INDIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS IN DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATING IKS INTO LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE EDUCATION

Abstract

Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) encompass diverse traditional knowledge in areas such as science, medicine, agriculture, ecology, arts, linguistics, and education. Their increasing integration into Indian higher education creates new opportunities and challenges for libraries and Library and Information Science (LIS) education, particularly in documentation, organization, preservation, retrieval, dissemination, and ethical use. This conceptual paper develops an IKS–Digital Learning–LIS Integration Framework through a critical synthesis of literature, policy documents, professional standards, and digital-learning resources, with SWAYAM considered as a contextual platform. The framework identifies eight dimensions: knowledge identification, documentation, organization, metadata, digital preservation, dissemination, ethics and intellectual property, and LIS curriculum integration. It highlights the role of LIS education in developing competencies for culturally sensitive knowledge organization, digital preservation, community engagement, intellectual-property awareness, and emerging technologies. The study contributes a conceptual foundation for integrating IKS into LIS education and provides guidance for educators, libraries,policymakers, digital repositories, and online learning platforms.