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South Asia: Renovating the National Collection

A Guide to Selected Indian and Bangladesh Library and Information Resources


Humanities, Fine Arts and Languages

Ananthacharya Indological Research Institute
Asiatic Society Library
Bangla Academy
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)
Centre for Development Studies (Trivandrum)
Indian Council of Social Science Research and National Social Science Documentation Centre
Indian Institute for Population Studies (IIPS)
Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)
Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS)
Nehru Memorial Library & Museum
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)

Ananthacharya Indological Research Institute

G.D. Somani School Building
Cuffe Parade
Mumbai 400 005
INDIA

Telephone +91 22 218 4174:
Facsimile:
E-mail:
URL:

Contact Person/s:
Dr. G. K. Pai (Director)
Mrs Hema Balachandran (Librarian)

Institution

Background / History

The Institute was established in 1974 during the centenary celebrations of Jagadguru Ananthacharya Swami. It was recognized as a postgraduate centre by the University of Bombay in 1976. The Students are enrolled in Masters and Ph.D. programs. They also conduct the certificate and diploma courses in Sanskrit from the University of Bombay. The Institute has six full time research staff members, support staff and visiting professors. The Institute organizes seminars at the national and international level.

Funding

The Institute receives some assistance from the State and Central governments but relies mainly on private grants from the Indian Sri Venkatesh Devasthanam Trust, Fanaswadi, Mumbai/Bombay 2 and other private donations.

Library

The Library’s collection began with the collection of the eminent Sanskrit scholar Shri Krishnanamacharya Swami. The Library also services the Ananthacharya Indological Research Institute Post Graduate Centre.

Collection

The library has a valuable research collection of 11,000 printed volumes. Subjects are Sanskrit literature, religions, philosophy, Indian history, art, architecture, sculpture and painting, archaeology, nuministics, epigraphy, and iconography. Materials are in English, Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, French and Thai. The Library also has a valuable collection of 800 palm-leaf manuscripts on different subjects in Tamil, Grantha, Devanagari, and Telugu scripts. The collection includes 150 journals, research papers and the theses completed by former students. The Director and other academic staff select the titles to be added to the collection which grows by 200 to 300 titles each year. The classification system has been devised by the Library, however they are in the process of converting to Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).

Staff

There is one Librarian on the staff.

Services

Services include photocopying.

Automation

There are plans for automation but as yet these have not been implemented. The Library also plans to store and exchange information on ERNET (see entry).

Opening Hours and Access

Opening hours are 10:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday, and the second and fourth Saturday of each month 10:30 to 4;00 pm. They are open to enrolled students and other interested scholars from India and overseas. There is no charge. The Library cannot lend material overseas but is prepared to photocopy materials for genuine scholars and institutes.

Publications

They publish the scholarly papers given at its national and international seminars plus rare Sanskrit works with translations in English. A list of publications is available.

Documents Held by the Project

  • Catalogue of publications
  • Post graduate Centre guide

Asiatic Society Library

Town Hall
Mumbai 400 023
INDIA

Telephone: +91 22 2660956
Facsimile:
E-mail:
URL:

Contact Person/s: Dr D. R. Sar Desai

Institution

Background / History

The Society was instituted in 1804 under the name of the Bombay Literary Society for the ‘investigation and encouragement of oriental Arts, sciences and literature’. In 1830 it was incorporated into the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and in 1954 was renamed the Asiatic Society of Bombay.

The aims of the society are to encourage the study and research of Asian and Indian languages, philosophy, arts and the natural and social sciences. The society is committed to maintaining a library, museum and coin collection as well as sustaining an active publishing program.

At present there are plans to establish an Institute for Maharashtra Studies in the name of the late Maratha historian, Mr V. K. Rajwade. The Society aims to establish a chair in Maharashtra Studies and to publish a separate journal and a series of monographs.

Funding

Donations are received from the corporate sector and recent donors include the State Bank of India and Hindustan Lever Ltd. Other funds are raised from bank loans, membership fees, investments and from the sale of publications.

