The InternationalInformation & Library Review

www.elsevier.com/locate/iilr

Advances in digital library initiatives: a developingcountry perspective

Partha Bhattacharya

Information & Documentation, Foundation For Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT),Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110 016, India

Summary The paper focuses on the digital library initiatives in India with examples,the initiatives of the government of India and state governments towards digitallibrary activities, and the policy of the Government of India towards digital librarydevelopment. The current initiatives, such as the INDEST Consortia, are described indetail. The challenges facing digital libraries, the problems being encountered whiledeveloping digital libraries, the problems of the digital divide facing the country arementioned.& 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Digital libraries have evolved, and developments ininformation technology have changed the conceptof the library from one of print and paper media.The success of a digital library depends upon thecomputers, communication skills, and knowledge oflibrary professionals in connection with moderntechnology.

Today we stand at a transition from the tradi-tional library to a global digital library. The idea isto provide universal access to digital contentavailable only in a digital library environment. Inthe Information Age, we require a digital librarybecause the emergence of digital technology andcomputer networks has provided a means wherebyinformation can be stored, retrieved, disseminatedand duplicated in a fast and efficient manner. On aglobal level, digital libraries (DLs) have madeconsiderable advances both in technology and itsapplication. India still has far to go if the nation isto benefit from this movement.

Scope of the paper

The paper concentrates on the following:

(i) Digital library initiatives in India with exam-ples;

(ii) Policy of the government of India towardsdigital library developments in the country;and

(iii) Problems encountered in the digital librarydevelopment, including that of the digitaldivide.

Defining the digital library

Digital libraries are managed collections of digitalobjects, created or acquired according to theprinciples of collection development, in whichinformation is stored and distributed in digital formwith the associated value-added services necessaryto allow users to retrieve and exploit the resourcesjust as in a traditional library. The e-documents in adigital library are accessible readily with a multi-tude of user-friendly attributes, and proper meth-odology ensures the persistence of such documentsover time.

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E-mail address: arjun30@yahoo.com (P. Bhattacharya).

1057-2317/$ - see front matter & 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.iilr.2003.10.008

The International Information & Library Review (2004) 36, 165–175

Purpose of a digital library

The fundamental purpose of a digital library mustbe to provide access to information along withappropriate reference tools for identifying andevaluating the possible sources and types ofinformation. Thus the many kinds of informationthat constitute the intellectual capital of post-baccalaureate learning must be digitized andorganized in a manner that can be searchedintelligently and reliably, using technologies thatdo not require undue technical training. Perhapsmost difficult of all, a sustainable business model tosupport the digital library must be identified.Digital libraries can be explored in an informationsociety from two not entirely compatible dimen-sions: intellectual property and evolving technolo-gies to serve communities of learning.

Challenges facing the digital librariesFan Indian context

A digital library involves a massive investment fordigitization of the existing collection and acquisi-tion of digital resources. Hence, the small librariesin India are unable to invest in creating digitallibraries or to digitize their collections.

Following are the challenges that libraries inIndia face as far as digitization is concerned:

(i) Intellectual Property Rights: A major chal-lenge for a DL is complying with copyright andother Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues.Librarians will have to discuss these issues withpublishers and authors to create some mechanismthat will be beneficial for library users, publishersand authors.

(ii) Security: Data security for digital forms ofinformation is the most demanding challenge ofdigital libraries. Piracy of databases, virus inver-sions, and parallel satellite networking stress aresome of the problems for which solutions areneeded.

(iii) Technological change: Information technol-ogy skills and applications are changing and devel-oping quickly. To survive, digital libraries need thelatest technology. Thus, more and more investmentis necessary for digital libraries to update theirtechnology. Along with these changes come inter-operability problems.

(iv) Lack of expertise: There are only limitedsuppliers for digital materials in the world. Further,as there is frequent technological change, there isa need for experts to handle and operate the latesttechnology both in India and abroad.

(v) Inadequate finance and infrastructure: Mostof the academic and public libraries are facing theproblem of finances. Thus, it is not possible for allcolleges and universities to change their resourcesinto digital resources.

(vi) Suitability: Over 60% of the Indian populationis literate, and the standard of living of themajority of the population is low. Therefore, thedigitization of libraries is not as fruitful when Indiais compared with developed countries.

(vii) Information explosion on the internet: Asdigital libraries are working through the Internetand other networks, these DLs are facing a largeamount of useless information (junk materials) inthe networked environment, which leads to wa-stage of valuable time.

(viii) Cost of regular refreshing: Some sources ofinformation, such as e-journals, are unlikely to leadto reduced costs either for publishers or forlibraries. The price increases for these resourcesare higher than those of printed journals. There-fore, digital libraries have to face additionalfinancial burdens.

