7 - Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

The library initiative for digitization is to dramatically advance the means to collect, store
and organize information in digital form, and make it available for searching, retrieval and
processing via communication networks, all in a user-friendly way. The reasons behind
this is the rising acquisition and the subscription rates which have forced libraries to seek
other ways to make information available, and content aggregators and e-book publishers
are providing the means. Perhaps more importantly, digital libraries support service
improvement. Digitization presents opportunities for long-term preservation of
information resources. Digital environment enables cross community interactivity and
collaboration regardless of physical location (Schwartz, 2000).
2. Central Institute of Indian Languages: A Research Institution, www.ciil.org
The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), situated at Mysore was established on
17th of July 1969, as a national institution of advanced research in the area of linguistics
and Indian languages. The aims and objectives of the institute is to coordinate the
development of Indian languages, to bring about the essential unity of Indian languages
through scientific studies, promote inter-disciplinary research, contribute towards
emotional integration of the people of India.
During the past 35 years, CIIL has created a legend of its own by producing and archiving
studies on 118 Indian languages, including 80 tribal languages and published 500 books,
monographs, including language learning materials and created courses on cassettes in
almost all the major Indian languages.
The institute has its seven regional centers imparting instruction in fifteen Indian
languages. The main objective of these centers is to provide all the states and union
territories of the country facilities to implement the three language formula in order to
promote national integration through multilingual education.
3. CIIL Library: The Treasure House of Information Resources in Linguistics and
Indian Languages
The CIIL library was established in 1970 to support the institute’s objectives as a
specialized research library in Indian languages, linguistics and its related areas. The
motto of the library has been to provide information support to the staff of the institute in
their research activities. It is viewed today as a premier advanced research centre for
Indian languages. Its role is to collect, maintain and make available the information from
print to electronic form, to its users.
Recently the library has launched its web site as http://www.ciil.org/aboutus/index.htm,
which provides the total overview of the library.
The total collection of books at present is 80,000 volumes out of which 60% of the books
are in Indian languages, which represent 60 Indian languages including tribal languages
and 15 foreign languages. It is acquiring about 350 journals and 25000 back volumes
covering all aspects of linguistics and languages studies. Besides this, the library has
subscribed to electronic journals through “EBSCO Information Services Group, New
Delhi, which provides access to its databases like “Academic Search Premier”,
“Professional Development” and “MLA Bibliography”. This has enabled the users to
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