The Role of Mailing Groups in the Development of the Library Profession in Pakistan: the case of plagpk

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have made it possible for members of any profession to contact other professionals or communicate on a group level that was not possible in the past. It is due to the availability of ICT-based social networking software. LIS professionals in Pakistan are not behind in adopting modern technologies. They have been using mailing groups since December 2000. Pakistan Library Automation Group (PakLAG), a group of volunteer LIS professionals, launched the first ever mailing group in Pakistan known as plagpk. The impact of the plagpk mailing group is very positive. It provides a useful forum to professionals to share their experiences and solve their problems. It is helping in the placement of fresh graduates by posting jobs. It helped a lot in the revival of a dead national library association. The group has created awareness among Pakistani LIS professionals in using new ICT-based social networking software. Following its example, many other mailing groups have also been launched by LIS professionals. This paper presents the results of content analysis of 5216 e-mail messages posted on plagpk till December 2008. The results of a survey of users about the usefulness of this group are also presented.