Padma Shri Dr. S. R. Ranganathan's 134th Birth Anniversary Celebrated on 15th August 2026

Dear All, 

We are delighted to share you that the Department of Library & Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), Thiruvarur in association with the Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centres (IASLIC), Kolkata (Zone 1), organized a national webinar to commemorate National Librarians’ Day 2026 on 15 August 2026 at 4:00 PM via Google Meet. The webinar was organized on the theme “Library and Information Science Education in India at Crossroads.” The programme was presided over by Prof. S. Thanuskodi, Head, Department of Library and Information Science, CUTN, and coordinated by Dr. K. G. Sudhier, Vice President, IASLIC.

The eminent speaker, Prof. N. Laxman Rao, UGC Emeritus Fellow and Former Head, Department of Library and Information Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad, delivered the keynote address. He discussed major issues and emerging needs in Library and Information Science (LIS) education, with particular emphasis on curriculum reform, digital integration, faculty development, industry collaboration, open access, continuing professional development, employability, and research orientation. Following the keynote address, Prof. P. G. Tadasad, Department of Library and Information Science, Karnataka State Akkamahadevi Women’s University, Vijayapura; Dr. K. P. Vijayakumar, Former Head, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Kerala; and Dr. S. Ravi Kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, CUTN, shared their views, observations, and suggestions on the theme. 

The webinar concluded with the concluding remarks by Prof. Akhandanand Shukla, Department of Library and Information Science, CUTN. Dr. S. Ravi Kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, CUTN, proposed the formal vote of thanks and expressed gratitude to the keynote speaker, dignitaries, organizers, and participants for their valuable contributions and active participation.

Overall, the webinar was an informative and meaningful academic programme that provided a valuable platform for discussing the present challenges and future directions of Library and Information Science education in India. The deliberations emphasized the need to continuously adapt LIS education to technological advancements, evolving professional requirements, employability needs, and the rapidly changing information environment.

National Librarian’s Day 2026 Celebrated at DLIS, Central University of Tamil Nadu

Dear All,

We are delighted to inform you that the Department of Library and Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), celebrated National Librarian’s Day 2026 on 12 August 2026 at the Choza Central Library Hall, CUTN, with great enthusiasm and academic fervour. The programme commenced at 10:30 AM and was attended by faculty members, students, invited dignitaries, and members of the university library community. The programme began with a formal welcome to the distinguished guests. The gathering was honoured by the presence of Prof. E. M. Shankar, Dean of Research, CUTN, and Prof. B. Radha, Dean, School of Communication, CUTN, as the Guests of Honour. Respected faculty members, Dr. K. G. Sudhier, Departmental Programme Coordinator, and students were also present on the occasion.

The Welcome Address was delivered by Dr. S. Ravi Kumar, Associate Professor, CUTN, who warmly welcomed the dignitaries, faculty members, students, and the entire gathering. This was followed by the Presidential Address by Prof. S. Thanuskodi, Head, Department of Library and Information Science. In his address, he highlighted the significant role of libraries and librarians in supporting education and research, facilitating knowledge creation and dissemination, and contributing to the intellectual development of society. The programme then proceeded with the Librarian’s Day Special Talk, delivered by Dr. R. Parameswaran, Librarian, Choza Central Library, CUTN. The Guests of Honour, Prof. E. M. Shankar and Prof. B. Radha, subsequently addressed the gathering and shared their valuable thoughts on the importance of libraries and librarianship, as well as the role of learning and knowledge dissemination in contemporary society. Their insightful messages added academic significance to the celebration. 

One of the most memorable moments of the programme was the release of the Department Newsletter, Bibliophile, Volume 8, Issue 1, June 2026. The newsletter was released in the presence of the distinguished guests and faculty members. The occasion was particularly significant with the participation of the Guests of Honour, Faculty Editor Dr. K. G. Sudhier, and Student Editor Anugu Tejaswini. The release marked another important contribution to the academic and creative activities of the Department of Library and Information Science. The celebration was followed by the Prize Distribution Ceremony. As part of the National Librarian’s Day celebrations, the Department had organised competitions for students, including an Essay Writing Competition on the theme “Beyond the Bookshelves: What a Library Means to Me” and a Poster Making Competition on the theme “Library 2030.” The winners of the competitions were felicitated and presented with their prizes by the Guests of Honour. The ceremony provided an encouraging and memorable experience for the participating students and recognised their creativity and engagement with the theme of librarianship. The programme concluded with the Vote of Thanks delivered by Hari Krishnan S. N., Department Representative, Second Year MLIS. He expressed sincere gratitude to the dignitaries, Head of the Department, faculty members, programme coordinators, students, and all those who contributed to the successful organisation of the celebration.

