Sunday, March 25, 2018

City college libraries that are still in demand


City college libraries that are still in demand

The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history” once said the famous American journalist Carl Thomas Rowan. In an era of social media and ebooks, something that we have forgotten is the fragrance of books, both old and new. And what can be a better place than a college library to get a whiff of this memory. Though most college libraries have been digitised in today’s world, they have still maintained their legacy by preserving old and rare books. CT visits six such libraries of city colleges which have a huge collection of new, old, rare and even ebooks.

Fr Verstraeten Central Library, St Xavier’s College

Number of books: 77,215+

Process of maintenance: The authorities have completely digitised the library, so that students can access any hard or soft copy of books. Well-trained librarians are appointed to look after the books. An online renewing process has been introduced, which makes the process of lending and returning much more hassle-free.

Speciality of the library: The library provides services to its users digitally by using open source ILMS Koha software. All hard copies of books have a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. Ebooks can be accessed using college Wi-Fi from any device. The library also maintains a book bank facility for rural and financially challenged students. Apart from the Central Library, St Xavier’s College has another library called the Goethals Indian Library and Research Society. This library has various old books that date back to the 1800s.

Librarian’s take: “St Xavier’s College had five different libraries before January 2009. These five libraries were merged into one integrated corpus and started functioning as a centralised system from January 16, 2009,” said Fr Xavier Savarimuthu, editor and assistant director of one of the libraries.

Students speak: “The central library is a storehouse of very valuable works which are unavailable elsewhere. There’s no dearth of misleading information on the internet, so the material accessed from a relevant scholarly work is invaluable for us students. The library provides students a friendly, yet disciplined environment,” said Koyena Ghosh, a sociology student.

Bethune College Library

Number of books: 1,10,000+

Process of maintenance: Every year, the college gets funds from the government for dusting and pest control. The authorities make sure that the library is properly maintained and the books are preserved with utmost care. The library began with a collection of books donated by friends of Mon Mohan Ghosh, who was a member of the Bethune School Committee. After his death in 1898, some of his friends from England donated his collection of books to the college.

Speciality of the library: This library is the first among all government colleges of West Bengal to be computerised. It is a hub of rare books. Some of the rare books have been digitised and laminated. The library has well-preserved editions of old newspapers and periodicals like Bangadarshan, Probasi, Masik Basumati and Calcutta Gazette, among others. It also houses the collected works of William Shakespeare gifted to Chandramukhi Basu, one of the first female graduates of the British Empire, by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on clearing her graduation examination.

Librarian’s take: “To get access to various ebooks and ejournals, teachers and other members of the library are registered to INFLIBNET-N-List programme of the University Grants Commission. Through this platform, students can access more than 5,000 journals and books,” said librarian Anjali Maisal.

Students speak: “We get almost all the important books from the library. I’m in my second year of college, and till date, I haven’t had to buy any books. I have relied completely on the collection of our library for my studies,” said Rashni Podder, a BA student.

Lady Brabourne College Library

Number of books: 1,00,000+

Process of maintenance: The books are classified following the Dewey Decimal Classification System. Under this system, books are broadly divided into 10 groups and each book is assigned a call number. This way, it becomes easier for the librarians to maintain the collection.

Speciality of the library: There are books of six different languages — Bengali, English, Hindi, Urdu, Persian and Sanskrit. Old editions of books, which include the first and second editions of various novels by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, have been preserved in the library. Moreover, the library welcomes various research scholars who are working on topics like history of language and literature, women empowerment and many more. The library has a rich collection of rare books too. It has preserved original editions of Shakespeare’s novels that date back to the 16th century.

Librarian’s take: “The college was established in 1939 for educating Muslim girls. We not only have books related to the college curriculum, but also several important reference books for the enrichment of both students and teachers. Old and rare magazines of the pre-Independence era, like Tatwabodhoni and Bichitra, have been preserved carefully and have been digitised,” said librarians Mitali Bhattacharya and Abira Chakraborty.

