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Exploring the first library of the world: Assistant Librarian Biplab Kumar Chandra's is expected to encourage many young minds towards academic research

At Brainware University, the students, faculty members, and staff are always engaged to excel - to do something better! Identifying and exploring the first library in the world is not something that forms a regular topic of discussion, however, Biplab Kumar Chandra, Assistant Librarian of Brainware University has pursued an intriguing work on this topic.

An article in Bengali titled ' Assyrian Library: Exploring the foundation of the first library in the world' written by Biplab Kumar Chandra has been recently published in the book titled 'Itihas O Sahitya Prabandhamala (Part 5)' which is being published by the prestigious Banglar Puraton Gobeshonakendra, Kolkata, West Bengal.

"The subject is quite uncommon to the people, I am sure that this will definitely encourage our students to work on the less-explored areas of academics," said Chandra.

First library of the world

Exploring Hicky: Bengal Gazette and Invention of Print Media in Colonial India

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The Central Library, Department of Media Science and Journalism, Department of Multimedia, Library of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Library of the Department of Law, Library of the Department of Nursing & the Department of English and Literary Studies of Brainware University were proud to jointly present a live online lecture titled 'Exploring Hicky: Bengal Gazette and Invention of Print Media in Colonial India' held on 29 January, 2022 at 5:00 pm.

The key speech on Hicky was delivered by Dr. Andrew Otis, PhD in Journalism from Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland. Ms. Moutusi Pal, Library Assistant, Central Library, Brainware University also spoke on the Calcutta Press set up by Hicky.

The event was an academically enriching one, and all the participants were enthused by the virtuosity and rigor on display. The speakers painted a compelling portrait of print, censorship and circulation in 18th century Bengal, and reminded the audience of the debt that contemporary print culture owes to the efforts of Hicky. "It was a very thought-provoking event, and we are looking forward to holding more such events for the flowering of the general intellectual atmosphere of the university," said Bandana Basu, Librarian, Central Library, BWU and one of the organizers of the event.

Webinar on “Open Access and Its Impact on Library Resources and Services” on 13th October, 2020

The emergence and growth of Open Access publishing have ushered in significant changes to the world of scholarly communication since the migration to digital publishing began over a decade ago. The Internet and Information and Communication Technologies make it easy to publish and share content online.

As an alternative to subscription model to academic journals, Open Access publishing is booming both in terms of the numbers of the journals and the impact it (has) created. To enlighten us about ‘Open Access and Its Impact on Library Resources and Services’, a webinar was jointly organized by Central Libraries of Brainware University and Brainware Group of Institutions-SDET through YouTube live stream on 13.10.2020. The key speaker was Dr. Ashis Biswas (Librarian, Victoria Institution College, Kolkata) who started with a short introduction about Open and Closed Access and the paradigm shift in its resources.

Dr.  Biswas proceeded to explain the use of ‘Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)’ site which provides open access articles easily. There are two types of open access resources depending on their copyrights, Gold and Green. He then explained the importance of Sherpa Romeo which is an online resource for viewing copyright and archiving policies for journals globally. He also talked about the significance of peer reviewed journals and how one can avoid predatory journals.

Before submitting to a journal an author must verify if it is peer-reviewed. In this context, he mentioned the portal ‘Think Check Submit’ for checking the reliability of a journal. As an example of Open access resources he talked about the OAPEN library which contains books which are “free to read”. "Open data" is data that can be freely used, reused and redistributed by anyone. Open access publishing comprises of educational resources like web lectures, open content, open courseware, electronic thesis and Open Educational Resources (OER).

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Webinar on “Maintaining research integrity with reference management system” on 5th October, 2020

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The Central Library and IQAC in collaboration with IIC, Brainware University organised a special webinar on “Maintaining Research Integrity with Reference Management System” on 5 October, 2020 at 4:30 PM. In the age of information overload where it is difficult to track down authentic sources, Reference Management Systems like Mendeley and Zotero help us to ensure that our sources are referenced in the correct manner. We learnt more about how to optimise the use of these softwares from our guest expert Dr. Barnali Roy Choudhury (Assistant Professor, DLIS, Netaji Subhas Open University).