Library

Collection

The collection contains approximately 300,000 volumes including books, periodicals, newspapers and manuscripts. Subjects covered include Indology, Indian languages, religion, politics, art, architecture, history, literature, social sciences, philosophy and culture. The Library has a very valuable collection of Sanskrit and Prakrit manuscripts and is currently engaged in building up its collection of Marathi language materials.

The society has an active purchasing program and in 1995, bought over 1,000 books. In addition, the Library actively seeks gifts and exchanges from the personal libraries of scholars within its collecting guidelines. It also has an ‘Adopt a Book Scheme’ which allows book lovers to ensure the continued life of old and valuable books by financing the conservation or microfilming of one or more books.

The collection is catalogued and uses the Dewey Deceimal Classification (DDC).

Funding

Library funding comes from the Asiatic Institute and private donations, usually in the form of donated books.

Staff

The Librarian in charge is Mrs S. R. Vaswani. Additional staff comprises two professional librarians, four technical assistants, three clerical, five sorters and five mail and dispatch clerks.

Services

Services include: book loans to members; an inter-library-loan service (ILL); photocopying, bindery and microfilming. The Society also has its own laboratory to conserve and preserve old and valuable items. The Library has a beautiful reading room is currently refurbishing a Special Collections room which will house archival materials and rare books in a modern air-conditioned facility. The Special Collections room will also provide reference facilities for scholars.

Automation

The Library is not yet automated but does have an automation project . Hardware for the project has been purchased but software selection is not yet finalized. The Project will be undertaken in two stages. The first stage will include an On-line Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) and circulation module and should be completed within twelve months. The second stage will concentrate on automating other library functions.

Opening Hours and Access

For opening hours contact the society. Visiting scholars are allowed to use but not borrow from the collection for a payment of Rp. 100 per month.

Publications

The Society publishes its own journal as well as an annual report and other publications as submitted by members.

Documents Held by the Project

  • Society Rules and Regulations
  • Annual report 1995-96

Bangla Academy

Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue
Dhaka
BANGLADESH 1000

Telephone: +880 2 504122, 500131, 86 97 15
Facsimile:
E-mail:
URL:

Contact Person/s:
Subrata Barua (Director)
Mr Amilen Mahainien (Librarian)
Dr. Syed Anwari Husain (Director General)

Institution

Background / History

The Bangla Academy is Bangladesh’s national academy of arts and letters. It grew out of the national language movement. The building, Pardaman House was formerly the house of the Chief Minister of East Pakistan. On 21 February 1952 four protesters died in demonstrations about the use of Bengali. This was the immediate cause for the founding of the academy, which was set up in 1954 in memory of the martyrs. It works for the development of the Bangla language, literature and culture. It was formally launched on 3rd December 1955 under the auspices of the United Front Government. There are plans for a 21-storey complex to be constructed on the current site.

There are ten divisions: research, translation, compilation, publications and sales, culture and the library, finance and planning, establishment, folklore and textbooks. The Academy’s clients are research workers in the field of literary studies and the Bengali language.

Funding

The Academy is currently under the Ministry of Culture. In the past it was funded by the Ministry of Education.

Collection

The focus of this collection is Bangladesh studies, including folk-literature and culture with particular strengths in Bengali literature and history. The collection has 83,000 volumes all of which are catalogued. Access is by card catalogue only.

Included in the collection are copies of the more than 3,000 Bangla Academy publications, a reference collection which includes English language material, a separate collection of rare printed material over 200 years old, and one collection acquired from a Zamindar that includes 10,500 volumes. The books are kept on the ground floor and the bound periodicals are housed in a separate building.

Selection for the collection is based on first acquiring Bangladeshi books, then books in Bengali, then books on language and culture. The aim is to be as comprehensive as possible in their area. There is an annual budget of 100,000 Taka for books with an additional 50,000 Taka for journals. The academy also accepts donations.

Staff

There are 26 staff in the library including four professional librarians.

Services

No borrowing is allowed from the collection.

Automation

There are no plans to automate.

Opening Hours and Access

Contact library for details.

Publications

The Academy started publishing in 1962 and now has three publication divisions: language and literature, text-books produced for universities, either original works or translations and research, compilations or folklore. Since its inception it has published over 4,000 titles.

