IU donating library to Indian univ

Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie announced today (Sept. 2) that IU will donate a 12,000-volume research library of political science books, journals and reference materials used for decades by faculty and students to India's O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU).

Last year, IU entered into a wide-ranging collaboration agreement with the private university located just outside New Delhi in Haryana. A key component of the agreement is JGU's interaction with two of IU's professional schools, the Maurer School of Law and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

McRobbie made the announcement during the first IU/JGU international conference, part of an 11-day official visit to India.

Page after page

You don't need to visit these libraries or spend hours at every aisle before you decide on which book to borrow. Their catalogues are available with a search option and at the click of a mouse, the books you want are delivered at your doorstep. Tech-savvy, convenient and economic, online libraries are fast growing into a trend, says Anusha Parthasarathy

Iloveread
Amrutash Misra believes that while more people are reading now than ever before, the number of libraries in Chennai is startlingly low. Hence, in December 2009, Sahil Gore, a VIT Pune graduate and Amrutash, an alumnus of IIT Madras, quit their jobs to begin iloveread.in.

“There are only about 15 to 20 online libraries and a much less number is actually functioning as full-fledged physical libraries in the city,” says Amrutash. “We decided not to charge a late fee or have a due date because the whole point is to make people read.”

And with his 3200-strong library growing by 200 books every month, Amrutash and his team of 12 keep the spirit of reading alive. “We have about 2,000 customers across schools, corporates and individuals. We also do school programmes, recommend books to readers and share reading lists of people with similar tastes. Most of the books we buy are also recommendations from our readers. We can't offer the ambience that physical libraries do but this facility has its own advantages.”

Full report here Hindu

Bonding with books

A meeting with ‘Gnanalaya’ B. Krishnamurthy and falls in love with his collection

The warm smell of parchment is an aphrodisiac to him.

Surely, there must be something stimulating about sitting in a high ceilinged room, walled in by majestic tomes and musty paperbacks on all sides, flipping through centuries of tales waiting to be told.

When a book is opened, time stands still for a special man as the moment is sheer magic for him. Magic that continues to tie B. Krishnamurthy to his books.

Bibliophile Krishnamurthy is the proud possessor of 70,000 titles. His ‘Gnanalaya’ Research Library at Tirukokarnam near Pudukottai is easily one of the biggest private libraries in the country. The USP of his library is the wide collection of priceless first editions in Tamil.

“First editions are always special. Often, subsequent editions are shorn off the preface, forewords and valuable introductions that the author may have written. These provide a rare insight into the life and times of the author, the social and historical context which can enhance research.”

Full report here Hindu

Words worth

With the British Library completing its 50th year in Pune, the new director for the British Council, West India, Samantha Harvey was in town for the celebrations. Only her second time in India, Harvey talks about her experiences and new responsibilities. “The first time I was in India, I only visited Delhi and parts of Rajasthan. With India being so big and diverse, I can honestly say that western India is something that I have never seen before,” she says.

Harvey has spent much of her career in foreign locations. Starting off with a stint in Palestine and Gaza, she then moved on to Egypt for five years, before spending another five years in Nigeria. Currently only two months old at her job in India, Harvey, who is based in Mumbai, has Pune and Ahmedabad under her jurisdiction. She says, “India is one of the most important countries for the British Council, and that is reflected in the fact that we are already celebrating our golden anniversary in Pune.”

Full report here Indian Express

The parliament library

From street level and outside the Parliament House complex, not much of the Parliament Library building is visible to passersby. This is deliberate, because nothing should overshadow the legislature. To see the library building, one has to enter the complex.

Challenges and context
The several challenges Raj Rewal faced in this project — integrating the building with its surroundings, meeting all the practical requirements of the library, accommodating future growth and diversification, and also capturing the democratic essence of contemporary India — he met by designing something essentially quiet and inward-looking. In linking Parliament and Library, power and knowledge, Rewal drew from the relationship between king and guru.

He drew from the context: Lutyens’ New Delhi. So the building has a formal and symmetrical layout and structure.

He drew from traditional architecture: Fatehpur Sikri and the Raunakpur temples gave this building their meandering aspect, courtyards, and the pattern of a mandala with a central core. Courtyards also help the building stay cool, and the diffuse layout helped preserve many of the trees on the site.

