Libraries all around the world are undergoing a major change and transforming themselves as creative places offering new approaches to learning, knowledge generation and sharing as well as dissemination of information. Libraries which are part of science and technology academic Institutions, Research and Development organizations, industries and other institutions known for delivering latest information, are leading this change and are quickly adapting to the new eco- system.
During the last few years, higher education sector within India and outside, particularly in Science & Technology, has seen major developments. Increasingly, more emphasis has been given on improving quality in teaching, learning and research productivity. Equally, the focus has been on innovation, incubation, capacity building, collaboration between industry and academic Institutions in India. A National initiative to setup Incubation and Innovation Centers, Research Parks, Startup support systems and other similar activities on academic campuses has been announced. Along with it, the increase in research output and its impact on society is gaining due attention. All these and many more developments have increased expectations from the libraries in their respective institutions. As a result, the Libraries in Institutes’ of Science, Technology and allied areas, have been striving to be relevant and play a meaningful role by realigning their mission with that of the parent institution. It is in this context, libraries in these institutions are redefining their collection development policies, resource sharing mechanisms, new services and reconfiguring their space, using the opportunities offered by newer technologies. They are also garnering support for scholarly communication related activities and at the same time are working continuously to up keep the skills of their personnel.
To understand and navigate successfully through these developments and collectively address some of the challenges, IIT Gandhinagar had organized an international conference on the theme “Changing Landscape of Science & Technology Libraries (CLSTL 2017)”. Having organized the first conference successfully and considering the feedback of the speakers and participants, IIT Gandhinagar is announcing the 2nd International Conference, “Changing Landscape of Science & Technology Libraries (CLSTL 2019)” to be held at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar from 28th February – 2nd March 2019.