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Need for revising the role of university libraries in HEC university ranking criteria

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... As academic libraries in Pakistan endeavor to develop collections and other facilities that can support their academic programs and research, therefore it is imperative that sufficient funding be provided to accomplish their objectives. A standing committee, as suggested by Shafique and Mahmood (2008) 37 should be developed by HEC, comprising Pakistan Library Association (PLA) representatives, LIS faculty members and senior library professionals to develop standards for academic libraries on the patron of ACRL. ...
... Parveen et al. (2011) have also reviewed efforts to reform higher education in Pakistan and offered recommendations, including in the area of university rankings. Shafique and Mahmood (2008) have highlighted ways of incorporating qualitative aspects of library services into university ranking criteria. Halai (2013) has discussed the quality of private university rankings in Pakistan in comparison with public universities, as per the HEC's 2012 ranking report. ...
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to help improve a higher education institution’s research profile by using existing resources and existing research outputs. Design/methodology/approach This study was based on quantitative data extracted manually from QS University Rankings-Asia 2016, the 2015 Ranking of Pakistani higher education institutions (HEI) and ResearchGate (RG). Resultant data were loaded into Excel and analyzed in SPSS version 21. Findings The results of this study indicate that, while there is no direct correlation between an institution’s national/international ranking and its respective RG score, there is a tendency for lower-ranked institutions to have a lower RG score. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to data extracted from RG; however, it would be useful to apply the same methodology to other relevant academic scholarly network sites (ASNS). Practical implications This paper has suggested strategies which may be of relevance to those institutions in other countries which are aspiring to lift their national ranking through improved research profiles. Libraries are important contributors to the support of institutional research goals. Originality/value There have been no previous published research studies on either the potential for ASNS to contribute to enhancing research outcomes for Pakistani HEI or the role that libraries could play in supporting these outcomes.
... • As academic libraries in Pakistan endeavour to develop collections and other facilities that can support their academic programmes and research, it is imperative that sufficient funding be provided to accomplish their objectives. A standing committee, as suggested by Shafique and Mahmood (2008), should be developed by HEC, comprising PLA representatives, LIS faculty members and senior library professionals to develop standards for academic libraries on the patron of ACRL. ...
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Purpose This study aims to investigate the annual financial management of university libraries in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan, and its relationship with Higher Education Commission (HEC) grants to examine libraries’ share. Design/methodology/approach Using survey methods, this study explores the annual budget allocation of well-established university libraries in the province of KPK in the past five years and its relationship with HEC grants to determine libraries’ shares. The survey followed a qualitative design based on an interview technique of data collection. The scope of this study covers all those public sector universities which are chartered by the Government of KPK, recognized by HEC, and eligible for HEC grants on annual basis. Based on this formulation, 15 public sector universities were selected for the survey. Findings The data analysis of the present study revealed that no specific norms are followed by the university administrations in allocating funds for libraries out of HEC annual grants. University libraries in the province either do not have funding polices or are administered by the concerned establishments where Library and Information Science professionals have no role in the financial management of libraries. The study also found that university administrations in KPK either do not provide sufficient share to libraries out of HEC grants or specify an inadequate share which is in violation of the clear instructions of HEC ordinance 2002, Section 10(h). Originality/value This study is the first of its kind in Pakistan as it provides an insight into how much budget is allocated for collection development in the university libraries, compares it with HEC grants to calculate libraries’ share in percentage and suggests to the HEC to encourage university administration to allocate sufficient budget for libraries to improve collection development, service provision, acquisition, selection and patronage.
... Pitanjima rangiranja su se bavili mnogi autori [9,11,22,26], ali i institucije kao što je European University Association [17,18]. U Australiji je čak razvijen model rangiranja na osnovu kojeg se vrši finansiranje pojedinih visokoškolskih institucija [6]. ...
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Uloga univerzitetskih biblioteka se značajno promijenila rastom upotrebe informacionih tehnologija (IT) u svim aspektima nastavnih i naučno-istraživačkih djelatnosti. Ulogu biblioteke kao riznice naučnih znanja i stručne literature u mnogome je zamijenio internet. S druge strane, korištenje interneta kao jedinog izvora informacija za istraživački rad dovelo je do novih problema, kao što su plagijarizam, kršenje autorskih prava, predatorska izdavačka djelatnost, te generalna degradacija kvaliteta univerziteta. Jedan od načina poticanja unapređenja kvaliteta su rangiranja univerziteta, kojima se danas pridaje sve veći značaj. Kriteriji za rangiranje se razlikuju, a najčešći kriterij je mjera utjecaja istraživača, odnosno citiranost. U ovom radu su opisani najčešći problemi s kojima se susreću univerziteti u postizanju boljeg ranga, kao i načini prevazilaženja tih problema. Posebno je opisana uloga univerzitetskih biblioteka i njihova integracija s IT servisima kao jedan od mogućih načina unapređenja kvaliteta visokoškolskih ustanova kao obrazovnih i istraživačkih institucija.
