Jora launches website of Libraries Department

Tuesday, 07 02 2012 09:59

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Public library info now only a click away
JAMMU, FEBRUARY 6- In yet another significant step towards modernization of public library services in Jammu & Kashmir, the Department of Libraries & Research launched its official website today. The website, available on the Internet at http://jkpubliclibraries.nic.in, comes close on the heels of launching of the ongoing automation and networking of public libraries project by the Department in October last and makes the public library collection only a click away.
Minister for Tourism & Culture, Nawang Rigzin Jora, launched the website at a simple but impressive function held at the SRS Central Library complex here.
Minister of State for Tourism & Culture, Nasir Aslam Wani, Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Tourism & Culture, Atal Dulloo, Director Libraries & Research, Khalid Bashir Ahmad, State Informatics Officer, National Informatics Centre (NIC), Abhay Kumar, Technical Director, NIC, Saleem Khan, Deputy Director Libraries, Jammu, Rajinder Singh and Jammu based writers, scholars and library experts were present.
The development is viewed as a significant leap towards greater application of ICT tools in public library operations in the State. The process started in October 2011 with the launch of the Automation & Networking of Public Libraries Project at the four major public libraries in the state including SRS Central Library Jammu, SPS Central Library Lal Mandi, Oriental Research Library Hazratbal and City Central Library, Karan Nagar. In the pilot phase, the catalogue of about quarter to two lakh books available at these four libraries is being computerized. This task is slated to finish in a year from the date of the launch.
The website comprises the dynamic and static sections. In the first instance, bibliographic data of about 27,000 books has been made available on the website in the dynamic section by means of Catalogue Search which will expand every fortnightly till the completion of the project. The Catalogue Search offers two - basic and advance - search options.
In the basic search option, a user would be able to search a book by its title, author, publisher, and ISBN or on the basis of any of the associated keywords contained within the data including the subject of the book. Once multiple records are fetched by the query, one can click the ‘View’ option on the selected record and the system displays the bibliographic details of the book along with its holding details including the name of the library where it is available with rack number where it is physically stored.
The Advance Search option offers Boolean Search based on various permutations and combinations of author, title and the year of publication.
In the static content, the website gives exhaustive and useful information about the department and insight into its various activities. These include profile of the department, its organizational setup, recent activities, construction programme for public libraries and recently completed works. Complete catalogues of about six thousand manuscripts in different languages and scripts forms the important segment of the website besides directory of all public libraries in the state and catalogue of rare books. A section on the departmental publications and another on the procedure followed for selection of titles for public libraries include other features of the website which also allows peep into the recent initiatives taken by the department towards automation and networking of public libraries as well as the digitization and archival of rare books and manuscripts. Other sections of the website include the Citizen Charter, Public Information Officers of the department under the RTI Act and archives and photo gallery.
Speaking on the occasion, Jora said that the launching of the website is one in the series of major initiatives taken during the past two years to upgrade and modernize public library services in Jammu & Kashmir. He said it would make the library information only a click away from users irrespective of their location. He said that the Department of Libraries & Research launched an ambitious project for automation and networking of public libraries few months back under which four major libraries were taken up in the pilot phase. He said the project is successfully being carried out and is expected to complete in a year from its start in October 2011. He said this was an important project to switch over from manual to automatic mode of library services and increase efficiency. He said another project for digitization and archival of about 500 rare books and archival of about 6000 digitized manuscripts, representing rich cultural heritage of Jammu & Kashmir, has been approved and allotted to the National Informatics Centre for execution. He said the digitized books and manuscripts would be uploaded on the website for the benefit of scholars and interested readers. He said the selection of books for public libraries has been streamlined including broad-basing the two library committees. The Government, he said, has constituted a committee to propose draft legislation on public library services in the State.
Earlier, Director Libraries & Research, Khalid Bashir Ahmad, presented an overview of the activities of the department and outlined the features and status of the ongoing projects to modernize public library services.