Govt allots Rs 3.6 crore to improve libraries in 166 colleges

GURGAON: The directorate of higher education has released a budget of Rs 3.6 crore to improve libraries in 166 government colleges in the state, including seven in Gurgaon.
The department has also instructed the colleges to make automated libraries their top priority. The grant amount will be drawn by the college principals through the Haryana treasury.
The colleges need to purchase the latest version of the Software for University Libraries (SOUL)---an integrated library management system.
N-List subscription may also be taken from the information and library network for the next two academic sessions. A list of suggestions for the upgradation of these libraries has been provided by the department. This includes an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), an e-journal, a magazine, e-books, a book vacuum cleaner, a water cooler and an air conditioner.
The amount remaining from the grant is to be utilized in purchasing the updated software, scanner and photocopy machine, computers, bar code scanner, printers and furniture, while books worth up to Rs 2,000 can be purchased.
According to the deputy director for libraries, Anjali Siwach, the entire expenditure must be incurred by February 28, 2024. “And its utilization certificate will have to be sent to the headquarters by March 1, 2024,” she said.
A committee consisting of senior faculty members will be formulated “to see that automation is done at minimum cost by inviting quotations and no advance payments are made,” added Siwach.
The colleges must prepare a detailed proposal for items to be procured with rates through the Government e-marketplace (GeM)—the online platform for public procurement in India—and Hartron which is the nodal agency for procurement of computer systems.
“The scheme will be included in the annual plan and it will be ensured that the plan ceiling is not increased under any circumstance. A revised sanction will issued in case the provision of the scheme is modified at any stage,” said an official from the libraries department.