The National Librarian’s Day 2026 celebration was a meaningful and memorable occasion that brought together the academic community of the Department of Library and Information Science to recognise and celebrate the invaluable role of libraries and librarians. The programme concluded on a positive and celebratory note, leaving the participants with a renewed appreciation for the enduring significance of libraries in fostering knowledge, learning, research, and the intellectual development of society.

ICSSR Research Project Awarded to Dr. S. Ravikumar

Dear All, 

We are delighted to inform you that Dr. S. Ravikumar, Associate Professor, Department of Library & Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, has been awarded a research project titled “Preservation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems through Decolonised Digital Archiving: A Community-Based Framework for PVTGs in Tamil Nadu with Special Reference to the Irular Community of Tamil Nadu” by ICSSR, New Delhi, under the scheme “Multi-Disciplinary Studies on Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India (2025–26).”

The Department congratulates him on this significant achievement.

Retractions: On the Rise, But Not Enough

Dear All, 

We are delighted to inform you that Department of Library & Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), Thiruvarur, organised a special online lecture under its series “Gyan Pravah: Online Lecture Series in LIS." The 10th lecture in the series was held on 7th January 2026 (Wednesday) from 06:30 PM to 07:30 PM via Google Meet. Dr. Ivan Oransky, MD, Co-Founder of Retraction Watch and Executive Director of the Center for Scientific Integrity, was invited as the resource person and delivered a lecture on the topic “Retractions: On the Rise, But Not Enough.” 

The programme commenced with a welcome address, followed by the introduction of the speaker by Prof. S. Thanuskodi, Professor & Head of the Department of Library and Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur who highlighted the speaker’s contributions to research integrity and scholarly publishing.

The invited speaker, Dr. Ivan Oransky, delivered a one-hour lecture focusing on the role of retractions in correcting the scholarly record and maintaining public trust in research. He emphasized that retractions are intended to correct the literature rather than punish authors, and that despite an increase in retractions, they are still not sufficient in proportion to the volume of unreliable research. During the lecture, Dr. Oransky discussed why retractions matter, particularly in cases of large-scale falsification and editorial failures that risk undermining confidence in science. He explained what gets retracted and who decides, noting that editors may retract publications when confidence in the results is lost, in line with established publication ethics guidelines. The speaker outlined common reasons for retractions, including duplication, plagiarism, image manipulation, faked data, fake peer review, publisher errors, authorship issues, legal reasons, paper mills, and voluntary retractions undertaken as an act of doing the right thing. He clearly distinguished between research misconduct, fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism, and honest error, emphasizing that honest mistakes and differences of opinion do not constitute misconduct. An emerging trend discussed during the session was the appearance of AI-generated or AI-assisted writing in papers and peer-review reports. Dr. Oransky emphasized the importance of transparency and careful editorial judgment in handling such cases. He also cautioned that ranking systems and policy frameworks that penalize retractions may discourage responsible self-correction and transparency. The lecture was followed by an interactive Q&A session, during which participants engaged in discussions related to retraction practices, research misconduct, AI in scholarly publishing, and research evaluation systems.

The programme was coordinated by Dr. Anila Sulochana, Assistant Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu, and attended by more than 40 participants. The session concluded with a formal vote of thanks proposed by Dr. S. Ravikumar, Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu, who thanked the speaker and participants for their valuable contributions. 

The virtual invited talk was informative and beneficial to faculty members, research scholars, and students, offering important insights into contemporary challenges in scholarly communication and research integrity.

From Paywalls to Free Walls: Concepts and Practice of Open Access Publishing

Dear All,

We are delighted to inform you that Department of Library & Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), Thiruvarur, organised a special online lecture under its series “Gyan Pravah: Online Lecture Series in LIS." The 9th lecture in the series was held on 30th August 2025 (Saturday) from 03:00 to 04:20 PM via Google Meet. Dr. Mohammad Nazim, Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, was invited as the resource person and delivered a lecture on the topic “From Paywalls to Free Walls: Concepts and Practice of Open Access Publishing.”

The program commenced with a welcome address and opening remarks by Prof. S. Thanuskodi, Head, Department of Library and Information Science, CUTN, followed by a brief introduction to the department. Prof. Akhandanand Shukla, Department of Library and Information Science, CUTN, introduced the resource person, highlighted the importance of the lecture, and provided an overview of the theme.

