An Analysis of Digital Library initiatives in India

Abstract

The emergence  of Internet  has added a new dimension  to information  technology  which gave  birth  to  the  new  concepts  of  Digital  Libraries  (DLs),  Knowledge  Management  (KM),  and archiving  of  indigenous  culture  and  heritage  materials.  The  Digital  Libraries  have  emerged  as  a crucial   component   of   global   information   infrastructure,   adopting   the   latest   Information   and Communication  Technology  (ICT) to promote an organizational  structure that encourages communication  and resource  sharing  between  the academician  and scholars  across  the  nations.  In India, a number  of digital library initiatives  and digitization  programmers  have been initiated across the  country.   Most   of  the  digital   library  initiatives   are  government   funded.   The  Ministry   of Communications  and Information  technology  has also established  the Digital Library of India. This paper  discusses  various  problems,  challenges  and  issues  involved  in  design  and  development  of digital libraries in India.