Digitization, Sustainability and Access in the Indian Context

Digitization and digital libraries are the present buzz words in the LIS profession in India. It is the ‘in’ thing of today just as thirty years ago all librarians only spoke of automating the library activities. This paper will describe some major digital library initiatives in India in different LIS sectors. The Digital divide within the LIS scenario due to diverse situations will be highlighted in the paper. Most of the present initiatives are in the area of Science and Technology, in the Government sector, and in Institutions of advanced research. Most of these efforts are project based which make them very vulnerable to changes in government policies, technological changes, economic support and socio-educational changes. The need for trained personnel to undertake the new responsibilities is also a major issue. Since there is no holistic policy regarding digital content generation, management of digital libraries, standards and services, most of these efforts are isolated ventures generally restricted only to the needs of a special group of users. As most of them are started by getting a one time grant without a follow up plan, sustainability is always in doubt. Also preservation of digital data is often not focused with the seriousness that it deserves.
Digitization of India’s vast and rich collections for access and preservation will need very special attention from many quarters. Sustaining the present efforts and continuing these activities in all the LIS sectors will need special efforts by the decision makers, librarians and the Information Industry. Sustainability of digital libraries in India will need continuous technical and economic support. The influence of social and educational sectors and awareness at the grass root levels will be significant in sustaining digitization initiatives and digital libraries. Manpower development is a necessary factor in continuing service-oriented access through digital libraries. However, the most

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