Students speak: “I really like the environment of the library. Our professors often take classes here. We can access various rare online journals for free, as the college has subscribed for it. It helps us a lot as these journals are otherwise not available easily,” said Snehanjana Chatterjee, a botany student.

Techno India University Library

Number of books: 55,000+

Process of maintenance: The authority uses a database system called LibSys to ensure books don’t get displaced. Library space has been increased and the book-lending process has been upgraded as per modern requirements. Acquisitions, ordering and returns are done through LibSys. There is another software used called Opac through which both students and teachers can find the exact book they are looking for.

Speciality of the library: One can avail nearly 2,500 ebooks from this library. Access is given to the teachers and research scholars too. With the credentials, anyone can access ebooks from any corner of the world. Ejournals are available not only in readable format, but individuals can download them too.

Librarian’s take: “The university was established in 2012, but the library started functioning from 2013. The library has been upgraded as per the requirements of the students and faculty. Most students here are from an engineering background. We provide them hard copies of books to study from, so students need not rely only on digital versions,” said librarian Mousumi Patra.

Students speak: “The library is a special space for us to sit, read and borrow books. We hardly need to buy any books. We get various books from this library. Apart from academic books, there are some really good novels too. So, if a student wants, he/she can enjoy reading books in this peaceful place with a cup of coffee,” said Akash Chakraborty.

Loreto College Central Library

Number of books: 65,000+

Process of maintenance: To maintain the library, the authorities have introduced a computerised 
catalogue and issue-return system. It also features a biometric attendance system. Old books, that have a certain value, have been kept separately and are not in circulation. Those books have been there since the foundation of the college in 1912.

Speciality of the library: The college has a dedicated library society, which was started to encourage the use of the library and promote reading among students. The members of the society organise and participate in various activities related to books, community, culture and communication. The society also organises a treasure hunt where students have to retrieve information from various resources in the library. The library has books in English, Bengali, Hindi as well as various foreign languages like French and German.

Librarian’s take: “It is not merely a storehouse — there is a lot of footfall. It is the hub of the college. I consider it a very active library. Every year, nearly 500-600 new books are purchased. There are numerous ebooks and ejournals, which can be accessed by the students and faculty through computers in the library and at home as well,” said librarian Papia Mukherji.

Students speak: “The library is well stocked with a lot of resources for us to use. We have various books and journals from quite a number of sources. I’m from the English department and find this place well equipped for our academic purposes. We have a number of books in foreign languages too,” said Mohini Pradhan.

Asutosh College Library

Number of books: 50,000+

Process of maintenance: The existing collection of books is cleaned regularly throughout the year. Along with manual sweeping, the entire library has been air-conditioned so that books can be kept in a controlled environment. Apart from this, the authorities also do pest controlling regularly.

Speciality of the library: The library has a separate section of audio and Braille titles. Along with that, they have a collection of rare books that date back to the 19th century. The college has its own magazine, where both the faculties and the students write. They have preserved most editions of that magazine since 1924. They have been digitised and uploaded on an online platform, so that anyone can access them from any corner of the world.

Librarian’s take: “On an average, we buy nearly 2,000 books every year. We have adopted a unique method to buy the books. We send invites to a number of publications and organise a book exhibition on our campus every year. From there we get to select a huge number of books. We also have a separate section completely dedicated to Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee,” said librarians Gouranga Charan Jana and Amitabha Pramanik.

Students speak: “The library has plenty of books. Moreover, the facilities are very student-friendly. We can borrow books without any complications and take them home for our studies,” said Rohan Bera, an electronics student.

— Pushpita Dey

Source | Times of India | 21st March 2018

Regards
Mr. Pralhad Jadhav 
Master of Library & Information Science (NET Qualified) 
Senior Manager @ Knowledge Repository  
Khaitan & Co 
Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978
Mobile @ 9665911593

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