इस ब्लॉग्स को सृजन करने में आप सभी से सादर सुझाव आमंत्रित हैं , कृपया अपने सुझाव और प्रविष्टियाँ प्रेषित करे , इसका संपूर्ण कार्य क्षेत्र विश्व ज्ञान समुदाय हैं , जो सभी प्रतियोगियों के कॅरिअर निर्माण महत्त्वपूर्ण योगदान देगा ,आप अपने सुझाव इस मेल पत्ते पर भेज सकते हैं - chandrashekhar.malav@yahoo.com
34. National Information Systems, Services, and Products: NISCAIR
P- 05. Information Sources, Systems and Services *
By :Dr.Renu Arora,Paper Coordinator
MODULE 34: NATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS, SERVICES, AND
PRODUCTS: NISCAIR
Content Writer/Author - Dr. R K Verma
Email id - rk51verma@yahoo.com
Structure of Module/Syllabus of module(Define Topic of Module and its subtopics)
NATIONAL INFORMATION
SYSTEMS, SERVICES, AND
PRODUCTS: NISCAIR
NISCAIR, INTRODUCTION, MISSION AND
OBJECTIVES, INFORMATION PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES, INFORMATION RESOURCES, PROJECTS
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE MODULE
Description of the Module
Subject Name Library and Information Science
Paper Name Information Sources, Systems And Services
Module Name/Title National Information Systems, Services, and Products: NISCAIR
Module Id LIS/PL/34
Pre-requisites Library and Documentation services, Information sources,
Information dissemination, National Institutes, S&T Information,
National Science Library; S&T Publications; Popular science,
Science communication
Objectives To get an insight in to the wide variety of activities, resources,
projects, and services of NISCAIR – a premier S&T Institute in the
field of Information Science in India
Keywords Information system, Information dissemination, Knowledge
resources, e-consortium, Science Communication, Research Journal,
Abstracting journal, Indian Science
2.OBJECTIVES
After reading this module, you will be able to:
Gain insight in to the various information products, services, resources, and projects of
NISCAIR- a premier institute of S&T information in India;
Understand the various activities of NISCAIR which are helpful in supporting all levels
and categories of S&T society; and
Learn the applications of modern information and communication technology (ICT) in
various information products, services, and resources provided by NISCAIR
.2
2. INTRODUCTION
National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), New Delhi, came
into existence on 30 September 2002 after the merger of National Institute of Science Communication
(NISCOM) and Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC). Both NISCOM and
INSDOC, the two premier institutes of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), were
devoted to dissemination and documentation of S&T information.
INSDOC was established in the year 1952 and was engaged in providing S&T information and
documentation services through many activities such as abstracting and indexing, design and
development of databases, translation, library automation, providing access to international information
sources, human resource development, and consultancy services in setting up modern library-cuminformation
centres. Besides these activities, INSDOC was also host to the National Science Library
(NSL) and the SAARC Documentation Centre. On the other hand, erstwhile NISCOM came into being
with the renaming of the Publications & Information Directorate (PID) in 1996. PID was formed by
merging two separate publication units, viz., Dictionary of Indian Raw Materials and Economic Products,
renamed as Wealth of India( 1948) and Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, instituted in 1942.
Over the years, NISCOM diversified its activities, and through a host of its information products,
comprising research and popular science journals, encyclopaedic publications, monographs, books, and
information services, it had been reaching out to researchers, students, entrepreneurs, industrialists,
agriculturists, policy planners and also the common man.
With the formation of NISCAIR, all the above multi-faceted activities have been combined, making
NISCAIR, an institute capable of serving the society using modern IT infrastructure in a more effective
manner and taking up new ventures in the field of science communication, dissemination and S&T
information management systems and services. Broadly, the core activity of NISCAIR is to
collect/store, publish and disseminate S&T information through traditional and modern means for the
benefit of various segments of society.
NISCAIR is one of the premier institutes of CSIR serving the
society using modern IT infrastructure. Since its inception, it has been laying emphasis on the benefits
of information technology to effectively serve the national and international community and to be an
institution of international standard and repute. The concerned areas are: knowledge networking,
databases on natural resources, science communication, science popularization and S&T information
management systems and services.
With a view to understanding various activities of NISCAIR, the same have been categorized under the
main headings as Information Products and Services; Information resources; and Projects. A description
of these activities is presented in this module.
3. MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
The mission of NISCAIR is to become the prime custodian of all information resources on current and
traditional knowledge systems in science and technology in the country, and to promote communication
in science to diverse constituents at all levels, using the most appropriate technologies. Its mandate and
objectives are:
• To provide formal linkages of communication among the scientific community in the form of
research journals in different areas of S&T;
• To disseminate S&T information to general public, particularly school students in order to
inculcate interest in science among them;3
• To collect, collate and disseminate information on plant, animal and mineral wealth of the
country;
• To harness information technology applications in information management with particular
reference to science communication and modernizing libraries;
• To act as a facilitator in furthering the economic, social, industrial, scientific and commercial
development by providing timely access to relevant and accurate information;
• To develop human resources in science communication, library, documentation and
information science and S&T information management systems and services; and
• To collaborate with international institutions and organizations having objectives and goals
similar to those of NISCAIR.
4. INFORMATION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
4.1 Bibliometric Service
Bibliometric services are carried out for studying growth, development and spread of any area of research,
and also for identifying centres of excellence, influential authors, etc. The services are useful for heads of
departments/institutions, research planners, policy makers and individual scientists. These services
include Citation analysis, Impact factor, Bibliometric analysis, and Multifaceted Bibliometric analysis, etc.
