THEME
ROLE OF THE PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARIES
IN
ENHANCING DEMOCRACY
IN
THE DIGITAL AGE
A COUNTRY REPORT ON INDIA
BY
R.C. AHUJA
DIRECTOR
P ARLIAMENT LIBRARY
INDIA
I.
COMPUTERIZATION OF THE PARLIAMENT LIBRARY IN INDIA
Information
is of vital importance to members of Parliament in effectively discharging their
responsibilities. Keeping this in view, Parliaments the world over have
developed well-organised information management systems to cater to the
multifarious information requirements of their members. In the Parliament of
India, this task is assigned to the Parliament Library and Reference, Research,
Documentation and Information Service, popularly known as LARRDIS.
The Service is presently divided into the following
functional Divisions: (1) Library Division; (2) Reference Division; (3) Research
Division; (4) Parliamentary Museum and Archives; (5) Media Relations Division;
and (6) Computer Division. Each Division is further divided into several compact
Sections or Wings to ensure efficient distribution and transaction of work.
The Parliament Library made a modest beginning towards
automaton in December 1985 when a Computer Centre for managing the Parliament
Library Information System (P ARLIS) was set up with the help of the National
Infom1atÝcs Centre (NIC).
Over the years, the Computer Centre has played a key role in
the modernization and computerization not only of the Parliament Library but
also of the entire Lok Sabha Secretariat. Now, various services viz. Verbatim
Reporting of Parliamentary Debates, Questions, Committees, Members' Service, Pay
and Accounts, Administration, Recruitment, Reception Office, Security Service
and LARRDIS have been automated to manage their activities. Three Computer
Centres, one each in Parliament House, Parliament Library Building and
Parliament House Annexe have been set up to provide necessary hardware and
software support for managing different activities of the Secretariat and also
to meet the instant information requirements of members of Parliament.
Hardware
Installed in the Library and the Secretariat
At present about six Digital Server Computers (having
UnixWare and Window -NT environment) 'and thirteen Compaq Proliant Server
Computers (having Window-NT environment) have been installed to fulfil the
software requirements of the various activities of the Secretariat including the
Library. About 470 Compaq Multi-media Personal Computers, about 300 Printers (Laser,
Dot-matrix and Line Printers), and 9 Scanners have been installed in various
Branches of the Secretariat and the Computer Centre in a structured LAN having
fibre optics backbone. In order to have speedy Internet connectivity, the
computers are linked to an ISP through two numbers of 2 mbps MLDN circuit~ and
RF link which is backed up by ISDN circuits.
Software
Programmes used to manage the Library functions
Library Management Functions
such as Acquisition, Processing and Issue and Return of books have been
computerised using the software package named ''libsys''. The web-based library
catalogue has recently been launched and it can be accessed through Internet and
Intranet.
Serial Control - This
is a management module designed in Unix environment for all journals and
periodicals received in the Parliament Library from 1989 onwards. Besides the
title, subject and key words, information can be generated periodicity-wise and
through the names of publishers and vendors. Information about missing journals
and subscription
due
reports can also be generated.
Documentation Service
has been computerized. A software programme in Unix environment has been
developed to index Ýmportant articles published in books, reports, periodicals
and newspapers. The information can be retrieved through this database subject-wise.
The data is also available on the Internet from 1998 onwards and can be accessed
subject-wise.
Press Clippings Service which
is the backbone of the Reference and Research Divisions is being computerized.
Important press clippings of editorials, articles, important news items and
other information on different subjects frol11 various English newspapers are
scanned daily. Keywords are also assigned keeping in mind the contents of the
clippings. The online subject-wise retrieval of the press clippings is available
on Intranet. Stex Software in Window-NT environment is being used to manage the
data base.
Databases
To make available non-partisan, objective and reliable
information, and authoritative data on a continuous and regular basis to
parliamentarians, a Iarge number of index-based databases of information
generated within the Parliament were initially developed in Unix environment
which are currently available on Intranet. Some of these are:
·
Select Parliamentary Questions (only indexes) from
1985 to 2000;
·
Parliamentary Proceedings (only Indexes) from 1985 to
1993;
·
Government and Private Members' Bills (only indexes)
from 1985-2000;
·
Directions, Decisions and Observations from the Chair
from 1952;
·
President's Rule in the States and Union territories
from 1951;
·
Council of Ministers from 1947;
·
Obituary References made in the Houses since 1950.
