The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bangalore is preparing to digitize its entire library. This approach will not only make it easier for students to navigate tomes and other information, but it will also assist to reduce piracy and set a precedent for other institutions to follow.
The library is one of India’s largest, with about 40,000 books and over 30,000 periodicals and reports.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Sudhir Krishnaswamy, speaking to Bar & Bench on the move, said,
“There are basically two issues: access to literature has always been a challenge for students with disabilities, particularly those with visual and locomotor problems. We’ve been making piecemeal arrangements based on their request for study, such as scanning some documents and sharing them with them. When the epidemic struck, not only students with impairments, but all students, required assistance. Then we realized what we needed to do, and most students nowadays choose to study content on their mobile devices. As a result, we made the decision to implement a full-fledged digitization strategy for the library.”
Prof Kishnaswamy described the several processes involved in this procedure as follows:
“There are several steps to the process, one of which is scanning the books, which we do with high-tech equipment to assure precision and high-quality results. The books must also be processed after they have been scanned. Optical Character Recognition (OCR), searchability, and the platform on which they will be hosted are all things that must be in place. That software component has also been installed, allowing us to use a copyright-compliant digital rights management (DRM) system. In the next 12 to 18 months, the entire procedure should be completed.”
In terms of the types of books that would be digitized as part of this project, he remarked,
“We’re going to accomplish it in stages; we’ll do it one at a time. However, because the majority of our articles are currently available in digital format, all of the remaining books will be digitized. Students already have access to course materials over the internet; we have a digital learning platform that takes care of that. This was completed a month after my arrival, in October 2019. We built a bespoke learning platform and loaded it with all of the materials we’ll need for students to access quickly.”
Prof Krishnaswamy commented on the labor required to finish the digitization project, saying,
“We’ll be running eight scanners at once, so at least eight people will be involved. Apart from our librarian and employees, we’ll have individuals processing the software and scanned documents, so we’ll have a team of 8-12 people working on it.”
The university also intends to develop a need-based scholarship program for law students across the country, with lower-income students receiving precedence. There are approximately 25 scholarships available for students with disabilities.
“Every year, 100 students from all around India can apply for this award. We’re looking into ways to broaden and increase our access over time. As a result, we are already giving access to students on campus, as well as off-campus students and alumni.”