4.2 Contents, Abstracts, and Photocopy Service (CAPS)
CAPS is an innovative personalised information service provided by NISCAIR. A list of over 7,000 core
journals in various disciplines has been identified. The researchers are required to select from this list
(available free, on request) the journals of their choice. After going through the table of contents,
researchers can receive the abstract or full text of desired articles through NISCAIR's Document Copy
Supply Service of NISCAIR
4.3 Foreign Language Translation Service
NISCAIR provides translation of S&T documents from 20 foreign languages into English. The languages
include Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish,
Portuguese, Rumanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Swedish, etc. The clients include National
Laboratories, S&T institutes, R&D Organisations, Corporate and Public Sector Undertakings,
Universities, Research Scholars, etc.
NISCAIR also provides reverse translation, i.e., English into foreign language. Translation of English
text of maximum of one page into French, German, Russian and Spanish is undertaken. For Japanese
language, translation of full English documents is undertaken, besides interpretation and consultancy
assignments in this language.
Recently, ongoing S&T translation services have been initiated. The languages covered are: Chinese,
French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish
4.4 Document Copy Supply Service
NISCAIR provides this service to the Indian scientific community by supplying copies of articles from
Indian and foreign journals. Copies of Indian and foreign patents and standards can also be obtained from
NISCAIR.
4
4.5 Literature Search Service
NISCAIR offers literature search service and compiles bibliographies on demand from indigenous as well
as from international databases in the areas of S&T, engineering, industry, etc.
4.6 Human Resource Development (HRD)
NISCAIR with necessary facilities and manpower, trains and prepares science communicators, R&D
personnel, library and information science professionals for meeting the challenges of current times.
NISCAIR's HRD Programmes are categorized as follows:
4.6.1 Short-term Training Programmes
NISCAIR conducts short term courses in the field of Library and Information Science and other related
areas. These pertain to Information technology for information management, Office automation,
Bibliometrics tools, Library automation and networking, digital libraries, and Science communication,
4.6.2 On-site Training Programmes
Under this programme, NISCAIR organizes training courses as per requirements of the clients at their
premises subject to minimum 10 and maximum 25 participants respectively.
4.7 Consultancy Services
NISCAIR provides consultancy services in the areas of automation, modernization and reorganization of
libraries and information centres; design and development of specialized databases for organizations on
turnkey basis; editing, designing, production and printing; and publication jobs.
4.8 Research Journals
4.8.1 Online Access to NISCAIR's Research Journals
NISCAIR has been able to host online its research journals through a solution called “NISCAIR ONLINE
Periodicals Repository (NOPR)” which is implemented based on the open source digital repository
system software. All the 18 research journals of NISCAIR have been added under open access mode for
accessing full text [http://nopr.niscair.res.in]. Research communities, including students not only in India
but all over the world, are being benefited by open access availability of NISCAIR journals. Current
issues of all the research journals are published in NOPR for open access well before the publication of
print version.
The repository has data spanning from 2007 till current issues and for some journals from
2002 onwards. The repository contains around 6400 articles. Further, to increase visibility of NISCAIR
journals, all the journals are registered with Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Registry of Open
Access Repositories (ROAR), Directory of Open Access Repositories (DOAR), Google Analytics and all
of the prominent search engines. The list of 18 research journals published by NISCAIR is available on
its website.
4.9 Abstracting Journals5
4.9.1 Indian Science Abstracts (ISA, semi-monthly)
ISA is a semi-monthly abstracting journal reporting current Indian scientific work published in India and
abroad. It reports scientific work done in India since 1965. Original research articles, short
communications, review articles, and informative articles published in current scientific and technical
periodicals, proceedings of conferences and symposia, monographs and other publications, as well as
patents, standards and theses are reported in ISA. Besides the print version, ISA is now available online
and its various issues from the year 2004 can be browsed.
4.9.2 Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Abstracts (MAPA, bi-monthly)
MAPA is a bimonthly abstracting journal covering world literature on agronomy, botany,
pharmacognosy, and biological activities of medicinal and aromatic plants. MAPA is produced by
scanning, selecting and abstracting relevant papers from about 600 primary journals published from about
65 countries and in 25 languages, research reports, conference proceedings and patents. Each issue and
volume of MAPA is supported by a keyword index. From 1988 onwards, MAPA is available on CDROM
also.
4.10 Popular Science Magazines
NISCAIR publishes three well-circulated popular science magazines, viz. Science Reporter (English,
monthly), Vigyan Pragati (Hindi, monthly) and Science-ki-Duniya (Urdu, quarterly). These magazines
publish informative popular science articles on contemporary science topics apart from a rich flare that
includes humour and fiction, puzzles, quizzes and crosswords, amazing scientific facts, inventions and
discoveries, science projects and biographies of scientists.
4.10.1 Science Reporter
Science Reporter is one of the oldest English language popular science monthlies published in India since
1964. From its initial objective of making the people of India aware of the innumerable technologies
being developed within our scientific establishments, Science Reporter has today grown into being much
more than just a vehicle for relaying information about technologies being developed in the national
laboratories. Presently, it is a popular platform for exchanging ideas about the state of science in the
country, matters of science policy, and discussing the future course that science in India should take.
Besides, it is also a one-stop solution for students on the lookout for latest updates from the world of
science. They find in Science Reporter a comprehensive package of information, which helps them not
only during competitive exams but also throughout their careers.
4.10.2 Vigyan Pragati
In 1952, the publication of Vigyan Pragati was started as a newsletter disseminating information on
scientific research carried out in the CSIR institutes. Subsequently, it was converted into a popular
science magazine to inculcate scientific temper among the common people, helping them to remove
superstitions. Since then, in consonance with its title Vigyan Pragati, it is continuously making people
aware of the progress science is making.
