Electronic library: A TERI experiment

Abstract

Electronic library provides access to richer content in a more structured manner and allows us to search for any word or phrase in the entire collection. The need is to provide online easy, ceaseless access, with multiple users read facility to electronic collections from researchers' desktop or from remote Internet computers. It also helps save researchers' and library's time with improved quality. In TERI, except the Digitization of documents, unless demanded, all other forms of Electronic sources have been taken care of. The activity started with various virtual ELs i.e. Internet sources, together, has now crystallized to more or less a full-fledged EL that can be browsed as well as searched in a database. Electronic Services like Current Awareness and Alerts services apart from establishing a Virtual Information Centre has further supplemented the EL. Physical Electronic Library has been created to address the access to all the LAN connected systems that provides CD-ROM access and journals downloaded and placed on the server for all time free access. Once any document or journal is downloaded and linked, it is announced by e-mail for the user access. Users' views have been incorporated to make the system user friendly, leading to the higher rate of user satisfaction and increased information usage. Future plan is to make the whole resources dynamic in nature. The whole resources are maintained in a database. It can be said that the future of Library has no escape from than to the Electronic Library.