The college library has a different mission. Kaser (1976) traces
the mid-twentieth century pursuit of standards for college libraries, including
the compilation of several lists of recommended books. The Carnegie list, for
example, excludes books for graduate students or researchers, aiming to
“include only those books which the undergraduate student could reasonably be
expected to use in the pursuit of his work in courses commonly offered in the
various liberal-arts colleges and those additional books to which students
would go for their recreational and general reading”. Recent
literature also acknowledges a special role to the college library. Johnson points to limited storage space and increased online
availability of journals and reference materials as factors that discourage
these libraries from continually growing their collections. Instead, she says,
college libraries seek to develop and maintain “working collection[s] for
undergraduates.”
Undergraduate
libraries were not often discussed during the first part of the 20th century,
either here at the University of Wisconsin or nationally. It was thought that
the basic library collections were able to meet the needs of all users,
undergraduates, graduate students and faculty.
As a result of the rapid increase in the student population after World War II, undergraduate service became an issue for library and university administrators. With the growth of a complex research-oriented library and university system, undergraduate students were often bewildered. Huge card catalogues, closed book stacks and extensive reference materials overwhelmed new students, and many did not seek assistance.
ü Development
of college libraries up to 1950
Based on scattered reference available it can
be safely concluded that most of college and ‘Madarsas’ did have some collection of manuscript and books of the
time in their libraries. The Calcutta
Education Commission (called the Sadler Commission) appointed in 1917 in its
report has aptly summarised the state of college libraries as follows:
“From this point of view one of the greatest
weaknesses of the existing system is that extraordinary unimportant part in it
which is played by the library. Few colleges have good libraries. Even the
best, that of the Presidency College, is very defective at many points”.
The Radhakrishnan Commission on Higher
Education also found the state of development of college and university
libraries in general in the country not quite satisfactory. To quote from its
report:
“While at a few universities the libraries are well stocked, grants for their upkeep are more or less reasonable, arrangements for leading books to teachers and students are efficient and the reading room space is reasonably adequate, it was distressing to find that in most college and universities the library facilities are very poor indeed. Not only in provision of keeping the library up-to-date very inadequate but at one place no attempt had been made to weed out old and obsolete books or old editions and replace them with newer editions of the same books”.
ü Establishment
of the UGC: a turning point
Establishment of the University Grants
Commission (UGC) by a Statute in 1956 is an important landmark in the growth
and development of higher education in general and of university and college library,
in the country. UGC recognized the role of college and university libraries and
gave top priority for their development in 5-year Plans. Besides providing
financial assistance for books, library building, staff, etc. it provided
leadership and a forum for planning, discussion and action.
The first Chairman of the UGC, Dr. C D
Deshmukh was himself a scholar and lover of books. To give proper direction to
the development of college and university libraries he appointed a Library
Committee in 1957 ‘to advice the Commission on the matters relating to the
proper functioning and the management of the libraries’, with Dr. S. R.
Ranganathan and its Chairman.
The UGC Seminar of 1959 provided an opportunity to the university and college librarians for the first time to meet to discuss their problems and reach conclusions. The UGC has helped the universities and college libraries by giving grants amounting to lakhs of rupees for books, journals, buildings, equipment, etc, and for setting up text book libraries.
ü Present
scenario of college libraries in India
Education aims to impart knowledge and makes good citizens.
Libraries are the repositories of knowledge and form an integral part of
education. Libraries have a long history, starting with the chained and closed-access
libraries of earlier times to the present-day hybrid, digital, and virtual
libraries that use the latest technology for provision of information through
various services.
Accordingly, librarians have also changed from storekeepers who were concerned
with protection of books against theft, mutilation, and pilferage, to that of
information officers, navigators, and cybrarians who find themselves in the
vast ocean of reading material and are busy in satisfying their clients who
want anytime and anywhere information. With the advent of computers, the nature
of libraries has changed dramatically. Computers are being used in libraries to
process, store, retrieve and disseminate information. As a result, the
traditional concept of library is being redefined from a place to access books
to one which houses the most advanced media including CD-ROM, Internet, and
remote access to a wide range of resources. Libraries have now metamorphosed
into digital institutions. Gone are the days when a library was judged by its
quantitative resources. Today, libraries are surrounded by networked data that
is connected to a vast ocean of Internet-based services. Moreover, electronic
resources relevant to the professions are developing at an unprecedented pace.
Academic libraries are the nerve centres of academic institutions, and must
support teaching, research, and other academic programmes. The situation in
academic libraries of India is the same as that of academic libraries the world
over; however, Indian libraries must provide maximum information with limited
resources.
References:
1. shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/13007/10/10_chapter%201.pdf
2. www.library.wisc.edu/college/about-college/history-of-college-library/
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