Documents Held by the Project

  • Booklet: Introducing the Bangla Academy

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS)

E-17 Agargaon
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar
GPO Box 3854
Dhaka
BANGLADESH

Telephone: +880 2 9118999
Facsimile: +880 2 813023
E-mail:Idc.bids@drik.bgd.toolnet.org
URL:

Contact Person/s: Nilufar Ashter (Chief Librarian)

Institution

Background / History

The Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies was previously known as the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. It moved from Karachi to Dhaka in 1973. BIDS undertakes basic research on development problems in Bangladesh and promotes study, research, and dissemination of knowledge in economics, demography, and other social sciences. It also provides training in socio-economic analysis and research methodology.

Library

The Library is considered to have one of the best and largest collections in the country in its subject area.

Collection

The collection has about 125,000 volumes. The Library is a depository for the World Bank and the United Nations University Publications. It uses Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC). BIDS maintain exchange relationships with 350 organizations around the world.

Services

The Library offers a range of services that includes current awareness, photocopying, inter library loans, preparation of directories and a reference service.

Staff

There are 17 staff members.

Opening Hours and Access

The Library is open from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm on all days except public holidays.

Outsiders are welcome to use the Library if they are students or researchers. They should have a letter of introduction from their institution. They are not permitted to borrow items from the collection.

Publications

The Library publishes a current awareness bulletin, a library bulletin, a World Bank bulletin and bibliographies on a range of topics.

Documents Held by the Project

  • Library and Information Centre guide
  • Publications list
  • Library Bulletin
  • World Bank holdings list
  • Current awareness service bulletin
  • Two papers by Acting Chief Librarian about Library networking in Bangladesh

Centre for Development Studies (Trivandrum)

Prasanth Nagar
Ulloor
Trivandrum 695 011
Kerala
India

Telephone: +91 8412 8881
Facsimile: +91 447137
E-mail: ssds@ren.nic.in
URL:

Contact Person/s: V. Ramakrishnan (Chief Librarian)

Institution

Background

The Centre is an autonomous research institution that was established in 1971. It was designed to promote research and teaching in the disciplines relevant to development.

The teaching programs include an M.Phil program in Applied Economics, a Ph.D. program and a post graduate diploma. They are affiliated with the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Funding

It is supported by the Government of Kerala, The Indian Council of Social Science Research and The Reserve Bank of India

Library

The library is open to staff, students, research workers, teachers and interested members of the public.

Collection

At present the collection includes over one hundred thousand titles including four hundred journal titles. The library appears to have a comprehensive collection of census materials. The Library also is the depository for several UN agencies.

Staff

There are twenty five staff listed in the Library guide.

Opening Hours and Access

The Library is open from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm each week day and from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm on Saturdays. On Sundays and public holidays the Library is closed.

The Library can be used by visiting scholars. They should apply to the Director of the Institute on a form that is available from them. The form includes a commitment to abide by the Library rules. In addition, scholars should also produce a letter of introduction from the Head of their institution. This letter must include an undertaking that the referee will be personally liable for any loss or damage caused to the Library on account of membership being issued on their recommendation. A passport size photograph is also required and a deposit of 100 rupees paid as well as an admission fee of fifty rupees.

Documents Held by the Project

  • Library Brochure
  • Annual report 1994/95

Indian Council of Social Science Research and National Social Science Documentation Centre

Indian Council of Science Research
35 Ferozeshah Road
New Delhi - 110 001
INDIA

Telephone: +91 11 3385959
Facsimile: 91 11 3388037
E-mail: tyagi@nassdoc.delnet.ernet.in
nassdoc@delnet.ren.nic.in
URL:

Contact Person/s: Dr K.G. Tyagi (Director)

Institution

Background / History

The National Social Science Documentation Centre (NASDOC), is a programme administered by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). It was established to provide library and information services to ICSSR. The ICSSR was set-up in 1969. The Centre is a member of Delnet, Inflibnet, Asia Pacific Information Network in the Social Sciences and International Federation of Library Associations, (IFLA).

Funding

Government of India.

