The Knowledge Resource Centre (erstwhile university library) of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) has started buying subscription of e-resources worth over Rs 50 lakh from last year. The number of affiliated colleges becoming members of these e-resources subscription has gone up to 32. The Centre is now upgrading itself. It is making itself ready as per the need of the hour to fulfill the demands of new generation students. With the reading habit becoming a passe, the centre is creating services for the generation that has become digital. At the same time,this Knowledge Resource Centre has not forgotten the old tradition and culture. Its Director Dr Vijay Khandal has made up his mind to digitalise 14,313 Sanskrit manuscripts.

 

The digitalisation task has started two years ago and now these manuscripts have been catalogued. These catalogues are uploaded on the site of National Manuscript Mission (NMM). Soon the work of conservation and preservation of these manuscripts would begin at campus. Once scanning of the manuscripts is completed, the manuscripts would get digitalised. This work is being done free of cost as NMM is providing financial support to this project. Khandal, took charge in 2021. “After coronavirus pandemic, I realised that the habit of reading was drastically affected so we introduced this e-resources project which clicked. By default, the service is free to all our own departments but affiliated colleges have to pay Rs 1,000 every year to become a member. This time the membership jumped to 32. Most members are from engineering colleges. They can use these e-resources. We provide them remote log-in by which their students, faculties can browse on their mobile and can avail the facility on mobile also,” explained Dr Khandal. RTMNU will be putting 14,313 manuscripts on digital platform.

 

This is a huge volume of Sanskrit manuscripts getting digitalised in any university in the country. These manuscripts are of 16th century which have been preserved by RTMNU centre since long. Preserving them for longer time is a tedius job. If those get damaged with the passage of time, then it will be a loss of this rare treasure. These manuscripts will be visible on website and anybody can see those but it will take at least a year.

 

“The Centre’s reading room remains open 24X7 though not many students use it. With most reading and study is done online, the hard copy reading has stopped which I think is not good. But we are preserving the books which we have in a scientific manner. We have books of even 17th century, the editions of some books are not available anywhere but here they are preserved. I am planning to digitalise those books to make them available to all,” stated Dr Khandal. Dr Khandal admitted that the expenditure is less than the provision made in the budget. The reason behind the expenditure reduction is digitalisation which has brought down the cost.