History of Academic Libraries in India - EPG

Where is Taxila University, the oldest university in the world, located?

a) Eastern India 

b) Central India 

c) North-west India (now in Pakistan) 

d) South India

Which subjects were included in Taxila University's excellent library? 

a) Physics, Chemistry, and Biology 

b) Buddhism 

c) Political Science, Literature, Medicine, Hinduism and Philosophy 

d) Mathematics and Astronomy

What ancient civilization was the city of Gandhara associated with? 

a) Mesopotamian Civilization 

b) Egyptian Civilization 

c) Indus Valley Civilization 

d) Harappan Civilization

What is the modern-day location of the ancient city of Gandhara? 

a) India 

b) Bangladesh 

c) Pakistan 

d) Afghanistan

Who provided detailed accounts of Nalanda University during the 6th and 7th centuries A.D.? 

a) I-tsing 

b) Brahmanical Scholars 

c) Hiuen-tsang 

d) Sanskrit Grammar Experts 

What was the primary emphasis of learning at Nalanda University? 

a) Brahmanical learning 

b) Secular knowledge 

c) Mahayana learning (the Great Vehicle)

d) Vedas and other religious books 

What was the geographical location of Nalanda University in relation to Patna? 

a) North-east 

b) South-east 

c) North-west 

d) South-west 

Where was the Nalanda University Library situated?

   a) Dharmaganja

   b) Ratnasagara

   c) Ratnodadhi

   d) Ratnaranjaka

What were the names of the three huge buildings that comprised the Dharmaganja?

   a) Ratnasagara, Ratnodadhi, Ratnaranjaka

   b) Dharmaganja, Ratnasagara, Ratnodadhi

   c) Ratnodadhi, Ratnaranjaka, Dharmaganja

   d) Ratnaranjaka, Ratnasagara, Dharmaganja

Which building among the three was a nine-storied building?

   a) Ratnasagara

   b) Ratnodadhi

   c) Ratnaranjaka

   d) Dharmaganja

What kind of works were housed in the nine-storied building?

   a) Philosophical treatises

   b) Rare artifacts

   c) Manuscripts and rare sacred works

   d) Historical documents

Explanation:  Manuscripts and rare sacred works like Prajnaparamita Sutra, etc.

What does "Dharmaganja" mean in English?

   a) Sacred Garden

   b) Piety Mart

   c) Treasure Trove

   d) Knowledge Haven

 

Which of the following works was NOT housed in the Ratnasagara building?

   a) Prajnaparamita Sutra

   b) Ratnodadhi Manuscript

   c) Manuscripts of ancient Indian texts

   d) Rare sacred works

1. What subjects were covered in the library at Nalanda?

a) Mathematics and Geography

b) Philosophy and Religion

c) Military Strategy and Warfare

d) Economics and Politics

2. Which philosophy was specialized in by the University of Nalanda?

a) Vedanta

b) Samkhya

c) Mahayana

d) Dharmasastras

3. Until what century did the library of Nalanda flourish?

a) 10th century A.D.

b) 12th century A.D.

c) 15th century A.D.

d) 17th century A.D.

4. Who sacked the University of Nalanda and its library, causing its decline?

a) Alexander the Great

b) Genghis Khan

c) Bakhtiyar Khalji

d) Ashoka the Great

Explanation: library flourished down to the 12th century A.D. until Bakhtiyar Khalji sacked it in 1197-1203 A.D. and set fire to the establishment of Nalanda.

LIBRARIES IN MODERN INDIA (1757-1947)
During the British rule in India, a number of academic institutions were established by the East India Company, and by the Christian missionaries. Jonathan Duncan, a British agent at the time, built the Benaras Sanskrit College in 1792 after the founding of the Calcutta College in 1781.

The Calcutta Fort William College was founded in 1800.

The Charter Act of 1813, the founding of Fort William and Serampore Colleges, the establishment of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay universities and their libraries, the Hunter, Raleigh, and Calcutta University Commissions library training programs, and the creation of the Inter University Board are significant turning points, particularly in the context of academic libraries. 

Academic Library

    Education and library are the two faces of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other. Hence, an academic library is an integral part of any institution of formal education. It supports the teaching-learning process of the institution it is associated with. Academic library can be defined as "a library which is associated or attached with any educational institution to support its educational programmes".

 

    The library collection is developed depending upon the nature of the institution and its academic programmes. The students, teachers, research scholars, administrative staff and other staff members of the institution are the users of the academic library. The needs of these users dominate the collection of an academic library. The number, qualities and qualifications of the library staff of an academic library differ on the basis of the type of academic library, its users and the services, it provides.

 

Objectives of Academic Library

The objectives of an, academic library are to:

(i) serve the needs of the academic community;

(ii) collect and store all kinds of reading and reference material;

(iii) provide all kinds of informational materials to support the curricular requirements of the institution;

(iv) provide supporting materials for extra curricular activities;

(v) provide reading rooms for users;

(vi) render lending service appropriate to students, teachers and researchers

(vii) provide an active reference and information service.

