User Awareness & Knowledge Sharing Session, University of Allahabad

Taylor & Francis India conducted a User Awareness & Knowledge Sharing Session at the University of Allahabad on 20 April 2015. The two-hour session was aimed at training the users on:

-          The South Asia Archive (SAA)

-          English Historical Documents (EHD)

-          & sharing information on how to get published in a journal

It was a packed hall with 252 participants that included the Vice Chancellor, Head of Departments, academicians, faculty, research scholars, librarians and students.

The strategy:

The day was interspersed with three quizzes, based on the three presentations that we were scheduled to give. That was done to ensure that the participants understood the content and the nuances of operating the sites for SAA & EHD.

The talk on ‘How to get published in a journal’ was received with great interest. Participants were seen scribbling notes in their diaries and there were many queries.

1.       Registering the participants: The purpose is to get an original & robust mailing list. We handed over our delegate bags to them containing information about e books that we hope to pitch to them and material on Journal archives as well as user guides for SAA and postcards on EHD plus author/editor services. 

  

2.       The inaugural ceremony: We arranged for the session in a way that the Vice Chancellor for the Allahabad University, Professor Farooqi inaugurated the session and endorsed the SAA. He said:

“The South Asia Archive will lend itself a lot to value for the research students and I am very happy that we have invested in this product. I have personally gone through the archive and I know that we are on the right track.”

Vice Chancellor Prof. Farooqi was the guest of honor. Prof. Manjula Tripathi and Prof. Vishvakarma presided over the inaugural ceremony. Dr B. K. Singh, Librarian gave the welcome address and greeted Taylor & Francis. The inaugural ceremony gave us a chance to reiterate Taylor & Francis’s commitment to the university and talk about our services that make the company stand out from the competition. The vice chancellor’s endorsement of the product also helped us create a brand value for ourselves for further business.

Presentations: The training presentations on SAA and How to get published in a journal were given by Shafina and Ashwani gave the presentation on EHD. A medium of Hindi and English languages were used to explain the concept to the audience. 
      

        How to get published: The talk on ‘How to get published in a journal’ was received with great interest. Participants were seen scribbling notes in their diaries and there were many queries related to journal article publishing. 

2.       Motivators: The day was interspersed with three quizzes, based on the three presentations that we were scheduled to give. That was done to ensure that the participants understood the content and the nuances of operating the sites for SAA & EHD. Everyone participated very enthusiastically. We gave away prizes for every quiz winner. There was a grand prize at the end of the session which also ensured full participation in the hall for us.

**The event was also ably supported by the books sales through Sanjay Yadav, who assisted us in making the event a success. We displayed books catalogues at the event and Sanjay networked with the faculty.

 

The event also received good media coverage. Some of the snippets are attached:

 

The session ended with all the registered attendees receiving a certificate of participation. The discussion was led further over a cup of tea where participants had a lot of queries and questions regarding the products.

Shafina Segon & Sonali Bhardwaj

Everyday Leadership - When Small Means Big

In any discussion on leadership one tends to focus on the big things that make good leaders or leadership. In reality it is the small everyday things that show the leader’s true mettle and can be the biggest challenges. When you are in a position where you have to ‘live’ the leadership work life and not just shine on a few discrete occasions, it is the little things that can make a difference. So what are the key everyday leadership traits we encounter or need to develop? Here are a few that have consistently crossed my path:

Leading by example or ‘walking the talk’ is a core managerial trait that extends into leadership roles. This not always easy to do on a continuous basis and sometimes it has seemingly little impact. Nevertheless, what you do and how you act ‘speaks’ volumes. So striving on, is the only path open to a leader. Awareness that both non-verbal and informal messaging is as critical as formal modes of communication is important for everyday leadership. Be aware that people will derive messages from your words or actions in all settings, and you can’t always predict what these messages are. There is a robust literature on C IQ or Conversation IQ, like EQ, which is worth exploring in this context as it provides useful tips on using conversation as an effective leadership tool. See Judith Glaser, Conversation Intelligence.