4.10.3 Science Ki Duniya6
Started in 1975, Science-ki-Duniya is the only Indian popular science journal in Urdu. Over the period,
this quarterly journal has published articles by various eminent scientists such as Prof. Abdus Salam
(Nobel Laureate), Prof. D.S. Kothari, Prof. A.R. Kidwai, Prof. A.M. Khusro, Dr. Kishan Lal, Prof. M.
Shafi and Prof. A. Rahman. It provides a package of varied columns such as Science Quiz, Science
Models, Crime and Science, Cartoons, Science News, and Science for Children apart from other topical
and absorbing articles in each issue.
4.11 R&D Newsletters: CSIR News and CSIR Samachar
NISCAIR brings out two newsletters viz. CSIR News (in English) and CSIR Samachar (in Hindi). CSIR
news is fortnightly, while CSIR Samachar is a monthly. The purpose of these publications is to create an
effective link between various CSIR constituents and users of information on various R&D programs and
other activities of CSIR, other R&D organizations, university departments and industry. R&D programs
include new processes and products developed, programs undertaken, collaborative projects, sponsored
projects and consultancies. In addition, news on technology demonstrations, marketing, transfer of
technology, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), etc. are also covered. S&T activities include conferences,
seminars, workshops, training programs, honours and awards, appointments of CSIR Directors, etc.
4.12 National Prior Art Search Services Facility (NPASF)
NISCAIR has instituted NPASF for the benefit of researchers, inventors, scientists of national research
facilities and science planners. Under NPASF, the following services are provided:
4.12.1 Patent Drafting
Under this service, professionals help in the preparation of patent drafts enabling complete description of
the embodiment of a process, machine, matter is provided. This is done as per technical requirements, viz.
title, cross references, background, summary, description (both brief and detailed), claims, abstract, and
sequence listing.
4.12.2 Prior Art Search
Under the Prior Art Search facility, one can reveal prior inventions that bear close resemblance to any
patent or non-patent literature. A search is conducted on patent literature, product literature, research
journals and databases. One can obtain search and analysis report for proposed idea/query with respect to
their novelty and inventiveness. This helps in filing of patent application or initiating new research
proposals.
4.12.3 Patent Informatics Service
Patent Informatics is the analysis of multiple patent data at macro level. Under this service, analysis is
carried out on large volumes of patent data in order to have an idea about the technology landscape. This
results in unearthing of strengths and weaknesses of technologies, markets and portfolios. This helps in
policy decisions, R&D strategy, technical auditing and investment decisions7
4.13 International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
NISCAIR’s National Science Library (NSL) is the National Centre of the ISSN International Centre for
assigning ISSN numbers for serials published in India. ISSN is a worldwide identification code used by
publishers, suppliers, libraries, information services, bar coding systems, union catalogues, etc. for
citation and retrieval of serials such as Journals, Newspapers, Newsletters, Directories, Yearbooks,
Annual Reports and Monograph series, etc. ISSN is useful in international publicity and recognition as
the concerned serial is automatically included in the International Serials Directory Database. ISSN
International Centre is a network with its Headquarters at Paris.
4.14 Natural Products Repository
NISCAIR has launched a quarterly online open access repository entitled, Natural Product and Resources
Repository (NPARR) from 2010. It plans to include abstracts of papers along with citation and
correspondence address through collection and collation from various core and non-core journals. There
is also a provision for authors for sending soft copies of abstracts of their published papers,
technologies/know-how developed at their institute/university (during current year) for including under
respective group of products/technologies
4.15 Editing
NISCAIR provides editorial services for Conference Proceedings, Scholarly Books, Popular Science
Books, etc. for other organizations on man-hour basis. Editing jobs cover content editing as well as copy
editing and stylization.
5. INFORMATION RESOURCES
One of the core activities of NISCAIR is to collect, organize and disseminate S&T information generated
in India as well as in the world which has relevance to Indian S&T community. Under this programme,
the institute is building comprehensive collection of S&T publications in print as well as in electronic
form and disseminating through traditional as well as modern means benefiting various segments of the
society. Major resources under this activity are Wealth of India, Bharat Ki Sampada, National Science
Library, Scholarly books and Monographs, Popular science books, Indigenous Databases, National Union
Catalogue Of Scientific Serials in India, and Raw Materials Herbarium and Museum. A brief description
of these resources is provided below.
5.1 National Science Library
NSL has a comprehensive collection of S&T publications in the country and is offering services on a
national scale. It also acts as a referral centre and clearing house for the best utilisation of the existing 8
collection in the country. Set up in 1964, NSL aims at acquiring all important S&T publications published
in the country and strengthening its resource base for foreign periodicals by acquiring the journals on CDROM
or other electronic form as far as possible.
NSL has a rich collection of over 2,40,000 volumes
including monographs and bound volumes of journals in the various fields. Its print resources includereference
material/secondary sources in most of the fields of science and technology, information
technology, library and information science, proceedings of conferences/seminars/symposia held in the
field of science and technology in and outside the country; foreign language dictionaries; Indian scientific
and technical periodicals; important foreign serials in the field of science and technology; specialized
collection in the field of information science and library studies; and reports of R&D organizations. The
services of NSL include- OPAC, E-journals, and ISSN besides routine activities of a library.
NSL
provides its scientists/members/users the facility to access/browse and download any paper for their use
from 4256 international e-journals published by 16 publishers/societies (as per details provided in other
section on NKRC). Besides this, users have access to over 2500 open access journals.
