CHAPTER 3

ALL INDIA RADIO: LIBRARY RESOURCES AND SERVICES

3.0 INTRODUCTION:

Radio is indebted to two other discoveries for its birth- telephone and

telegraph. These three technologies are very closely related. Radio started as

wireless telegraphy. And it all began with invention of radio waves, which

have capacity to send out speech, music, picture and all other data through air.

A range of devices like radio, cordless phones, microwave TV broadcasts work

with the help of electromagnetic waves.

During 1860s, James Maxwell, a Scottish physicist forecasted presence

of radio waves. And in year 1886, Heinrich Hertz showcased projection of

swift variation of the electric current into space in form of radio waves.

Twenty years after invention of telephone, music was set down on

telephone line and Guglielmo Marconiwas responsible for the radio signals.

This Italian discoverer demonstrated radio communication‘s feasibility.

Fascinated by Hertz‘s discovery of the radio waves, he realized that it could be

used for receiving and sending the telegraph messages, referring to it as

wireless telegraphs. Marconi then recognized its high potential and offered the

discovery to Italian Government that had turned it down. He then realized a

patent and experimented further after moving to England. In 1898, he flashed

the results of Kingstown Regatta to Dublin Newspaper‘s office, making first

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ever public broadcast of sports event. The following year, he opened his radio

factory in Essex, thus establishing link between France and Britain. He then

established link with USA in year 1901. And Marconi shared Nobel Prize in

Physics for wireless telegraph in year 1909.

But his wireless telegraph only transmitted signals. Voice in radio came

in the 1921. Soon after, in 1922, he introduced short wave transmissions.

Marconi however was not the first one to invent radio. Nikola Tesla who

moved to US in 1884, launched radio‘s theoretical model prior to Marconi. In

1915, Tesla tried to acquire court‘s injunction against Marconi. And in year

1943, Supreme Court US reviewed decision. And due to this Tesla was

acknowledged as inventor of radio even when he did ever build working

radio.

J.C. Bose was another claimant to throne of radio inventors. He

showcased radio transmission to British Governor General in 1896 at Calcutta.

The transmission was for a distance of around 3 miles. His instruments,

Mercury Coherer attached to telephone detector, are still showcased Calcutta

University‘s Science College.

Bose had taken care of Hertz‘s problem of not being able to penetrate

through water, mountains or walls. Marconi‘s Coherer is known to be exact

copy of Bose‘s Coherer. Initially, Bose was reluctant in applying for patent

because he believed in free flow of inventions in the field of science. But

eventually due to persuasion by his American friends he had applied for patent

in 1901. US patent was awarded to him in year 1904.

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 There has been tremendous growth of the radio over the years.

Transmitters earlier were known as spark gap machines. It was established for

ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communication. The communication was just

confined to two points then and was not public broadcasting as it is today.

Wireless signals demonstrated effective communication for the purpose of

rescue in case of sea disasters. Range of ocean liners installed the wireless

equipments and in 1899, US Army established the wireless communication.

Just after two years, Navy adopted wireless system and it was relief as Navy

had been using homing pigeons and visual signaling for communication.

Radiotelegraph services were instituted in Hawaiian Islands in 1901.

Marconi station situated in Massachusetts carried greetings between King

Edward VII and Theodore Roosevelt. In year 1905, Port Arthur‘s naval battle

was also reported over wireless and US weather department tried

radiotelegraphy for speeding notice weather condition.

Eventually radio transmitters were improved. Overseas radiotelegraph

services were slowly developed, basically because early transmitter discharged

the electricity between electrodes and within circuit causing high interference.

DeForest and Alexanderson alternator took care of many such technical issues.

Lee Deforest was inventor of space telegraphy, Audion and triode

amplifier. In early 1990s, delicate and effective detector of the electromagnetic

radiation was needed for developing the radio further. And Lee Deforest

discovered the detector. He was the first person to use term ‗radio‘. His work

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resulted in discovery of AM radio that capably broadcasted various radio

stations which early gap transmitters did not allow.

Since that time, there has been no looking back. Radio has now become

a popular medium of portable entertainment. In 21stcentury, technological

advancements have given birth to internet radio. Satellite radio is also recent

development in the field. One can listen to various international radio stations

without any hassles. Besides all these latest editions, Ham radio would be next

big thing. This technology is gearing up to hit the media market soon.

3.1 ALL INDIA RADIO:

As India‘s National Broadcaster and also the premier Public Service

Broadcaster, All India Radio (AIR) has been serving to inform, educate and

entertain the masses since its inception, truly living up to its motto – ‗Bahujan

Hitaya : Bahujan Sukhaya‘. One of the largest broadcasting organisations in

the world in terms of the number of languages of broadcast, the spectrum of

socio-economic and cultural diversity it serves, AIR‘s home service comprises

414 stations today located across the country, reaching nearly 92% of the

country‘s area and 99.19 % of the total population. All India Radio covers 24

languages & 146 dialects in home services. In external services, it covers 27

languages. India has different types of Religions, classes, Castes and

languages. All India Radio provides information and knowledge to the people

of the country irrespective of Religion, Class, Caste, and Language, rich and

poor1.

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 All India Radio has made a significant contribution to accelerate

socio-economic change, promote national integration and stimulates scientific

temper. Being a public service broadcaster, it strives to carry message in its

programmes on means of population control and family welfare, agricultural

information and knowledge, Preservation of environment and ecological

balance, highlighting the need for social welfare measures for women, children

and the less privileged.

Education through extension programmes for specific audience

including farmers, women, children, youth troops, formal and non-formal

education adult education, IGNOU, UGC etc. All Indio Radio libraries are the

presents of knowledge for posters and use these libraries acts as a catalyst in

providing access all the programmes broadcasted in the form of Tapes, CD-

Rom, and Books etc. The Programmes offered by the All India Radio are:

News, Current affairs, Entertainment, Educational Social & Cultural, Political,

Agricultural, Health, and Sports etc.

