145;Library services need to be made user-friendly146;

-the-Trainers8217; workshop on Information Literacy in South and Central Asia at the university senate hall on Wednesday.

Singh advocated the cause of using new media and information technology as a result-oriented mechanism for enlarging the vistas of knowledge and breaking the dogmatic mindsets.

Amrik Singh, former Punjabi University vice-chancellor, in his inaugural address, observed that the information scenario 8212; in schools, particularly in Punjab was in a shambles. 8220;Only the right kind of training in digital technology in schools, which should be made mandatory, can help achieve the desired goals in the field of education,8221; he said. Referring to the present policy of the state government, he said that 8220;it talks of a dozen issues relating to school education but computers are not mentioned anywhere rendering the exercise as political rather than academic.8221;

Earlier, Pradeepa Wijetunge, director of the National Institute of Library and Information Sciences, University of Colombo, highlighted the need for implementing the new information literacy models for better results. Harish Chandra, a librarian at IIT Madras, stressed upon developing a flexible and adaptable attitude to make the library services more user-friendly.

Both Wijetunge and Harish Chandra underlined the need for establishing the UNESCO Information Literacy Centre at Punjabi University.