About Me

Who am I?

I am currently working as Librarian, at East Campus, Sacred Heart College, Thevara, Ernakulam, Kerala. I have served as an Assistant Librarian at GEMS Arts & Science College, Ramapuram, Malappuram. Kerala. I am a rural Pandallur native (a village between Pandikkad and Manjeri, Malappuram, Kerala), a 2014 graduate of the University Of Calicut with a B.A. in History, and a 2018 graduate of the University Of Calicut, with a Master’s in Library & Information Science.

In addition to my work at the Library, I keep in touch with professional friends. I enjoy hearing people and learn new things. I focus on open source and open access movement in libraries, supporting Koha software (an open-source integrated library system), Dspace software (an open-source Institutional Repository) systems librarianship, cataloging, data management, resource sharing, etc.

I am a beginner in this profession and want to continually be part of this profession because the future of librarianship is wide open. The new technology makes this profession very exciting and challenging.

Why I blog and what I blog about

I blog about library-related topics that interest me, things I’ve tried, or things I want to know more about. I don’t have a schedule for postings–just whenever I feel like it! I do not take solicitations for blog topics or products to review.

Education

Qualification	Areas of Study	Institute	Year
M.Phil	Library & Information Science	University of Calicut, Campus	2020
M.Lib.I.Sc	Library & Information Science	University of Calicut, Campus	2018
B.A	History	Govt. College, Malappuram	2014
HSE	Humanities	PHSS Pandallur	2011
SSLC	General Subjects	PHSS Pandallur	2009

My skills set

Topic	Areas of expertise
GNU/Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, and its derivatives)	Installation, Networking, Administration, Training.
LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP)	Installation, Administration, Training.
Koha Integrated Library System	Installation, Maintenance, Legacy Data migration from (BookMagic, LibSoft, E-Library Solution, E-Granthalaya, DelPlus, CDS/ISIS and NewGenLib) , Training.
DSpace Institutional Repository	Installation, Maintenance, Data migration, Training.
Calibre E-Book Software	Installation, Administration, Training.
Content Management System (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Blogger)	Installation, Hosting, Administration, Training.
Moodle Learning Management System	Installation, Administration, Training.
Zotero	Installation, Training.

Workshops/Seminars Attended

Three-day National Seminar on Information Technology In Libraries; Diversity and Innovation, organized by the DLISc University of Calicut during Feb. 19-21,2018
Two-day National Workshop on Scientometrics to Altmetrics, organized by DLISc, University of Calicut, during march 14,15,2018
Two-day National Workshop on Koha [Advanced], organized by CHMK Library & DLISc, University of Calicut, during November 16,17,2018
One Day Workshop on Design and Development of Digital Libraries using DSpace organized by KELPRO on 06,01,2019 at Trivandrum
Three-day Library Technology Conclave (LTC 2019) on E-books to E-Learning- Libraries as Learning Hubs. Jointly organized by Informatics & Cochin University of Science and Technology, On January 23-25, 2019. Cochin.
Acted as Resource Person (Institutional Repository, DSpace) in the Five-Day Library Technology Workshop (LTW 2019) organized by DLISc University of Calicut during Feb. 01-05,2019
Two-day National Workshop on E-content Development for Teaching and Learning, organized by Department of Arabic, University of Calicut, during march 01,02,2019
Three-day Workshop on Accessible Book Production Using 'ePub' organized by CHMK Library, University of Calicut & Chakshumathi, Trivandrum during 02-04 September 2019

Koha and Me

I acquainted with Koha in 2018 during my MLISc final semester at the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Calicut.

My teacher, Dr. T.M. Vasudevan, Professor, is one of the best people I have ever met in my academic life, a person with simplicity. He always supported me, provided me enough freedom of my own in the academic sphere. In fact, without him, I may not even have completed my MLISc degree. As always, he is there for me every time.

Dr. Mohamed Haneefa K, Associate Professor & Head Dept. is a dynamic personality, was the first person who identified my interest in ICT application in Library & Information Science. He encouraged me to explore Koha ILS. During the final semester itself, I installed Koha by myself.

Mr. Prasanth M, Librarian, Dept. of Library and Information Science. a dynamic professional, who has also played a vital role in my professional life connecting me to Mr. Harris Kundukulathil. an expert with openness, who assisted me in clearing my doubts (even my little doubts with patience).

I met another expert Dr. Vimal Kumar. Technical Assistant, M.G. University Library, during Library Technology Conclave (LTC-2019), held at CUSAT. as I was eagerly waiting for meeting him. I learned every module on Koha by looking at his blog Koha Geek. Still, he assists and instructs me.

Finally, I met Mr. Tomson A. J, The Librarian, Devagiri College, Kozhikode. He is the first person who started implementing, exploring Koha in 2000 itself. He is an active resource person of Koha in Kerala state. He has completed more than 100 Koha training programs as a resource person. As he is also a person with openness always ready to help with our doubts.

I had to learn Linux for the installation of FOSS. I had to struggle with Linux in the initial stages of learning. I browsed many tutorials on Linux, Koha. I am still being a beginner...

DSpace and Me

In the year 2019 February 6, I was invited for a presentation on Open Source Institutional Repository software DSpace in Library Technology Workshop organized by the Department of Library & Information Science, Calicut University. That was my first open forum to speak about Open Source IR software. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Mohamed Haneefa K. for granting me the chance.

You can reach me through several social networks or by email at maheshpalamuttath@gmail.com