(ix) Preservation: To provide continued digitalinformation services, a digital library should havehistorical information resources in addition tocurrent digital sources. Preserving these historicalresources is a challenging task because of the hugeamounts of money required. Often, due to lack offunds, preservation is not possible. Also, wheneveronline subscriptions to resources expire, the digitallibrary may lack these resources in the future.Downloading of all resources is not possible, unlessthe CD-ROM subscriptions to these e-journals havebeen maintained along with the online subscrip-tions.

(x) Existing infrastructure: These barriers in-clude poor quality communication media services(such as bad telephone lines, unreliable powersupplies, stringent customs and other legal restric-tions), inability to join telecommunication net-works, inadequate computerization of libraries andpoor library collections.

(xi) Bandwidth problem: Digital libraries aremultimedia products incorporating structured text,sound, graphics, pictures, photographs, video clips,and other material that requires intensive use ofbandwidth. The developing countries have restric-tions of bandwidth available to them. Moreover,the ‘‘last mile problem’’ that every user has inevery country is much more intense in developingcountries such as India.

(xii) Political and social constraints: Manylibraries possess components of the digital library,such as locally developed databases and acquiredforeign or Indian databases. The librarians are

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equipping themselves to meet the requirements,but these libraries will not be able to fully offerelectronic library services quickly because ofpolitical and social hurdles.

(xiii) Lack of training: Libraries have notachieved suitable recognition in any organi-zation in which they exist due to lack of propercare by the authorities. With the passage oftime, the knowledge of library staff should beupdated to face the challenges of the electronicenvironment. Without upgrading their skills peri-odically, library professionals are not able to adoptnew technology, such as digital technology, inlibraries. Therefore, establishing a digital librarywithout refreshing the skills of library professionalsis difficult.

Digital library initiatives in IndiaFanoverview

Digital libraries in the developed countries startedduring the 1970s, but in India, it began in the mid-1990s with the advent of information technology(IT) on a large scale and the support extended bythe central government. The advent of the Internetacted as a catalyst for digital library initiatives. Thebasic objective of digital library initiatives in Indiahas been to preserve the art, culture and heritageof this country. All projects aimed at creatingdigital libraries concentrate only on specializedcollections. The digital library initiative in India isstill at a nascent or embryonic stage. The conceptwas recognized in India during the Fifteenth AnnualConvention and Conference on Digital Libraries,organized by the Society of Information Science atBangalore from 18 to 20 January 1996. A fewlibraries had made attempts in this directionearlier.

Only sporadic and partial attempts have beenmade towards digital library initiatives. Simplisticapproaches have been taken in the libraries, suchas getting a few databases on CD-ROM, subscribingto a few e-journals, scanning a few documents, orcreating Adobe Acrobat files and installing these onan intranet. The scenario is changing at a snail’space, and it has to gain momentum to survive in thecompetitive world.

Role of the librarian in the digital libraryenvironment

The librarian in the 21st century is expected to playa vital role in the changing needs of tomorrow’s

information community. Traditionally librarianshave often organized and classified information insuch a way that they can find the information onbehalf of the user. In other words, librarians havefulfilled the physical roles of adviser, interpreterand mediator for the user’s information needs.From the Indian context, the librarian shouldembrace the entire new information cycle, fromthe creation, restructuring and representation ofinformation to its dissemination and use. Thelibrarian’s future lies in doing what the computercannot do. In other words, a librarian should be alifeguard of information.

Digital reference services

We in India are providing services to the growingnumber of users through the digital library initia-tives that have been undertaken by education andresearch institutions and individuals, but digitalreference service to users at large is missing fromthe existing services. More users are becomingnetwork literate and will demand digital referenceservices in the near future. With India becomingincreasingly globalized, the user community willhave members everywhere in the world. In such ascenario, a digital library cannot afford to becomecomplacent with the existing method and level ofreference service.

Survey of some digital library initiativesin India

Digital library initiatives in India were star-ted basically for preservation of the art, cultureand heritage of the country. The catego-rization of DL initiatives in India may be listed asfollows:

(i) Digitization of art and culture(ii) Initiatives at academic institutions of na-

tional importance(iii) Initiatives at national level institutions(iv) Initiatives at R&D level organizations(v) Initiatives at the government level(vi) Initiatives at financial institutions(vii) Initiatives at NGOs(viii) Initiatives by the media(ix) Initiatives at the private level(x) Initiatives within society level organizations(xi) Initiatives at the university level

A few examples from the abovementionedcategories are covered below.