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Webinar on “Awareness on COVID-19” on 29th September, 2020

There is another pandemic brewing on the sidelines of Covid-19. Misinformation and panic about coronavirus are spreading online and it is hard to distinguish fact from fiction. To curb the spread of incorrect information, The Central Library (Brainware University) and the Library of BGI, in association with the Department of Allied Health Science, organised a webinar — Awareness on COVID-19’ on 29 September, 2020. Dr. Nirmal Kumar Sarkar (Ex- Professor of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata) cautioned us to "use discretion before forwarding any message on WhatsApp". Dr. Sarkar said misinformation can often become the factor that decides between life or death. "Herbal remedies and totka being touted as the cure could lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment, setting the patient back by days in their recovery journey", he warned. The best approach, he said, would be to consult credible sources and it is here that the library plays a tremendous role. Students and researchers should cooperate with libraries in publicising their research and ensuring that people outside academia have access to it. He also held a myth-busting session where he made it clear that garlic and oil baths do not cure Covid-19. Wearing masks and practicing good hygiene is the best way to prevent the spread.

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Webinar on “Searching and Browsing E-Contents from National Digital Library of India (NDLI)” on 19th September 2020

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Immense knowledge is available at our fingertips thanks to the National Digital Library of India, an online library platform that aims to provide knowledge without boundaries. To learn how to make best use of this national asset, the Central Library of Brainware University and Brainware Group of Institutions jointly organised a webinar on “Searching and Browsing E-Contents from National Digital Library of India (NDLI) on 19 September 2020. We had the honour of hosting Mr. Shibabroto Banerjee (Senior Technician, IIT Kharagpur) as our guest speaker. With great skill, Mr Banerjee took us through the different ways to optimise our NDLI search results. A simple change in keywords can give us the result we seek. The navigation is fairly simple but robust. Overall, it was clear that NDLI will be hugely beneficial in aiding our learning and other research activities.

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Webinar on “Digital Rights Management: Slant to University Libraries” on 7th September, 2020

Ebooks and Digital Copyright issues have taken over the publishing market. How can Digital Rights be effectively managed? To answer this question and the role of university libraries in ensuring that digital property remains secure Brainware University, Central Library, IQAC, BWU, and the Central Library of Brainware Group of Institutions organized a webinar on “Digital Rights Management: Slant to University Libraries” on 07 September 2020. The event focused on discussing how university libraries are playing an important role in ensuring that digital rights are respected. Academia has also been digitalised and scholarly works are being published in reputed online journals which are threatened by piracy and copyright violations. Our esteemed guest speaker Dr. Arun Kumar Chakraborty (Librarian, Bose Institute, Kolkata and former Director General, RRRLF, Ministry of Culture, GoI, Director General, National Library and Additional Mission Director, National Mission on Libraries) informed us about the different ways to prevent copyright violations and ensure that information is used in a responsible and ethical ways. Libraries need to educate their patrons on the correct way to reference and use information so that the researchers receive their due credits.Know more

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Webinar on “Bengali dictionary and Rabindranath Tagore” on 31st August, 2020

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The talk was our homage to Bengal and it is for that reason we decided to conduct it entirely in Bengali. Dr. Asitava Das (Librarian, Kalyani University) & Mr. Prodosh Kumar Bagchi (Librarian, Muzaffar Ahmed Pathagar) had a lively discussion on the origins of Bengali dictionary and the contribution of Rabindranath Tagore. By the end of the discussion our audience had a lot of questions about how words are added into the dictionary and the role of other key figures.

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Webinar on “The Librarian of the Imperial Library: India’s First Librarian” on 21st August 2020

To shed light on the past and preserve our culture, the Library Departments of Brainware University and Brainware Group of Institutions had organised a webinar on “The Librarian of the Imperial Library: India’s First Librarian” on 21 August 2020 from 4 pm onwards.

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Webinar on “LHotse Expedition” on 9th August 2020

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Bengal Library Association & Brainware University (Central Library &IQAC) organised a special webinar on “LHotse Expedition” on 9th August 2020. It gave us tremendous pleasure and honour to host Sri Debasish Biswas (Renowned Mountaineer) and listen to his words of wisdom. It is only a man like him, having triumphed fears and climbed a thousand hurdles who can motivate students and guide them especially in this period of uncertainty.

It was fascinating to hear his stories about the different expeditions and challenges. The beautiful photographs of mountain scapes added to the charm of the conversation.Know More

Webinar on "Extending Services Beyond the Library Wall" on Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Time waits for no one! Libraries are going digital to extend their best services regardless of the pandemic. What are the resources that a library can provide to help students and faculty reach success? To address this, the Central Library of Brainware University and Brainware Group of Institutions teamed up to jointly organize a webinar on “Extending Services Beyond the Library Wall” on 29 July 2020 from 4:30 pm onwards. Our guest speaker Dr. Barnali Roy Choudhury (Assistant Professor, DLIS, Netaji Subhas Open University) explained how libraries have gone digital to provide a host of excellent services for their patrons. Students and Faculty can now digitally access free resources, know about the latest research, and even browse through several open access’ online courses and resources through their library services. All of these will ensure they keep learning during the pandemic. The walls have come down and sky's the limit when it comes to learning now. Libraries are upgrading themselves.

