YouTube and Community Knowledge

YouTube brings revolution in the era of community knowledge. Last twenty years, common people come forward with their own videos and upload at YouTube platform. Millions of videos on different topics in different language have created a public knowledge bank which define crowdsourcing of knowledge newly. In pre YouTube era, community knowledge which is basically produce collectively in local level and never being documented. Now people make their own small videos and upload them using local languages. If we search with cooking recipes, we explore marvelous indigenous knowledge. From cooking to craft making, lots of local level community knowledge which are never identified, recognized  and documented nowadays documented by the people of the people for the people. YouTube platform become an example of crowdsourcing of knowledge. YouTube give voice to voiceless. Women are very much participated as YouTuber and open their age old knowledge bank which have been stored by many generations but never recognized by patriarchal society. The blue-collar workers get a scope to share their professional skill specially our craftsmen. The comment section transform YouTube an interactive knowledge platform also.
YouTube also provide a platform for researchers, librarians to develop community knowledge bank with copyright protection. YouTube is platform for community knowledge by crowdsourcing.

Book Review

Information Sciences: A Unified View Through a Systems-Approach /G Bhattacharyya .-  Calcutta :Indian Association of Special Libraries, Calcutta, 1978

56 p.

 The book has been published nearly four decades earlier, when the concept of ‘Information Science’ has been crystallized theoretically. Author has defined the concept of ‘Information Science’ from System Approach view point. He has raised six questions in the preface of the book and clarified and analyzed them through thirteen chapters. The questions are as follows –

a)      What is “information” to a professional in the field of information services? 

b)      What is “information science”?

c)       Is “information science” a unit of science, or a federation of sciences? 

d)      What is the scope of “Information Science or Sciences”? 

e)      What is an “Information system”? 

f)       How to delimit extension of each of the viable professional specializations in the field of information?

He has embodied ‘Information’ as system entity in the first five chapters. In the sixth chapter “National Development and Information”, author has described the facets – a) Physical or vital facet; b) Emotional facet; c) Intellectual facet; and intuitive facet. Author has defined ‘Genesis of the Information Systems’ and explained ‘Normative Principles of Information Systems’ on the basis of Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science in the seventh chapter. He has defined ‘Information Science’ as disciplines and described its scope by discussing “Information Oriented Applied Disciplines”, ”Fundamental Information Disciplines”, “Tool Disciplines”. Author has analyzed ‘Information System’ in the context of  attributes of ‘Profession’ and discussed necessity of professional growth through training programmes through the following chapters -   “Professional Specialization in the Field of Information”, Educational Programmes in Library and Information Science”, ”Information Sciences”.

Author has defined the theoretical core of ‘Information Science’ very briefly in this book.  This theoretical basic is necessary knowledge for the Information Professionals in the age of ‘Information Explosion’ because without basic theoretical knowledge only application tools cannot provide us the intellectual resources for fundamental disciplinary growth.

Open Access at Library and Democracy

Open access at library is a gateway of a magical world for any reader. Open access library introduces readers with unknown but desired books with joy of discovery. The joy of discovery becomes bridge between readers and books. The impact of bond between readers and books has very deep impact on society.
Open access creates an environment of open knowledge, space of open thinking, interconnects thoughts and multidisciplinary approach among readers and rational thinking also. Internet access facility may create the primary environment of open information society but it is not enough. Books - print or electronic give deep thought contains and transformed a reader to a thinker who have patience to understand other views with analytical mind. Only good readers as well as thinkers rational thinkers build a democratic society where different ideas, views co-exits and they protect the spirit of open knowledge society also.
Open access library facility is more essential for underprivileged and  first generation learners to identify their own category of knowledge thirst without support of family environment. Open access library facility is also helpful for a transforming society - orthodox to progressive. Free access of diverse knowledge, give scope to know the live hood, way of thinking of different communities, race, religion and culture  as well as wipe out the socio-cultural  distance and a fundamentalist may transform to a democrat who tolerate the existence of opposite ideas.
Public libraries in nineteenth and twentieth century performed a pivotal role to establish democracy in western world but in developing countries the problem is more complex, example: in India only establishment of public libraries are not enough. The complex socio- cultural conditions, feudal or semi feudal social structure, lack of mass literacy, poverty and economic disparity make the psychology of readers less flexible towards new thoughts or ideas. Open access creates a positive environment to overcome the psychological barrier of readers and able to create a culture of co-existence of different and diverse thoughts with harmony. Seed of democracy may be sown in the mind of citizens.