[Reader-list] Join the DCM (Doc-Centre Meet) List

[KITAB MAHAL]

Dear All:

Last month, many of us had a meeting in Mumbai, in which we discussed 
shared concerns between doc-centres, libraries, and institutes engaged 
in documentation and archiving. This meeting was called in recognition 
of the need for smaller voluntary and non-profit centres to exchange 
support and advice on the increasingly complex demands of creating and 
maintaining large databases, collections and archives of various kinds. 
In earlier DCMs (Documentation Centre Meetings) -- which took place 
regularly for over a decade -- documentalists and archivists used to 
meet to exchange skills, experience and advice, and network with other 
peers and resource persons. We decided in our meeting that this network 
needs to be revived and expanded, to collectively confront new 
challenges in the practices of documentation and the politics of 
information.

With the increasing use of the Internet, while many organisations want 
to take their information online, the technical and infrastructural 
demands are often too complex and expensive, and their choices are 
unclear with regard to proprietary or open source software, trained 
staff and reliable service providers. Similarly, legal dilemmas with 
regard to access, copyright, and distribution of public collections are 
unclear to many groups that cannot afford costly professional advice. 
Finally, many organisations are now interested in new means of online 
dissemination to students, activists, and researchers through shared 
standards and tools that allow for networking and collaboration over 
the Internet between centres, while retaining their identity and 
autonomy.

We have set up a mailing list has been set up to discuss these 
concerns, and also facilitate planning for the next DCM (Doc-Centre 
Meet). This list is meant for previous members of the DCM network, and 
other archivists, documentalists, and organisations working with 
information. Instructions on how to join to this list and manage your 
subscription are contained in a system-generated mail which you will 
receive shortly. You can also visit the list page at 
http://lists.kitabmahal.org/mailman/listinfo/dcm/

Please note that this mailing list is NOT for forwards, general 
announcements, or postings unrelated to issues of documentation and 
archiving. This list is moderated by John D'Souza of CED and Shekhar 
Krishnan of CRIT, who will reject postings unrelated to these concerns, 
to help avoid floods and bombardment. We look forward to your 
participation, and please e-mail <administrator at kitabmahal.org> with 
contact information for other people whom we should invite to join this 
list.

Regards,


John D'Souza
CED (Centre for Education and Documentation), Mumbai and Bangalore
http://www.doccentre.org

Shekhar Krishnan and Ashish Rajadhyaksha
CRIT (Collective Research Initiatives Trust), Mumbai
http://www.kitabmahal.org

Sunil Abraham
MAHITI, Bangalore
http://www.mahiti.org