Full report here Sify

Kuwaiti minister to inaugurate new Jamia library

Kuwaiti Oil and Information Minister Shaikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah will inaugurate a library in Jamia Millia Islamia on Monday, Sep 27, an university release said.

The Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah library located at India Arab Cultural Centre of the university will be inaugurated by the minister in the presence of Vice-Chancellor Najeeb Jung.

'The library on Arab Studies is intended to help researchers and scholars engaged in the field of studying India-Arab relations in their future engagements,' the release said.

full report here Sify

Now, an online library for kids

The next time your child asks you for a new bedtime story, have no fear. Just log on to www.longlongago.in and order a new book. The website, which started in May, is India’s first exclusive online library for children up to 12 years. Members can access their complete online catalogue and get books home delivered. What’s more, they don’t charge late fees and even have an online librarian who recommends books based on the children’s age and reading preferences.

The idea came about when the website’s founders — Hariraj, Kavitha, Anand and Chitra — returned from abroad and noticed a lack of options when it came to kiddie books in comparison to what was on offer abroad. Hariraj says, “In India, libraries are quite scarce and libraries for children books are even fewer.  So, when we returned to India, we started this venture.”

Full report here Hindustan Times

World's leading professional online library, debuts in India

Safari Books Online (www.safaribooksonline.com) is an on-demand digital library that delivers expert content in both book and video form from the world’s leading authors in technology and business.
Safari Books Online, a revolutionary online digital library and online gateway to instant knowledge, has announced its debut in India. Mr. Jeff Patterson, CEO, Safari Books Online, is in India to launch this extensive and comprehensive resource for students, academics, IT and business professionals, librarians and corporate entities (individuals, universities/colleges, corporations and government institutions).

Safari Books Online (www.safaribooksonline.com) is an on-demand digital library that delivers expert content in both book and video form from the world’s leading authors in technology and business.

 Technology professionals, software developers, Web designers, and business and creative professionals use Safari Books Online as their primary resource for research, problem solving, learning and certification training.  To date, more than 2200 corporations, 850 public and academic libraries and tens of thousands of consumers use Safari Books Online; in total, more than 15 million users have access to the library.

Full report here IIFL

Pioneering facilities for the visually challenged

The Braille section of the Anna Centenary Library to be opened soon will help people with visual impairment access books.

“This is one of the first public libraries in India to have these facilities introduced for the visually challenged, particularly with reference to books in Tamil,” said G. Arivoli, Director of Public Libraries.

“We have secured five Braille Displays, that will cover around 1,000 books in both Tamil and English initially,” he added. Using the equipment, the reader can go through the text, line by line, once the soft copy in the required format has been loaded to the instrument.

“The introduction of the Braille Display in Tamil is of great value. It will help save space, paper and energy,” said R. Jayachandran, associate professor in Tamil, Presidency College, and a person with visual impairment.

“The equipment in the Braille section cost a total of Rs. 15 lakh. We also have plans to procure the OpenBook software that converts printed pages into an electronic text format for the visually challenged.” said Mr. Arivoli.

Full report here Hindu

You can order a book from e-libraries!

With the proliferation of e-readers and development of e-ink technologies, there are those who have already begun to put chisel to headstone of traditional reading.

On the other hand, technology is making access to books easier, such as in the form of online libraries that let readers browse and reserve books online, which are then delivered home.

EasyLib in Bangalore is one such establishment, marrying a "real" library of almost 22,000 titles with an online model. Proprietor Vanishree Mahesh used her own comfort with browsing online as an yardstick to build EasyLib.

"I built the website and software myself. The bricks-and-mortar version and the online version both pretty much launched on the same day." That was July 2001, and today EasyLib has over 2,000 members.

FriendsofBooks on the other hand is an exclusively online library, run from Delhi [ Images ]/the National Capital Region, though they do deliver in other cities.

Founder Arti Jain was fascinated by the network of public libraries in the US, a stark contrast to the situation in India. She and co-founder Manish Kumar decided to address this problem with FriendsOfBooks.

Full report here Rediff

Rare book on political and economic history of India digitized

The rare book, "India Illustrated" has now been digitally preserved by The University of Houston Digital Library, and is available online for students, historians and others around the world who are interested in the social, economic and political history of India.

