As soon as I completed my Masters in Library and Information Science in 2005, I got an internship at the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) of the Indian School of Business (ISB). I accepted the offer and started my maiden career with the ISB as an intern in June 2005, and since then, I have been working for LRC in various capacities.

 

Initial days

I had to join the internship program on short notice. I had never been to Hyderabad before, so in the early days, it was a bit difficult for me to cope with city life and find accommodation and proper daily food, etc. Thanks to my LRC friends who provided valuable moral support in those early days, I am lucky to have such cooperative and responsible colleagues around me.

I fondly remember the Security Guards of ISB who were generous enough to offer a stay in their accommodation and share their food for a few days and supported me a lot to get rid of nostalgia (home).

Learning curve

Of course, I knew hard work has no alternative. I strained my every nerve to understand the systems, policies and procedures, and the other routines of LRC.  I explored various information sources used by management students and scholars.  I used to stay in LRC even after office hours to learn things. More importantly, I became regular in reading newspapers and magazines subscribed by LRC, which helped me eliminate inhibitions and improve my business communication. I was able to completely grasp the mandate and functions of LRC in the next two years.

Rewards

The hard work paid dividends.  After my rigorous two-year internship, I was promoted to an executive cadre employee of ISB in 2007. In 2016, I was promoted to Assistant Manager, and then in 2019, I was promoted as Manager.

During my service at LRC for more than 15 years, I have been fortunate to have interacted with many learned management professors, outstanding students and scholars, business community members, and knowledgeable, professional colleagues.  These interactions with various communities shaped my perspective well. I have learnt different aspects of management library and information services and about the interfaces between information and management learning. I owe a lot to ISB for having given me this platform of ‘learning by doing.’ I can realize the metamorphosis that happened in me.

I am always proud to see myself serving for an organisation like ISB – one of India’s most prestigious business schools – for more than two decades.

It is a real privilege.

Mohan Dass is Manager at Learning Resource Centre(LRC) at ISB