Community Story with Badan Barman, LIS Links

We continue to share stories about our creators and their communities. Today, we want to tell you about Badan Barman and LIS Links.

Library and Information Science Links (LIS Links) is India’s social networking site for Library and Information Science professionals designed and developed on the Ning platform. The name “LIS Links” has been chosen because the main goal of the website is to connect Library and Information Science (LIS) specialists in India. LIS Links is the most frequently used thread through which Indian librarians keep in touch with each other. It was developed by Badan Barman, a Library and Information Science expert from Assam, India, on the 26th of February 2008 as a part of his Ph.D. program in Gauhati University. Badan was assisted by his fellow specialists. There were also people who worked behind the scenes and helped him a lot to make LIS Links what it is today. On the grass-root level, it runs on voluntary information input made by its members.

LIS Links is a one-stop repository for LIS related information in India, acting as a gateway or portal and web based solution for LIS professionals, connecting them through a single thread. Being a social networking site for a specific professional group, LIS Links has brought specialists together, supplied them with relevant content, provided with first-hand solutions to multiple professional issues, and, most importantly, given them an opportunity to voice opinions on matters related to library and information science. The network makes use of features like custom search, as well as various browsing and subscription options through SMS, email, RSS, etc.

LIS Links is a moderated membership site. To sign up, a user has to answer a set of predefined questions. When it is done, a specialist is asked to wait until the moderation of the membership application is complete. When the membership is approved, the answers to the questions become a part of the member’s profile page on the website, forming a database at the back-end. Any member can modify or update the answers to the questions anytime modifications are needed. The approved members on the site can communicate with each other through chat, private messages, and emails. Members can also take part in group chats and discussions on the forum, enter groups designed to solve professional issues, and share information with the entire community through group messaging, blogs, events, photos, music, videos, etc. Every page of the site undergoes strict moderation to ensure quality and relevance of the content to suit academic purposes. Only approved content is distributed through SMS, emails, RSS, Official Google Plus, Twitter, and Facebook pages to other interested members, as well as non-members who agreed to receive updates.

The website is updated regularly. The news, along with original writings, interviews, and reviews, are added frequently – usually 7 days a week.

LIS Links is considered a huge success and pioneering effort in the world. Allowing for many subscription options, it systematizes and puts all the Library and Information Science related information in order that facilitates searching and browsing. No duplication or irrelevance are allowed for the new content. It is India’s first and largest social networking and collaboration initiative platform for LIS professionals.

As of January 23, 2018, there were 23,603 members on the LIS Links website, and the number is increasing by 7 new members a day on average. The growth of the LIS Links Membership had been steadily increasing until 2012. In the year 2012, the highest number of members joined the website. Needless to say that the website’s total number of members is quite impressive as for a professional forum that has been around for just 10 years.

LIS Links started using Google Analytics account in December 16, 2011, to analyze the traffic. According to Google Analytics, LIS Links managed to receive 6,847,908 visits by January 23, 2018. The website got on average 11,419 pageviews from 1,693 people every day.

The news clippings and other information regularly displayed over the platform are updated daily. The important posts are also shared on Google Plus, Twitter, and Facebook. As of January 23, 2018, there were 40,730 pages of content on the website which is growing by 11 pages a day on average.

LIS Links was included in the Top 200 Tech Success Stories compiled by the PC Quest magazine in June 2010. The project has also received a Jury Special Mention award in the category of The Best Usages of ICT in Education and Learning during the E-North East Award 2011 held at Kohima, Nagaland, India. It also received a Jury Special Mention award in the category of Advocacy & Empowerment in the North East Social Impact Award 2015 held at NEDFi House, Guwahati, Assam, India, on the 28th of August 2015.

Read our previous story with Mohammad Tariq Malik, founder of VUStudents.ning.com and  Anton Noë, from Nederlanders.fr