Unit may seem to be somewhat irrelevant to the conditions prevailing in Indian libraries and information units (LIU). The large majority of LIUs are small in terms of staff deployed and budgetory provisions. There are, of course, national library and information centres operating as independent and separate institutions. Universities, institutes of technology and such other academic and research institutions have large libraries and information centres. But even in these larger institutions, these ideas of planned HRD are not operative. As it stands now, in most LIUs personnel aspects -are handled, by and large, by their respective parent bodies.
The administrative departments of these parent bodies deal with personnel, mostly in relation to salary and allowance, discipline and control, training and deputation to conferences, performance appraisal in a limited way and such others. Moreover some of the limited personnel developmental avenues are available only to certain levels of staff, seldom percolating to lower levels. No personnel/HRD departments seem to be exclusively existing to take care of all personnel aspects as discussed in this Unit.
The relevance of this Unit or HRD, however, is with reference to future possibilities, apart from the exposure it provides you to comprehend HRD concepts and issues. Libraries and information services at -the national level and at the higher education and research level are growing in terms collection, size, variety, and services with computerisation and networking. Personnel problems, not necessarily to deal with the large number of employees but some of the other aspects like designing appropriate instruments for performance appraisal, training to all levels of employees, development of organisational and work culture, which are discussed in this Unit are sure to crop up. These aspects and others that might help even smaller LIUF to design and develop high quality products and services may include:
• personnel planning;
• orientation towards modern information products and services;
• productivity;
• customer satisfaction;
• quality of products and services;
• acquisition of new skills and knowledge;
• task analysis for deployment of personnel;
• performance appraisal, counselling and coaching;
• motivational aspects;
• organisational development; and
• R & D.
Stress should be on quality and value added information systems and services, aiming at excellence. HRD is one and an important strategy to build up a cadre of highly competent professional staff.