Parliament of India Home Page on
the Internet
The Parliament of India Home Page was inaugurated on 15 March,
1996 by the Hon'ble President of India. Some of the information available on the
PARLIS database has been converted to Web enabled environment and released on to
the Internet. The major components of the parliamentary information, now
available on the Internet are:
I.
The Constitution of India and the Constituent Assembly Debates
II.
Business of the House
- List of Business of Lok Sabha from December 1999
- Bulletin Part -I from March, 2000
- Bulletin Part -II from March, 2000
- Synopses of Debates from July, 2000
- Parliamentary Questions and answers (with full Text) received from the Ministries from
February 2000. The information can be retrieved by name of members, subject
through keywords and date/year-wise/session-wise.
- Parliamentary Debates (Proceedings) with full text from July, 1991 and can be accessed
through subject/keyword member and session/year-wise. The software to manage
the
- Information of Questions and
Debates are developed in SQL environment.
- Resume of Work contains information about time spent by the House on various items
of business from October 1999.
- Legislative Business contains Government Bills passed by Lok Sabha from December 1990.
III.
Members of Parliament
- Biodata of Lok Sabha Members from 1991 onwards and Home Pages of the present Lok Sabha Members.
- Information about Previous Lok
Sabha Members contains the names of the
members, their constituencies/states and party affiliation from 1952.
- Statistical information about members contains the age-wise statistics from 1st
Lok Sabha to 13th Lok Sabha.
- E-Mail Addresses of members of the present Lok Sabha
- Addresses & Telephone Nos.
of members of the present Lok Sabha
- Members of Parliament Local
Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)
provides information relating to funds allocated under the MPLAD Scheme and
the utilization of the fund for the development programmes of their
constituencies.
lV
Parliamentary Committees contain information relating to
the constitution of the Committees, their Chairmen and membership, functions and
their reports from the 13th Lok Sabha onwards.
V
General information
- Introduction to Parliament
- Rules of Procedures and
Conduct of Business in Lok
- Sabha
- Directions by the Speaker
- Decisions from the Chair
- Handbook for Members
Vl
Parliamentary Catalogue
contains the bibliographic details about the publications received after 1992
which are available for online searching on Intranet and Internet. Online access
of the Library Catalogue provides information about author, title, subject and
keywords based searches.
Vll
Parliamentary Documentation
contains the subject wise access of the indexes of the articles published in
books, reports, periodicals and newspapers and the aý1icles on Burning Issues
since 1998.
Computer facility to Members of
Parliament
Members of Parliament have been provided with a Note-Book or
a Desk-top computer each with Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) facility having fax/modem
card along with a printer and scanner. Each Member of Parliament has been
provided with a protected electronic mailbox for exchange of messages through
E-mail and has access to the Internet. This helps members in getting instant and
up-to-date information on a wide range of subjects through the internet;
organize their office work; receive/send electronic mail; have quick and
accurate information on legislative and parliamentary matters on their desks.
The Speaker's Home Page
The Home page of the Speaker, Lok Sabha contains his bio-data,
political and personal achievements, important rulings/decisions, important
speeches, information pertaining to the development of his constituency, tours
proposed/undertaken and a photo-gallery. It also contains bio-profiles of all
the previous Speakers. It can be accessed at the internet address http//speakerloksabha.nic.in.
The Home Page has also been provided with a link to the Parliament of India Home
Page.
MPs'
Home Pages
Each
member of Parliament has his own web page which contains his bio-data,
information about his participation in the parliamentary proceedings, Questions,
Bills, Motions and the information pertaining to the development of his
constituency .The links of the members' Home Pages are available onto the
Parliament of India Home Page.
The links to the Home Pages of Rajya Sabha (Upper House), the
President, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister of India are also available
at the Parliament of India Home Page.
Digital Library
A Digital Library has been set up in the Computer Centre to
cater to the needs of members of Parliament and officers and staff of the Lok
Sabha Secretariat. The collection of DVDs, CDs, tapes and floppies is being
developed keeping in view the core areas of interest of members of Parliament
and the Iatest technological advances.
Video Conferencing
The Video Conferencing facility has been provided at the
offices and residences of Hon'ble Speaker, Hon'ble Deputy Speaker, Secretary-General,
Lok Sabha, and the Offices of Joint Secretaries and the Computer Centre. In due
course this can prove to be an effective instrument for better coordination with
members of Parliament, Legislative bodies at different
levels
and also for managing information in Parliament.