In his talk, Dr. Nazim covered a wide range of themes, including scholarly publishing and the research cycle, paywall and free-wall models of communication, the evolution of the Open Access (OA) movement, routes of OA publishing, credible platforms and tools, predatory journals, and strategies for making research openly accessible. He discussed the limitations of traditional publishing models, explaining how authors often transfer their rights to publishers and how readers, despite paying subscription fees, are frequently granted little or no reuse rights beyond basic access. He emphasized that paywall publishing slows scientific progress and reduces the return on public investment in research. While introducing the concept of OA publishing, he addressed common myths, clarifying that OA does not equate to low-quality research. Many reputed journals and funding agencies support OA, and most OA journals are peer-reviewed and indexed. He compared paywalled and OA publishing models, outlining their respective benefits and drawbacks. He also highlighted the “One Nation One Subscription” policy and the role of libraries in ensuring equitable access to scholarly information worldwide.

Dr. Nazim elaborated on the different routes of OA publishing and explained the publishing cycle of each route, along with their advantages and limitations. He emphasized the importance of self-archiving research, discussed preprint versions of papers and Article Processing Charges (APCs), and introduced well-known OA repositories such as SHERPA-RoMEO and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Citing data from Royal Society Publishing, he demonstrated that articles published in OA receive 100% more citations and 116% more downloads than subscription-based articles. He emphasized that “open access means more reach and more impact” as it increases visibility, fosters global collaboration, and enhances the reputation of researchers and institutions.

At the same time, he acknowledged the challenges of OA publishing, including APCs, predatory journals, and copyright and licensing issues. To address these, he provided a checklist for evaluating OA journals, recommending that credible journals should clearly describe their peer-review process, be listed in DOAJ or UGC-CARE, maintain transparent APC policies, and have editorial boards comprising genuine scholars. He also explained Creative Commons (CC) licenses, outlining types such as CC-BY, CC-BY-SA, CC-BY-NC, and CC-BY-ND, and elaborated on their significance in scholarly communication. Furthermore, he introduced several free tools supporting OA research—including Unpaywall, Open Access Button, CORE, Zenodo, and the Open Science Framework (OSF)—and demonstrated their utility in enhancing research visibility and accessibility. In conclusion, he presented case studies showcasing success stories that demonstrated how OA enhances research visibility and highlighted the transformative role of institutional repositories in disseminating scholarly outputs. During the interactive Question–Answer session, Dr. Nazim responded to several queries.

 

The program, designed for Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals, witnessed active participation from faculty members, research scholars, and students of CUTN as well as other institutions. The lecture was coordinated by Prof. Akhandanand Shukla, Department of Library and Information Science, CUTN, and attended by more than 70 participants. The session ended with concluding remarks and a formal vote of thanks proposed by Dr. S. Ravi Kumar, Associate Professor, DLIS, CUTN, who expressed gratitude to the resource person, organizers, and participants for their valuable contributions in making the lecture a success. Ms. Komal Sahu, Senior Research Fellow, served as the rapporteur of the program.

Glimpses of the program are given below:

Department thanks to all who attended the program and taken the benefit to listen Dr. Mohammad Nazim on the important aspects of open access publishing.

Padma Shri Dr. S. R. Ranganathan's 133rd Birth Anniversary Celebration on 12th August, 2025

Dear All, 

This is to inform you that the Department of Library & Information Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, organized the National Librarian's Day celebration on the occasion of Padma Shri Dr. S. R. Ranganathan's 133rd Birth Anniversary on 12th August 2025, from 03:00 PM to 04:00 PM, through Google Meet. On this occasion, the department invited Dr. M. G. Sreekumar, Director, Libraries, Jio Institute, as a special guest to deliver the theme talk on “The Changing Landscape of Learning Paradigm and Next Generation of Libraries.” 

The programme commenced with a welcome address by Prof. Akhandanand Shukla, DLIS, CUTN, followed by a brief introduction to the programme, the department, and its faculty members. Prof. S. Thanuskodi, Head of the Department, in his presidential address, highlighted the significance of National Librarian's Day and the contributions of Dr. S. R. Ranganathan to the profession. After his address, Dr. K. G. Sudhier, Assistant Professor, introduced the resource person to the audience. 