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Digitization of art and culture

Digital library of art masterpiecesHP Labs, Hewlett Packard’s research arm thatexamines innovative and unusual uses of technol-ogy, has announced a pilot project with the Centrefor Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) todigitize part of the art collection in the NationalGallery of Modern Art (NGMA). The company willuse its imaging products, including the high-endSinar camera, to convert about 200 paintings ofAmrita Sher-Gill and Rabindranath Tagore intodigital form. The library of digital paintings willbe stored by CDAC on its computers in theBangalore office. NGMA plans to put up images ofthe paintings on the Net, from which customersmay order full-sized prints. The museum will makereproductions on demand on HP Design jet printersand sell them.

Electronic resources IGNCAIndira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)has taken up multimedia projects for the digitiza-tion of traditional artwork and artifacts that will bemade available on the Web in due course of time.The digitization of ‘‘Geet Govinda,’’ an importantclassic of Indian literature, is one of their success-ful ventures. Some other examples of digitizationfrom IGNCA are Murai Devadasi, Muktesvara, andRock Art Manossarovar.

Down memory laneThis is a project of the National Library, Kolkata fordigitization of rare and brittle documents ontocompact disks. Presently it covers 25,000 pagesshowing 6601 documents and is archived on 548CDs.

Initiatives at academic institutions ofnational importance

Initiatives at the Indian Institute of Technologies(IITs)IIT Delhi: The commitment to digital libraryinitiatives and the emphasis upon Web-baseddigitized collections at the Central Library, IITDelhi commenced in 1998 with the installation of afibre optics-based campus LAN connected to a2Mbps VSNL radio link enabling faster Internetaccess for the academic community of the Insti-tute. The availability of the high-speed Internetconnection has led to the launching of a number ofsponsored and unsponsored projects for developingnetwork-based digitized collections at the CentralLibrary, IIT Delhi.

The following are some of the initiatives beingundertaken at the Central Library of IIT Delhi:

Digitized collection consisting of bibliographicrecords.

Online integrated library information system.LibSys/Web PAC.Access to bibliographic databases developed in-

house.Database of serials on subscription at IITD (850

current & 700 discontinued since 1990).Database of the textbook collection available in

the Central Library (4000 records).Database of the book bank collection in the

Central Library (1000 records of 10,000 books).Database of Ph.D. theses submitted to IITD.Web-based access to the Materials Science

Collection from CSA.Online interactive courseware in Information

Technology (IT).In-house newsletter: New Services and FacilitiesCD-ROM based search services through a CD NET

System.Web sites for specialized collections.Research articles in ERL linked to full text

through Silver Linker.Online access to journals subscriptions in print.Home page and subject gateways for Web

resources.IIT Madras: The major digital initiatives taken by

IIT Madras are (i) creation of the IT infrastructurefor library and information activities; (ii) establish-ment of an electronic resource center; (iii) designand development of a website for the CentralLibrary; (iv) implementation of total bar-coding;(v) digitization of membership records includingphotos; (vi) establishment of CD-ROM networkingunder LAN; (vii) construction of a digital libraryworking group; (viii) subscription to CD-ROM bib-liographical databases; (ix) subscription to ScienceDirect; (x) subscription to the ACM digital librarypackage; (xi) creation of a CD-publishing facility forPh.D. theses; (xi) providing online access to e-journals, e-Books, e-reference sources, latestadditions, journals of the month, and librarypublications; and (xii) providing various Web-basedservices to the users.

IIT Bombay: Since 1999, IIT Bombay has startedthe online submission of Electronic Theses andDissertations (ETD) with full text of Ph.D. thesesand M.Tech dissertations. The library also sub-scribes to e-journals.

IITs are fortunate enough to receive generousgrants and projects from government bodies suchas AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education)and the Ministry of Human Resources Developmentand Management (MHRD) to develop their digital

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libraries. A number of online coursewares havebeen developed. Digitization of old volumes ofjournals at IIT Delhi is just one example of projectssupported by the government.

Recently all seven IITs, IISC Bangalore, allregional engineering colleges of India, and IIMshave entered into the INDEST (Indian NationalDigital Library in Science & Technology) consor-tium, an initiative from the Ministry of HRD. Thedetails about the INDEST consortia have beendescribed later in the paper under GovernmentInitiatives.

IIMs: All of the Indian Institutes of Manage-ment (IIMs) do subscribe to e-journals and otherdigital information products such as CD-ROMs.They have established a CD-NET system foraccess to the CDs on their LANs or campusintranets. The IIM Kozikode library has esta-blished a library portal. This is a Web-basedlibrary portal launched as a one-stop informationshop for the IIMK community on the institute LAN.The portal is envisaged as a single window on thevast treasure of information resources and servicesof the library and information centre of theInstitute.