Touch Screen Information Kiosks
Twelve Touch Screen Information Kiosks having facility of
accessing the data relating to Questions, Debates, Bio-data, Bulletins, List of
Business, Bills, Parliamentary Committees, Telephone Nos., Postal and e-mail
addresses of members, etc. have been installed at various vantage points in
Parliament House and Parliament House Annexe.
Training
Regular training programmes for members of Parliament and
Officers are organized by the Computer Centre, in collaboration with the
Ministry of Information and Technology, National Informatics Centre (NIC) or any
other agency nominated by the Secretariat to familiarize them with the computers
and softwares provided to them. The users who are not familiar with the use of
computers are expected to undergo the training. A new training Centre equipped
with modern equipment is being set up in the Parliament Library Building to
provide training to members of Parliament, their personal staff and Officers/Staff
of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
A Query Booth has been set up in the Central Hall of
Parliament House where all types of computer-related assistance is provided to
members. It acts as a Centre for continuous training of members and other users
by resolving their queries and enhancing knowledge and skills in the use of
computers. Another Query Booth is being set up in the Parliament Library
Building to give similar type of assistance to members.
Policy Framework
There is a planned computerization of all the activities of
the Lok Sabha Secretariat with a definite policy to use advances in information
technology for further improving the information management and dissemination
system. The policy is focused on - (i) providing members of Parliament the
required information instantly and (ii) generating, disseminating and storing
information necessary to make the participation of members of Parliament more
meaningful.
Presently, there are two committees which consider proposals
regarding the future needs of, computerization. One of them is the 'Committee of
Officers on Computerization in the Lok Sabha Secretariat' which consists of
Additional Secretary, Joint Secretaries and Directors, as may be nominated by
the Secretary-General. Proposals relating to procurement of hardware and its
distribution are placed before the Committee for its consideration and
recommendation, and then submitted to the Secretary-General/Hon'ble Speaker, Lok
Sabha for approval.
The other Committee is the ''Committee on Provision of
Computers to Members of Lok Sabha, Officers of recognized political parties in
Parliament and Officers of Lok Sabha Secretariat'', which consists of 15 members
of Lok Sabha including the Deputy Speaker who is the ex-officio
Chairman. The members are nominated by the Speaker after the constitution of the
new Lok Sabha. The main function of the Committee is to assess the hardware and
software requirements of the members of Lok Sabha. The proposals prepared by the
Computer Centre relating to procurement and distribution of hardware and
software and suggestions received from the members of Parliament with regard to
the computer facilities are placed before the Committee for its consideration.
Future Proposals under
consideration
The
following proposals about computerization are under consideration which would
ultimately facilitate better information management and working and easy
interaction between members and the Secretariat on the one hand and between
members and citizen on the other.
- MPs Interactive System to
facilitate interaction among MPs and general public through the web pages of
each member of Parliament.
- Committee Information System to develop a Citizen - Parliamentary Committee Interface having a
web page and e-mail/ld of each Committee so that citizens may send their
suggestions/queries through e-mail.
- There is a proposal to forward
parliamentary information in electronic form to the members and they may
also be allowed to send parliamentary questions, notices and other
communication through e-mail or other electronic media to the Secretariat in
a secured environment.
- There is a proposal to develop
an interactive web based system which will allow members to submit requests
for and receive information on various topics of their interest from
Reference Service of LARRDIS.
- There is a proposal to develop
an integrated constituency information system covering various details of
members' constituencies Iike population, literacy rate, number of villages,
number of wells, irrigation facilities, etc. which could be very useful to
members of Parliament for their constituency development work.
II. The Role of Parliamentary
Libraries in Enhancing Democracy
Now-a-days, in democracies, people are concerned not merely
about the institutional arrangements per se but also about how the
institutions of governance work and what these institutions deliver .The
emphasis has actually shifted from the forms of democracy to its true spirit.
People demand responsibility, accountability and transparency in the system. To
form their opinion about the performance of these institutions, they also want
relevant, objective and authentic information about their work. It is in the
interest of these institutions also that people know that they are working
sincerely for the welfare of the common man to bring about prosperity and
progress in society.
In this background, broadly speaking, Parliamentary Libraries
can play a vital role in strengthening and enhancing democracy:
- By collecting and providing
factual, objective and latest information which helps the House, the
Committees and the members of Parliament in discharging their duties.
