We are living in the modern fast world where we want everything on one-touch access. To match up the demand and educate by using the new world of internet, the Indian Government have started a new programme named ‘National Digital Library.’ With the help of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, the Central Ministry of Human Resource Development under its National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology has initiated the National Digital Library (NDL) project to develop a framework of a virtual repository of learning resources with a single-window search facility. The vision behind it is to integrate several national and international digital libraries under one single window. It enables free access to many books in English and the Indian languages as well.
The National Digital Library (NDL India) is an all-digital library that stores information (metadata) about different types of digital contents including books, articles, videos, audios, thesis and other educational materials relevant for users from varying educational levels and capabilities. It provides a single-window search facility to access digital contents currently existing in India as well as other digital sources under a single umbrella.[i]
Background:
It all started with the vision of IIT KGP by the proposal to MHRD for Seeking to create a national online educational asset for students interested in research and innovation in 2014. The MHRD not only approved of the project but also granted Rs. 100 crore for the project to be kick-started by the IIT Kharagpur, one of the premier tech institutes in the country. “the library was started as a pilot project in April 2015 by MHRD. From a humble beginning on a PC to demonstrate the proof of concept, it is now a full-blown project; making educational content available to the entire nation at their fingertips. NDL is “open” and “inclusive.” Anybody can register and start using NDL,” said Prof. Partha Pratim Das, professor-in-charge and overall coordinator of the project at IIT Kharagpur.
Key Features:[ii]
- Educational materials are available for users ranging from primary to post-graduate levels.
- Repository hosts contents from multiple subject domains like Technology, Science, Humanities, Agriculture and others.
- More than 60 types of learning resources are available.
- 15,00,000+ Items have been authored by 1.5 lakh authors.
- items are available in more than 70 languages.
How to avail it?
One who wants to access the services may visit the website or download the application. It is available to all for general browsing. The user has to register with a user id and password and login using those for accessing some classified materials.
Website link: https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/
Watch NDL India video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/embed/LEwAyHGKeLw
To download android application: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mhrd.ndl&hl=en
What makes it special?
NDL India will provide a single window search facilities to act as a one-stop shop for all digital resources. Information can be personalized based on the education level, choice of language, difficulty level, media content and such other factors while other Digital libraries may not include all these choices. This is like a ‘customised service’ provided in a 24×7 integrated environment to suit a user’s requirement and will be like a one-stop shop for all. With the NDL application, anyone can access the extensive collection of 6.5 million e-books which are a part of the Library’s knowledge bank. Some of the content available on the repository includes NCERT textbooks, textbooks of 8 state education boards, JEE, GATE and UPSC question papers, papers/theses from Indian Institute of Science, Indian Statistical Institute, IITs, IIMs, IISERs. Publications from the laboratories of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) can also be accessed online.[iii]
What’s ahead?
The National Digital Library of India’s Android mobile app ‘NDL India’ has been declared the winner of mBillionth South Asia Award 2017 along with BYJU and WorldReader in “Learning and Education” category. By the end of 2017, NDL India has now over 1 crore indexed content with 9 lakh registered users. The execution has been done properly, it is now up to the public to recognize this effort and achieve the goals, that the founders behind it have shown i.e. to provide support for all academic levels including researchers and life-long learners, all disciplines, all popular form of access devices and differently-abled learners. It is being developed to help students to prepare for entrance and competitive examination, to enable people to learn and prepare from best practices from all over the world and to facilitate researchers to perform inter-linked exploration from multiple sources.
[i] https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/faq
[ii] https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/
[iii] http://www.thehindu.com/education/virtual-repository-at-your-fingertips/article19330883.ece
Thanks sir I love books and easily get book from this application
That’s what our aim is. ‘Learn for free’.
👍