Collection

No accurate figures are available on the collection strength of the ICSSR library except for the periodical subscription which stands at 1,300 active subscriptions. The library does, however, claim to have a comprehensive collection of doctoral thesis and research project reports in the area of social sciences. It also claims to have a significant collection of back-copies of social science periodicals. In total the collection is estimated to be approximately 150,000 volumes.

Staff

Approximately eighty staffed are employed at the ICSSR and NASDOC

Services

The National Register of Social Scientists in India. A database of social scientists which includes information on research interests, academic background, research publications and teaching interests. Consultancy Services in Data Processing. A service to social scientists wishing to include data processing in research projects. Bibliographical Services. Bibliographies are researched and prepared for bona fide scholars at nominal rates. Documentation Programme. This programme focuses on the compilation of indexes of Indian economic journals and political journals. Document Delivery and Photo Duplication Services. A service that sources and supplies documents or photocopies of documents to other libraries and institutions in India. Conference Alert. A publication available by subscription that lists social science conferences both within India and overseas.

Automation

Personal computers are in use, some with CD-ROM facilities and database software NASSDOC is also a member of Delnet which allows access to the Internet services including e-mail.

Access and Opening times

The library reading room is open from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Saturday except for Gazetted holidays. Access to visiting overseas scholars and researchers is available. However, scholars should contact ICSSR to ascertain current admission requirements.

Documents Held by the Project

  • NASSDOC: India’s Leading Resources Centre for Research and Innovation in Social Sciences, Promotional Brochure, 1996.
  • Conference Alert, no. 1., January - March, 1997, NASSDOC - ICSSR, Delhi.
  • ICCSR Newsletter, vol. 25 no. 1, January-March, 1996, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Delhi.
  • Indian Council of Social Science Research: Annual Report 1994-95.
  • Indian Council of Social Science Research, Information Booklet, 1995.
  • ICSSR Research Grants, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Delhi, 1996.
  • ICSSR Publications, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Delhi, 1996.
  • ICSSR Periodicals, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Delhi, 199?.

Indian Institute for Population Studies (IIPS)

Govandi Station Road
Deonar
Mumbai/Bombay 400 088

Telephone: +91 225563254-56
Facsimile: +91 22 556 3257
E-mail: iipsdata@iipsbby.ren.nic.in
URL:

Contact Person/s:

Institution

Background / History

The IIPS is a deemed university of India with a teaching and research role. Masters courses in population studies are available in situ or by correspondence. A degree in the social sciences or statistics is a pre-requisite. It also offers a diploma in population studies for SE Asian overseas students.

It has a Computer centre facilities and data centre which holds research and field information about the Indian population.

Staff

There are thirty five staff at the institute.

Funding

It is funded by the Indian Government with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) support. The insttutute also receives fellowship funding for the MA program from various sources.

Library

The IIPS Library is a small but comprehensive resource.

Collection

The collection is highly specialized focusing on resources to support research in to India’s population and demography. Selection is carried out through meetings of the faculty committees with the Institute’s Director having final veto. The Librarian has the authority to purchase population related works without consultation.

Opening Hours and Access

Contact library for details.

Publications

Surveys and analysis are published and these are available via the Internet.

Documents Held by the Project

  • Information Bulletin
  • Data Centre Details

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research

Gen Vaidya Marg,
Goregaon (East)
Mumbai/Bombay 400065

Telephone: N/A
Facsimile: N/A
E-mail:
URL:

Contact Person/s: Contact person Mr G.K.Manjunath (Chief Librarian)

Institution

Background / History

The advanced institute was established in 1987 and its role was subsequently extended to include post-graduate teaching with programs leading to Post-graduate diplomas and Doctorates. Programs include taxation and fiscal policy, economic theory, industry and industrial policy, industrial organization, energy and environment, poverty and public distribution, agriculture and food policy, rural development, macroeconomics and finance and development policy. The Institute is located on a pleasant fourteen acre site well beyond the Mumbai/Bombay airports.

Funding

Funding comes from The Reserve Bank of India

Library

Collection

The collection consists of 16,000 volumes of monographs, (annual acquisitions five thousand volumes); 12,000 working papers, 4,000 Serials (bound volumes); 500 current serial titles (430 current subscriptions) and fourteen CD-ROM databases.

