ADVANCE DSPACE FOR THE I.T AND LIBRARY OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT FROM FEBRUARY 21ST TO MARCH 29TH 2022.

COURSES, FUNCTIONARIES, SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS

Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) organized the 04 weeks I.T. training course on “Advance DSpace” from February 21^st to March 29, 2022 at PIPS, Islamabad. The officers from library and I.T departments of the National Assembly, Senate and PIPS participated in the course. Key objective of the workshop were to equip participants with the configurable metadata schemes, workflows and browse/search functionality, captures, stores, indexes, preserves and distributes digital research materials.

The workshop was formally commenced by overview presented by Mr. Waqas Ahmad Qureshi Director (PDP) at Monday February 21, 2022 in the seminar room-I. Mr. Shahab Khan introduced the resource person Mr. Muhammad Farooq. Mr Farooq and called upon the participants for the introduction. Mr. Muhammad Farooq assessed the expectation of the participants about the topics on digitization and the D-Space. The participants of the course considered the workshop as foundation stone for the future development in digitization of the parliamentary libraries.

The Facilitcator started his session shedding light on Advance DSpace that D-space course will be 20% theritical and 80% practical in the form of software, hardware and tools. Mr. Muhammad Farooq further discussed the linkage of KOHA and the D-space with the use of google kit or search engine through which we can get an interface for searching documents.

The resource person then went upon the 1^st topic of the agenda i.e. Digital Library (DL). The session also covered collection development, technical processing, index creation, counter transaction reference work and preservation. The facilitator discussed technical knowledge which makes information accessible and further changes the working behavior.

He further elaborated the Digital Library (DL) that

The DL is not a single entity
DL requires technology to link the resources of many.
DL requires technology to link the resources of different online libraries and services transparent to the end user.
Universal access to digital libraries and informational services is a goal of Digital Library.

On the direction of the Chairman Senate/President PIPS Board of Governors, the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS), has implemented a comprehensive set of measures aimed at ensuring fiscal discipline, operational efficiency, and responsible utilization of public resources, on the same lines as notified and adopted by the Senate and National Assembly Secretariats.

Under the new measures, the Institute has adopted a four-day working week (Monday to Thursday), while introducing a hybrid working model whereby 50% of staff will perform duties from the office and 50% will work remotely on a rotational basis. Employees working from home will remain fully accessible through digital communication platforms and may be required to report to the office on short notice, ensuring uninterrupted institutional functioning.

Significant steps have also been taken to promote energy conservation. These include a target of achieving up to 70% reduction in energy consumption through minimizing unnecessary use of electricity and ensuring that official meetings, trainings, and events are scheduled during daylight hours. Foreign tours are banned and international meetings are being held virtually.

In the transport section, PIPS has introduced strict measures to curtail expenditure and 70% official vehicles have been grounded as part of this initiative.

As part of broader austerity efforts, 20% reduction has been imposed on the non-ERE budget for the fourth quarter of the current financial year. The officers drawing a monthly salary of PKR 300,000 or more, shall surrendered two days salary or 5% to 30% salary on gross as per Federal Government decision.

The Institute has also discontinued all non-essential procurements with immediate effect. Official functions such as dinners and receptions will not be hosted, except in the case of visiting foreign delegations, and even then, strictly in accordance with austerity protocols.

These measures have been implemented with immediate effect and will remain in force until further orders.

Under the guidance of President PIPS Board of Governors, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, PIPS remains fully committed to maintaining its core functions of parliamentary support, capacity building, and research while contributing proactively to national austerity and sustainability goals.

ADVANCE DSPACE FOR THE I.T AND LIBRARY OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT FROM FEBRUARY 21ST TO MARCH 29TH 2022.

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