3.1.1 GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT:

Broadcasting in India actually began about 13 years before AIR came

into existence. In June 1923 the Radio Club of Bombay made the first ever

broadcast in the country. This was followed by the setting up of the Calcutta

Radio Club five months later. The Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) came

into being on July 23, 1927, only to face liquidation in less than three years.

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 In April 1930, the Indian Broadcasting Service, under the Department of

Industries and Labour, commenced its operations on an experimental basis.

Lionel Fielden was appointed the first Controller of Broadcasting in August

1935. In the following month Akashvani Mysore, a private radio station was

set up. On June 8, 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting Service became All

India Radio.

The Central News Organisation (CNO) came into existence in August,

1937. In the same year, AIR came under the Department of Communications

and four years later came under the Department of Information and

Broadcasting. When India attained independence, there were six radio stations

in India, at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Tiruchirapalli and Lucknow.

There were three in Pakistan (Peshawar, Lahore and Dacca). AIR then had

coverage of just 2.5 % of the area and 11% of the population. The following

year, CNO was split up into two divisions, the News Services Division (NSD)

and the External Services Division (ESD). In 1956 the name AKASHVANI

was adopted for the National Broadcaster. The Vividh Bharati Service was

launched in 1957 with popular film music as its main component.

Programmes of the External Services Division are broadcast in 11

Indian and 16 foreign languages reaching out to more than 100 countries.

These external broadcasts aim to keep the overseas listeners informed about

developments in the country and provide a rich fare of entertainment as well.

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 The News Services Division, of All India Radio broadcasts 647

bulletins daily for a total duration of nearly 56 hours in about 90

Languages/Dialects in Home, Regional, External and DTH Services. 314 news

headlines on hourly basis are also being mounted on FM mode from 41 AIR

Stations. 44 Regional News Units originate 469 daily news bulletins in 75

languages. In addition to the daily news bulletins, the News Services Division

also mounts number of news-based programmes on topical subjects from Delhi

and its Regional News Units

AIR operates at present 18 FM stereo channels, called AIR FM

Rainbow, targeting the urban audience in a refreshing style of presentation.

Four more FM channels called, AIR FM Gold, broadcast composite news and

entertainment programmes from Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. With

the FM wave sweeping the country, AIR is augmenting its Medium Wave

transmission with additional FM transmitters at Regional stations.

In keeping with the Government decision for transition to the digital

mode of transmission, AIR is switching from analog to digital in a phased

manner. The technology adopted is the Digital Radio Mondiale or DRM. With

the target of complete digitization by 2017, the listeners can look forward to

highly enhanced transmission quality in the near future.1

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 The phenomenal growth achieved by All India Radio through decades

has made it one of the largest media organizations in the world. Today AIR

reaches out to 99.18% of the population spread over about 91.85% of the area

through 262 broadcasting Centres. The inception can be traced back to the

enforcement of the Telegraph Act on October1, 1885. Major landmarks of

broadcasting are as below:

1920s

1. June, 1923: Broadcast of programmes by the Radio Club of Bombay.

2. November, 1923: Calcutta Radio Club put out programmmes.

3. July 31, 1924: Broadcasting Service initiated by the Madras Presidency

Radio Club.

4. July 23, 1927: Indian Broadcast Company (IBC), Bombay Station

inaugurated by Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India.

5. August 26, 1927: Calcutta Station of IBC inaugurated.

1930s

6. March 1, 1930: IBC went into liquidation.

7. April 1, 1930: Indian State Broadcasting Service under Department of

Industries and Labour commenced on experimental basis.

8. August 30, 1935: Lionel Fielden appointed the first controller of

Broadcasting in India.

9. September 10, 1935: Akashvani Mysore, a private radio station, set up.

10. January 19, 1936: First news bulletin broadcast from AIR.

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 11. June 8, 1936: Indian State Broadcasting Service became All India

Radio.

12. August 1, 1937: Central News Organisation came into existence.

13. November, 1937: AIR came under Department of Communication.

14. October 1, 1939: External Service started with Pushtu broadcast. 1940s

15. October 24, 1941: AIR came under the Department of I&B.

16. January 1, 1942: Akashvani Mysore was taken over by Maharaja of

Mysore.

17. February 23, 1946: AIR came under the Department of Information &

Arts.

18. September 10, 1946: Department of Information and Arts changed to

Department of Information and Broadcasting.

19. 1947 (at the time of partition): Six Radio Stations in India

(Delhi,Bombay,Calcutta,Madras, Tiruchirapalli and Lucknow) and three

Radio Stations in Pakistan (Peshawar, Lahore and Dacca)

20. September, 1948: Central News Organisation (CNO) was split up into

two Divisions, News Service Division and External Service Division

(ESD).

1950s

1. July 20, 1952: First National Programme of Music broadcast from AIR.

2. July 29, 1953: National Programme of Talks (English) commenced from

AIR.

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3. 1954: First Radio Sangeet Sammelan held.

4. August 15, 1956: National Programme of Play commenced.

5. October 3, 1957: Vividh Bharati Services started.

6. November 1, 1959: First TV Station in Delhi started as part of AIR.

1960s

1. November 1, 1967: Commercials on Vividh Bharati introduced

2. July 21, 1969: Yuv-Vani service started from Delhi.

3. August 15, 1969: 1000 KW Superpower Medium Wave Transmitter

commissioned at Calcutta (Mogra).

1970s

1. January 8, 1971: 1000 KW Superpower Medium Wave

Transmitter commissioned at Rajkot.

2. 1974: Akashvani Annual Awards instituted.

3. April 1, 1976: Doordarshan separated from AIR.

4. 1977: Introduction of political party broadcasts.

5. July 23, 1977: First ever FM Service was inaugurated from Madras

1980s

1. May, 1983: AIR Baroda became a CBS station.

2. September 14, 1984: Two High Power 250 KW shortwave transmitters

inaugurated at Aligarh.

3. October 30, 1984: First Local Station at Nagarcoil started.

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4. January 26, 1985: Commercials on Primary Channel introduced.