- By making available to the
media and the public authentic and relevant information about the various
parliamentary practices and procedures, about the business being transacted
in
Parliament as also about the
useful work being done by Parliament for the welfare of the people and
development of the country as a whole.
The
Parliament Library in India is meant for the
exclusive use of members of Parliament. But in their own way, the Library and
other Divisions of LARRDIS have been serving the public. The Parliament Library
is one of the richest and well-organized libraries in India. With a view to
helping Indian and foreign scholars and students in their research, the Library
has been allowing them access to its collections for short duration during inter-
session periods.
The publications and periodicals brought out by the Research
and Reference Services for the use of Members of Parliament are reasonably
priced and also made available for sale to the public.
The Media and Public Relations Division
is engaged in a whole range of activities aimed at disseminating information
about the Parliament and its working to the press and the public at large. It
also attends the requests for information from journalists and the public, and
coordinates work relating to telecasting/broadcasting of parliamentary
proceedings with the Doordarshan, (the official television organization), and
the All India Radio.
The Parliamentary Museum and Archives
organizes for Members of Parliament and the general public exhibitions on
different themes, mostly relating to the work and the achievements of Parliament.
In the future, its records would be open to scholars.
The Computer Centre of the Parliament Library
as mentioned above has been instrumental in placing the ''Parliament of India
Home Page'' on the World Wide Web Site of the Internet.
The Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training,
a division of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, organizes systematic training and
orientation programmes in parliamentary processes and procedures for the members
of Parliament, State Legislatures and senior and middle level officers of
Government of India and Public Enterprises. Apart from these programmes,
which are organized round the year, the Bureau also organizes, study
visits
to
Parliament by students of schools, colleges and universities to have first hand
knowledge of the working of the Parliament.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat has instituted two Research
Fellowships, one each in Hindi and English, awarded every year, to promote
original studies on matters of parliamentary interest with a view to
understanding better the functioning of our Parliament and identifying the
changing nature and role of our parliamentary institutions.
Parliament Libraries could consider establishing Public
Information Offices like the one they have in the United Kingdom. This office
handles enquiries from the pubic, arranges visits to Parliament, issues various
publications and fact sheets and also ensures that weekly information bulletin
on the work of Parliament is widely circulated. The Education Unit of the Public
Information Office provides information relating to the work of Parliament for
schools, teachers, young people and educational bodies and organizations. With
its various endeavours, this Service, makes efforts to instill in the public
mind the importance of Parliament as the supreme legislative authority of the
country and the part played by the people's representatives in the august body.
This does help in ensuring an enlightened electorate which is of immense
importance to parliamentary form of democracy. Having an information service
organized on these lines could certainly help in establishing a good rapport
between the people and their representatives.
The Impact of Digitalisation on
Democracy
Digitalisation has a great impact on democracy. It affects
the way people live, learn and work and the way government interacts with civil
society. It focuses on the new, evolving forms of governance, i.e., electronic
governance. Digitalization of information/knowledge within network links every
individual, including the decision-makers. It gives democratic freedom to
everyone to access, share and make use of this knowledge which paves the way for
digital governance.
Today the parliamentarians and the citizens individually and
the collective body of the Legislature have the benefit of being better informed
and as such the inputs going into the policy formulation and decision making
processes, are more objective and the polices and the decisions arising out of
such processes are more appropriate and more socially relevant.
In
India, digitalization of information can be said to be helping to achieve these
objectives. The Parliament Home Page and the Home Pages of the State
Legislatures have been providing free and easy access to information on a wide
range of subjects which is necessary for the effective participation of members
and also for public at Iarge in the process of policy formulation.
The 'India Image' Portal, which acts as a gateway to
Government of India hosts around 600 Government Websites. These sites receive
over 1.5 million hits per day.
Digitalization has not only helped the parliamentarians to
access the requisite information at the relevant time for effective
representation of their constituencies but has also opened up a new opportunity
and channel for dialogue between the citizens and parliamentarians on matters of
crucial importance.
Internet Users in India
India has the eighth largest telecom network in the world.
Penetration of Personal Computers is targeted to increase from the present level
of 6.2 per thousand to 20 per thousand by the year 2008. At present about 150
Internet Service Provider. are catering to around 3.3. million Internet
customers. Assuming an average of 5 users per Registered Internet Subscriber,
estimated Internet users in the country are 16.5 million. The Government of
India has taken a number of initiatives for promotion of Internet, especially in
rural and remote areas in the country.
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