Types of Academic Library

Broadly, there are three types of academic libraries. These are:

 

• School library
• College library
• University library
• School Library

 

    The school library is a library attached to or associated with a school to support the education system of the school. It caters to all the informational needs of the students, teachers and staff of the school. In India, there are four levels of school: primary, middle, secondary and senior secondary. The government and the agencies responsible for developing and supporting school education in India, have a policy that the school of all levels should be supported by a school library. Because of this, even primary schools are being supported by a library to serve the needs of its students, teachers and other staff members.

 

Objectives of School Library

The objectives of a school library are to:

(i) support the education programmes of the school;

(ii) awaken and foster interest in reading books and create reading habits among students;

(iii) nurture good moral values and principles in students to create refined and responsible citizens;

(iv) develop self-learning skills and interest in using library for solving problems;

(v) provide information on further study and vocation;

(vi) help teachers to improve their teaching skills;

(vii) inculcate communication skills through extra curricular activities like story telling, viewing and discussions on audio-visual programmes, workshops, etc.

 The school libraries of all levels have almost same set of objectives as mentioned above.

 

Functions of School Library

     The school library of all levels should develop the collection of information material to satisfy the objectives mentioned above. Apart from developing suitable collection of inspiratory, informatory and recreatory books and other materials, the academic library is supposed to perform the following functions:

(i) Lending of books and other materials;

(ii) Reading rooms with suitable furniture and lighting;

(iii) Reference services;

(iv) Guidance, counselling and advisory services.

 

College Library

The library associated with college caters to the informational needs of the college community- students, teachers, staff of the college and alumnus. The library help in the expansion of knowledge and satisfies the quest for knowledge.

 The modern society has different types of colleges. These are:

(i) Junior college;

(ii) Degree college;

(iii) Postgraduate college;

(iv) Professional college and technical college.

Objectives of College Library

The objectives of the college library, of all categories of colleges, are to:

 (i) give the students, a wider and deeper understanding of the various disciplines;

(ii) help in all the educational programmes of the college;

(iii) provide guidance to students for higher studies and self-learning; (iv) prepare the students for shouldering higher responsibilities in government departments, civic organizations, commercial establishments, business and industries, etc; 

(v) prepare them for varied professions like law, medicine, engineering, technology, etc;

(vi) train them to become more enlightened, knowledgeable and responsible citizens; and

(vii) keep informed the teachers with latest updates in their respective subject area.

 

Functions of College Library

The functions of a college library can be listed as:

(i) developing collection of textbooks, related books, books of general knowledge, reference materials and audio-visual materials to support educational and instructional programmes of the college;

(ii) procuring popular magazines, newspapers and scholarly journals to support students and teachers in acquiring deeper knowledge their subject area and general knowledge about their surroundings;

(iii) making the library resources accessible through proper classification, cataloguing and shelving;

(iv) providing physical facilities such as functional building, furniture, equipment, reading rooms, etc. ;

(v) preserving previous years' question papers to help the students in preparing for examinations and assessments;

(vi) developing collection of inspiratory materials like fiction, poetry, biographies, travel-books, etc. 

(vii) organizing orientation programmes for new students to make them aware of the facilities and resources available in the library.

 

University Library 

The university library is an integral part of a university. The academic programmes of a university covers a wide range of disciplines and subjects. The modern universities are offering a number of academic programmes which are multi-disciplinary in nature. Apart from the academic programmes, scholars of the universities undertake research projects for acquiring degrees such as PHd, DLit, etc., as well as for the discovery and invention of new theories, principles and technology for the sake of society or for solving the problems of the society. Hence, a library becomes an essential component of the university to support its academic and research activities. 

Because of the responsibilities a university library shoulders, it is considered the heart of a university, around which teaching and research revolves. According to the Association of University Teachers, "the prime function of the university library is to provide facilities for study and research for the members of its own institution".

 

Objectives of a University Library

The objectives of a university library are to:

(i) provide facilities for all teaching, learning, educational, and research programmes of the university;
(ii) satisfy informational needs of the students, teachers and researchers of the university;
(iii) inspire the teachers and researchers of the university to undertake research works for generating new knowledge to improve the quality of life of the people;
(iv) provide latest knowledge to the teachers in their area of teaching and research; and
(v) conserve knowledge and ideas for posterity.

Functions of a University Library
The major functions of the university library to fulfil its objectives are to:

(i) develop collections on a wide range of subjects for learning, teaching, research, publication, etc.;
(ii) organize and store the library collection with proper classification, cataloguing, shelving, etc to make the collection easily accessible to the users;
(iii) acquire materials such as books, journals, periodicals, newspapers, and others sources of information to provide latest information and knowledge on the concerned subjects;
(iv) provide reference, information and documentation services to the university community to keep them up-to-date in their area of study and research;
(v) keep pace with the development in the library management system and application of new technologies to provide better library services to the users.