5. August 15, 1985: Introduction of hourly news bulletins.

6. 1985: All AIR Stations were provided with 5 channel satellite receiver

terminals.

7. May 18, 1988: Introduction of National Channel.

8. April 8, 1989: Commissioning of Integrated North East Service.

1990s

1. March 2, 1990: The 100th Station of AIR commissioned at Warangal

(A.P.).

2. March 10, 1990: Two 500 KW Superpower short wave transmitters

Inaugurated at Bangalore.

3. October 2, 1991: Vividh Bharti Panaji became a CBS Channel.

4. October 2, 1992: Commissioning of FM Channel at Jalandhar.

5. January 10, 1993: Introduction of Phone-in-programme at AIR Delhi.

6. January 28, 1993: Commissioning of VB Channel at Varanasi.

7. April 1, 1993: The150th Station of AIR inaugurated at Berhampur (Orissa)

8. August 15, 1993: Introduction of selling of Time Slots on FM Channel to

private parties at Delhi - Mumbai.

9. September 1, 1993: Time Slots on FM Channel to private parties at

Chennai.

10. April 1, 1994: Sky Radio became operational.

11. July 25, 1994: Time Slots on FM Channel to private parties at Kolkata.

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12. September 10, 1994: Multi Track Recording Studio commissioned at

Mumbai.

13. September 28, 1994: Four 500 KW Superpower shortwave transmitters at

Bangalore, inaugurated making Bangalore one of the biggest transmitting

centres in the world.

14. January 15, 1995: Radio paging service inaugurated.

15. August 5, 1995: Multi-track recording studios inaugurated at Chennai.

16. February 1, 1996: Foundation stone laid for new Broadcasting House in

Delhi.

17. May 2, 1996: Launching of AIR on-line Information Service on Internet.

18. January 13, 1997: Audio in real time on Internet Service started.

19. November 23, 1997: Prasar Bharati Corporation came into existence.

20. January 26, 1998: Radio on Demand‘ Service on 2nd FM Channel.

21. February 25, 1998: AIR news on telephone, live on internet.

22. April, 1998: Sale of Time Slots on FM stopped.

23. August 29, 1998: Prasar Bharati Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on

31.7.1998 made operational through an ordinance.

24. June, 1999: Shri [Link], IAS, named officiating Member Executive.

Private FM Channels announced by GOI.

25. August 15, 1999: Radio Station commissioned at Kokrajhar in Bodo Land

Autonomous Council Areas

26. August 15, 1999: Second FM Channels commissioned at Delhi and

Calcutta.

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27. November, 1999: AIR launched a daily Malayalam Service for the Gulf

Region. It consists of a 10 mts. News Bulletins at 2315 hrs. followed by a 5

mts. Commentary on a topical issue.

2000-2007

1. February 11, 2000: Introduction of VB Channel at AIR Jabalpur.

2. March 13, 2000: Radio Station commissioned at Dhubri in Bodo Land

Autonomous Council Area.

3. March 24, 2000: Introduction of VB Channel at AIR, Jammu.

4. June, 2000: Community Radio Stations commissioned at Nongstoin &

William Nagar in (Meghalaya), Saiha (Mizoram), Tuensang and Mon in

Nagaland.

5. July 17, 2000: Regional Staff Training Institute (Tech.) started

functioning at Bhubaneshwar (Orissa)

6. August 15, 2000: Introduction of VB Channel at AIR, Coimbatore.

7. September 3, 2000: Introduction of VB Channel at AIR,Jamshedpur.

8. February 7, 2001: Radio Station commissioned at Gopeshwar (Chamoli)

in the newly created State of Uttaranchal.

9. September 1, 2001: AIR launched Infotainment channels, FM-II, at the

four metro‘s. Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata Mumbai

10. November 12, 2001: This day declared as The Public Service

Broadcasting day to commemorate Gandhji‘s visit to AIR. Museum of

Radio and Doordarshan inaugurated.

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11. February 27, 2002: AIR launched its first ever digital satellite home

service to cater to the Indian sub-continent and South East Asia.

12. July 2002: 75 years of Broadcasting celebrated

13. April 2003: Marketing Division of Prasar Bharati inaugurated.

14. January 26th, 2004: Bhasha Bharati channel of AIR launched at Delhi.

15. January 26th, 2004: Classical Music channel launched at Bangalore.

16. April 1st, 2004: Launch of Kisan Vani Programme from 12 stations.

17. May 25, 2004: 20KW MW transmission at Kupwara Commissioned to

strengthen Radio coverage in the border area of J&K.

18. September 6, 2004: Minister of Information & Broadcasting laid

foundation stone for 10 KW FM transmitters at Vijayawada.

19. December 16, 2004: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated

DTH Service of AIR & Doordarshan.

20. 15th June, 2005: FM transmitter commionsioned at Port Blair,

Himmatnager, Saraipalli, Mandla, Rajgarh, Agartala and Imphal.

21. 9th July, 2005: 1 kW FM transmitter commissioned at Shimla.

22. 15th Aug, 2005: FM transmitter commisioned at Udaipur, Rohtak,

Gulbarga, Aurangabad and Madurai.

23. 23rd Aug, 2005: New Broadcasting House equipped with digital studio

setup for News Service Division, External Service and Home Service

inaugurated by Hon‘ble Minister of I&B and Culture.

24. 2nd Sept, 2005: 1 kW FM transmitter commissioned at Gorakhpur.

25. 23rd Decmeber, 2005: 1 kW FM transmitter commissioned at Deogarh

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 in Orissa.

26. 25th December, 2005: 5 kW FM transmitter commissioned at both

Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Kurseong in West Bengal.

27. 27th December, 2005: 10 kW FM transmitter commissioned at Shillong

in Meghalaya and 1kW transmitter commissioned at Darjeeling in West

Bengal.

28. 17th June, 2006: 1 KW FM transmitter commissioned at Vijayawada

(AP).

29. 30th June, 2006: Uplinking of DTH channel increased from 12 to 20.

30. 11th July, 2006: 1KW FM transmitter commissioned at Kanpur (UP).