5.2 Wealth of India (WOI)
WOI is an authoritative reference standard for information on raw materials of India particularly in the
current global trend to incorporate traditional knowledge systems into the proprietary mainstream. It is
also a ready reckoner for researchers, entrepreneurs, plant-based industrialists and policy makers. Policyplanners
use the information to prevent bio-piracy. It has in the recent past played a major role in India's
claim for priority in the US patent case on turmeric. WOI is considered as an encyclopaedic series on
India's raw material resources of plants, animals and minerals, details their occurrence, distribution,
description, composition, utilization and trade. The series, known for its authenticity, is the essence of
information scattered in a wide range of information sources. Each resource profile is a monographic
presentation beginning with the correct nomenclature, the known names in vernacular, gives a brief
description, chief areas of distribution in India, broad parameters of cultivation in case of plants,
pathological problems in case of plants and animals, chemical constituents, products, utilization,
production, consumption ( in case of minerals), and trade data.
5.3 Bharat Ki Sampada
NISCAIR brings out wide range of Hindi publications ranging from research journals to popular science
books and magazines. With continuous increase in the wealth of information and IT revolution with
relevance to dissemination of science in Hindi, the role of NISCAIR has become all the more significant.
Bharati Ki Sampada - Prakritik Padarth is an encyclopaedia on Indian raw materials based on flora, fauna
and minerals, in which the entries appear in Devnagari alphabetical order.
A series publication of 12
volumes and 2 supplements, Bharat Ki Sampada is the Hindi version of The Wealth of India - Raw
Materials series with a difference in subject matter, volume-wise. Prepared by the experts, the articles in
Bharat Ki Sampada series cover those plants, animals and minerals which render medicines, food
products, beverages, fruits, nuts, spices & condiments, fats & oils, essential oils, masticatory, fumigatory,
fibre, pulp, wood, and forest products, etc Each entry in its series provides correct identification of plants
and their scientific and vernacular names, in addition to relevant references, and index on the names in
Indian languages. Articles on crop plants cover the aspects pertaining to cultivation, harvesting, storage,
diseases and pests and their control, etc. For raw materials, the series covers information on the
occurrence in the country, data about their production, yield, import and export.
5.4 Scholarly Books & Monographs9
NISCAIR publishes comprehensive state-of-the-art reports on specialized subjects for the benefit of
research scientists and academicians. The details of various publications are available on the NISCAIR
website.
5.5 Popular Science Books
NISCAIR has brought out as many as 60 popular science books in English under different series, viz.
CSIR Golden Jubilee Series (25), Sci-Fun Series (7), Q-series (3), Vistas in Biotechnology Series (10),
Foundations of Biotechnology Series (6), Others (9), AIDS, Science and Society in the 21st
century, Healthcare Education & IT, The Road Ahead and the encyclopaedic publication Golden
Treasury of Science and Technology (New Enlarged Diamond Jubilee Edition). Also 28 books have been
brought out in Hindi.
5.5.1 IT for All
The institute has launched a new series of books on 'IT for All'. Topics of these books include Microsoft
Word for Beginners, Microsoft Power Point, Web dot Com, Build your web home, C++ for beginners,
The 'C' Adventure, Visual Basic. Apart from English, all the seven books are available in Hindi, Punjabi,
Urdu, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, and Malayalam.
5.6 Raw Material Herbarium & Museum
With a view to catering the needs of scientists, researchers, industrialists, students and the public at large,
NISCAIR has set up a Herbarium and Museum. It housing economically important raw materials of plant,
animal and mineral origin from India at one place. The Herbarium houses over 8000 specimen of
economic and medicinal plants of India and the Museum comprises over 3000 samples of crude-drugs,
animal and mineral specimens. The NISCAIR Herbarium & Museum has been assigned the acronym
RHMD (Raw Materials Herbarium & Museum, Delhi) by the International Association for Plant
Taxonomy, which appeared in the publication ‘Index Herbarium, New York, USA (1990)’. The
herbarium provides information on folk-lore, ethno-medicine and traditional medicine and is a source of
knowledge for development of new herbal medicines.
5.7 National Union Catalogue of Scientific Serials in India (NUCSSI)
NUCSSI is one of the oldest services of NISCAIR and its database serves as an ideal tool to access
journal holdings information. It is a data repository of a large number of unique journal titles and library
holdings belonging to major universities, S&T institutions, R&D units of industries, higher institutes like
Indian Institute of Science (IIS), IITs and professional institutes spread all over the country. NUCSSI
provides information regarding the availability of journal titles in the libraries. Regular updation of the
database is enhanced with the online access granted to the participating libraries via internet, so that users
may get the updated information free of cost. Further, a user friendly interface and powerful search
enables easy and improved access to locate a particular journal and its availability in various libraries.
Regarding its statistics, so far a total of 45541 journals have been listed, total holdings are 264834, while
total participating libraries are 564.
6. PROJECTS
6.1 Science Communication through Multimedian (SCM)
10
Established in 2010, SCM-Division is responsible for communication of science through multimedia. The
mandate of the division is three fold viz. to carry out research in the area of scientific temper, public
understanding of science and communication of science; to collate existing audio-visual material and
generate fresh content using multimedia and make it accessible to the public at large; and to interact with
common citizens, scholars, experts and institutions on issues of science and science communication. The
Division is engaged in carrying out research in the area of development of communication models,
probing the shifts of conceptual models, indicators and tools for measuring public understanding of
science and scientific temper and administering survey studies among public.
SCM Division has constructed a CSIR-NISCAIR-Tube, a platform to collect all the science films that
have been produced by CSIR labs and other science departments in the country. There is also a provision
for individuals to approach NISCAIR to upload material which is being produced in the country including
their power-point presentations. The content generated by SCM division is also uploaded regularly on the
CSIR-NISCAIR-Tube.