... As academic libraries in Pakistan endeavour to develop collections that can support their academic programs and research, it is imperative that sufficient funding be provided to accomplish their objectives. A standing committee, as suggested by Shafique and Mahmood (2008), should be developed by HEC, comprising PLA representatives, LIS faculty members and senior library professionals to develop standards for academic libraries on the pattern of ACRL. ...
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Purpose – The study aims to explore the factors which influence collection development and management in academic libraries. In libraries and information centres, collection development is considered an essential element of the information life cycle. Collection development and management activities do not emanate from a vacuum. Several factors have a direct bearing on the way in which collections are developed and managed in the academic libraries. These factors are bridges and barriers for effective collection development and management. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive review of the available literature was made to conduct the study. Findings – The study found that several factors have a direct bearing on the way in which collections are developed and managed in the academic libraries. These factors include goals of collection development and management policies and procedures, user needs, collection development policies (CDPs), collection development budgets, collection evaluation to determine the strength and weaknesses of various subjects in the collections, selection of reading materials, formats in which materials are selected, the issues of access versus ownership, cooperative collection development, resource-sharing programs and legal issues in collection development and management. Originality/value – This study provides an overview of various factors that influence collection development activities in the academic libraries. It provides an insight for the selectors of library resources to take these factors into account for building effective collections in the academic libraries of Pakistan and abroad.
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The present study aims to rank the university libraries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan. Library services, resources, status of automation and application of emerging technologies were the parameters used for the assessment of ranking of the nineteen Public Sector Universities and Degree Awarding Institutes of NorthWest province of Pakistan. Survey based approach was adopted to collect the required information. It was reported that majority of university libraries under study are partially automated. Based on the above-mentioned parameters, the central library of The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar was ranked top followed by central/main library of University of Malakand, Chakdara, Dir, Malakand and central/main library of University of Peshawar, Peshawar. Provision of appropriate budget for the implementation of smart technologies, induction of technological adept human ware and awareness of higher-ups of the universities about the benefits of modern library technologies is recommended for the effective and smart library culture in the territory. The manifestation of these steps will help in the enhancement of quality education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan.
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Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of collaboration among seminar libraries and central library of universities and to recommend certain measures to strengthen this collaboration. Central libraries of leading universities in Pakistan possess more resources and manpower than seminar libraries. The task of planning about the important matters like access to e-resources, selecting infrastructure and automation mechanics lies with central libraries. Growth of information and communication technology (ICT) and information explosion has created opportunities for the libraries within a university for creating a cordial and beneficial relationship between central library and seminar libraries. Design/methodology/approach – Mixed-method design was used for exploring the collaboration and nature of relationship among central libraries and seminar libraries within the university. Data were collected from library executives chairing their sections at their workplaces in central libraries of leading universities during the author’s visits to these libraries for MPhil study for collecting data about organisational structures of central libraries. A questionnaire was constructed to elicit information about the relationship between the central library and the seminar libraries that was supplemented with the telephonic interviews from library professionals and faculty about the nature of this relationship. Findings – The data analysis of the present study revealed that the relationship between the central library and the seminar libraries is of a diverse nature. Private sector universities have developed integrative relationships, while some public sector ones have interactive relations and some have independent libraries with limited relationship. All library professionals interviewed have rejected the idea of independent seminar libraries and majority of them proposed integrated relationship between the central library and the seminar libraries. Practical implications – This study suggests that the relationship between the central library and the departmental library should be developed by considering the depleting resources and by developing ICT. According to library professionals, the relationship between the central and departmental libraries should be of either interactive or integrated nature. University administration and library administration should come forward for building a beneficial relationship among libraries within the university. This study will lead to broader collaborations among libraries of different universities in Pakistan. Originality/value – No study has ever been undertaken in Pakistan to explore the relationship between the central library and the seminar libraries of universities. This study will be a milestone for building collaborative relationships among different libraries within universities. Keywords Cooperation, Collaboration, Interaction, Central library, Seminar library, University library
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This paper presents bio-bibliometric analysis of the contributions of Dr. Khalid Mahmood in the field of Library and Information Science through his publications. The analysis includes geographical and year wise distribution of publications; collaboration for publication; publications by type; language and journal preferences for the publication; and coverage of different subject areas. Results of the study indicate that Dr. Khalid Mahmood is a prolific writer in the field of library and information science. He contributed 115 items including 99 articles, six books, eight conference papers and two papers in newsletters till December 31, 2011. Research work by Dr. Khalid Mahmood is well accepted in developed countries like United Kingdom and United States of America. He used English language to disseminate majority of his research work. He believes in teamwork and about two third of his research work was result of collaboration.
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