When you are in a leadership role people tend to be conscious of your moves/moods. Therefore, living with continuous, though often unconscious, scrutiny is a regular part of everyday leadership. This is, at least most of the time, a sort of default position rather than a conscious monitoring and it comes with the turf. Notice how watchful you get next time you are in the vicinity of someone you consider to be in a leadership position and you will know what I mean. I remember a personal assistant I had for a long time sharing one of the persistently irritating parts of his job during his retirement party: it was the routine query, ‘how is the boss's’ mood today?’ and the assumption that he was conscious of or privy to this information. This story has stayed with me because it gave me an insight on how my everyday moods impacted my teams’ interactions with me. 

One disconcerting part of everyday leadership is the expectations people have of you. These arise from their perception of you and your position and can sometimes be extreme: either very high, requiring superhuman abilities; or really low, based on an interpretation of past events. By being aware of the impact of these everyday behaviors leaders can temper and channelize expectations without causing disappointment.

Another perception leaders are often dogged with, especially when they head organizations, is the belief that they have control over most outcomes within the organization. Or at least have more control than most people. This is a tough belief to tackle and communication is the key:  by putting issues/situations in a wider, organizational or even industry, context, leaders can provide a perspective for colleagues to understand constraints and challenges, without being perceived as weak or ineffective.

As with all everyday things, one can and does fail many a time. This is not always a bad thing as it makes visible the human behind the leader. While practicing everyday leadership can be tough, being consistent helps.  Consistent behavior can balance perceptions and temper expectations especially if accompanied by equally consistent efforts at communication.

Everyday leadership is simply about everyday ways of making a difference. The smallest things can and often do impact peoples' work life in significant ways.

The other day a young editor who had worked with me for several years, until I left to head another organization, got in touch with me. He was moving to a bigger job opportunity and wanted to meet with me before he shifted. Over a cup of coffee and reminiscences he told me he had a file made up of my notes and comments written to him as feedback on his work, reports, etc. over the years. He was carrying them with him to his new job and had often used them to train his junior editors. It was quite astounding, and honestly, a bit scary too, to know he had preserved my scribbles for so many years and considered them important enough to carry with him to his new work place. My ‘everyday’ behavior had impacted his work and life as a manager and continues to do so: it was a profoundly humbling realization!

Leadership is turning out to be a never-ending learning experience. So one needs to garner all the experiences one can. By being aware of the impact of commonplace daily actions that comprise everyday leadership a leader can, I believe, add significant tools to her repertoire. As someone once said, ’Leadership is not a position or title, it is action and example.’ Everyday leadership exemplifies this beautifully.

Nitasha Devasar

T&F INDIA BOOKS ROADSHOW 2015

Taylor & Francis India organized their premier marketing event – T&F India Books Roadshow 2015 at Hotel Regenta, Ahmedabad on June 26, 2015. The event was themed Partnering with Librarians: fostering community & discovery in digital age attended by over 50 librarians from major universities, colleges, research centers, and public & corporate libraries in Gujarat.

The objective of organizing the event was to discuss how publishers & librarians can enhance their relationship, and evolve for emerging reader needs. We successfully discussed and gathered opinion from the librarian community on the following topics during the event:
1. Evolving role of librarian in building external relationship for the institute
2. Enhancing relationship to provide our latest, most relevant product for their users
3. Librarian-Publisher partnership in promoting content & developing authorship/research

Taylor & Francis India Managing Director, Nitasha Devasar was present on the occasion, welcoming all delegates and actively leading sessions throughout the day.The day was marked with stimulating panel discussions, brainstorming sessions, poster presentations and lots of fun moments!

The key note speaker, Dr Anil Kumar, librarian, IIM Ahmedabad emphasized that, “Publishers in today’s time should connect two researchers across continents. In this fast-paced world, libraries need to connect well, re-design their spaces, and make it more comfortable and colorful so that students are compelled to visit libraries.” Dr Kumar was also the recipient of the Professional Excellence in Library Services Award from the Taylor & Francis Group.

In addition to our product presentation for Books & Europa titles, we had CRC Press editorial presentation on How to Publish with CRC Press.