As a new initiative, the SCM Division is planning to take up a series of activities to connect to the larger
audience. For example, CSIR-NISCAIR Social Networking site is being constructed to provide better,
efficient and fast interaction between the scientists. This platform is also likely to connect the scientist
with the public where a common citizen could pose questions, which could be directed to a scientist or a
group of scientists for providing explanation.
6.2 National Knowledge Resources Consortium (NKRC)
With a view to strengthening R&D in CSIR laboratories, NISCAIR has developed a "Consortium for
CSIR Laboratories for Accessing e-journals" as its nodal agency. The activity ranges from creation to
monitoring of the access facility of scientific periodicals published by leading international institutions.
Under this scheme, CSIR scientists are able to access these journals and download material for their use.
The National Knowledge Resource Consortium (NKRC), established in year 2009, is a network of
libraries and information centres of 39 CSIR and 24 DST institutes. NKRC's origin goes back to the year
2001, when the CSIR set up the Electronic Journals Consortium to provide access to 1200 odd journals of
Elsevier Science to all its users. Over a period of time, the Consortium has grown in terms of the number
of resources and also in terms of the number of users as more and more institutes have shown their
interest to join the Consortium. Currently, NKRC facilitates access to 5,000+ e-journals of all major
publishers, patents, standards, citation and bibliographic databases. Apart from licensed resources, NKRC
is also a single point entity that provides its users with access to a multitude of open access resources.
6.3 Digital Information Resource Facility (DIRF) Data Centre
NISCAIR is functioning at two separate locations viz. Pusa location and Satsang Vihar Marg with 250
and 360 nodes respectively having 4 Mbps Leased Line Internet connectivity. The volume of data, being
managed at NISCAIR, in the form of Databases and CDs, is in Tera Bytes with an exponential growth.
NISCAIR also acts as repository on Library and Analytical facilities under CSIR. With new ICT tools,
the knowledge repositories are growing at exponential rates and require massive and updated capabilities
for management of information resources and services including hosting and sharing.
Further, NISCAIR
scientists are making use of the IT Infrastructure for data transfer, communication, exchange of
manuscripts and data with authors and referees. The services and data hosted on servers are in
unorganized manner without any redundant infrastructure, major security and archival/backup facility.
This has significantly impacted level and quality of NISCAIR’s services. With a view to overcome the 11
existing constraints, NISCAIR has proposed to set up a project on Digital Information Resource Facility
(DIRF), as an integrated facility. The focus of the facility is to provide uninterrupted, authorized and
secure access to NISCAIR and CSIR Resources to the scientific community and researchers all over the
world. After the establishment of DIRF all these applications will be migrated on the servers kept in Data
Centre in coordination with NISCAIR.
The project, setting up of Digital Information Resource Facility
(DIRF) has a single focus on setting up an integrated state-of-art facility for managing and sharing digital
information resources of CSIR. Its main Objectives are:
Managing and securing the digital assets systems created by NISCAIR
Providing uninterrupted data services.
Providing long-term scalable storage infrastructure.
Managing high volume of incoming and outgoing content.
Streamlining net-centric operations, and
Providing authorized and secure access. (Remote & Local Both)
6.4 CSIR Knowledge Gate Network Project
CSIR Knowledge Gateway & Open Source Private Cloud Infrastructure (KNOWGATE) is 12th Five
Year Plan (FYP) Network Project under Information Sciences cluster. The project would be implemented
in phased manner by dividing CSIR KRCs (Knowledge Resource Centres) in four groups a network mode
by CSIR-NISCAIR as nodal laboratory. Participating laboratories include CSIR-M Complex & CSIRHQ.
Its Objectives are:
•
To enhance the capacity and capability of CSIR computing power through CSIR private cloud
infrastructure and Open Source Software Technology Solution Cell (OSSTSC),
• To provide CSIR KRCs an Integrated Library Management Solution using open source Software,
• To share information resources among CSIR laboratories by creating CSIR Distributed Library:
catalogue sharing, inter library loans, & referral service for document supply service, and
• To analyse CSIR research, technology and related data using multi-dimensional analysis.
7. SUMMARY
National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR) came into
existence on 30 September 2002 after the merger of National Institute of Science Communication
(NISCOM) and Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC). Both NISCOM and 12
INSDOC, the two premier institutes of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), were
devoted to dissemination and documentation of S&T information. The core activity of NISCAIR is to
collect/store, publish and disseminate S&T information through traditional and modern means, for the
benefit of different segments of society. With a view to understand various activities of NISCAIR, the
same have been categorized under the main headings as Information Products and Services; Information
resources; and Projects.
Information Products and Services include Bibliometrics service; Contents,
Abstracts, and Photocopy service (CAPS); Foreign language Translation Service; Document Copy
supply service; Literature search service; Short-term and on-site training programmes; Consultancy
services; the publications of Research Journals; and abstracting journals viz. Indian Science Abstracts,
and Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Abstracts and their online access facility; Popular science magazines
viz. Science reporter, Vigyan Pragati, and Science ki Duniya; R&D newsletters: CSIR news and CSIR
Samachar; National Prior Art Search Services Facility; International Standard Serial Number facility, and
Natural Products Repository. Under the Information resources the activities of National Science Library,
the compilation and publication of Wealth of India, Bharat ki Sampada, Scholarly books and monographs,
popular science books are covered besides Raw Material herbarium & Museum and National Union
Catalogue of Scientific Serials in India (NUCSSI) facilities. Finally a short description of four major
projects have been presented. These projects are entitled as Science Communication through Multimedia;
National Knowledge Resources Consortium; Digital Information Resources Facility (DIRF) Data Centre;
and CSIR Knowledge Gate Network Project.
