KOCHI:
The Cochin University of Science and Technology Library which has bagged the Inflibnet national award for online document delivery is on a path of modernization.
As part of this a common reading room open to students round the clock, audio- visual research centre, skype,and teleconferencing facilities, language lab etc. are expected to come up shortly, according to Cusat Vice Chancellor Dr. J. Letha. A new three- storeyed building is ready to house these facilities.
Completion of modernization will help the students to witness academic exhibitions of high quality, classes and speeches by experts, exchange of ideas with experts and participation in researches globally will be possible. It will also pave way for the students attending, participating and developing new online courses. Book exhibitions, seminars, workshops etc are also planned in the new facility besides a garden library to promote reading habit.
The availability of a good store of reference books and CDs and the science-related documentaries/cinemas and facility for debates and discussions will immensely help those preparing for national and international examinations.
The library also plans to conduct short term training programmes in retrieval of technical data, as per Dr. C. Beena, Librarian. As a first step, the librarians under Kerala State Library Council will be offered training.
At present, besides the Cusat community a large number of graduates across the state are members of Cusat Library. A number of Central and State research institutions, industrial establishments and educational institutions also have membership here. Direct and online visitors for reference of technical publications are also numerous.
