India's National Library Puts Focus on Digitization

BY: SUN STAFF

MAY 18, 2012 — CANADA (SUN) — The Minister for Culture and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja has said that digitisation of rare books and other print material is done selectively taking into account copyright and other issues. It is a part of the Annual Action Plan of the National Library, Kolkata. No article from the rare books division of the National Library has been reported to be lost or stolen in the last decade.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today she said, under the 3rd phase of a digitisation project, 1.5 million pages, i.e. 6,000 books are envisaged to be digitised at a cost of about Rs. 35 lakhs in next seven months.

Sabha said the National Library has been accorded special status as an institution of national importance in Article 62 in the Seventh Schedule of the Union List of the Constitution of India. There is no other National Library in the country.

NAI has modernized its conservation research laboratory with the latest equipments for carrying out the preventive and curative conservations of records. Training in the fields of conservation of archival heritage for both professional and sub-professional level are conducted by School of Archival Studies and the staff of NAI are also deputed to national and international organizations to update their knowledge under various exchange programs and agreements.

Recently, steps have been taken to improve the functioning of the National Library, Kolkata. They include access to full text electronic journals, availability of the library's catalogue on the web and high speed Internet connectivity for the readers. Some new proposals are under consideration in the 12th Five Year Plan.

Press Information Bureau