Staff

There are two professional staff and two para-professional staff.

Automation

STARS software is used for the library system. The Local Area Network (LAN) has sixty workstations which provides all staff with access to the on-line public access catalogue (OPAC) and the CD-ROM network. The library also provides access to the Internet and there are plans to make the Library’s catalogue available on the Internet.

Opening Hours and Access

The library is open from 8 am until midnight. Contact the librarian for visiting scholar access.

Publications

The Library is responsible for the publications of the Institute, including the Report.

These publications are available on exchange.

Documents Held by the Project

  • Publications catalogue
  • Prospectus 1996
  • Fourth Report April 1993-May 1995

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)

C.V. Mess Janpath
New Delhi 110 001
INDIA

Telephone: +91 11 3386538, 3389535, 3389232
Facsimile: +91 11 381139
E-mail: murthy@ignca-ernet.in
URL:

Contact Person/s: Dr T.V.A. Murthy (Librarian)
A.P.Gakhar (Deputy Librarian)

Institution

Institutional Background / History

The IGNCA opened in 1986 as an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture and is designed as an information clearing house for the humanities particularly in the arts. It is serves not only the Indian community but also scholars from all over the world. The core of the material is Indian in content but the interests of the Centre spread out to encompass the rest of South Asia, East and West Asia and then the rest of the world including Australia.

IGNCA has five main divisions. The Indira Gandhi Kala Nidhi, a large multi-media collection for research in humanities and the arts. This division also includes the reference library. The Indira Gandhi Janapada Sampada, a core collection on the lifestyles of tribal communities. The Indira Gandhi Kala Kosa, publications division. The Indira Gandhi Kala Darsana, holds seminars, exhibitions, etc. The Sutradhara, the administrative unit of the Centre.

Funding

Block grant from Indian Central Government’s Ministry of Culture. The initial grant was invested and the Institute manages on the proceeds of this investment to this day. IGNCA has also attracted considerable overseas aid for special projects.

Library

The library is moving out of its temporary accommodation into new purpose accommodation by the end of 1997. Parts of the collection will come under ‘open access’ when the move is complete, however the personal collections will remain closed. There are plans to incorporate a bindery in the new building.

Funding

In previous years 4,000,000 Rupees was spent each year. Now the collection is established it has been reduced to 3,000,000 Rupees of which forty per cent goes towards journal subscriptions.

Collection

There are five discreet collections within the IGNCA. These are the General Collection, the Rare Book Collection, the Personal Collection, the Area Collection and the Audiovisual Collection.

The General Collection is a large collection of primary and secondary materials in the humanities and the arts. The collection includes books, microfiche , microfilms (14,000 roles), photographs (5000) audio cassettes (500), LP records (500) and slides. The library also subscribes to 450 journal titles. The library uses the LibSys automated library system and GIST fonts.

The rare book collection is held separately in a strong room. This collection consists of mostly 18th and 19th century and expensive materials, (for example, History of the Moguls written in 1671 and valued at 500,000 Rupees). Most of this collection is available in microform.

Within the Personal Collection there are a number of collections that have been donated to the centre. The personal collections include the Suniti Kumar Chatterjee Collection, A collection which of 20,000 volumes on linguistics, history, art, literature, and archaeology. The Acharya Harari Prasad Dwivedi Collection which consists of 10,000 volumes on Indian literature, religion, philosophy, history and science. The Thakur Jaideva Singh Collection has 1,100 volumes including an Encyclopedia of Religion and ethics and an encyclopedia of Buddhism. The Krishna Kripalani Collection which includes materials on Ghandhian studies, philosophy, history and Tagore. The Heeramaneck Collection which includes 2,500 books on Asian arts. The Lance Dane Collection on Indian art and architecture and the Chadurvedi Dwarka Prasad Collection which includes 12,000 books and 2,500 periodicals and Hindi books from the late 19th and early 20th century.

The Area Collections consist of a large collection (numbering over one thousand) of catalogues of manuscripts of Indic and Asian origin. In addition, there are two databases detailing the catalogue of manuscripts (MANUS) and a catalogue of catalogues (CATCAT).