"Our efforts preserve this rare book. We have digitized it cover-to-cover and could reproduce the entire book should anything happen to the originals," said Michelle Reilly, digital projects program director.

The book was apparently published after 1900, but before 1910. There are three copies known to exist. One is housed in the British Library; the other at the National Library Board, Singapore.

Full report here Sify

Online libraries: 'E' for convenience

With the proliferation of e-readers and development of e-ink technologies, there are those who have already begun to put chisel to headstone of traditional reading. On the other hand, technology is making access to books easier, such as in the form of online libraries that let readers browse and reserve books online, which are then delivered home.

EasyLib in Bangalore is one such establishment, marrying a "real" library of almost 22,000 titles with an online model. Proprietor Vanishree Mahesh used her own comfort with browsing online as an yardstick to build EasyLib. "I built the website [and] software myself. The bricks-and-mortar version and the online version both pretty much launched on the same day." That was July 2001, and today EasyLib has over 2,000 members.

FriendsofBooks on the other hand is an exclusively online library, run from Delhi/the National Capital Region, though they do deliver in other cities. Founder Arti Jain was fascinated by the network of public libraries in the US, a stark contrast to the situation in India. She and co-founder Manish Kumar decided to address this problem with FriendsOfBooks.

Full report here Sify

Bangalore's favourite libraries!

With change in lifestyle and less and less time to spend, people no longer prefer the older reading places. Here are some of the most visited private and public libraries in Bangalore that are a hub for reading and recreational activities.

State Central Library houses more than 2 lakh books

Remember the neighbourhood library from a couple of decades back, which stocked a standard set of bestsellers, magazines and comics from India and abroad. And how these libraries always smelled of old books; such places are now fast disappearing. But however there are still some libraries which are frequented by people. Here are some of the most visited private and public libraries in Bangalore that are a hub for reading and recreational activities. 
Central Library
The library was taken over by the government as State Central Library under the provision of the Karnataka Public library Act in 1966. The library, strategically located in the middle of the greenery at Cubbon Park, is any book lover's delight. It has more than 2.4 lakh precious and rare books.

The wide-ranging collection at the library includes books on any given topic under the sun. The library has got a rich collection of reference books. In 1986 the library was designated as State Central Reference Library and it is open to public only for consultation of documents with in its premises. It is open on all the days except on Mondays.

Full report here My Bangalore

A world of books

Tall wooden shelves lined with old books; green stained glass windows; the quietest of halls and heads buried deep inside a labyrinth of words. Standing tall along Cowley Brown Road, the District Central Library is a whole world in itself.

The building was inaugurated in 1987, and the tranquillity inside is disarming – the moment you step in, the buzz of the city recedes.

The reference section is the first to welcome you. Lined with long wooden tables and shelves it has hundreds of books on subjects such as engineering, technology, history, geography, agriculture, law, sociology, biography, religion, etc.

Walking with eyes full of wonder, I pull out a chunky volume of Bharathidasan Padalgal. The book contains a foreword written in 1993 by V. R. Nedunchezhiyan, the then finance minister of Tamil Nadu. Next to it is an unassuming book with a worn out spine. This little book is a treasure – published in 1988, it's a dictionary for the language of the Siddhas. The ‘Descriptive catalogue of the Tamil manuscripts in the Tanjore Maharaja Sarfoji's Saraswathi Mahal library' by L.Olaganatha Pillay is yet another treasure. With yellowing pages, this book bears the scent of history and culture.

Full report here Hindu

Government schools to establish library

In a bid to promote reading habits among children, the district administration here has ordered the government-run schools to establish a small library in them. In cooperation with the National Book Trust of India, a mobile bus with story and other books for kids has been started, which would tour various schools, enabling the children to read their favourite books and buy them at subsidised rates.

"Now-a-days the kids do not read books and are glued to TV sets to watch cartoons. The only time they spend reading is on their course books. In order to divert their interest towards books, this campaign has been started," Kanpur District Magistrate Mukesh Sharma said. Under this campaign, the principals of all primary schools in the district have been ordered to open a small library in the school with a minimum investment of Rs 3,000 on story books for children. These books must have pictorial description.

"The junior schools of the district have been ordered to purchase books worth at least Rs 10,000, while books worth Rs 20,000 ought to be purchased by High school and inter-colleges. These should not be related to the course but must be story books," he said. The administration has set September 25 as the deadline for the schools to set up the libraries.

Full report here IBNLive

An idea that can transform India

If education has been recognised as the fundamental transformative force that can literally pull generations out of the clutches of poverty, why then are our libraries the most neglected of public institutions?

Just as the mid-day meal scheme of 2002 has worked wonders in drawing children to school, so too can an innovative strategy in the form of interesting, well-stocked libraries make a difference to children in rural and municipal schools in India. Libraries, not with boring and badly printed government text-books full of spelling and grammatical mistakes, but with well-illustrated, colourful and pop-up books, scientific and educational toys.

While establishing the world’s largest radio telescope near Narayangaon, Pune, radio astronomer Govind Swarup had made a visit to the nearby village school at Khodad. Everything went well till he visited the school “library”. Some new books had been kept locked in a cupboard and children were meant to admire these books through the glass door. The books were not to be touched because “they would get spoilt”.

Full report here DNA

Nehu library soon on web

The North Eastern Hill University’s library will soon be just a click away.

The Nehu has been digitising its vast repository of books and other documents for more than a year now, vice-chancellor Pramod Tandon told this correspondent on Friday, August 13.

“If students from outside the state want any particular information, they can always access the digital library of Nehu,” he added.

The digital library will provide data on important scholarly articles, publications by Nehu teachers and PhD theses. The digitisation of the entire research work of Nehu, available in the theses and dissertations as well as private scholarly publications, is under process.

The prints of these documents are being scanned and uploaded in the digital repository at the library digitisation laboratory, the first of its kind in any central university in the Northeast.

Full report here Telegraph

National Library Day observed

In commemoration of the 118th birth anniversary of Prof SR Ranganathan, the National Library (Librarian) Day observation cum Prof Ranganathan Memorial Lecture on book and society was held at the State Central Library in Imphal on August 12.

Organised by State Central Library, Imphal in collaboration with Manipur Library Association (MALA), Imphal, the event was co-sponsored by Department of Art and Culture, Govt of Manipur and RRRLF, Kolkata.

Director of Art and Culture, Govt of Manipur Dr Kh Sorojini Devi and president of MLA N Shyamkanhai attended the function as chief guest and president respectively.

Delivering the key note address, general secretary of MLA Dr Ch Ibohal Singh observed that Prof Ranganathan was the founder leader of Library science movement in the country and no one has been able to reach the kind of achievement and the sacrifices that he had done in this regard.

Full report here E-pao

Sirkazhi Public library to be named after SR Ranganthan

The public library in Sirkazhi in the district would get a new building at a cost of Rs 20 lakh and named after S R Ranganathan, a native of the town who is regarded as Father of library science in India.

Stating this at Librarians' Day celebrations here, District Collector C Munianathan on August 12 said through his innovative research on library science, S R Ranganathan attained world fame and was regarded as the greatest librarian of the 20th century. "He is a pioneer in library movement and is the proponent of the famous 'five laws of library science', he said adding that Ranganathan was a genius mathematician as well.

Ranganathan was born at Ubayavedantam village near Sirkazhi and his birthday is observed as Librarians' Day in all the libraries in the district, he said. Stating that there were 98 public libraries in the district, the Collector said a total of 8.24 lakh people have utilised the library services last year. The 98 libraries have over 12 lakh books, he said.

Full report here IBNLive

A library in each pocket

The technological revolutions underway are giving the phrase “pocket library” a whole new and more literal meaning. The potential of a range of devices, from Kindle to India’s own $35 computer tablet, to revolutionise access to books is truly astonishing. It was reported recently that Kindle book sales at Amazon are now surpassing the sale of regular books. The astonishing facility of being able to download potentially millions of books and journals (and if they are sufficiently old, free of cost) on devices that will increasingly cost little has the potential to equalise access to knowledge in unprecedented ways.

The implications of this technological revolution for the protocols of reading are yet to be fully fathomed. The idea that each one of us can literally carry thousands of books with us at any given moment ought to excite the imagination of even the most reluctant bibliophile. But the fact that this technology is now available also means that we need to think more systematically about it. For relatively little investment it should be possible to expand access to books, by disseminating these kinds of devices.

Full report here Indian Express