Central Library

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The Central Library of IIT Kharagpur started in a small room of the Institute old Building (Shahid Bhavan) in the year 1951, and moved to its present premises in 1956. Since then, it has grown in size and content to take the present shape. With the developments in computers, microelectronics and communication technologies, the behavioral characteristics of the information seekers have been changing rapidly and the library is trying its best to adapt with the technological advancement. For the last six decades, the library has been the lifeline of the academic activities of the Institute. It is no exaggeration to state that the Central Library of IIT Kharagpur is one of the largest and finest technical libraries in Asia. It has been catering to the needs of our students of undergraduates, postgraduates, research scholar, faculty members and staff members of the various departments, centers, schools and research facilities.

Library Collections

Library Collection (print and e-resources): The Library is having a collection of more than 2.7 Lakh Books, providing access to over 24,700+ online full- text journals and several abstracting databases and besides, there are 2 Lakh+ e-books. The collection consists of Books, Back-volumes of Periodicals, Theses, Conference Proceedings, Standards, Reports, Microforms, and CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Databases and Audio-visual materials. The Library has two buildings, the Main Building and the Annex Building. Books, Theses and Standards are kept in the Main Building. Current Periodicals, Bound Journals, CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Databases and lecture of various video courses are kept in the Annexe Building.

Library Sections:

Acquisition Section: The Acquisition Section collects requests for books from the faculty, interacts and places orders with the suppliers.

Circulation Section: The issue & return of books are done in the circulation section. All the IIT employees, students and faculties are eligible for library membership.

Console Room: Library Servers: The Console Room hosts all the servers 1. Library Automation Server 2. Library Web Server 3. Institutional Digital Repository Server 4. CCTV DVR Servers 5. Backup Servers

Current Periodical Section: The Current Periodical Section maintains a large collection of over 24,700+ journals and periodicals including print and digital versions. Now it is venturing into Open Access Journals. It also has access to various e-journal archives.

Digital Library: Digital Library provides a wide array of services to assist the members of the library with accessing the subscribed e-journal, e-database and other software. DL staff members provides online research services allowing patrons to pose questions and get answers. Database support for Turnitin, Grammarly, CMIE and other available databases.

Technical Processing Section: Technical Processing Section plays a key role to function the library. It makes a bridge between the acquisitions of documents to the Circulation. The Technical Processing Section involves to classify & catalogue the resources acquired in the central library.

Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Section: It makes a bridge between the research scholars who will submit their PhD thesis in the central library. The ETD section is located in the "Technical Processing Section" of the Central Library. The section plays a vital role in running the thesis submission process smoothly.

Library Infrastructure/ Facilities:

AR/VR Facility: VR facility enables the students to access a wide range of virtual reality educational content, including videos, interactive activities, simulations, and more. Students may develop their own VR content and test them.

Document delivery (DDS): It is a library service which collects soft-copy of the book chapters or journal articles as required by our users and then emails them to the concerned user.

Faculty publications (Books) Gallery: The published books are showcased in gallery demonstrating the breadth of expertise and research in the various subject areas.

Audio Visual Lounge: The AV lounge has surround sound speakers, two HD televisions, as well as a variety of media players. This facility is used for video conferencing and online presentation.

National Digital Library of India (NDLI): National Digital Library of India (NDLI) is a virtual repository of learning resources which is not just a repository with search/browse facilities but provides a host of services for the learner community. It is sponsored and mentored by Ministry of Education, Government of India, through its National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT).