Govt outlines initiatives to modernise libraries under National Mission on Libraries

new delhi: the centre is undertaking a range of initiatives to digitise and modernise libraries across the country under the national mission on libraries (nml), the rajya sabha was informed on thursday.ina written reply, union culture and tourism minister gajendra singh shekhawat said the nml comprises four key components — national virtual library of india (nvli), model libraries, a quantitative and qualitative survey, and capacity building programmes.the nvli project aims to provide open-access, user-friendly federated search tools for easier access to digital knowledge and india's cultural resources. as part of the digitisation drive, the indian culture portal (icp), launched on december 10, 2019, under nvli, currently hosts around 3.42 lakh digitised records with metadata and more than 34.91 lakh bibliographic records.under the model libraries component, financial support is extended to one state central library and one district library in each state/ut for infrastructure upgradation, technological modernisation, facilities for specially abled users, and outreach programmes. additionally, six libraries under the ministry of culture are also being supported.the survey component focuses on collecting descriptive data about public libraries to assess existing infrastructure and services, as well as user satisfaction and perception.capacity building initiatives aim to train library personnel and library science students in modern technologies and professional skills. structured training programmes are being conducted to equip library professionals with the tools required to adopt advanced digital systems, the minister said.