31. 1st Sept, 2006: 200 KW MW transmitter commissioned at Kargil

(J&K).1KW MW transmitters commissioned at Drass & Tiesuru (J&K).

32. 2nd October, 2006: 20 KW MW transmitter commissioned at Kota

(Raj.)

33. Jan-2007 to Dec-2007

34. New Stations with FM Transmitters commisioned at

Tamilnadu),Dharampur(Macherla(AndhraPradesh) and Aurangabad

(Bihar).

35. FM Transmitters commissioned at existing stations at Itanagar

(ArunachalPradesh),

36. Aizawl (Mizoram), Kohima (Nagaland), Baripada (Orissa), Varanasi

(Uttar Pradesh) and Puducherry.

37. Existing FM Transmitters at Chennai i.e. 5 KW FM Tr. of FM Gold and

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 10 KW FM Tr. of FM Rainbow replaced by 20 KW FM Transmitters.

38. Existing 5 KW FM Tr. of FM Gold service at Kolkata replaced by 20

KW FM Transmitter.

39. New station with 1 KW MW Transmitter commissioned at Soro

(Orissa).

40. Existing 100 KW MW Transmitters at Delhi & Raipur (Chhatisgarh)

replaced with new state-of-the art technology transmitters.

41. As part of J&K special package for boosting border coverage, new

Stations with 1 KW MW Transmitters at Nyoma & Diskit in Leh region

commissioned.

Jan-2008 to Dec-2008

1. FM Transmitter at Leh (J&K) commissioned.

2. A 200 KW MW Transmitter commissioned replacing 100 KW MW

[Link] Najibabad

3. As part of J&K special package for boosting border coverage, a new station

with 1KW MW Transmitter commissioned. at Padum in Kargil. With this

all the 12 projects included in J&K special package Phase-1 commissioned.

4. Digital Captive Earth Stations at Leh, Varanasi, Rohtak and Aurangabad

commissioned. New uplink stations at Dehradun and Silchar under

implementation.

5. A new DTH Channel, Radio Kashmir, Srinagar added in the Direct to

Home Service of AIR. There are now 21 radio channel available

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 countrywide through the KU Band DTH Platform of Prasar Bharati (DD +),

benefitting the listeners all over India.

Jan-2009 to Dec-2009

1. New station with 5 KW FM Transmitter commissioned at Oras

(Sindhudurganagry) in Maharashtra.

2. Computerization of AIR stations and offices in progress to facilitate online

exchange of information and improvement of efficiency.

3. Permanent studio facilities equipped with Digital equipment and

computerized Hard Disc Work Stations for recording, dubbing, editing &

playback provided at Jaipur (Raj) & Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh).

Jan-2010 to Dec-2010

1. An exclusive dedicated FM channel "AIR FM DILLI" with one KW

transmitter installed at AIR Broadcasting House Delhi. This channel was

available on 100.1 MHZ in National Capital Region.

2. The following new transmitters were installed:

3. Churachandpur (Manipur)-6 KW FM Tr., Studio & S/Qrs.

4. Bharmour (Himachal Pradesh)- 100 W FM Tr.,

5. Keylong (Himachal Pradesh)- 100 W FM Tr.,

6. Ooty (Tamilnadu)- 100 W FM Tr.,

7. Thanjavur (Tamilnadu)- 100 W FM Tr.

8.

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3 AIR ‗News on Phone‘ Service made available at 14 places i.e. Delhi, Mumbai,

Chennai, Patna, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bangalore,

Thiuvananthapuram, Imphal, Lucknow , Raipur, Guwahati, and Shimla.

Jan-2011 to Dec-2011

1. Coverage of World Cup Cricket

2. FM Gold started 24 Hours Service from 2nd October, 2011

2012

1. Bangladesh recognizes Akashvani for its contribution in Bangladesh

Liberation War on 27th March, 2012 at Dhaka. Sh. L. D. Mandloi, DG, AIR

received the award at a special ceremony in Dhaka.

3.1.2 Organizational structure: Three-tier Broadcasting System of AIR:

As All India Radio has a three-tier system of broadcasting. These three

levels of programmes are the National, Regional and Local each having

distinct audiences.

3.1.3 National programmes are broadcast from Delhi for relay by the

Capital, Regional and Local Radio Stations. Some of these are the National

Programme of Talks and Features in Hindi and English, the National

Programmes of Drama and Music. All the information sources for these

programmes are available in digital sound archive library and Delhi national

channel library.

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3.1.4 The Regional Stations in different States form the middle tier of

broadcasting. They originate programmes in the regional languages and

dialects. Regional Channels are located in the major linguistic-cultural region

of every state. 116 Regional Channels are spread over 29 states & 6 Union

Territories including the North-Eastern Service at Shillong that projects the

vibrant cultural heritage of the North-Eastern region of this country. The

Regional Channels, broadcast largely on the Medium Wave frequency, follow

a composite programme pattern comprising of music - classical, light, folk and

film, News and Current Affairs, Radio plays, features, Farm and Home

programmes, programmes on Health & Family Welfare and programmes for

Woman, Children etc. the regional station libraries are providing material for

the broadcast of these regional programmes.

3.1.5 Local Radio is relatively a newer concept of broadcasting in India. Local

radio stations serve small communities, showcase local culture and broadcast

area specific programmes for the benefit of the community. The transmission is

in the FM mode. The programming is flexible and spontaneous and the stations

function as the mouth piece of the local community. At present there are 86

Local Stations spread across the country. Digital radio databases are helping

for broadcast of local programmes.

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Fig.1 Staffing chart of an AIR Station

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3.2 Library Resources:

Information in libraries comes in several different formats, which

usually means it is presented, processed, shelved, and stored in several

different ways. Books, for example, are usually shelved in specific areas, away

from most issues of magazines, copies of videotapes, or microfilmed materials.

If library researchers want to use a library to maximum effect, they should

begin by finding out what materials are available there, and in what form; what

clientele they were meant for; where materials are held in the library; how to

use library tools to access them; and how to utilize the materials effectively.

