Hansa Mehta Library goes beyond books
VADODARA: With its collection of over seven lakh books, Hansa Mehta Library is the heart of academic life at MS University here.
And now, it is becoming increasingly technology-driven and getting a taste of professionalism after many years. Innovations have not been restricted to infrastructure alone.
"We have separate blocks for teachers, undergraduates, and PhD and research scholars. And now, we have connected them with free internet nodes for scholars and teachers," said Kautilya Shukla, the librarian who was appointed last year.
A CD server will allow access to all the 1,000 intranet nodes on the campus and one can opt for secondary references which are available on CDs. "After installing the software for university library (SOUL) cataloguing system, the registration process of members has become simpler. The software also allows university departments to place acquisition orders for latest books. Special labelling of books (call numbers) using cellophane and bar codes have made it easier to find a particular title," Shukla said.
"The MSU library is likely to top the list of university libraries in the country on the number of users. We have about 10,000 visitors every day. The reading hall can accommodate 1,100 students and its capacity will be increased. However, frequent book fairs by leading publishers will acquaint students to the latest titles and also develop a flair for reading.
Under a UGC project, we will subscribe 1,600 online journals which will be in addition to our 594 hard-copy journals," the librarian said. "Space management, mobilisation of funds and judicious use of resources made it possible to update the library which has 7,22,955 books at present. There were too many entry and exit points that allowed unscrupulous students to smuggle out books earlier. Now there is only one exit point," Shukla said.
About future plans for the library, Shukla said, "We get an annual allocation of Rs 1.8 crore that includes acquisition, revenue grant from various faculties and binding. Roping in donors will also help us upgrade our system. Our aim is to create a database for all the five lakh titles that we have."
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