Initiatives at national level institutions

National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS),BangaloreThe institute has shown that it is possible toproduce digital archives. They have created aWEBOPAC for access by their staff. The variouspapers, lectures, reports, and other materialsavailable in their library for purchase are listedon the Web. The bibliographical details of publica-tions by the staff are also available on the Web.This institution has already started the digitizationof paintings and the Microfilming of Indian Publica-tion Project (MIPP). The NIAS has already startedwork on rare manuscript preservation projects forboth microfilm and microfiche. Through this pro-ject, different materials, including paper and palmleaf, can be preserved in an excellent manner.

Parliament LibraryA digital library has been set up in the computercentre to cater to the needs of members ofParliament and officers and staff of Lok SabhaSecretariat. A large number of index-based data-bases of information generated within the Parlia-ment which cater to the instant reference needs ofmembers, officers and research and referencepersonnel were initially developed by the computer

centre. The data stored and available now in PARLISdatabases for online retrieval relates to:

(i) Selected Parliamentary Questions (only in-dexes), Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, from1985. Data for questions and the text ofanswers with a search facility are availablefor Lok Sabha from February 24, 2000onwards on a Touch Screen Information KiosksServer and on the ‘‘Parliament of India’’home page for access via Internet. Data forquestions and the text of answers with asearch facility are available for Rajya Sabhafrom 1997 onwards on a Touch ScreenInformation Kiosks Server and on the ‘‘Parlia-ment of India’’ home page for access viaInternet.

(ii) Parliamentary Proceedings, from 1985 to 1993(only indexes) and since winter session, 1993(full texts). Data for parliamentary proceed-ings with a search facility is available for LokSabha from July 9, 1999 onwards on a TouchScreen Information Kiosks Server and on the‘‘Parliament of India’’ home page for accessvia Internet. Data for parliamentary proceed-ings with a search facility is available for RajyaSabha from November 30, 1999 onwards on aTouch Screen Information Kiosks Server.

(iii) Government and Private Members’ Bill from1985. Data for legislative business with asearch facility is available for Lok Sabha from1991 onwards on a Touch Screen InformationKiosks Server and on the ‘‘Parliament ofIndia’’ home page for access via Internet.Data for legislative business is available forRajya Sabha from the 186th Session onwardson a Touch Screen Information Kiosks Serverand on the ‘‘Parliament of India’’ home pagefor access via Internet.

(iv) Directions, Decisions and Observations fromthe Chair, from 1952.

(v) Council of Ministers, by ministry and name,from 1947.

(vi) Current Awareness Service (ParliamentaryDocumentation), from January 1989. Thereferences from 1998 onwards are availablewith a search facility on a Touch ScreenInformation Kiosks Server and on a ‘‘Parlia-ment of India’’ home page for access viaInternet.

(vii) Serials control, from 1989.(viii) Library catalogue, from 1989. The catalogue

can be accessed from Touch Screen Informa-tion Kiosks.

(ix) Indexes of microfilms of Parliamentary Pro-ceedings.

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Initiatives at R&D level organizations

Traditional Knowledge Digital LibraryThe Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), acollaborative effort between the NationalInstitute of Science Communication and Informa-tion Resources (NISCAIR) and the Indian System ofMedicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) of the Ministryof Health and Family Welfare, was launched onMarch 27, 2002. TKDL proposes to documenttraditional knowledge about plants and the waysand means to treat diseases with traditionalmedicine. The first phase of the project coversAyurveda and will eventually encompass Unani,Siddha, naturopathy, homeopathy and folklore. Theinformation from the slokas (which will be trans-lated into various languages) is codified accordingto International Patent Classification (IPC). TheUnicode (a single code for all languages) files arethen converted into a database in differentlanguages. A team of 35 Ayurveda experts, twopatent examiners, five IT experts and NISCOMscientists and technical officers are working onthe project.

Electronic resources at the NISCAIR (formerlyINSDOC)The Indian National Scientific DocumentationCentre (INSDOC) took steps to establish a largeCD-ROM based full-text electronic library fordocument delivery. The full-text CD-ROM pro-ducts subscribed by the INSDOC include ADONIS,Business Periodicals Ondisc and General Perio-dicals Ondisc. In addition, the INSDOC also hasseveral indigenously developed online bibliographicdatabases.

National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL)Apart from acquiring digital information sources,including a good number of bibliographic andfull-text databases on CD-ROM such as Aero-space Database, NTIS, AIAA Papers, and SAEReports, the Information Centre on AerospaceTechnology (ICAST) creates digital content for thefollowing: journal tables of contents, newspaperclippings, the OPAC of the NAL Library, a unioncatalogue of current journals, and NAL TechnicalReports. The Centre also maintains the portal‘‘AeroInfo.’’

The CSIR Laboratories have entered into theelectronic journal consortia. To begin with, theyhave experimented with ScienceDirect from Else-vier Publishers, and it has been found that usage ofScienceDirect has increased in all the CSIR networklaboratories.

