A Study of the Usefulness of Pakistan Library Automation Group's (PakLAG) Services

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a survey on the usefulness of the services offered by Pakistan Library Automation Group (PakLAG). A questionnaire was distributed to participants (n=207), who included LIS practitioners, faculty, and students. Most respondents found PakLAG services very useful for their work. They praised the PakLAG's efforts to help the library community in using ICTs and gave many suggestions to improve services.

Full text

“A Study of the Usefulness of Pakistan Library Automation Group's (PakLAG) Services,” Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Dr. Khalid
Mahmood. Library Philosophy and Practice 2010 (May)
1
Library Philosophy and Practice 2010
ISSN 1522-0222
A Study of the Usefulness of Pakistan Library Automation Group's
(PakLAG) Services
Muhammad Ajmal Khan
Librarian
National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences
Lahore, Pakistan
Dr. Khalid Mahmood
Professor & Chairman
Department of Library & Information Science
University of the Punjab
Lahore, Pakistan
Introduction
Library automation in Pakistan is in its infancy. Major constraints in this regard include absence of
planning, software/hardware problems, lack of cooperation, lack of competent and willing manpower, non-
existence of standards, financial limitations and absence of consultants and experts (Haider, 1998).
Pakistan Library Automation Group (PakLAG), a not-for-profit trust, came into existence in year 2000,
when some young professionals from the field of Library & Information Science wanted to institutionalize
their volunteer work to overcome the obstacles in the way of library automation. Lahore based activity
soon spread all over the country and volunteers from other provinces and cities joined the efforts to
promote the use of ICTs in libraries. During the last eight years, PakLAG organized its chapters in all four
provinces and federal capital. There is no membership fee and no official sponsorship. The idea was to
achieve the objectives by promoting the self-reliance and economical solutions. PakLAG is carrying out
various activities to achieve the following objectives:
To provide professional and technical advice to libraries, information centers and documentation
centers in their development programs.
To recommend training programs for librarians so as to help them to develop, update and
automate their libraries and documentation centers.
To develop library automation and capacity building programs.
To coordinate library development activities in the country with national as well as international
development agencies and institutions.
To provide information and conduct research studies on library development.
To provide platform to the information professionals for the exchange of views, sharing of
experiences, networking among libraries as well as to develop consensus upon the common
issues faced by the profession.
To provide research support and policy recommendations to government at all levels and to
legislative bodies in the formation of policies regarding the libraries and information services
(Pakistan Library Automation Group, 2009).

“A Study of the Usefulness of Pakistan Library Automation Group's (PakLAG) Services,” Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Dr. Khalid
Mahmood. Library Philosophy and Practice 2010 (May)
2
Activities and Services of PakLAG
Following are the major activities and services of PakLAG (Iqbal, 2008; Mahmood, Khan &
Siddique, 2008; Pakistan Library Automation Group, 2009):
PakLAG Website: The group maintains a website ( www.paklag.org ). Until May, 2009 this
website was visited more than 76,000 times (Figure 1).
Figure 1. PakLAG Website
Library Information Management System (LIMS). Based on MS-Access this free software
automates library housekeeping routines including cataloging, circulation and reporting. It also
facilitates the use of barcode technology. PakLAG team also extends training and support in the
use of LIMS. It is being used in more than 200 academic, special and public libraries not only in
Pakistan but also in the Middle East. A unique feature of this software is that it has been
designed, developed, implemented and tested by library professionals without any help from
computer experts.
PakLAG Web OPAC and Digital Library Software. This is a web based application, consists of
OPAC and digital library, to be connected with LIMS and provides remote access to library
resources. It is a Java Server Pages and MySQL based application.
PakLAG Data Converter. Retrospective conversion of data of legacy ILS is a daunting task while
implementing library automation system. This converter converts data from CDS/ISIS format of
Library Automation Management Program (LAMP), first DOS based Integrated Library System