STORY BOARD/CHUNK TEXT
1. MAJOR ACTIVITIES OF NISCAIR
NISCAIR is one of the premier institutes of CSIR serving the society using modern IT infrastructure. The
core activity of NISCAIR is to collect/store, publish and disseminate S&T information through traditional
and modern means, for the benefit of different segments of society. The concerned areas are- knowledge
networking, databases on natural resources, science communication, science popularization and S&T
information management systems and services.
With a view to understanding various activities of NISCAIR, the same have been categorized under the
main headings as Information Products and Services; Information resources; E-resources and in-house
databases; and Projects. A description of these activities is presented in this module.
2. INFORMATION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
2.1 Bibliometrics service
For studying growth, development and spread of any area of research, and also for identifying centres of
excellence, influential authors etc. These services include Citation analysis, Impact factor, Bibliometrics
analysis, and Multifaceted Bibliometrics analysis, etc.
2.2 Contents , Abstracts and Photocopy service (CAPS)13
CAPS is an innovative personalised information service by which researchers can receive the abstract or
full text of desired articles from about 7000 core journals through NISCAIR's Document Copy Supply
Service
2.3 Foreign Language Translation Service
NISCAIR provides translation of S&T documents from 20 foreign languages into English. The languages
include Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish,
Portuguese, Rumanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Swedish, etc. NISCAIR also provides reverse
translation, i.e., English into foreign language.
2.4 Document Copy Supply Service
NISCAIR provides this service to the Indian scientific community by supplying copies of articles from
Indian and foreign journals.
2.5 Literature Search Service
This service is offered through compilation of bibliographies on demand from indigenous as well as from
international databases
2.6 Human Resource Development
2.6.1Short-term training programmes
NISCAIR conducts short term courses in the field of Library and Information Science and other
areas. These are: Information technology for information management, Office automation, Bibliometric
tools, Library automation and networking, digital libraries, and Science communication,
2.6.2 On-site training programmes
Under this programme, NISCAIR organizes training courses as per requirement of the clients at their
premises subject to minimum 10 and maximum 25 participants respectively.
2.7 Consultancy services
NISCAIR provides consultancy services in the areas of :
Library Automation,
Modernization and reorganizations of libraries and information centres;
Design and development of specialized databases for organizations on turnkey basis;
Editing, designing, production and printing; and
CD-ROM publication jobs.
2.8 Research Journals
2.8.1 Online Access to NISCAIR's Research Journals
NISCAIR hosts its research journals online through a solution called “NISCAIR ONLINE Periodicals
Repository (NOPR)” 14
All the 18 research journals have been added under Open Access mode for accessing full text
[http://nopr.niscair.res.in].
2.9 Abstracting Journals
2.9.1 Indian Science Abstracts (ISA, semi-monthly)
ISA is a semi-monthly abstracting journal reporting Indian scientific work published in India since 1965.
Besides print version, ISA is now available online and its various issues from the year 2004 are also
browsable.
2.9.2 Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Abstracts (MAPA, bi-monthly)
MAPA is a bimonthly abstracting journal covering world literature on agronomy, botany,
pharmacognosy, and biological activities of medicinal and aromatic plants. From 1988 onwards, MAPA
is available on CD-ROM also.
2.10 Popular Science Magazines
NISCAIR publishes three well-circulated popular science magazines: Science Reporter (English,
monthly), Vigyan Pragati (Hindi, monthly) and Science-ki-Duniya (Urdu, quarterly). These magazines
publish informative popular science articles on contemporary science topics apart from a rich flare that
includes humour and fiction, puzzles, quizzes and crosswords, amazing scientific facts, inventions and
discoveries, science projects and biographies of scientists.
2.11 R&D Newsletters: CSIR News and CSIR Samachar
NISCAIR brings out CSIR News (fortnightly) and its Hindi version, CSIR Samachar (monthly) with a
view to provide a useful link between various CSIR labs/institutes. Through these publications, NISCAIR
disseminates information regarding the activities/accomplishments of CSIR to other R&D organizations,
academia, industry, etc. in India and abroad.
2.12 National Prior Art Search Services Facility (NPASF)
NISCAIR has instituted NPASF for the benefit of researchers, inventors, scientists of national research
facilities and science planners. Under NPASF, the following services are provided:
2.12.1 Patent Drafting
Under this service, Professionals help in the preparation of patent drafts enabling complete description of
the embodiment of a process, machine, matter is provided.
2.12.2 Prior Art Search
Under the Prior Art Search facility, one can reveal prior inventions that bear close resemblance to any
patent or non-patent literature. A search is conducted on patent literature, product literature, research
journals and databases. This helps in filing of patent application or initiating new research proposals.15
2.12.3 Patent Informatics Service
Under this service, analysis is carried out on large volumes of patent data in order to have an idea about
the technology landscape. This results in unearthing of strengths and weaknesses of technologies, markets
and portfolios.
2.13 International Standard serial Number (ISSN)
NISCAIR is the National Centre of the ISSN International Centre for assigning ISSN numbers for serials
published in India. ISSN is a worldwide identification code used by publishers, suppliers, libraries,
information services, bar coding systems, union catalogues, etc. for citation and retrieval of all types of
serials. ISSN is useful in international publicity and recognition since the concerned serial is
automatically included in the International Serials Directory Database..
2.14 Natural Products Repository
NISCAIR launched a quarterly online open access repository entitled, Natural Product and Resources
Repository (NPARR) , from Jan 2010. It plans to include abstracts of papers along with citation and
address of corresponding through collection and collation from various core and non-core journals.