Initiatives at the government level

Both the Union Government and the state govern-ments of India have taken considerable ini-tiatives towards the development of digitallibraries.

‘‘Support of Government of India towards DigitalLibrary InitiativesFPolicy Issues: The Long-TermNational IT Policy’’ (National Task Force on IT andSoftware Development, 2003) shows us the com-mitment of the Government of India to provideinformation to users in digital form. The responsi-bility of envisioning, developing, and sustainingfunctional hybrid and virtual library and informa-tion systems and services rests on the library andinformation profession.

Indian National Digital Library in Science andTechnology (INDEST) consortiumThis is an initiative undertaken by the Depart-ment of Secondary and Higher Education of theMinistry of Human Resource Development in2002. The Ministry has set up a ‘‘Consortia-BasedSubscription to Electronic Resources for Tech-nical Education System in India’’ based on therecommendations of the expert group appointedby the ministry. The consortium is named theIndian National Digital Library in Science andTechnology (INDEST) Consortium. ‘‘Shared subscrip-tion’’ or ‘‘consortia-based subscription’’ to ele-ctronic resources through consortia of librariesis a feasible strategy to increase access to ele-ctronic resources across institutions at a lowercost. The consortia-based subscription can besuccessfully deployed to meet pressures such asdiminishing budgets, increased user demand,and the rising cost of journals. Libraries all overthe world are forming consortia of all types and atall levels with the objective of taking advantage ofthe current global network to promote better,faster and more cost-effective ways of providingelectronic information resources to informationseekers.

Samdhan KendrasIn order to turn food producers/consumers intoinformation producers/consumers, the Indiangovernment is making efforts for the establishmentof ‘‘Samadhan Kendras’’ (SKFRural Support Cen-ters) and ‘‘Soochana Gumtis’’ (SGFInformationKiosks) in the list of industries eligible for loansunder various programs. Digital libraries are beingused for the public grievances redressal systems ofthe state governments through SG facilitationcounters in government offices. The following are

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examples of other recent government DL initia-tives:

(i) Financial incentives for creation of software,applications, databases and websites in the morecommon Hindi language. All associated hardware/software should have multilingual capabilities.

(ii) Promotion of information technology educa-tion among the workforce in both public andprivate sectors, as well as among the futureworkforce (the student population).

(iii) Provision of priority information.

Initiatives from the state governments

GyandootGyandoot (meaning ‘‘messenger of knowledge’’)is a new intranet-based DL in the Dhar districtof the state of Madhya Pradesh connectingrural public cyber cafes. A correspondingwebsite is an extension of the Gyandoot intranet,providing global access via a portal (http://www.gyandoot.net). The pilot project waslaunched on November 29, 1999, and it wasofficially commissioned on January 1, 2000. ThisDL project is an initiative by the government ofMadhya Pradesh.

E-SevaThe Andhra Pradesh government has been con-nected with a statewide grid that handlesvoice, data and video communication. From a mere4800 transactions a month in August 2001 to awhopping 750,000 transactions a month in February2003, e-seva, the Andhra Pradesh government’sGovernment to Citizen (G2C) utilities serviceproject, has come of age. Despite initial poorresponse from citizens, e-seva has overcome allhurdles, netting a huge collection of close to Rs.20,000,000,000 (Fed-end) from a meager collectionof Rs. 430,000 in August 2001. A project thatstarted with less than 10 services in 2001, the newE-seva offers nearly 43 services, ranging frompayment of utility bills to issuing certificates,permits, and licenses, and from reservation ofbuses to B2C services. E-seva, which has beenserving citizens in the twin cities of Hyderabad andSecunderabad, is set to spread its wings to all 23districts before the end of this year. e-seva offersany service to any counter at any place in the twincities and is set to go online to enable the citizensto pay their bills from their homes. The servicesoffered would also be networked with private andpublic sector banks and ATMs (The FinancialExpress, 2003).

Initiatives at financial institutions

ICICI Knowledge ParkThis organization has built up an electronicplatform for fast and reliable access to infor-mation as well as for strengthening industryand academic collaboration. To provide betterinformation service to research and develop-ment sectors, ICICI Knowledge Park has set up aunique facilityFthe Virtual Information Centre(VIC). VIC links to the digital resources of itsmembers. It also facilitates widespread libraryand literature search facilities. A Web interfacefor virtual meetings, discussions and sharing ofideas is planned. VIC provides seamless access to anumber of external databases. The website hosts anumber of databases developed by VIC that are ofinterest to the S&T community (ICICI KnowledgePark, 2003).

