Central Library (Belur)

Central Library (Belur)

The Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute Central Library was opened in the year 2005. It has been established to accommodate the needs of modern research, housing printed materials and a virtual library. Presently we have our own collection of Total no. of books (General including reference)- 28,218, Reference – 1075. The ratio of library books to users is 146:1. We subscribe to 3 international full text e-resources, namely, APS (13 journals), IOP (46 journals) & JSTOR (3071 journals) and one database MathSciNet through associate membership with the ‘UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium’ (now ‘e-Shodh Sindhu Consortium’). Though we do not have our own e-books etc. we are a member of the British Council Library(BCL), so we have access to their e-resources according to the needs of our faculty members, researchers as well as students. BCL is providing us over 1,25,000 full text e-books for academic and research purposes from more than 450 publishers, 7000 full text e-journals for academic and research purposes across subjects including Engineering, IT & Computers, Management, Medical Sciences, English Language, Business Communication, Literature, Law, History, Social Sciences and e-literature (over 3,50,000 full-text works of English literature). We also have both the hard and soft copies of theses and dissertations (called institutional repository) submitted by our students, in our library.

Other relevant information:

We permit Science (Maths, Physics, Comp. Sc & Big Data Sc.) and Philosophy students to issue up to 5 books at a time, and they can keep them for up to 6 months. Sanskrit students are permitted to issue up to 20 books at a time. 20 computers dedicated to the service of students for Internet surfing at any time during library hours (10am to 5pm). Since we have an open access policy, students, researchers, and faculty members are able to browse the shelves themselves and select the books they want. With the online catalogue (link may be given of library portal: Koha library management software), users can search for books from anywhere around the world and can check whether or not a particular book is available. Since we issue books with the bar code scanner, there is almost no wait time for issuing books. A noise free reading zone has been established for the students in the library. A new career guidance section (GATE/NET/JRF etc) has been introduced for the students, from which they may issue one book from their own quota. Library personnel are friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable and are always ready to serve patrons.

Floor area of the library: 2 floors, each of which is 30m x 30m (i.e. 900 sqm).

Details of any modern technologies deployed in library (like the detector in the main entrance): RFID and Bar Code technology for streamlining the circulation process, and a user friendly KOHA library management software for easy searching.

Detail of any special types/categories of books or content: We have 61 manuscripts and some rare books on Sanskrit, Philosophy & Religion yet to be catalogued.

Among other Infrastructures & facilities newly introduced in the Library are the following:

1. 1. Separate Reference section with 1075 books

1. 1. Reading room which accommodates 58 users at a time,
   2. Ten more computers (Total – 20) for surfing the internet,
   3. Installation of RFID and Bar code technology for quick automated circulation to save time for users,
   4. Installation of a Fire alarm system.
   5. Interior decoration with window curtains.
   6. Modernization of the Information/Circulation Desk.
   7. To inspire students, we have placed a portrait of Swami Vivekananda with quotation at the entrance to the library.
   8. Placement of Low height(3’6”) book racks to allow users to get more space, natural air and light.
   9. Photocopier cum printer & scanner machine as well as a special high quality scanner installation.
   10. 1000 Book stands have been purchased to keep the books straight on the racks.
   11. Filtered drinking water service is available near the entrance to the library.

1. Career Guidance Section to provide books and other relevant materials to the students to prepare for competitive exams.
2. Automated Library entry is now very time-efficient. To enter the Library, users do not need to sign in manually. Users just have to show their University ID cards (RKMVU) at the entrance.
3. New books are being displayed at the New Arrival Section to generate interest in users.
4. The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) informs users of the availability of books and other library resources. Users can search for books through the KOHA library management software
5. Printed periodicals / journals section have been introduced.
6. Library extended to the 2nd floor to provide more free space and to provide extra study space for students.
7. Comfortable seating arrangement has been provided inside the stacks area for individual study.
8. For the need of the users a property counter has been introduced.

The facilities forecasted to be implemented in the near future are as follows.

List of Journals & Magazines subscribed for the year 2017-18 :

List of Journals :

List of e-Journals :