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Webinar on the topic “Towards NAAC Best Practice: Moodle as a Tool for E-Learning” on 20th July, 2020

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Our guest speaker Dr. Joydeep Chanda (Librarian, Gurudas College, Treasurer, Bengal Library Association) explained how MOODLE can act as an excellent repository for an institution to keep track of learning engagement and online educational activities and therefore make it easier for NAAC to scrutinise their quality later. It provides various in-built tools for classes, assignments, webinars and even online examinations! An added bonus, the data is highly secure and it is extremely easy to navigate. Offering multilingual options makes MOODLE perfect for India! There are scores of classes by various universities available for free for students who want to increase their skills. By making classes interactive, innovative, and intellectually stimulating MOODLE is truly helping India learn better! We hope this session introduced students and faculty members to new resources they can use to attain success. Know More

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Webinar on "Reaching the Unreached: Engaging Communities through Effective Use of Social Media" on 11th July, 2020

Dr. Partha Sarathi Das (Assistant Library & Information Officer, National Library of India, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India) talked about how social media is revolutionising the world by becoming the centre of innovation and citizen journalism. Bridging distance and space, the world comes together nothing can stop the boundless creativity. He also discussed free world-class educational resources available on social media, sites for students to access and improve their skills to get better job opportunities. They can even connect with experts and learn new things.

The Internet is also filled with tools for educators and innovators which can help you create engaging and educational content and circulate them widely. Dr. Das assured us that if used correctly these internet resources can be a great platform for nationwide development.Know More

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Webinar on "Digitization and Copyright: Issues & Challenges" on 15th June, 2020

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As the world moves into the digital arena and information exchange happens online it becomes important for budding researchers to know some safety measures to protect their intellectual property. The internet now is the largest learning resource open for all where ideas and opinions are freely shared often without credit to the original creator.To discuss the issues surrounding Digitization and Copyright challenges that researchers and creators face in the digital era Brainware University Central Library in association with the Library of Brainware Group of Institutions- Sabita Devi Education Trust, came forward to organise a webinar on “Digitization and Copyright: Issues & Challenges” on 15 June 2020. Our key speaker Dr. Barnali Roy Choudhury (Assistant Professor, DLIS, Netaji Subhas Open University) discussed the way in which online open access resources must maintain a legitimate record of citations through which original creators can be traced. With the immense benefits of digitization which has made knowledge sharing easier copyright violations are a creator’s biggest bane. More than 800 participants joined in as Dr. Roy shared ways in which students can legally challenge such violations and ensure that their ideas are used ethically. We hope this session has motivated them to be more responsible in securing that million dollar idea that might just change the world!

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Students’ Seminar on “Recent Developments in the Multiple Facets on Higher Education” and Annual Book Exhibition

Brainware University Central Library once again organized its “Annual Book Exhibition-Cum-Sale, 2020”, on 3rd & 4th March, 2020. This time, however, the programme is accompanied by a Students’ Seminar on “Recent Developments in the Multiple Facets on Higher Education”, in which the varsity students of various departments enjoyed the opportunity of presenting Papers of their own on developing issues in their respective domains.The inaugural Lighting of the Lamp ceremony was performed by the varsity Pro-Vice Chancellor, along with the varsity Registrar, its Directory Research and the Director IQAC.

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The Chief Guest of the occasion was Dr. Joydeep Chanda, Librarian, Gurudas College and Treasurer, Bengal Library Association, who enlightened the audience with his views and visions on the importance of a Library in our lives even today and Dr. Pritam Gurey, Librarian of the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, made a brilliant presentation on Authorship and Plagiarism, one of the most relevant issues today regarding writing original research papers

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Later in the day the Paper Presentations followed, in which students from the departments of Computer Science, Biotechnology, Multimedia, Allied Health Science, Law and Management participated with great zeal and enthusiasm. The event was truly a success, as everyone present for the occasion acknowledged the shared a common interest in books so happily.

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Seminar on Hicky and His Contribution in Indian Journalism and Printing Press

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Honorable speaker, Mr. Biplab Kumar Chandra is working with Brainware University as an Asst. Librarian. He is doing his research on “Hicky’s Contribution in Calcutta’s Printing Industry and Newspaper”. Recently, he presented his research paper in Bangladesh which was widely acclaimed.

It was the first seminar organized by the dept. of Journalism, Mass Communication and Media Science on February 27, 2020. Our eminent speaker, Mr. Biplab Kumar Chandra, also a research scholar, elucidated how James Augustus Hicky came to India overcoming several hardships and succeeded in starting his first newspaper in India. The participating students were enlightened on how Hicky brought printing press in Calcutta and initiated the first Indian printed newspaper “the Bengal Gazette”.