Initiatives at NGOs

MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF)This group has specialized multimedia databasesin diverse areas. For example, FRIS (Farmers’Rights Information Service) is a digital multi-media database documenting the contribution oftribal and rural families in the conservation ofagricultural biodiversity for the purpose of securingbenefits for natural and global conservation genefunds.

Initiatives by the media

Media GroupThe Times of India (TOI), Anandabazar Group,and Hindu Group have all created their owndigital archives of clippings and articles forretrospective searches, historical research, facil-itating the writing of features, and so forth. Allthe leading national newspapers and regionallanguage newspapers have digitized their archivecollections.

Initiatives at the private level

Atul & Jogi Pvt. Ltd. Premier Picture Library inIndiaMore than 95% of this organization’s pictures areself-developed. The library covers almost allpossible subject pictures. They are involved withdigital imaging and transfer on the pre-press levels.These images are scanned at the low resolution of75 dpi. The company provides images to the clientsthrough e-mail, zip disk or CD-ROM.

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Initiatives within society level organizations

Mobile Digital Library (Dware Dware GyanSampada)This is a product from CDAC-ERDC Noida. Themission of the project is an Internet-enabledmobile digital library brought to common citizenswith the purpose of spreading literacy. C-DAC Noida(Department of IT, MCIT) contributed to bringingdigitized books to the doorsteps of commoncitizens. It makes use of a mobile van with asatellite connection for connectivity to the Inter-net. The van is fitted with a printer, scorer, cutterand binding machine for providing bound books tothe end user. Different places, such as schools invillages and other remote areas, will be coveredunder this programme to promote literacy anddemonstrate the use of technology for the masses.The schedule of visits of the mobile digital library ismade available on their website. Books formattedfor book printing may be selected from the websiteby language, author and title. There are about 350books in Hindi and English which will be availablefor download through this website. The site isbilingual (English and Hindi) (Products from CDAC-ERDC Noida, 2003).

Initiatives at the university level

University of Hyderabad (UOH)The Central University of Hyderabad will establishthe first total digital library in the country. Theuniversity has already identified and started thedigitization process for its thesis/dissertation col-lection. This will be a joint effort of UOH, SunMicrosystems and the VTLS software company. TheIndira Gandhi Memorial Library at the University ofHyderabad (UOH) is developing a digital library forthe university. Locuz, Sun and VTLS have cometogether to put up the digital library for theuniversity by using VTLS applications and Oracleas the database platform. The next steps for theproject are as follows:

1. Digitization of the entire physical medium.2. Cataloging and indexing the content.3. Creating standards for digital library develop-

ment.4. Setting up delivery protocols and appropriate

resources.5. Representing content.

The first phase of implementation is putting thecontent online for the users within the universityand eventually making it available over the Inter-

net. The university would make the necessaryprovisions by using high bandwidth connectivity tothe Internet and then implementing the necessarysecurity to ensure protected access.

Electronic resources at the IGNOUIndira Gandhi National Open University at Delhi hassuccessfully launched a number of Web-basedonline coursewares in information technology un-der their distance education programme.

Digital library networksDigital library networking is a cooperative ventureof all participating libraries that transmit informa-tion through short and long-distance lines from onelibrary to another. INFLIBNET, NICNET, SIRNET,ERNET, DELNET, MALIBNET, and CALIBNET are someof the national digital library networks in opera-tion.

INFLIBNETINFLIBNET, as a national level library network,engages in the development of national uniondatabases and has already hosted an onlinedatabase of Indian theses. This database providesbibliographic details of around 137,000 Ph.D.theses or doctoral dissertations awarded by allIndian universities. It can be accessed via Internetfrom the website http://www.inflibnet.ac.in. Thisdevelopment was initiated in 1994 and covers allsubject areas with data contributed by about 200universities and institutions from all over India.This online database has provisions for searchingusing the following access points: title, researcher,guide(s), department, university, place, year ofaward, and subject(s). Free text and booleansearches are also available.

DELNET (Development Library Network)DELNET is another fine example of digital libraryinitiatives in India. DELNET has been activelyengaged in the compilation of various unioncatalogues of the resources available in memberlibraries. It has already created the Union Catalo-gue of Books, the Union List of Current Periodicals,the Union Catalogue of Periodicals, the CD-ROMDatabase, the Database of Indian Specialists, theDatabase of Periodical Articles, the Union List ofVideo Recordings, the Urdu Manuscripts Database,the Database of Theses and Dissertations, theDEVINSA Database, sample databases of languagepublications using GIST technology, and severalother databases. The data is being updated ineach of these databases. All the DELNET data-bases have been resident on DELSIS, an in-housesoftware developed on BASIS Plus, an RDBMS,

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and a UNION holding database of books availablein participating libraries that is easily tra-ceable from the web page of DELNET. Thesedatabases can be searched online by participatinglibraries.