The pre- and post-lunch sessions included engaging sessions on Panel discussion titled Growing role of Librarian in building strategic relationship with Publishers and Brain Storming session on Social networking in academic libraries: the possibilities & concerns. Areas which we effectively covered through these sessions were:

1. Perception on the role of Publishers in digital age
2. Gaps and development areas in bolstering information exchange
3. Partnering for value addition to content (for end-users)
4. Publishers & Librarians relationship – the future

12 Captivating MUST DO Road Trips in India

Picturesque Bollywood movie frames are filled with India's diverse landscapes with actors taking road trips on bikes and cars. These trips are usually quite detrimental in the story and are often the focal points of the movies. If you love driving cars or riding your bike, then road trips are the perfect way for you to travel and make memories all along the way. 

If you have done these trips and have pictures, share them with us and we shall put them up on the blog!

We've picked up 12 captivating  road trips from Bollywood movies that are a Must-Do on our list. 

Leh Ladakh

Here, you get to cross some of the highest mountain passes in the   world with spectacular views of the Greater Himalayas and stunning valleys.

Mumbai to Goa

This is a 10-hour trip, covering the picturesque Western Ghats, lush green fields and coastal areas. 

Ahmadabad to Kutch

In this road trip, you will witness the white beauty of the Rann of Kutch and a Wild Ass Sanctuary along the way.

Delhi to Agra

If you have a passion for driving fast, then this is the ideal road trip for you. An expressway on which you can drive in top gear makes this trip even more thrilling.

Delhi to Ranthambore

This trip is a visual treat, taking you through villages and green fields to arrive at the Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary. This trip is around 350 km long and takes around seven hours to complete.

Delhi to Rishikesh

This is another short trip from Delhi. You can stop at the religious city of Haridwar to make this trip spiritual.

Jaipur to Jaisalmer

This is a 600 km route on which you will get stops like Jodhpur, Osiyan and Pokaran to experience the culture of Rajasthan.

Chennai to Kanyakumari

If you are fond of majestic architecture, then you will get to see plenty of it on your way from Chennai to Kanyakumari. In between, you can make a halt at  striking  Puducherry.

Kolkata to Varanasi

Travelling from Kolkata to Varanasi is a visual treat. On your way, you can stop at Dhanbad. This is a 700 km long journey, which takes around nine hours to complete.

Bangalore to Coorg

When you travel from Bangalore to Coorg, you get to enjoy beautiful views of the Western Ghats and delicious South Indian delicacies.

Darjeeling to Pelling

You will experience unforgettable scenic beauty all along this route. The beautiful valleys and majestic mountains will leave you awestruck.

Shillong to Cherrapunji

These two places are among the most beautiful in the north-east, and the route that connects them is no less. You will experience the full force of nature's beauty on your journey here.

Professional Excellence in Library Services Award - Dr Anil Kumar, Best Librarian

The 2014 Professional Excellence in Library services award was conferred on Dr Anil Kumar during the Ahmedabad books Roadshow. 

‘First-of-its-kind’ initiative by Taylor & Francis in South Asia, the Professional Excellence in Library Services award aims to acknowledge and recognise the efforts of particularly talented librarians who have made an invaluable contribution to their library through their innovation and enthusiasm. 

The selection Process:

The selection was made by a panel of Taylor & Francis representatives (including India sales and marketing) by carefully going through all the nominations. We received over 100 plus nominations from across the country.

The selection revolved around elements of selection, such as

·          Revolutionizing the cataloguing system

·          Introducing a social media policy

·          Overseeing the building of a new library

·          or supporting students beyond expectations in their studies? Or any other

Dr Anil kumar was chosen because

-         he has been the most important key person to bring the IIM consortium to double and is moving towards making it triple the value

-         He is the president for Malibnet having done some commendable work there and mobilizing resources

-         Senior member of the Indest steering committee

-         He was highly recommended by his peers and fellow academicians having brought in all kinds of up-to-date systems in the library

-         Going out-of-the-way to help researchers access research material

-         Noteworthy presence on social media

Some quotes:

“He is very systematic, helpful, knowledgeable, up-to-date, and non-intrusive.”

“He has brought in all kinds of systems to the library and motivated the staff. 

"Anil Kumar is the best librarian I have ever had!”"