An Evaluation of the Role, Responsibility, and Significance of Library Professional Associations in India

The role of professional associations cannot be under-estimated. In any field, professional associations have been found to do remarkable jobs with great achievements. The present study endeavours to find out the role of professional associations in the development of the library profession and professionals. Any professional association forms the backbone of professional development, and library associations are powerful platforms to raise issues related to the profession at the national level. This paper presents a brief outline of the issues and problems of LIS professionals in the country, and the existing scenario of the Library Associations of India. The role of state and regional library associations is more visible in some parts of the country, and in recent years, the associations at the national level are striving hard to make their presence felt, and convincing the professionals that they have some role to play in the library development programmes. In this paper, some of the vital issues are proposed for consideration and discussion. As per the study, it is observed that in the present scenario all the library associations in India are not playing a proper significant role.