Digital library policy for India

The National Task Force on IT and SoftwareDevelopment (2003) has given some valuablerecommendations for development of digital li-braries in the country. These recommendationshave been covered in the report under the ITActionPlan (Part III) for the content creation and contentindustry. The salient features of the recommenda-tions are:

(1) A pilot project on digital library development,based on indigenous software, will be initiated.The project will be time-bound and imple-mented at one of the suitable existing librariesto serve as a model. The software so developedcan be distributed to other organizations toaccelerate the development of digital libraries inthe country.

(2) India is known for its rich and diverse culturalheritage. It also possesses a vast wealth oftraditional knowledge. These are mostly inIndian languages and should be promoted andpreserved for posterity. The government will there-fore take initiatives through appropriate projectsto create electronic images of information onIndian arts and culture for wider disseminationand research.

(3) It will be mandatory for all the universities ordeemed universities in the country to host everydissertation or thesis submitted for research de-grees on a designated website.

(4) National, regional and other public librarieswill be required to develop databases of theirholdings that will be hosted on a designatedwebsite for free access to users.

(5) An effective copyright protection systemis a prerequisite for development of creativeworks in electronic media. Therefore, the Indiancopyright law should be strengthened in thisdirection. Further, there is a need for globalharmonization of copyright laws. The con-clusion of the TRIPSs (Trade-Related Aspectsof Intellectual Property Rights) agreement andthe two WIPO (World Intellectual ProprietaryOrganisation) treaties will be adopted for suchharmonization.

From the points listed above it can be said thatthe nation is serious about digital library imple-mentation.

Problems associated with digital librarydevelopment in India

Many problems face DL development in India. Thelack of interest on the part of parent institutionsand the absence of action plans or priorities aremajor hindrances. Though the computer and com-munication infrastructure is improving considerablyin India, its availability for information-basedactivity is not appreciated to a noticeable extentby the higher authorities in organizations. Even inplaces where the infrastructure is available, thereis an acute shortage of competent manpower totake up the task of digitizing local content andcreating digital information repositories.

The students, faculty, curriculum and trainingmethodology at the disposal of India’s library schoolsmust be visibly improved to meet this challenge.Coupled with this should be steps to be taken toretrain the existing staff. The increasing interest inlibrary website development and the migration ofinformation sources and services to the Web shouldbe treated as stepping-stones in digital librarydevelopment. Libraries should judiciously utilizeenhanced information access options, such as Webaccess to subscribed journals. The digital resourcesthus accessed will contribute much to researchactivities in India by reducing some of the existingbarriers to information communication, such as timeand space. The growth of the software industry inIndia, as a result of a large increase in computerpenetration, a sudden increase in skilled manpowerand a sizeable improvement in communicationinfrastructure, should be channeled by concernedand authorized information professionals to createand maintain digital information facilities to usher inthe new information age.

Problems of the digital divide

Access to digital libraries is dependent uponhardware and software requirements. Therefore,the information is only available to people fromaffluent communities who meet the necessaryrequirements. As a result, information and knowl-edge sharing are not provided fairly, and all thepeople may not have similar qualities of informa-tion access.

Some hard realities about India:

(i) A quarter of the world’s poverty is in India.(ii) India is among the world’s lowest countries in

computer and Internet penetration:* 2.7 computer per 1000 people;* 0.2 Internet hosts per 1000 people.

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(iii) 350 million Indian children do not have accessto a computer, more than the entire popula-tion of the US.

(iv) The teledensity (telephone connection per 100persons) in India is 5.

Inadequacy of information for the ruralmasses

There are 600,000 villages in India. 240,000 of themdo not have proper roads, 180,000 do not haveprimary schools, 450,000 have inadequate drinkingwater, and 140,000 have no proper dwellingfacility. 70% of India’s population of one billionlives in villages. Lack of health education, poorcommunication infrastructure and unemploymentare problems plaguing Indian villages. The digitaldivide is nowhere more prominent than in India.The average literacy rate is 62.38%. 26.1% of theurban and 10.8% of the rural population havecompleted a minimum of ten years of schoolingand are capable of utilizing Information andCommunication Technologies (ICTs), including digi-tal libraries. The Internet is accessed by 0.37% ofusers in India, most of whom are from theprofessional and corporate sector or schools andcolleges in urban areas.

Bridging the poverty gap and decreasing thedigital divide requires all-round development. Anydevelopmental activity requires information, andadequate information for planners and for indivi-duals is simply not available. Villagers needinformation for agricultural production and market-ing their produce. Traditional library service needsto be supplemented by electronic resources makinguse of information technology, computers andcommunication. Most of the villagers still dependupon voice telephony as an important means ofinformation transfer.

