Analysing Entrepreneurial Avenues for Library and Information Science Professionals: Indian and International perspective

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is an opportunity for aspiring creative individual to stand on one’s own legs independently so as to secure one’s livelihood and generate wealth with self esteem. Entrepreneurial avenues are either established models on the market or otherwise innovative new ideas to start-ups. This study is an attempt to explore traditional and modern entrepreneurial options and opportunities for the Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals so as to predict and forecast the commercial and professional self employments in the emerging digital era. The conventional self employment of library and information science field includes book indexing, publishing and selling, binding, lending libraries, bibliotherapy, content writing and reviewing, subject bibliographies based on demand and anticipating needs of the users and others. The convergence of science and technology directed libraries has brought about a shift from paper library to digital library which subsume typical online jobs like electronic publishing, webometric services, library oriented software developments, citation analysis, big data analytics, information brokerage, etc. Competent LIS Professionals can choose any of the above said library related freelance assignments and sustain successfully in their business endeavours.