A significant photograph and slide collection is under development with over one hundred thousand items available for viewing. These include slide collections from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Chester Beatty Collection, British Library and Oriental and India Office Collection.

Staff

The staff includes subject specialists, librarians and library assistants.

Services

IGNCA services include a mobile microfilming unit that will go and make copies of important materials and collections which cannot be moved. The Centre will duplicate and sell copies of their microfilms and fiche if permission of the copyright holder can be obtained. A photocopying service is also available.

Automation

Apart from library computerization, there are also several database and multi-media projects underway. These include: WWW Home page (with access to IGNCA catalogues); LMIS (Library Management and Information System); CATCAT (Database of Catalogues); MANUS (Database of Manuscripts); PICTO (Database of Art Objects); SOUND (Database of Sound Recordings); KK Terms (Database of terms from the Kalatattvakosa project); BIBL (Computerised Bibliography of project undertaken by IGNCA) and THES (Thesaurus of key terms from tribal languages).

Opening Hours and Access

Access is free to IGNCA members and research readers using the reading room for up to one week. Visiting scholars may apply for a Visitor’s Card costing 250 Rupees which allows access to both the reading room and library stacks. Applications must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from the scholar’s institution. IGNCA is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Publications held by Project

  • Handbook: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, 1994.
  • Cultural Informatics: using interactive multimedia to document cultural resources, Brochure
  • Vihangama: the IGNCA newsletter, vol. 3, no. 1, April-June 1995.

Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS)

79 Second Main Road
Gandhinagar Adyar
Madras 600 020
INDIA

Telephone: + 91 44 2351365 ext. 4400
Facsimile: +91 44 2350509
E-mail: Lib@iitm.ernet.in
URL:

Contact Person/s: Mrs S. Subbalakshmi (Librarian)
Ms R. Seetha (Deputy Librarian)

Institution

Background / History

The MIDS is a national institute for development studies, one of twenty such centres in India. The Institute was founded in 1971 by Dr Malcolm Adiseshiah. MIDS was reconstituted in 1977 as a national research institution within the framework of the Indian Council of Social Science Research. The Tamil Nadu Government and the Indian Council for Social Science Research jointly fund the Institute which is located on land gifted by the Adiseshiah family.

The institute undertakes research in the area of development problems with particular reference to agro-rural aspects of Tamil Nadu and the economically backward population of India in general. The institute offers a doctoral programme in Development Studies with an average of ten students enrolled at any given time. Students are registered with Madras University. The institute encourages inter-university cooperation, inter-disciplinary research and promotes an active seminar series. There are sixteen faculty members.

Funding

Fifty per cent of funding comes from the Tamil Nadu State Government and fifty per cent from the in Delhi. The grants allocated by the Council are matched by the State Government.

Library

Collection

The library is catalogued using transliteration schedules produced by the National Library of India and UDC classification. There is a card catalogue with a long term plan to automate. There is also a separate Tamil catalogue. The collection consists of over 190 journal titles and over 40,000 monographs. This is increased by about 1500 volumes per annum. However, due to budgetary constraints acquisitions have declined over the last three years.

The collection has a social and economic development subject focus with special collections in women’s studies and Indian government statistical information. There is, for example, a collection of Madras presidential census reports from 1871 to date (up to 1951 on microform; and 1961 in hardcopy). There is also a comprehensive collection of thesis from the institution as well as a select number from other institutions. Thesis are housed separately but included in the main catalogue.

Staff

Three professional and 3 non professional staff.

Services

The library offers a Inter-library loan (ILL) service via University of Madras. Photocopiers are available.

Automation

Funding restrictions has limited the level of automation, however the institute has e-mail and word processing facilities for administrative services.

Opening Hours and Access

The library is open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday; alternative Saturdays 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and closed on all Tamil Nadu holidays. Access is only available to Institute staff and students and Masters and PhD students from other Indian institutions. Overseas scholars and researchers can apply for Institute affiliation which allows access to the library for a fee of two hundred rupees. Contact the Institute for further details.

Publications

Review of Development and Change, (vol. 1, no. 1 January-June 1996) published by the Institute and available as an exchange title via the Library.