Need of the hour

The time has come for a systematic approach inestablishing a digital library system in India. TodayIndia’s business and industry are much moreapproachable, as they have realized the true valueof research-oriented projects. In view of worldwidetrade competition, it is imperative that Indianindustry and business march hand in hand withresearch institutions and universities. Companies inthe new millennium have many challenges to faceFenvironmental protection, intellectual propertyrights, diversification, global competition and

opportunities due to liberalization of trade, man-agement of technical know-how and re-search activities. Competitive intelligence is thecutting edge of business, and this can only bediscovered if one properly applies infor-mation technology. A distributed network ofdigital libraries is an integral part of this de-velopment. There are already many discreteprojects on the digitization and distribution ofelectronic data underway in India, as has beendescribed in this paper. This initiative wouldconstitute a purposeful and systematic strategy tointegrate and build on these efforts throughactivities to resolve issues of governance, member-ship and funding to support a multi-faceted butcoordinated development.

The vision of Indian digital libraries shouldbe to create an Indian information infrastru-cture in which the resources of universities,governments, businesses and industry are linkedto form a cohesive national digitized informationservice. The service will provide seamless access tosources across different systems using a variety offormats, and thereby achieve cost-effective devel-opment of a more competitive Indian researchenterprise.

Conclusion

DL initiatives in India are still at a nascent stage ofdevelopment. With the advent of the Internet andWorld Wide Web, digital library development inIndia encounters new challenges. Digital libraryinitiatives in India began with the goal of preserva-tion of art, culture and heritage of the country. Thedigital environment in the Indian context is a newconcept that became a reality through projectsfunded by the government. The examples ofinitiatives given in this paper reflect a crosssection of the DL initiatives in India. The long-termnational IT policy shows us the commitmentof the government of India to providing infor-mation to users in digital form, and that theresponsibility of envisioning, developing and sus-taining functional hybrid and virtual library andinformation systems and services rests on thelibrary and information professions. The successfulimplementation of the INDEST Consortia in IITs,RECs and IIMs shows the progress of Indian digitallibrary initiatives. The CSIR e-journals consortiaalso show the benefits of DL initiatives. From theexamples of DL initiatives in India, it can be saidthat there are a few projects, such as TKDL and e-seva, that can develop into examples for others tofollow.

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References

National Task Force on IT and Software Development (2003).Special website on National Taskforce on InformationTechnology and Software Development. Retrieved December19, 2003, from http://it-taskforce.nic.in.

Products from CDAC-ERDC Noida (Mobile Digital Library [DwareDware Gyan Sampada]) (2003). EliteX2003, electronics &information technology exposition, April 28–29, New Delhi.

The Financial Express (2003) March 10.ICICI Knowledge Park (2003). Virtual information centre.

Retrieved December 19, 2003, from http://www.vic-ikp.in-fo/vic.htm.

Further reading

Acharya, P. (2003). Digital libraries. In Y. Singh, et al. (Eds.), Newchallenges in information management and e-learning in theage of globalisation-issues and opportunities: Proceedings ofthe SIS 2003, Vol. 1 (pp. 1–4). Roorkee: IIT Roorkee.

Arora, J., & Bhattacharya, P. (2002). Digital library developmentin India: A case study of the development at the CentralLibrary of IIT Delhi. In Proceedings of the NationalConference on Information Management in e-Libraries (IMeL2002), IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur.

Bhattacharya, P. (2002a). Digital information services: Chal-lenges and opportunities. Paper presented at the NIFM-MANLIBNET fourth annual national convention on paradigmof information technology: Application to Business andManagement Libraries, Faridabad.

Bhattacharya, P. (2002b). Dangers of digital divide: Chal-lenges for developing countries. In H. K. Kaul & M. D.Baby (Eds.), NACLIN 2002 (pp. 347–368). N. Delhi:DELNET.

Chadha, R. K. (2001). New technology and its impact oninformation management in Parliament. Paper presented atWorkshop on digital libraries: Content creation, access andmanagement, Delhi, December.

Chakraverty, R. (2003). Digital libraries: issues and future. In Y.Singh, et al. (Eds.), New challenges in information manage-ment and e-learning in the age of globalisation-issues andopportunities: Proceedings of the SIS 2003, Vol. 1 (pp. 25–39). Roorkee: IIT Roorkee.

Goswami, S. K., & Ghosh, B. K. (2002). Digital libraryenvironmentFIndian context. In A. Chatterjee, et al.(Eds.), Digital information systems and services (pp. 229–234). Kolkata: IASLIC.

Kalra, H. P. (2002). Are the Indian libraries waiting for the usersto force them to provide digital services? In A. Chatterjee,et al. (Eds.), Digital information systems and services (pp.51–54). Kolkata: IASLIC.

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