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The mark of nineteenth century brought the development of many special libraries in India. By beginning of twentieth century a need was felt to develop an association of such special libraries to have better co-operation among these libraries across the country.An attempt was made in 1949 to set up a special library association as a wing of the Indian Library Association. It did not materialize immediately. |
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The second attempt was made in 1955. Shri J. Saha of the Indian Statistical Institute, Shri A. K. Mukherjee of the Anthropological Survey of India, and Shri G. B. Ghosh of the Geological Survey of India issued a brief circular on June 18, 1955 convening a meeting. It was sent to a large number of librarians in India. The meeting was to be held on Saturday, 25 June at 4 P.M. in the Lecture Theatre of the Indian Museum. |
In addition to the initiative of the three prime movers, the enthusiasm and inspiration of the late Dr. S. L. Hora, a Zoologist of international repute, and the then Director of the Zoological Survey of India were greatly responsible for the success of this venture. The meeting of 25 June 1955 was well, attended. Many librarians and documentalists from far of places attended the meeting. |
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The circular of the meeting specifically mentioned "Perhaps you also have felt along with us the necessity of having a Special Libraries Association in our country to encourage and promote the collection, organization, and dissemination of information; to develop the usefulness and efficiency of special libraries and other research organizations; and to encourage the professional welfare of its members".
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The enthusiasm generated by this meeting ultimately led to the organization of another meetig on 3 September 1955 at the Lecture Hall of the Indian Museum, Calcutta with Dr. S. L, Hora as the Chairman. This is the meeting in which the India Association of Special Libraries and Information Centres (IASLIC) was formally established. Dr. Hora was elected the first President and Mr. J. Saha the first Honorary General Secretary of IASLIC. |
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