The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Kerala libraries going digital

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Friday, Jul 29, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Kerala libraries going digital

Students Corner for select libraries

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Information Technology capturing the imagination of youngsters, libraries in Kerala are going the digital way in a bid to attract more readers from the younger generation.

Digital and online libraries, which now enrich a select few institutions, are going public with the Kerala State Library Council resolving to set up such `libraries of the future' in the State. The Council has decided to bring all district and rural libraries in the State under a `digital umbrella' in a bid to usher in a new reading culture in the State.

``With the world going hi-tech, it is high time that we also changed. In Kerala, digital and online libraries are with a select few institutions and unless they go public, it will not benefit the whole society,'' said G. Balamohan Thamby, president of the Library Council.

The libraries in the State will not only be connected with one another but also with those outside the country, he said adding that a final decision on digital libraries will be taken at the Council's executive meeting to be held soon.

``The proposal has been put forward and it will be discussed at the executive meeting before finalising the project,'' he said.

He claimed that online libraries would help research students in a big way as they could get materials from libraries all over the world.

``Once the proposals are finalised, we will try to link up with major libraries of the country and abroad,'' he said.

Already this system is in vogue in many countries and even in India, some of the libraries have gone this way.

Another project for preservation of old and invaluable books, manuscripts and palm scripts is also under way, Dr. Thamby said.

Elaborating on the relevance of digital and online libraries in the State, Dr. Thamby said ``the new venture will help the public, especially students and researchers, in a big way.''

Pointing out that there was a decline in reading habit even among the younger generation, he hoped that digital libraries would attract more and more people to the habit.

The Kolkata-based Raja Ram Mohan Roy Foundation has expressed willingness to provide all financial help in developing digital libraries in the State. ``The only thing is that the project is not ready and it is only a proposal.''

Apart from digital libraries, the Council is focussing on other areas to foster reading habits, especially among children.

The `Tribal Libraries' to be set up in areas where there are no library facilities at present will help cultivate reading habits in remote areas, Dr. Thamby said.

`The Students Corner' to be set up in select libraries will help students with necessary data in pursuing their studies, he said. — UNI

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