2.15 Editing
NISCAIR, provides editorial services for Conference Proceedings, Scholarly Books, Popular Science
Books, etc. for other organizations on man-hour basis. Editing jobs cover content editing as well as copy
editing and stylization
3. INFORMATION RESOURCES
Major resources under this activity are wealth of India, Bharat Ki Sampada, National Science Library,
Scholarly books and Monographs, Popular science books, Indigenous Databases, National Union
catalogue of scientific Serials in India, and Raw Materials Herbarium and Museum.
3.1 National Science Library
NSL set up in 1964 has rich collection of over 2,40,000 volumes of S&T publications in the country and
is offering services on a national scale. It also acts as a referral centre and clearing house for the best
utilisation of the existing collection in the country.
The Print resources of NSL includes IT, Proceedings of conference/seminar/symposia held in the field of
science and technology in and outside the country; Foreign language dictionaries; Indian scientific and
technical periodicals; ; Important foreign serials in the field of science and technology; Specialized
collection in the field of information science and library studies; and Reports of R&D organizations.
The services of NSL includes OPAC, E-journals, and ISSN besides routine activities of a library. NSL
provides its scientists / members/ users the facility to access / browse and download any paper for their 16
use from 4256 international e-journals published by 16 publishers / societies (as per details provided in
other section on NKRC). Besides this, users have access to over 2500 open access journals.
3.2 Wealth of India (WOI)
WOI is an authoritative reference standard for information on raw materials of India particularly in the
current global trend to incorporate traditional knowledge systems into the proprietary mainstream It is
also a ready reckoner for researchers, entrepreneurs, plant-based industrialists and policy makers.
Each resource profile contains correct nomenclature, vernacular names, chief areas of distribution in India,
broad parameters of cultivation in case of plants, pathological problems in case of plants and animals,
chemical constituents, products, utilization, production, consumption ( in case of minerals), and trade data.
3.3 Bharat Ki Sampada
Bharati Ki Sampada - Prakritik Padarth is an encyclopaedia on Indian raw materials based on flora, fauna
and minerals, in which the entries appear in Devnagari alphabetical order. A series publication of 12
volumes and 2 supplements Bharat Ki Sampada is the Hindi version of The Wealth of India - Raw
Materials series with a difference in subject matter, volume-wise.
Each series cover those plants, animals and minerals which render medicines, food products, beverages,
fruits, nuts, spices & condiments, fats & oils, essential oils, masticatory, fumigatory, fibre, pulp, wood,
and forest products, etc.
Each entry in its series provides correct identification of plants and their scientific and vernacular names,
in addition to relevant references, and index on the names in Indian languages. Articles on crop plants
cover the aspects pertaining to cultivation, harvesting, storage, diseases and pests and their control, etc.
For raw materials, the series covers information on the occurrence in the country, data about their
production, yield, import and export.
3.4 Scholarly Books & Monographs
NISCAIR publishes comprehensive state-of-the-art reports on specialized subjects for the benefit of
research scientists and academicians. NISCAIR has brought out several publications as part of this
programme.
3.5 Popular Science Books
NISCAIR has brought out as many as 60 popular science books in English under different series.
3.5.1 IT for All
The institute has launched a new series of books on 'IT for All'. Topics of these books include Microsoft
Word for Beginners, Microsoft Power Point, Web dot Com, Build your web home, C++ for beginners,
The 'C' Adventure, Visual Basic. Apart from English, all the seven books are available in Hindi, Punjabi,
Urdu, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, and Malayalam.
3.6 Raw Material herbarium & Museum17
NISCAIR has set up a Herbarium and Museum housing economically important raw materials of plant,
animal and mineral origin from India at one place. The Herbarium houses over 8000 specimen of
economic and medicinal plants of India and the Museum comprises over 3000 samples of crude-drugs,
animal and mineral specimens. The herbarium provides information on folk-lore, ethnomedicine and
traditional medicine and is a source of knowledge for development of new herbal medicines.
3.7 National Union Catalogue of Scientific Serials in India (NUCSSI)
NUCSSI is a data repository of a large number of unique journal titles and library holdings belonging to
major universities, and other types of institutions. It provides information regarding the availability of
journal titles in the libraries. The Regular updation of the database is enhanced with the online access
granted to the participating libraries via internet, so that users may get the updated information free of
cost.
4. PROJECTS
4.1 Science Communication through Multimedia (SCM)
Established in 2010, the mandate of SCM-Division to carry out research in the area of Scientific Temper,
Public Understanding of Science and Communication of Science; to collate existing audio-visual material
and generate fresh content using multimedia and make it accessible to the public at large.
The Division is engaged in carrying out research in the area of development of communication models,
probing the shifts of conceptual models, indicators and tools for measuring public understanding of
science and scientific temper and administering survey studies among various publics.
SCM Division has constructed a CSIR-NISCAIR-Tube, a platform to collect all the science films that
have been produced by CSIR labs and other science departments in the country.
4.2 National Knowledge Resources Consortium (NKRC)
The NKRC was, established in year 2009, as a network of libraries and information centres of 39 CSIR
and 24 DST institutes. Under this scheme, CSIR scientists are able to access these journals and download
material for their use. The activity ranges from creation to monitoring of the access facility of scientific
periodicals published by leading international institutions.
NKRC facilitates access to 5,000+ e-journals of all major publishers, patents, standards, citation and
bibliographic databases. Apart from licensed resources, NKRC is also a single point entity that provides
its users with access to a multitude of open access resources.
4.3 Digital Information Resource Facility (DIRF) Data Centre
The services and data hosted on servers are in unorganized manner without any redundant infrastructure,
major security and archival/backup facility. This has significantly impacted level and quality of
NISCAIR’s services. With a view to overcoming the existing constraints, NISCAIR has proposed to set
up a project on Digital Information Resource Facility (DIRF) as an integrated facility.18
The focus of the facility is to provide uninterrupted, authorized and secure access to NISCAIR and CSIR
Resources to the scientific community and researchers all over the world. The project on setting up of
DIRF which would provide an integrated state-of-art facility for managing and sharing digital information
resources of CSIR.
