HAVING already hooked on to the Wi-Fi bandwagon, the University of Pune (UoP) is on course for its next tech venture: an e-library that will make over 4,000 journals available to students and researchers at the click of a mouse. The Rs 30-lakh project undertaken by the Jaykar Library of the University of Pune will soon be functional.
‘‘As part of the US-based Carnegie Mellon University’s ‘Universal Digital Library Project’ more than 2,000 books in Jaykar Library have already been scanned. Already, over 800 of them have been uploaded on the global information knowledge superway,’’ chief librarian S K Patil said.
In fact, the local researchers have also been demanding high-speed connectivity and networking facility at the campus. ‘‘The new e-library will make world-class journals available to the local researchers. Most of them will be on science-related subjects,’’ Patil said.
He said the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is the nodal agency for Universal Digital Library project. ‘‘Along with Hyderabad University and University of Tirupati, IISc has identified UoP as the content provider for the project,’’ Patil said.
Uinversity of Pune has also reaped in the benefits of the INFLIBNET project that is being implemented countrywide. ‘‘More than 4,000 e-journals are being made available to the university under this project,’’ he said.
However, the facility will not be free of cost but comes at a nominal charge. ‘‘Like any other cyber cafe, we will charge a nominal fee of Rs 10 per hour for use of the e-facility. We will also be providing printer facility for the researchers,’’ he said.
And if there is a concern of power cuts eating into precious hours of the students and researchers time, Patil has a solution for it too. ‘‘The e-library will have a three-hour back up,’’ he said.
Of the Rs 30 lakh, former home secretary B G Deshmukh has made a donation of Rs 20 lakh in the name of wife Vijaya towards the e-library project.
No e-mails
IF you thought opening of the e-library would make it easier to chat and send e-mails, wait a minute. For, it is an absolute no when it comes to sending emails and chatting. ‘‘Although educational institutions are now being empowered with the e-knowledge tools, a recent study undertaken by the University Grants Commission has revealed that only 26 per cent of the students and researchers actually make use of the facility and that too, for only e-mail and chatting. So, at the Jaykar e-library all facilities to send e-mails will be blocked. The e-library will be a knowledge centre and not a cyber cafe,’’ Patil added.