No computers no broadband = e-library

It seems the 'e' in the 'e-library' at Vidhana Soudha — inaugurated two months ago by none other than chief minister Jagadish Shettar — stands for 'empty' rather than 'electronic'. How else can you explain the fact that the library has no computers, not to mention a broadband connection.

The library, also inaugurated by the then governor TN Chaturvedi on March 3, 2006, was established to provide all the information our netas would need to actively participate in the debates in the assembly.

According to sources, the state government has spent more than `1 crore for the renovation and upgradation of the e-library. There is a provision to install 50 computers to enable the legislators to have access to government documents and the proceedings of the assembly. The authorities concerned have made arrangements to put up tables and chairs to accommodate 50 legislators at a time. However, not even a single computer has been installed at the e-library. “We have already sent a proposal for this purpose to the authorities concerned. We are expecting to attend a meeting on September 25 to discuss this issue,’’ said Anasuya Devagiri, chief librarian.

Sources have revealed that the department concerned was not able to install the computers since the e-library has no broadband facility. It has also been said that the department concerned had prepared e-mail addresses of all legislators more than a month ago but only a few had bothered to collect them. “There was a broadband facility but it was damaged while renovating this chamber. Officials from the e-governance department made a few visits but could not able to find a solution till now,’’ said an employee.

As of now, there are around 20 employees at the e-library. They do not have much to do. One can see the chairs meant for visitors always empty. “Not many people visit this library. A few legislators visited the library during the first two weeks of its inauguration. We can expect legislators to visit during the assembly session. We are yet to maintain a visitors register,’’ said another employee.

Om Prakash, secretary, Vidhana Soudha, said that all facilities would be made available as early as possible. “Efforts are being made to install computers and restore the broadband facility at the e-library within a few days,’’ said Prakash.

Karnataka Assembly secretariat now has e-library

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly secretariat has set up an e-library, with a collection of more than 3 lakh titles, for the benefit of legislators and research students. The library has collection of assembly proceedings, records pertaining to governments several decades back, and thousands of other books.

Inaugurating the library on Wednesday, speaker KG Bopaiah advised legislators to make better use of the library and come prepared to participate in assembly debates. Research students too can avail of the facilities of the library, he added.

The library division of the the Karnataka Legislative Assembly secretariat has made available all the proceedings of the house to the visitors. The library has more than 49,000 honorary copies, 8,841 reports, 19,600 proceedings of both the houses of state 

legislature and 1.30 lakh books and periodicals. The library has also collection of 10,000 volumes of vernacular literature. The state had recently celebrated the 60th year of the legislative assembly. The first session of the assembly was held in 1952.

Chief minister Jagadish Shettar on Wednesday inaugurated the renovated library, located in the ground floor of Vidhana Soudha. 

The library department of the secretariat will establish a separate division on Gandhian literature.

More News at : DNA India

Karnataka Vidhan Soudha Lbrary upgraded

A renovated library for legislators was inaugurated by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar in the Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday. 

The existing library, in room 28 of the Vidhana Soudha, has been provided high-speed internet facility and has also been centrally airconditioned. It has a collection of 1.3 lakh books, reports of various commissions, compilation of government orders and gazetteers.

It also subscribes to 47 periodicals. The process of digitising various reports in the library is in progress. D H Shankaramurthy, Chairpeson of the Legislative Council, said academicians and research scholars can make use of the library on request.


More News at :http://www.deccanherald.com/content/268616/soudha-library-upgraded.html

Karnataka Legislative House library to get facelift to lure back legislators

The musty smelling State legislature library, rarely visited by its members, is undergoing a transformation. The aim is to motivate the legislators to make use of the library’s literature, archived from 1879 onwards.

The library, which comprises books on the Constitution, law, political science and history, is available to the members of both the Legislative Assembly and Council. However, due to lack of a proper reading area, apart from other constraints, the library is not a favourite among many.

To make up for this shortcoming, the secretariat has decided to modernise the library at a cost of Rs one crore, said Council Chairman D H Shankarmurthy, who performed the ground-breaking ceremony in Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday. Upgrading of the library will take place in the existing space on the ground floor of the legislature. Here, a general reading area for about 40 people will be created, along with small cubicles with airconditioning. This space will be reserved for the legislators.

While the Public Works Department will take up the civil works of the library, Godrej has been awarded the contract to furnish the library. Shankarmurthy said his secretariat was inspired by the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai, which is said to be Asia’s largest modern library, Technical advisor for the library, Vasudev Rao said efforts were also on to digitise the library, starting with committee reports, commission reports, reference books and select Parliamentary books that are frequently referred to by the readers. 

He said plans were afoot to install a common screen inside the House, where digitised records/books/reports can be displayed for the benefit of the entire House. The modernisation works are expected to be completed by the end of May and the digitisation process by June, Rao said.

There are 49,768 books in the library. Of these, 20,300 contain debates and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly and Council between 1879 and April 2007. There is a collection of about 12,500 Lok Sabha debates from 1955 to 2007 and about 12,300 Rajya Sabha debates from 1953 to 2007. There are about 12,300 Central gazettes from 1935 to 2009; 12,750 State gazettes from 1952 to 2009; 550 volumes of House of Commons debates; and 350 volumes of House of Lords debates. The library subscribes to 43 daily newspapers, apart from weekly, monthly, fortnightly and complimentary magazines.

In all, the total number of books include - those in the library section, Legislators Home library, reading room -  and research and reference books stood at three lakh.

SOURCE: DECCAN HERALD, Wednesday 11 April 2012, News updated at 9:55 AM