“A Study of the Usefulness of Pakistan Library Automation Group's (PakLAG) Services,” Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Dr. Khalid
Mahmood. Library Philosophy and Practice 2010 (May)
3
developed with financial support of Netherlands Library Development Program. PakLAG
distributes the converter free of cost and also provides its training.
Plagpk Mailing List. Mailing lists are tools of social networking. The PakLAG's plagpk mailing list
is the first list in LIS field in Pakistan. In May 2009 it had membership of 2174 LIS professionals
working in Pakistan and abroad. It circulated 6352 messages among the library professionals by
May 5, 2009. LIS professional discuss professional issues, exchange personal news, and share
resources through this list.
Free Library Automation Consultancy. PakLAG provides free library automation consultancy to
the libraries through phone, email and personal visits. More than 200 libraries got benefit of this
service.
PakLAG Koha. Koha is a web based multilingual Integrated Library System to cater automation
needs of medium to large libraries. It is customized version of open source software Koha 2.2.8
for windows. According to a survey there were approximately 300 libraries around the world using
Koha. PakLAG Koha satisfies all the functional requirements of a library management system. It
is full-featured MARC based Integrated Library System customized to cater the needs of
Pakistani libraries. The user friendly interfaces of PakLAG Koha provide ease of use with great
flexibility. Virtual keyboards for Urdu,Arabic,Persian Sindhi, Baluchi and Pashto languages and
export of MARC records in local languages are the unique features of this software. Four libraries
have implemented this solution so far.
LIS Professionals' Directory. Online directory of LIS professionals can be searched by name,
organization or city. Directory members can update their information by themselves. It can be
used for resource sharing because it provides contact information of each member. It has more
than 650 entries.
Virtual Catalog. A multilingual web OPAC with virtual keyboards of seven languages i.e Urdu,
Arabic, Persian, Sindhi, Pushto, Baluchi and Saraiki make it useful for not only library
professionals but also general public even for those who are not English literate. It aims to
promote the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and reading habits among
the people especially, living in remote areas. It will cover library material of all types, published in
and about Pakistan, and material published in Urdu and other regional languages all over the
world. Its objectives include (a) To provide bibliographic control of material published in and about
Pakistan, (b) To provide MARC (Urdu and local languages) record for copy cataloging, and (c) To
work as collection development tool for library professionals. There are more than 10,000 entries
so far.
Library Software Directory. It provides information about library software being used in Pakistan.
It is very useful source for researchers doing research on library automation, use of ICTs and
library professionals who want to automate their libraries. Software information of 140 libraries is
included.
Open Access Periodical Directory. This directory covers open access journals, magazines,
newsletters, yearbooks, annual reports, etc published in any language or discipline by any
institution of Pakistan. Each entry provides information on title, publisher, city of publication,
ISSN, language, online availability date, subject, format (green or gold), and link (URL) to
periodical's website. By now 145 periodicals have been entered and can be searched by title,
publisher, city and subject.
Pak Web OPACs. PakLAG has listed web-based Online Public Access Catalogs. The entries
include 21 ILS based OPACs and 14 OPACs using Library of Congress Gateway's search
interface.
Vendors Catalogs. PakLAG provides the list the Pakistani vendors' online catalogs that are useful
for the acquisition of library material. There are only 14 vendors who facilitate their customers to
search their collections.
Resources (Presentations, Manuals, etc). PakLAG uploads presentations given by various LIS
experts and other material useful for LIS students and professionals.
Training. Keeping in view the emerging trends and technological developments, PAKLAG is
actively engaged in the capacity building and human resource development activities. PakLAG
organized training on state of the art library tools and technologies including LIMS, Zebra Server,

“A Study of the Usefulness of Pakistan Library Automation Group's (PakLAG) Services,” Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Dr. Khalid
Mahmood. Library Philosophy and Practice 2010 (May)
4
MarcEdit, Data Converter, Endnote, PakLAG Web OPAC and Digital Library Software and
Greenstone. Many workshops, seminars, lectures, internships and short term attachments have
been arranged for LIS professionals.
Professional Jobs. PakLAG has been uploading job advertisements of professional posts. It
covers job information appeared in national dailies, sent by employers and LIS professionals in
Pakistan and abroad.
PakLIS News. Pak-LIS News is the first online newsletter of the library profession published in
Pakistan.
Publication Program: A PhD dissertation has been published. Some software user manuals have
also been electronically published on CD-ROM.
Survey of ICT Training Needs: Conducted a survey of Pakistani librarians to design future training
program. The results were published in an international journal (Mahmood & Khan, 2007)
Objectives and Methods of Study
The objectives of this study were to:
Find the perceptions of LIS community about usefulness of the services offered by PakLAG
Seek suggestions from the user community to improve the quality of services.
The survey method was used to achieve the study's objectives. A short questionnaire was
prepared to collect data. The data collection instrument included demographic information of respondents
(city and organization type). A list of 15 services was provided with a 6-point rating scale to measure
perceptions on the usefulness of services. An empty space for suggestion to improve the quality of
services was also provided. The questionnaire was sent through PakLAG email discussion group. A web
based survey form was also used for data collection (SurveyMonkey). Telephone calls were also made
for reminder where possible. Two hundred and seven usable responses were included in the analysis.
Results
Library practitioners of all types, LIS faculty and students participated in the study (n=207). Their
area wise distribution (Table 1) shows that most of them were from Punjab province (49%). The second
largest number of participants were from Sindh province (26%). Another larger group was from federal
capital Islamabad (18%).
Table 1. Area wise distribution of the respondents
Rank
Area
Percent
1
Punjab
49
2
Sindh
26
3
Islamabad
18
4
NWFP
5
5
Foreign countries
1
Most of the participants were from university libraries (both public and private) (50%). The second
largest group was LIS faculty and students from various universities in Pakistan (19%). Another group
belonged to special libraries (14%). The results show that PakLAG also had its users in foreign countries
although they responded in less number (Table 2).