 

International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD)

    

 For a larger collection, more elaborate cataloguing rules are required. Users do not want to examine hundreds of catalogue entries or dozens of library items to find a single library holding. Currently, most cataloging rules are similar to, or even based on, the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD), a set of rules produced by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to describe a wide range of library materials. IFLA's ISBD Review Group is responsible for maintaining the ISBD. It helps to create a bibliographic description in a standard, human-readable form, especially for use in a bibliography or a library catalogue. The chief purpose of the ISBD is to provide a standard form of bibliographic description that could be used to exchange records internationally. These rules organise the bibliographic description of an item in the 

following areas:

1) Title and statement of responsibility (author or editor)

2) Edition

3) Material specific details (for example, the scale of a map)

4) Publication and distribution

5) Physical description (for example, number of pages)

6) Series

7) Notes, and 

8) Standard Number (ISBN) 

Each book, while, being enlisted in the catalogue has to be described individually. This 

description is called a record of the document. An entry is a single record of a document. 

Entries are prepared by different cataloguing Rules/Methods/Codes. Two methods used 

by most of the libraries in the world are:

AACR-2

MARC 21

The most commonly used set of cataloguing rules in the English speaking world are the 

Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd Edition, or AACR-2 for short.

Note: ISBD (s) Estd. 1974.

ISBD: International Standard Bibliographic Discription. Developed in 1969 -by IFLA.

ISBD 1st ed. - ISBD(M) M- monographic - Appeared: 1971, Published in 1974.

ISBD (CR): CR - Continuing Resources (2002)

ISBD (PM): PM: Printed Music - 1980.

ISBD (G) : G: General- 1977. It's a foundation of AACR-II.

ISBD (NBM) : NBM: Non Book Meterial - 1977

SLA : Special Libraries Association

 SLA : Special Libraries Association

SLA [Special Libraries Association] was founded in 1909 in the United States by a Group of Librarians Working, Led by John cotton Dana, Who Served as the First President of SLA from 1909 to 1911. It is Headquartered in Mclean, Virginia [ Washington ] USA. 

Tagline of SLA  : 

“ Connecting People and information “

OR

   “ Connecting Information Professional ”

Slogan / Motto of SLA :

"Putting Knowledge to work" was the first Slogan of SLA after its inception in 1909. 

Publications :

SLA Publishes "Information Outlook" [Formerly Special Libraries], a Bimonthly Online Professional / Trade Magazine Since 1997. 

Award : 

1. John Cotton Dana Award [1979] for A Lifetime of achievement as well as Exceptional Service to Special Librarianship. 

2. The John Cotton Dana Award is SLA's Highest honour. 

APUPA pattern

Dr. Ranganathan revolutionized classification in the early 20th century by proposing a dynamic and nuanced system, which could easily adapt to new subjects and incorporate more details and sub categories. One of his ideas was the Alien-Penumbral-Umbral-Penumbral-Alien, or APUPA system/pattern. It classifies material, based upon, how closely they relate to a specific topic. He created the APUPA pattern as a method of classifying books and documents based on their relevance to the searcher.

As per this method, documents are classified into three categories, that is, Alien, Penumbral and Umbral. Here, an Umbral document implies a relevant document, which is of main interest to the members of a library. A Penumbral document is meant for the marginal interests of the readers. This type is partially relevant and in some way or the other related to an Umbral document. An Alien document is non- relevant and thus, not required by the

reader. So, we can recognize the pattern which indicates that every helpful sequence of

book is Alien- Penumbral- Umbral- Penumbral- Alien, i.e., the APUPA arrangement.

The APUPA pattern, thus, arranges the most relevant documents at the center, documents

of marginal relevance on both sides of the relevant document and the totally disconnected

documents are far from the center. This is the best way to maintain filiatory sequence. The

filiatory sequence implies the placement of all the entities of a field of knowledge in a

definite sequence, in one line, according to the degree of their mutual affinities. A helpful

sequence therefore, is said to be the one which follows the APUPA pattern. APUPA

patterns are dynamic. Any book or other resource within a classification scheme can be an

Umbral source and any resource can also be Penumbral or Alien, depending upon the

subject.

As mentioned above, this sequence puts the most relevant records in the centre. The records

which are connected with it are placed before and after it; and those which are totally

disconnected are put at a distance from the Umbral. It is this kind of an APUPA

arrangement, which gives the reader great satisfaction. If it manages to do so, then it is said

to be in full conformity with all the Five Laws of Library Science.

Example: If a user is seeking a book on 'growing oranges', that book is the Umbral source. Books about 'packing and transporting oranges'; a related topic but not exactly the same are Penumbral sources. Books about setting up industry for bottling orange juice would be Alien, or unrelated sources.