Library materials include print and non-print formats. The formats have

evolved from primarily print materials, such as books and periodicals, to

include multi-media materials (e. g. videotapes, audiocassettes, slides)

and, more recently, electronic resources such as CD-ROM and Internet-based

databases. No matter what the format of the information happens to be,

however, it always has to be made accessible to the researcher 2.

A library is an organized collection of sources of information and

similar resources, made accessible to a defined community for reference or

borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material, and may be a

physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both.

All India Radio Libraries are holding different types of material or

information sources like gramophone records, tapes, cassettes, CDs, DVDs,

books, manuals and digital radio databases etc. Above information sources

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have important information, which are holding the vital role of development of

the country.

Many valuable resources are available at the libraries of All India

Radio, such as books, e-books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, magazines, computers,

Internet access, microfilm, maps, photographs and more. These days‘ libraries

are finding new and innovative ways to extend their collections to better serve

their communities.

Library resources continue to play an important role in the education

programme in sustaining the diverse forms of cultural expressions. Libraries

acquire process, organize and preserve materials, which depict the way of life

and experiences from others. The library provide reading and learning

materials to help argument lectures notes with facts and with ideas; provide

information service, which is an essential element in the communication

process. One requires information to communicate effectively.

Libraries serve as information system to allow one to explore parameter

of his topic, promote functional literacy and education for individuals outside

the formal school system. They provide appropriate reading materials to assist

the government efforts in providing the illiterate adults in improving their

educational standard and technical competence. Libraries can play their role of

information by making available journals, newspapers and all other reading

materials in the indigenous language so that education will be available at the

grassroots.

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 Library resources provide the information needs of the illiterates that

constitute the bulk of the population in the developing countries and unite all

who enter its house to partake full in its intellectual activities. The institution

serves as the society‘s memory, standing the same relationship as the human

memory does to the individual. The society draws from the libraries in the

same way that an individual draws from his memory to meet his varied needs.

In the past few years the Web has had a tremendous effect on the

growth of information and the speed of transmission. But the Web is not a

library; there is no real organization of information, no archives, filter, or

online support. No-one can really be sure what is there and how long it will

last, or what is missing. And despite its size, the Web represents only a fraction

of the world‘s knowledge. Libraries however, select and organize print and

electronic resources, databases and multimedia for quality, relevance and

reliability. Library collections span continents and centuries, and preserve and

make available to users a wealth of knowledge.

3.2.1 Books:

All the AIR Libraries carry many categories of books such as fiction,

non-fiction and reference. But some also carry special collections of rare

books, manuals related to media, programmes and broadcasting.

3.2.2 E-books:

An e-book also called eBook, electronic book, is an electronic (or

digital) equivalent of a conventional printed book and is a proprietary file

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formats. Some e-books are produced simultaneously with the production of a

printed book, though in many instances they may not be put on sale until later.

Often, e-books are produced from pre-existing hard-copy books, generally by

document scanning, sometimes with the use of Robotic Scanners, having the

technology to quickly scan books without damaging the original print edition.

Scanning a book produces an image file, which must then be converted into

text format by an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) program. As a newer

development, sometimes only the e-book form is produced by the publisher; it

is usually possible technically to convert this to a printed book by short-run

printing.

The hardware device used to read books in digital format is known as an

e-book device or e-book reader. The e-book reader includes

FlipViewer®, Haali Reader and FBReader, Plucker, Acrobat Reader or Adobe

Reader, Mobipocket (.prc), Cybook (Bookeen), iRex iLiad (based on eInk),

Sony Reader (based on eInk), etc. Some of the free notable e-book repositories

are available on internet are as under:

i. Project Gutenberg ([Link]

ii. Facsimile Books & other digitally enhanced Works from: The

University of Georgia Libraries ([Link]

iii. The Internet Public Library Online Texts Collection

([Link]

iv. Many [Link] ([Link]

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 Most of users in modern era are using e-books but in AIR libraries e-

books are available in very less quantity. Users of AIR libraries are using other

information sources to satisfy their information needs.

3.2.3 Magazines:

Magazine collections can be found in most of AIR libraries. These

collections cover many topics ranging from entertainment to education and

research. Magazines and journals related to media, broadcast, programme and

technical like ABU technical review, satellite and cable TV, Sound

broadcasting, Studio Sound, Television studio, PC Quest etc. are available in

AIR libraries.

3.2.4 E-Journal:

E-Journal is an all-electronic, peer-reviewed periodical in a specific

field or in a general field of interest. In the E-Journal environment the creation,

transmission, storage, interpretation, alteration and replication of electronic

"text" including "display" takes place in electronic form. Some electronic

journals are online-only journals; some are online versions of printed journals,

and some consist of the online equivalent of a printed journal, but with

additional online-only material.

Some journals are subscription-based, or allow pay-per-view access. An

increasing number of journals are now available as open access journals,

requiring no subscription. Most working paper archives and articles on

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personal homepages are free, as are collections in Institutional repositories and

Subject repositories. Some e-journals are available over the internet while

some others are distributed on CD-ROMs, or by way of e-mail. In AIR only

Zonal and capital stations are subscribing some journals related to media,

programmes and broadcasting.

3.2.5 CDs/audio tapes:

All India Radio libraries are holding valuable CDs/audio tapes of

recorded programmes, speeches of eminent personalities, music, vocal or

instrumental etc. The storage media used in All India Radio are:

S. No Type of media Year

1 Gramophone record 1910
2 Analog magnetic tape 1940
3 Hard disks 1950
4 Analog Cassette tape 1963
5 Digital audio tape and its detail 1980
6 Compact disks (CDs) 1980
7 Mini Disk 1990
8 Flash memory card 1990
9 Digital versatile disks 1990
(DVDs) and DVD audio

A special project was launched in 2001 to digitize all Sound Archival

recordings into three electronic formats. viz.