The resource person, Dr. M. G. Sreekumar, delivered an engaging and insightful talk on “The Changing Landscape of Learning Paradigm and Next Generation of Libraries.” In his presentation, he discussed the historical context and evolution of libraries over millennia, changing user behaviors—especially among digital natives—emerging and current trends in libraries, and the role of technological advancements, with a focus on AI applications in libraries. He also spoke about best practices in library services as well as the professional competencies required for librarians to remain relevant and impactful. There was an active Q & A session after the lecture where Dr. Sreekumar answered the queries.

The invited talk was coordinated by Dr. K. G. Sudhier, Assistant Professor, DLIS, CUTN, and was attended by more than 66 LIS professionals, students, and scholars from across the country. The event concluded with remarks by Dr. S. Ravikumar, Associate Professor, DLIS, CUTN, who summarized key points from the discussion and delivered the formal vote of thanks. He expressed gratitude to the participants for their active engagement and to Dr. M. G. Sreekumar for his enlightening presentation. Ms. Doli Basumatary, MLIS 3rd Semester student, served as the rapporteur for the programme.

The glimpses of the program is given below: 

Department thanks to all who attended the program across the country and taken the benefit to listen Dr. M. G. Sreekumar on the occasion of National Librarian's Day.

Awareness Program on Research Data Management@CUTN

Dear All, 

The Department of Library and Information Science at the Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), Thiruvarur, in collaboration with the INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar, and sponsored by DataCite-GAF Programme & Central University of Tamil Nadu, organized a one-day awareness program on Research Data Management (RDM) on 25th November 2024. The event, held at the Media Theatre, CUTN, aimed to educate participants on the importance and best practices for managing research data effectively.

The program began with the traditional Tamil Thai Vazhthu and the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, followed by a welcome address from Prof. S. Thanuskodi, Head of the Department of Library and Information Science, CUTN. The session featured addresses from Prof. B. Radha, Dean of the School of Communication, Prof. S. Ravi, Former Dean, and the Honourable Vice Chancellor, Prof. M. Krishnan, who emphasized the role of RDM in advancing research transparency. The inaugural session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Akhandanand Shukla, Programme Coordinator and Faculty at DLIS CUTN. 

The technical sessions commenced with Mr. Hitesh Kumar Solanki presenting an overview of Research Data Management, discussing the types of research data and the importance of open data for transparency, collaboration, and innovation. The second session, led by Mr. Pallab Pradhan, focused on Data Management Plans (DMP), explaining how these plans ensure effective handling, storage, sharing, and preservation of research data. Mr. Pradhan also introduced tools for creating DMPs and their benefits. In the third session, Mr. Pradhan elaborated on the role of Persistent Identifiers (PIDs), DataCite, and Metadata Standards in research data, explaining the importance of DOI and other identifiers for research data deposition. He also touched on the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy and the principles of data citation. The fourth session, led by Mr. Solanki, covered the National Research Data Repository (NRDR), including its policy, workflow, and key features for institutional coordinators and researchers. A demonstration on how to access and upload data to the NRDR was provided.

The program concluded with a valedictory session, where Dr. Taddi Murali welcomed the dignitaries, and Dr. S. Ravikumar presented the program report. Feedback from participants highlighted the program's effectiveness in enhancing their understanding of RDM. Mr. Pallab Pradhan, Scientist-C at INFLIBNET Centre, served as the Guest of Honour, while Dr. R. Parameswaran, Librarian at Chozha Central Library, CUTN, emphasized the importance of electronic resources and RDM principles at the institutional level. Dr. S. Dhanavandan, Deputy Librarian, CUTN, delivered a felicitation address, recognizing the program's success. Dr. K. G. Sudhier, Assistant Professor at DLIS CUTN, delivered the vote of thanks. The session closed with the National Anthem and tea/snacks. The program was attended by 98 registered participants, including PG students, research scholars, library professionals, and faculty members from various subject fields. The program was compered by Dr. V. K. Dhanyashree, and research scholars Ms. Bhavya K. P., Ms. Rishika Sohni, Ms. Komal Sahu, and Mr. Abhijit Roy worked as rapporteurs for the sessions.

Glimpses of the program are provided below:

Dr. S. Ravikumar joined as Associate Professor

Dear All, 

We would like to inform you that Dr. S. Ravikumar has joined the Department of Library & Information Science at CUTN as an Associate Professor on 15th October 2024. Prior to this appointment, he served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Library & Information Science at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong. Dr. S. Ravikumar brings extensive experience in the field. 

The Department warmly welcomes him to his new role as an Associate Professor.