The Bulletin -Madras Development Seminar Series (monthly) ceased with the death of the editor Dr Adisesiah in late 1994. This was replaced by an in-house newsletter MIDS Communiqué

Documents Held by the Project.

  • Madras Institute of Development Studies: 1971-1995, Silver Jubilee Document, 1996.
  • Madras Institute of Development Studies: Annual Report 1995-1996
  • Review of Development and Change, vol. 1, no. 1, January-June 1996, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Madras, 1996.
  • Madras Institute of Development Studies: MIDS Publications 1971-1996.

Nehru Memorial Library & Museum

Teen Murti House
New Delhi 110 001
INDIA

Telephone: +91 11 3015333
Facsimile: + 91 11 3015333
E-mail:
URL:

Contact Person/s: Mrs. Kanwal Verma (Librarian)
S.K. Bhatnagar (Deputy Librarian)

Institution

Background / History

The Nehru Memorial Museum was established in 1964 and the Library in 1966. Both the Museum and library are located in Teen Murti House which was once occupied by the British Commander-in-Chief of the Delhi Garrison and later by Jawaharlal Nehru as his official prime minister’s residence. It was turned into a memorial after his death.

The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library are divided into the following divisions: Library; Manuscripts; Reprographics; Research; Publications; Oral History and the Museum.

Funding

Department of Culture.

Library

Collection:

The library is social sciences and modern India history research library. The role of the collection is to provide a comprehensive resource for the study of modern Indian history, politics, economics, religion and literary history. The library collects materials from the Rammohun Roy period to contemporary times with an emphasis on the Indian Nationalist movement. The collection is organised using the Colon Classification system and is catalogued under AACR2 rules. There is a card catalogue with no immediate plans for computerisation.

The three main collection consists of 192,000 books, 650 serials, 24 daily newspapers, 4,900 newspaper files, 88,000 photographs and negatives, Microfiche and Microfilms of newspapers, dissertations, private and institutional papers and rare publications.

The microfilm collection contains over 400 titles and is continually added to through an on-going microfilming project. The aims of project is to microfilm back-copies of national and regional newspapers in both English and Indian languages. The Indian language newspapers include those in Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada and Asamese. Copies of microfilms may be ordered from the library.

There is an on-going policy to actively collect relevant private papers of individuals and institutions concerned with the Indian Nationalist movement as well as the papers and archives of key figures in modern Indian history. There are over 700 collections mostly in English although some materials are in other languages such as Hindi and Urdu.

The photograph collection contains over 88,000 photographs and negatives of Nehru and other prominent Indian leaders. The collection also contains photographs of important national events and significant moments in modern Indian history. Photographs are all copied and the copies made available in albums to users. Copies can be made from master negatives on request. There is a limited index to the collection.

Staff

45 staff ( 18 professional and 26 non-professional). Most professional staff have a subject specialisation on modern India.

Services

Services include: microfilming of newspapers and other materials; photograph reproduction service; preservation service and a photocopying service.

The demand for the use of microfilm readers is very high and need to be reserved in advance. Bookings for readers can only be made on Fridays at 10:00 am. The photocopying service operates at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm each day and payment must be made in advance. Upto one third of a publication may be photocopied.

Opening times and access

Opening times are from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Saturday except for Gazetted public holidays. Bona fide scholars are admitted but need to apply for an admission card. To obtain an admission card scholars need to complete an admission form (available from the library) and produce a letter of introduction from their institution; preferably from a Head of Department. There is a nominal fee for use; currently Rs10 for one week, Rs20 for a month and Rs100 for a year. To gain access to the library, scholars need to show their admission card and sign the Attendance Register each day.

Publications

The Nehru Memorial Library and Museum publish bibliographies, catalogues of letters and papers, articles on modern Indian history and reports.

Documents Held by the Project:

  • Collection of Private Papers and Oral History Transcripts, 1994.
  • List of Holdings of Periodicals, 1993.
  • Rules and Regulations Handout.
  • Catalogue: Newspaper and Periodicals on Microfilim, 1989.
  • Select Articles on Modern Indian History, September 1996.
  • List of Publications published by the Nehru Memorial Library.