1. Audio‐CD format,

2. WAVE‐CD format and

3. Compressed CDs.

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 This project was completed in 2005. By this Akashvani has become one

of the major digital libraries in the broadcasting network. Programme available

into digital medium are approximately 15900 hours. Break up of recordings

into the digital format are as follows:‐

1 Prime Minister‘s speeches 3200 hours

2 President‘s speeches 1150 hours
3 Mahatma Gandhi 280 hours
4 SardarVallabhai Patel 35 hours
5 Gurudev Tagore and recordings on Tagore 175 hours
6 Radio Autobiography 525 hours
7 Hindustani Classical 3000 hours
8 Carnatic Classical 1400 hours
9 Light Music 1000 hours
10 Folk Music 500 hours

3.2.6 Music:

Since April 2003 All India Radio Central Archive has been releasing

music albums under the banner of ‗Akashvani Sangeet‖. 66 albums are

released and the releases in 2005‐06 were Ustad Ameer Khan, Pt. Krishnarao

Shankar Pandit, T. Brinda/ [Link], [Link] Pillai, [Link],

[Link] Gandharva, Dagar Brothers, Ustad Allauddin Khan and [Link]

Banerjee. The releases expected in the coming months are Ustad Bade Ghulam

Ali Khan, Badi Moti Bai/Zohra Bai/Jaddan Bai, Begham Akthar and Chembai

Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar.. Marketing of these releases is primarily in-house by

AIR stations.

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 The Sound Archives of All India Radio can be called as the National

Audio Archive of the nation as it is the treasure house of precious recordings of

more than 17,000 hours containing music and spoken word recordings in

different categories. It is the largest library of Indian Music recordings.

The library preserves a separate collection of Mahatma Gandhi‘s

speeches including the first and the last prayer speeches of Mahatma Gandhi

recorded on 11th May 1947 at Sodepur Ashram, Calcutta and 29th January 1948

at Birla House, Delhi respectively. The only broadcast by Gandhiji from AIR

Delhi on 12th November 1947 is also preserved. The library contains

recordings of speeches of all the Presidents and Prime Ministers of India.

Other important voice recordings of eminent personalities like Dr. B. R.

Ambedkar, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel,

Sarojini Naidu etc. have also been preserved. Apart from this, award-winning

radio dramas, features, documentaries etc. and memorial lectures are available

in the library.

AIR Archives is the repository of Radio Autobiographies. These are

long duration recordings of eminent personalities from different walks of life.

Such personalities are identified and recorded by AIR stations. The recordings

are forwarded to Central Archives for preservation and poster

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3.2.7 Reference Librarians:

Reference librarians not only know the library like the palm of their

hands, they also have a wide knowledge of authors, technology and more. If

you need help finding a book or category, or want a book recommendation, can

be ask from librarian of respective library.

3.2.8 Computers/Printers/ Copiers:

If you want to access computer /printer/copiers facilities, you may be

able to access these technologies at your local station of AIR library.

3.2.9 Internet and Free Wi-Fi:

The Internet has already become the unlimited information source. The

quantity of information available in the Internet is growing at an exponential

rate. It is not just descriptions, advertisements and propaganda materials

available on the Internet. The information resources available in the net

encompass all subjects and all forms of information. A very high proportion of

the print media is available in the Internet, thanks to the availability of cost

effective and efficient digital conversion technologies such as high speed

scanning and OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and PDF (Portable

Document Format) Server computers with capacious memory, and the

emergence of digital publishing during the 1990s resulted in the explosive

growth of Internet resources. Every year the digital content in the Internet is

growing by 50%. Major resources in the Internet now include electronic

journals, digital libraries, reference sources and educational portals.

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 Most libraries offer free Internet access, but in AIR libraries only thirty

percent of libraries report being the only provider of free Internet access and

Wi-Fi service to their communities.

3.2.10 Consortium

Indian academics are lucky enough to have access to two major

consortiums UGC-INFONET and INDEST AICTE. While UGC-INFONET

consortium of INFLIBNET provide access to Indian universities without

asking them to make any payment, institutes have to join INDEST-AICTE

consortium for using e-resources provided by the same. The membership of

INDEST consortium is paid though some AICTE supported institutions do

have partial free access to scholarly resources

3.2.11 Study Rooms

All India Radio libraries are offering study rooms where you can find

good atmosphere for study and the quiet space you need to get things done.

3.2.12 Annual Reports:

The annual report is the official document of any organisation for

recording the annual activities in totality. It is the statement of assessment and

evaluation of all the departments/stations of an organisation. It is the survey of

works carried out during the preceding year with summarization of the

activities and achievements of the organisation. All the AIR stations including

AIR headquarters are published their annual reports of all the activities, works;

achievements, programmes, transmitters etc. and all reports are available in the

library of respective Air stations.

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3.2.13 Websites:

Many websites and search engines are available to find out the required

information related to media resources. AIRNET and [Link]

are the most useful websites for radio programmes and network in India.

In the World Wide Web, researchers use a search engine or directory

such as Alta-Vista, Yahoo, WebCrawler, or Excite to type in their topics and

retrieve hypertext documents. Hypertext materials allow users reading one

document onscreen to use a mouse to click on (usually) color-highlighted,

underlined words in the document called a link. This action immediately calls

onto the screen the other document that the link represents. This interconnected

"web" of documents provides a fascinating if not always effective way to look

for materials on the Internet.

3.3 Library Services of All India Radio:

The services offered by the AIR libraries can be grouped as

conventional library services and the services for promoting library use.

3.3.1 Conventional Library Services

a) Library Rules

Every library frames a set of rules for regulating its services to

members. Rules are framed keeping in mind the library objectives and users

interests. As far as possible rules should be explicit, free from any ambiguity.