Mr. Chandra also introduced Sir. Hicky in a very different way where students and other guests came to know about his life and how Hicky sowed the seeds of his newspaper business leaving behind a career of a clerk, to a doctor, to a ship businessman!

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IEEE (ASPP) e-Journal and Database Awareness Programme, 2020

The Central Library of Brainware University organized an Awareness Programme on IEEE e-journal and database, 2020 in an effort to encourage active participation in research activities within students and research scholars on 11th January, 2020. On this occasion the key speaker, Mr. Rajkumar Mahapatra, Training Manager, Eastern India, EBSCO Information Services trained and imparted very useful information about IEEE e-Journals. He facilitated the audience with critical and extensive information regarding how to search the journals on IEEE ‘Xplore Digital Library’. The event also aimed to provide assistance on how to look up and download full text journals from IEEE ‘Xplore Digital Library’.

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Lecture on “The first establishment of court in Kolkata in the time of British East India Company”

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The study of history is important because it helps us understand people and societies. History offers data on information of how people and societies lived and behaved in the past. On November 22, 2019 the Central library organized a seminar for information sharing with the Law students of our university on the topic. Mr. Biplab Chanda, Assistant Librarian, Brainware university enriched the students with the interested history behind it. Students enjoyed the session. The first establishment of court in Kolkata in the time of British East India Company was called Mayor’s Court. The Mayor’s Court was established in 1727 A.D. at Kolkata. At 1774 A.D. the Supreme Court came into existence. Before that, only The Mayor’s Court was eligible to conduct legal jurisdiction for European Personnel under Calcutta region.

An awareness Programme on “Importance of journals & periodicals for Universities students"

The importance of journals and periodicals for any scholar is unquestionable. These are the source of the knowledge base for any kind of research or learning. Mr. Partha Sarathi Das as our invited speaker to conduct a seminar on this topic on September 21, 2019. The central library of Brainware University organized this seminar for our P.hd Scholars and Master degree Students. Mr. Partha Sarathi Das has more than 13 years of professional experience and is currently serving as Assistant Library & Information Officer at the National Library, Govt. of India, Ministry of Culture, after qualifying the Union Public Service Commission in 2011. Mr. Das shared his experience with all and enriched them with his tips and suggestions that would always help the learner to be updated. The seminar was able to spread awareness about the use of journals for research and higher studies.

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Central Library Film Screening Programme “FANTASMAGORIE"

With over 15000+ collections of books, journals, magazines, e-books, the Brainware University central library is well stocked to cater to the information needs of the academic community within as well as beyond the horizons of the academic curriculum. Whole library collection is computerized and is electronically accessible through WEB-OPAC.

The library also provides access to digital resources in the form of CDs, DVDs, e-books, e-resources, databases etc. BWU library has institutional membership of the British Council Library and Chitrabani Library, from where books and articles can be obtained as per the requirement of the students, teachers and other staffs.

Apart from these, the students/faculty/staffs can access the resources of National Digital Library of India (NDL) and e-Sodhsindhu which consist of huge collection of books, research papers, theses and various data bases.

Celebration of World Book Day 2019

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Brainware University Central Library and the Library of BGI-SDET, jointly organized an awareness programme on “The resources of National Digital Library of India” in celebration of World Book Day (23rd April), 2019

Brainware University and Brainware Group of Institution, jointly celebrates the World Book Day to organize an awareness programme on the resources of national digital library. The inauguration of the programme commenced at 3.30 pm by Dr. Subrata Kumar Dey, the Honorable Vice- Chancellor of Brainware Universty. At the ceremony the honorable attendees were Honorable Principal, Dr. Subhasis Banerjee; (BGI-SDET), Ms. Mahual Pal, Honorable registrar of Brainware University, Dr. Sharmistha Ghosh, Dean of Department of Basic Sciences, Brainware University, Dr. Dilip Debnath, Dean of Department of Engineering, Brainware University, Dr. Shyamal Kr. Goswami, HOD of Department of Mechanical Engineering (BGI-SDET), Dr. J.C. Hazra HOD of Department of Chemistry (BGI-SDET), Ms. Bandana Basu, Librarian of Brainware Central Library , Mr. Sujan Bandhu Chakroborty, Asst. Librarian (BGI-SDET)and Mr. Biplab Kr. Chandra, Asst. Librarian of Brainware Central Library, graced the programme with their presence. Other teaching and non-teaching staffs also graced the programme with their presence.

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