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SAGE Publications, Information Development, 3(25), p. 218-223, 2009

DOI: 10.1177/0266666909340792

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The Role of Mailing Groups in the Development of the Library Profession in Pakistan: the case of plagpk

Journal article published in 2009 by Nadeem Siddique ORCID, Khalid Mahmood ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have made it possible for members of any profession to contact other professionals or communicate on a group level that was not possible in the past. It is due to the availability of ICT-based social networking software. LIS professionals in Pakistan are not behind in adopting modern technologies. They have been using mailing groups since December 2000. Pakistan Library Automation Group (PakLAG), a group of volunteer LIS professionals, launched the first ever mailing group in Pakistan known as plagpk. The impact of the plagpk mailing group is very positive. It provides a useful forum to professionals to share their experiences and solve their problems. It is helping in the placement of fresh graduates by posting jobs. It helped a lot in the revival of a dead national library association. The group has created awareness among Pakistani LIS professionals in using new ICT-based social networking software. Following its example, many other mailing groups have also been launched by LIS professionals. This paper presents the results of content analysis of 5216 e-mail messages posted on plagpk till December 2008. The results of a survey of users about the usefulness of this group are also presented.