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The basic issues addressed in framing library rules are the following:

1. Who can use the library?

2. Opening and closing hours of the library

3. How many books/CDs/Tapes can a member borrow at a time?

4. For how long can the member retain borrowed library material?

5. Conditions of loan, fine for the late return of books/material, loss or

damage of books/material during the loaned period

6. Reservation of books/CDs/Tapes

7. Recall of issued books/library material

8. Renewal of loans

9. Suspension of membership privileges

10. Personal books/property counters, etc.)

b) Circulation: Issue & Return of Books

Circulation means issuing books to valid members on loan, and

cancelling loans them from issue records upon return of books by members. It

is one of the most important activities of a library from users‘ perspective. For

managing circulation, the library needs a proper circulation system designed

and developed for the effective control of circulation operations in terms of

time per transactions, manpower deployment requirement, and accuracy in

record keeping. The manual systems currently in use are: ‗Newark‘ system,

‗Browne‘ system, ‗Passbook‘ system and ‗Register‘ system. In all these

systems, Browne system of issue and return is most popular for its efficiency in

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time per transaction. In AIR libraries the register system is most popular for

circulation of their material.

c) Inter-Library Loan Service

Every library has a liaison with other libraries in the vicinity. In case of

urgent requirements, the resource of such nearby libraries could be harnessed

for borrowing books/material on inter-library loan, or get a copy/photocopy

made of the wanted material. The library in All India Radio set up could

consider building such type of cooperative networks for this purpose.

3.4. Service Promoting Library Use

3.4.1 Initiation/Orientation Service

For most of users, a visit to the library is the first encounter with the

world of books. The users have to be made aware of the privileges they are

entitled to as also the rules they are to follow to derive full benefits from the

library. There are certain ‗do‘s and don‘ts which need to be explained to users

at the time of their first formal visit to the library. This information is given to

new members upon registration during initiation/ orientation service. This

service is also important for inculcating reading habits in neo-literates

3.4.2 New Books Display

All the books/documents added into the library stock must be put on

display for a limited period so as to bring them to the notice of all library users.

On special occasions, such as birth day of an important author or leader,

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festivals, sport events, relevant books/material may be separated from the

general sequence and put on a display to bring them to the notice of users.

3.4.3 Press Clipping Service

Newspapers are the most important sources of latest information. It

would be most appropriate if the relevant cuttings of write-ups, editorials

letters, statements, news items, events etc. are organized in some logical order

for future reference and use.

3.4.4 Late Fine:

Though it may be unfair to impose fines for the late return of borrowed

books, yet it is essential in a library to enforce discipline amongst members.

This is done mainly as a deterrent since the amount collected as fine is always

very trivial. Formal receipt is, however, issued after realizing late fee money

from defaulters in cash.

3.4.5 Reservation of Books/library resource:

Books in heavy demand usually remain in circulation. Members in the

waiting list could reserve such books or material so that they could get the

priority in borrowing them upon their receipt in the library. The library staffs

inform the member in the waiting list about the availability of the reserved

book/resources.

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3.4.6 Loss of Books/material:

Books reported or library resources as lost by borrowers are required to

be dealt as per library rules. Usually, the borrower is advised to replace the

book with a new copy. If, however, the book is out of stock in the market, he

may be asked to pay the current price of the book after getting it verified from

the Publisher‘s catalogue or from trade bibliographies. The price may also be

got ascertained from the Accession Register and formal receipt issued to the

borrower. Necessary postings may be done in the Accession Register

indicating in the Remarks Column about the ―Lost and cost realized vide

receipt no… dated….‖

As for as non-book material is concerned particularly in AIR libraries

the CDs and audio tapes are issued to only authorise users who are involved in

the programme is going to broadcast.

3.4.6 Information based Services. All India Radio libraries are providing

following library and information series:

1 Reference Service:

Reference service is a reactive service given to members on demand. In

AIR set up, the emphasis in reference service should be on giving knowledge

and not just information or documents.

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2 Referral Service:

Referral services are one of the part of reference service. Referral

service is direct enquirers to a source of information which may be an

information centre/ organization or an individual expert. Generally, when a

library or information centre does not have the material and cannot obtain it

from the sources but it knows the exact location of the document / information,

then it can refer the user to the sources of information.

3 Reprographic Service:

Reprographic service is a reproduction of any document either in print

or non-print form. AIR libraries are providing reprographic service of their

collections in different forms like books, manuals, CDs etc. to their users.

4 Bibliographic Service:

Bibliographic Services basically are those which guide the users of the

libraries to the documents were in their required information is likely be

available. In bibliographic service the data stored comprises input of

bibliographical details of a document for identification, storage and retrieval

purposes. The bibliographic details to a document may include titles, authors,

journal names, volume, issues, place of publications, publisher, year of

publication, ISBN/ISSN number, classification number, book number, location

keyword, abstract etc.

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5 Document Delivery Service (DDS):

Document Delivery Service is concerned with the supply of document

to the user on demand either in original or its photocopies irrespective of the

location and form of original document. The Document Delivery Centre

(DDC) on demand, deliver the copies of papers from learned journals,

conference proceedings and other material available in their collection. AIR

libraries on demand deliver the document/CDs/Tapes and other material to the

AIR stations that are going to broadcast related to these collections for specific

programs.

6 CD ROM Database service:

A database is an organized set of data stored in a computer that can be

search automatically. Databases may be stored on magnetic tape; optical media

such as CD- ROM, DVD ROM, and Hard Disk etc. can be accessed either

locally or remotely. AIR central archive Delhi and regional archive centre are

providing CD ROM database services to its users.

7 Information Consolidation Service:

UNESCO Symposium on Information Analysis and Consolidation (held

in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 12-15 September, 1978) gave the following definition:

―Information Consolidation Activities is used to define the responsibilities

exercised by individuals, departments or organizations for evaluating and

compressing relevant documents in order to provide definite user groups with

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reliable and concise new body of knowledge. Individuals or groups of

individuals performing information consolidation activities would each

constitute an Information Consolidation Unit.‖7

Saracevic and Wood (1981) gave the following elaborate definition:

―Consolidated Information is public knowledge specifically selected, analyzed,

evaluated, and possibly restructured and repackaged for the purpose of serving

some of the immediate decisions, problems and information needs of a defined

clientele or social group, who otherwise may not be able to effectively and

efficiently access and use this knowledge as available in the great amounts of

documents or in its original form. The criteria for selection, evaluation,

restructuring, and repackaging of this knowledge are derived from the potential

clientele.‖ In other words consolidation of information refers to providing the

right information for the right person in the right form and at the right time.8

8 Literature Search Service:

A literature search is a systematic and thorough search of all types of

published literature in order to identify a breadth of good quality references

relevant to a specific topic. The success of any research project is dependent on

a thorough review of the academic literature at the outset. It is therefore a

fundamental element of the methodology of any research project. Effective

literature searching is a critical skill in its own right and will prove valuable for

any future information gathering activity whether in academia or not.

