Follow Us
Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, May 17
Established one year after the formation of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) in 1970, Bhai Gurdas Library, with over five lakh books in its five-storeyed inverted-pyramid shaped magnificent building, has come a long way in shaping career, besides being a guiding force in research.
Situated right in the middle of the university premises, its location accentuates the role it plays in higher education. Students from nearly 38 departments of the university and their teachers are among the regular visitors. In order to maximise its reach, it remains open from 9 am to 9 pm from Monday to Friday and its shuts at 5 pm on weekend.
However, the library has been without a full time professional head for the past two years. Its charge has been delegated to another university official.
The library has its own computer section and all its operations such as house-keeping, bibliographic services, cataloguing of new books, preparation of data base of books with complete bibliographical details of all books and serial control are carried out by computer section.
Bar-coding of books was done in order to make the circulation work fully computerised. It has prepared a number of databases of books, periodicals, manuscripts and others.
The library has prepared a database of books in English, Hindi and Punjabi languages in which newly procured books are immediately processed and their bibliographic description is added in the Ontime Public Access Catalogue (OPAC). It has spared two terminals for the readers to use OPAC for their search of books.
Microfilming facilities are available for academic and research purpose only. Microfilming of rare books and manuscripts is in process and so far 600 manuscripts has been covered under it.
Lamination of brittle manuscripts is carried out from time to time and fumigation chamber is available for chemical treatment of infected manuscripts.
Bhai Gurdas Library has a repository of about 3,000 rare manuscripts relating to Punjab History, Culture, Sikh religion and other faiths. These manuscripts are in Punjabi (Gurmukhi Script), Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian and Arabic languages.
Besides, it has more than 5,500 rare books. One of its important features is library orientation programme, which is arranged for the new students in the beginning of the session to familiarise them with library functioning.
In addition, almost all its departments have dedicated libraries to provide in-depth information to its students.
6
9