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)

Post Box 8313
Sion-Trombay Road
Deonar
Mumbai/Bombay 400 088
INDIA

Telephone: +91 22 5563289 - 96
Facsimile: +91 22 5562912
E-mail: tissbom@ren.nic.in
URL:

Contact Person/s: Dr. Muttayya Koganuramath (Librarian)
Anjali Monteiro (Reader and Head of Institute) K.P.Jayasankar (Senior Producer Audiovisual Unit)
Sudha Ganapathi (Assistant Manager - Publications)

Institution

Background / History

The Institute was founded 1936 with an emphasis on social work. After independence it became a Social Services Institute teaching in the fields of economics, criminology urban and rural community development and, more recently in the areas of personnel management and industrial relations. It was made a deemed university of the Indian Central Government in 1964.

The institute concentrates on research and postgraduate study. TISS has a number of special research centres which focus on women’s welfare, child welfare, AIDS education, labour studies and health administration. In addition, TISS also operates a rural centre, a centre in the main prostitution area of Mumbai/Bombay and child care centre which researches social and psychiatric health of children at children’s hospital.

Students

There are 380 students including approximately seventy postgraduate research students. The female to male student ratio is sixty five/thirty five. In addition, there other students undertaking short-term certificate courses. Student positions at TISS are very competitive with an entrance requirement based on academic record, examinations and interviews. The language of instruction is English.

Funding

The institute’s recurrent budget is funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The Tata Trust provides some facilities and development funds and students pay nominal fees.

Audiovisual production department

This active and innovative department produces audiovisual materials on social issues, teaches media studies and undertakes media research. The department has an emphasis on quality and this, coupled with a small budget, results in only two to three productions a year. Most of the videos are produced in English although some dubbing into Indian languages is undertaken.

Audiovisual materials from the department are distributed widely in India but not outside of India. The videos have to be ordered direct from TISS as there is no central agency for the sale and marketing of academic videos in India. However, there is a Consortium for Educational Communication whose members are required to produce about one video a month. For this reason TISS are not members as it is thought that this would impact on the quality of materials produced. The price in India for videos produced by TISS is about five hundred rupees for a forty to sixty minute video.

Library

Collection

There are 24,500 volumes in the collection of which, one quarter is fully catalogued and is available via an On-line Public Access Catalogue (OPAC). In addition, they have an audiovisual collection which is split between the library and publications department. There is a separate catalogue of this collection.

The library has a cooperative arrangement with the Institute for Population Studies (see separate entry) for the purchase of journals.

Services

Library services include photocopying and inter-library loans which is operated via the Mumbai/Bombay Library Network for inter-library loans. This service is assisted by the national university network INFLIBNET. (See separate entry.)

Automation

TISS over the last four years has been operating the SLIM (version two) system as their library management system. All acquisitions since 1993 onwards have been catalogued using SLIM and are available on-line. Cataloguing is assisted by the use of CD-Roms of bibliographic data from other Indian libraries. Examples of these CD-Roms include, SUCHAK for the social sciences and CDS/ISIS which lists some over one thousand journal items with Mumbai/Bombay library holdings.

Opening Hours and Access

The Library is open every day of the year except public holidays. It is open from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm from Monday to Friday; 9.00 am to 5.00 pm on Saturdays and 9.30 am to 1.00 pm on Sundays. Visiting scholars who wish to use the Library must obtain permission from the Librarian. They will need a letter of introduction from their institution and must pay a fee of five rupees per visit.

Publications

TISS publishes the quarterly Indian Journal of Social Work which has been published uninterrupted for almost fifty years. The Library uses this publication extensively for exchange agreements with over 120 organisations. In addition to the journal, TISS also publishes small print runs of monographs. These publications are desktop published in-house before being sent out for printing

Documents Held by the Project

  • Information on MA Degree programmes 1997-98
  • Prospectus for MA programmes 1996-1997
  • List of special issues of Indian Journal of Social Work
  • Library guide
  • Publications list
  • Computerisation and modernisation guide for library
  • Reflections of my Family produced by the Audiovisual unit
  • Audiovisual unit guide
  • Resource guide to videos and films

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Last updated 23 December 1998
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