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9 Indexing & Abstracting Service:

An index is a retrieval tool. It provides various access points through

which a user can identify the document of his interest. Indexing is a technique

or a method of document representation, the ultimate aim of which is to

provide access to the users through the description used. Abstracting is an

operation which offers to reduce considerably the amount of primary

information and it lays emphasis on aspects of particular interest to users.

10 Selective Dissemination of Information Service (SDI):

H P Luhn developed SDI service in 1961. SDI system is a technique to

communicate information in such a manner as to keep each researcher and

scientist informed of latest publications appearing in their restricted field of

research at periodical intervals. SDI provides notifications of new primary

documents as and when added to the information dissemination system of a

library giving bibliographic details with or without abstracts of each document.

Notifications are based on a match between user‘s profile and document

profiles.

11 Current Awareness Service (CAS)

Any service intended to meet the current approach is generally known

as current awareness service. Therefore, it can be defined as a system of

service which ensures that all the latest information likely to influence the

progress of a research worker is made available to him at the right time and in

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convenient form. For promoting AIR library services, the library needs to offer

proactive services such as current awareness service, selective dissemination of

information service, etc.

12 Translation Service:

Translation is a process of transforming precisely the information

contents of the text in one language into another language. The former is called

the Source language and the latter is called as the Text language. Translation

service helps overcome the language barrier.

In the field of science and technology, the National Translation

Centre, Chicago, America, International Translation Centre, Delft,

Netherlands, British Library Lending Division, Boston and in India,

INSDOC, New Delhi have foreign language translation service for all the

individuals and organizations, who cannot afford the expensive in-house

translation facilities. In case of online, whenever a search result lists a relevant

resource in another language, one can check out AltaVista's translation feature.

With this service, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese websites

are translated to English (and vice versa). One can also try with Google

Translation to meet this purpose

3.5 Library Service in Digital Environment:

The concept of traditional library services is changing. Now days most

of libraries have taken steps to provide web- based reference and information

services in digital environment along with traditional services.

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 The information available in digital form is increasing day by day. The

library services of AIR libraries are also increasing simultaneously.

Dr. S. R. Ranganathan proposed five laws of library science. These laws are:

 Books are for use

 Every reader has his or her book

 Every reader has its reader

 Save the time of the reader

 The library is a growing organism

3.5.1 Adaptations of Five Laws:

According to atherton, Pauline A. Putting Knowledge to Work: An

American View of Ranganathans Five Laws of Library Science. Bombay,

India: Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd., 19735. These are:

1. Information is for use

2. Every reader his/her Information

3. Every bit of Information its reader

4. Save the time of the Information seeker

5. Information is ever growing

The laws have been widely quoted in the library profession. Every

activity relating to services has a rational in one or another of these laws and

all of them jointly inter-connected. The dimensions of services now have

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expanded widely in scope but the basic philosophy of the service remains

unchanged. Therefore, these five laws can be restated to suit modern

developments in the field of library and information systems to suit changed

contests. These are:

 Documents/ information/ knowledge are for use

 Every user his/her document/information/knowledge

 Every document/information/knowledge its user

 Save the time of the user

 Document/information/knowledge system is a growing organism

Lennart Bjorman (Webometrician) Assistant Professor, Department of

Information Studies, Royal School of Library and Information Science,

Copenhagen, Denmark, 2004 stated the Ranganathans five laws of library

science as follows:

1. Links are for use – the very essence of hypertext;

2. Every surfer his or her link-the rich diversity of links across topics

and genres;

3. Every link its surfer – ditto;

4. Save the time of the surfer – visualizing web clusters and small-world

shortcuts;

5. The Web is a growing organism

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 The whole philosophy of librarianship is based on Five laws of library

Science. These laws look very simple, and when you contemplate as we

continue to work in our libraries will provide us with basic tenets to guide us in

discharging our duties as keepers of knowledge of our culture. Library services

are followed by library works. But now the advancement in information

communication technology (ICT) has brought changes. The recent trend and

change in the information related field especially in collection, storing,

technical processing, disseminating and archiving of information have resulted

into the evolution of digital libraries. The most of books, reference books and

journals are published in electronic form. So library and information

professional have to keep up-to-date with new technological development,

changes and challenges emerging out of library services in digital environment.

These laws have to be strictly adhered in the All India Radio libraries for the

benefit of the user‘s community.

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REFERENCES:

1. [Link]

accessed on 12-08-2015

2. [Link] accessed on 12-08-2015

3. [Link]/education/aladin/paldin/pdf/course02/unit_17.pdf

accessed on 14-10-2015

4. [Link]/library-extension-services accessed on 17-

10.2015

5. Tripathi, Raghuvendra, [Link]. (2012), Emerging Technologies in

managing Library and Information Services: library services in Digital

environment page 161-162.

6. Atherton, Pauline A. (1973) Putting Knowledge to Work: An American

View of Ranganathans Five Laws of Library Science. Bombay, Vikas:

Publishing House Pvt Ltd.,

7. Seethrama, S. (1997). Information Consolidation and Repackaging-

Framework, Methodology, Planning. New Delhi: Ess Ess Publications.

8. Symposium on Information Analysis and Consolidation (second

meeting). Colombo, Sri Lanka. 12-15 September, 1978.

9. Saracevic, Tefko and Wood, J. (1981). Consolidation of Information: A

Handbook of Evaluation, Restructuring and Repackaging of Scientific

and Technical Information. Paris: UNESCO. (PGI-81/WS/16).

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