4.4 CSIR Knowledge Gate Network Project
CSIR Knowledge Gateway & Open Source Private Cloud Infrastructure (KNOWGATE) is 12th Five
Year Plan (FYP) Network Project under Information Sciences cluster. The project is to be implemented in
phased manner by dividing CSIR KRCs (Knowledge Resource Centres) in four groups a network mode
by CSIR-NISCAIR as nodal laboratory. Participating laboratories include CSIR-M Complex & CSIRHQ
ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION
A. Multiple Choice Questions with Answers
1. Currently, the total number of research journals brought out by NISCAIR are:
a. 17
b. 18
c. 16
2. NOPR stands for:
a. National Online Periodicals Repository
b. NISCAIR Online Periodicals Registry
c. NISCAIR Online Periodicals Repository
3. Nodal agency for National Knowledge Resource Consortium is:
a. NISCAIR
b. CSIR
c. NISTADS
4. Name the title of the periodical which was originally stated as a newsletter disseminating
information on scientific research carried out in the CSIR institutes and later on converted
into a popular science magazine.
a. Science Reporter
b. CSIR News
c. Vigyan Pragati
5. Which Institute has assigned the acronym RHMD (Raw Materials Herbarium & Museum,
Delhi) to the NISCAIR Herbarium & Museum ?
a. International Association for Plant Taxonomy
b. Indian Association for Plant Taxonomy
c. International Academy of Plant Taxonomy
Answers: 1. b 2. c 3. a 4. c 5. a B.
True & False Statements
1. NISCAIR does not provide reverse translation, i.e., English into foreign languages. .
2. NISCAIR has launched a quarterly online open access repository entitled, Natural Product
and Resources Repository.
3. Wealth of India is considered as an encyclopaedic series on India's raw material resources of
plants, animals and minerals.
4. One of the earlier projects of NISCAIR viz. Electronic Journals Consortium has now been
renamed as National Knowledge Resource Consortium.
5. National Union Catalogue of Scientific Serials in India covers holdings of only the Indian
universities and excludes other types of institutions.
Correct Answer 1. False 2. True 3. True 4. True 5. False
C. Fill in the Blanks
1. The only journal in the field of Library and Information science published by NISCAIR is
entitled as ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
2. Under National Prior Art Search Services Facility of NISCAIR, apart from Prior Art Search,
Patent drafting, and--------------------------------------------------------------- is also provided.
3. Wealth of India is considered as an encyclopaedic series on India's --------------------------------
----------- resources of plants, animals and minerals.
4. NISCAIR publishes comprehensive------------------------------------------------------ on
specialized subjects for the benefit of research scientists and academicians.
5. One of the objectives of CSIR Knowledge Gate Network Project is to analyse-------------------
--------------------------------------------using multi-dimensional analysis.
Correct Answer 1. Annals of Library And Information Studies 2. Patent Informatics Service 3. Raw material 4. State-of-the-art reports 5. CSIR research, technology and related data.
SUPPORTING MATERIALS/LEARN MORE
A. DID YOU KNOW
Description Image Source
The Wealth of India unit of
NISCAIR, CSIR has
released a folder for free
distribution among
scientists, entrepreneurs,
students, NGOs and others.
It had been published as an
activity to join the
International Year of
Biodiversity 2010
celebrations by Convention
on Biological Diversity
(CBD), Canada . The
folder is representing
richness and diversity of
the Wealth of India
contents. Accordingly, it
contains an
EXTENSION
BULLETIN on Killer
Plants for Dengue Fever
Mosquito. Hopefully, the
awareness on availability
of such a huge collection of
information on Indian
Biodiversity and
Bioresources will be useful
to rest of the world when it
would be displayed on
CBD website
http://www.niscair.res.in/ScienceCom
munication/sci.asp?a=topframe.htm&
b=leftcon.asp&c=../activitiesandservi
ces/products/woi1.htm&d=test4
As per JCR 2012 analysis,
the Impact factor (IF) of
two of the NISCAIR
research journals are more
than 1. These are: Indian
Journal of Experimental
Biology (IF=1.195) and
Indian Journal of
Biochemistry and
Biophysics (IF=1.026)
http://www.niscair.res.in/ScienceCo
mmunication/sci.asp?a=topframe.ht
m&b=leftcon.asp&c=ResearchJournal
s/rejour/rejour1.htm&d=test12
B. INTERESTING FACTS
No. Interesting Facts
1. NISCAIR has recently published a book entitled “Field Manual on Herbarium Techniques”.
The book highlights the current approaches for the use of state-of-art technology for
collection of plant specimens from various groups of plants, their preservation,
identification, nomenclature, methods of documentation of information of plants and
management of herbaria and other relevant areas associated with herbarium techniques and
research. The book is useful to the persons working as herbarium curators, teachers,
scientists, foresters, research scholars, students and those who are interested in setting up
herbaria.
2. Two of India’s scientific journals, published by NISCAIR, have been included in the
coveted list of the ‘prior art journals’ used for prior art search before grant of patent(s) by the
International Search Authorities. This has happened for the first time from a developing
country like India. World Intellectual Patent Organization, under the Patent Cooperation
Treaty (PCT), has unanimously decided to include these two NISCAIR journals, viz., Indian
Journal of Traditional Knowledge (IJTK) and Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Abstracts
(MAPA) in the Non Patent Literature (NPL) part of the PCT Minimum Documentation.
3. NISCAIR exchanges publications with over 150 institutions in 44 countries in the world.
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