The Hindu : New Delhi News : Demand for better service at National Medical Library

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Monday, Jan 28, 2008
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Demand for better service at National Medical Library

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI: Listed as one of the country’s best medical libraries catering to both national and international students, the National Medical Library at Ansari Nagar is now struggling to provide quality service to its users.

Petition

In fact, a group of doctors and medical students, including some from the All-Indian Institute of Medical Sciences, have submitted a signed petition asking library officials to take a re-look at the facilities offered there. “Doctors coming to the library have been facing several problems here for a long time. Few computers work in the library and most are old and the speed is so slow that it takes 5-10 minutes to open a site. Recently when this was pointed out to one of the staffer at the library he did not take it too kindly. The doctors are being forced to now come out and demand better services,” said Harpal Malhotra.

Dr. Malhotra said the library doesn’t have good quality water forcing the library users to go across to the AIIMS campus for drinking water.

Doctors have also complained about the toilets in the library which are not cleaned regularly and have thus become un-useable.

“The library yard is used as a car dump with garbage littered across the lawn. Garbage is not collected for days and the premises of the prestigious library looks shabby because of the same. The view of the entrance is so dilapidated that first time visitors would never accept it as a high quality study area. It is not that the library does not have funds, the utilisation is so poor that users have to undergo unnecessary hassle because of it,” added Dr. Malhotra.

Concerned about the plummeting quality of services at the library, a group of 53 doctors have written to the library director to improve the condition.

“We are supporting the demands of the doctors as we have been facing the same problem. It is sad to note that such a prestigious centre cannot offer proper facilities to its users,” said AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association president Kumar Harsh.

The library was established to take care of the need for a central unit to support academic, research and clinical work of biomedical professionals in the country.

The library was developed gradually and declared as the Central Medical Library in 1961 and as the National Medical Library on April 1, 1966.

Information services

The National Medical Library aims at providing a wide and efficient library and information services to the health science professionals in the country. It functions under the administrative control of the Directorate General of Health Services.

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