“A Study of the Usefulness of Pakistan Library Automation Group's (PakLAG) Services,” Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Dr. Khalid
Mahmood. Library Philosophy and Practice 2010 (May)
5
Table 2. Type of organization of the respondents
Rank
Organization type
Percent
1
University libraries
50
2
LIS schools
19
3
Special libraries
14
4
College libraries
10
5
Public libraries
3
6
National library
2
7
School libraries
1
Perceptions of the participants about the usefulness of PakLAG services were measured through
a 6-point rating scale (very useful, mostly useful, useful, somewhat useful, not useful and don't know
about service). The percent responses for all categories are given in Table 3. The results reveal that the
participants found most of the services useful for their work. The most popular services include LIMS
software, plagpk mailing list and information about professional jobs. The results also show that some
users were still ignorant about many services rendered by PakLAG.
The open space provided for suggestions to improve the quality of PakLAG services was used by
120 participants. Most of them praised the PakLAG's efforts to help library community in using ICTs.
Major suggestions given by a large number of respondents are:
1. PakLAG should market its services in a professional manner.
2. Mailing list should be filtered by the moderators. Only important and relevant professional
messages should be released.
3. PakLAG website should be improved.
4. More training courses and workshops on various topics of library automation should be arranged.
5. Information on LIS jobs, PakLIS News and Directory of LIS professionals should be updated
regularly.
6. LIMS software should be updated according to the changing needs of local libraries.
7. A career counseling service should be started for LIS students and new graduates.
8. A directory of libraries in Pakistan should be developed and made available on PakLAG website.
9. PakLAG network should be expanded to other cities.

“A Study of the Usefulness of Pakistan Library Automation Group's (PakLAG) Services,” Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Dr. Khalid
Mahmood. Library Philosophy and Practice 2010 (May)
6
Table 3. Percent response on various PakLAG services
PakLAG Service
Very
useful
Mostly
useful
Useful
Somewhat
useful
Not
useful
Don't know about
service
LIMS Free Software
47
20
20
2
1
10
PakLAG Web OPAC and Digital
Library Software
35
25
24
1
1
13
PakLAG Data Converter
21
15
23
7
1
32
Plagpk (Mailing List)
47
19
20
3
0
11
Free Library Automation
Consultancy
43
21
18
5
1
13
PakLAG Koha
22
20
23
8
1
25
Professionals' Directory
40
21
20
7
2
10
Virtual Catalog
27
25
24
7
2
15
Software Directory
31
20
21
9
2
17
Periodical Directory
26
30
18
6
1
18
Pak Web OPACs
27
24
25
4
2
19
Vendors Catalog
24
25
24
7
1
19
Resources (Presentations,
Manuals etc)
28
26
21
7
1
18
Professional Jobs
46
19
20
5
2
8
PakLIS News
40
23
19
7
2
10
Conclusion
The results of this study reveal that the library and information community in Pakistan found the
services rendered by PakLAG very useful in their work. They praised the level and standard of services.
They commended the volunteer efforts of PakLAG team to help library community in using ICTs. The
feedback of users of PakLAG services will help in improving the quality of services. This market survey
has also been successful to get ideas for launching new services. This study is also a source of
motivation for the team of volunteers.
References
Haider, S. J. (1998). Library automation in Pakistan. International Information and Library Review 30 (1):
51-70.
Iqbal, M. (2008). A zero-budget strategy for innovation and ICTs' promotion in Pakistani libraries: The
case of Pakistan Library Automation Group (PakLAG). Paper presented at International Conference for
Information and Knowledge Management, March 24-29, 2008, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Mahmood, K., & Khan, M.A. (2007). ICT training for LIS professionals in Pakistan : A needs assessment.
Program: Electronic Library and Information Systems 41 (4): 418-427.
Mahmood, K., Khan, M.A., & Siddique, N. (2008). Volunteer endeavors to promote ICT in a developing
country: The case of the Pakistan Library Automation Group. Information Development 24 (2): 135-142.
Pakistan Library Automation Group. (2009). PakLAG Website. Available at: http://www.paklag.org