PowerPoint presentation of India's SAI's performance audit report on the National Library, India in Kolkata

2. Established in 1836
John MacFarlane
First Librarian
Harinath De
First Indian Librarian

3. • Receives books and periodicals under the Delivery of Books
I and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954
• Separate Indian vernacular divisions for 15 languages, Pali &
II Prakrit
• Arabic, Persian, East Asian, Germanic, Romance languages,
III Slavonic, West Asian and African collections
• Physical, chemical, reprographic conservation & digitization
IV
• Collection of approx. 2.50 million books, 88000 maps, 3000
V manuscripts, etc.
• Reading rooms with 814 readers capacity
VI
• Total shelf space of 45 km
VII
• Area of Belvedere Campus 30 acres
VIII
• Total area in buildings of approx. 63,000 sq. metres
IX

5. I • Local membership
II • Inter Library Loan
III • Outstation Membership
IV • Bibliography
V • Reprography
VI • Children
VII • Training & Guidance

9. 245
225
205
Rs. In Million
185
165
145
125
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Allocated 143 153 170 198.5 201.8 256.7
Expended 129 151.7 167.8 191 189.8 231.7
http://saiindia.gov.in/english/home/Our_Products/Audit_Report/Government_Wise/union_audit/recent_reports/u
nion_performance/2010_2011/Civil_%20Performance_Audits/Report_no_3/chap1.pdf

10. Acquisition P
E
Conservation R
Referral Library F
State Archives O
Books User Services R
Digitization M
Manuscripts A
Modernization N
Newspapers C
E
Journals
Lithographs O&M A
HR U
Finances D
Estate I
T
http://saiindia.gov.in/english/home/Our_Products/Audit_Report/Government_Wise/union_audit/recent_r
eports/union_performance/2010_2011/Civil_%20Performance_Audits/Report_no_3/chap1.pdf

11. Recommendations
PA Opinion
O&M
Preservation
Acquisition
Scope & Methods
Audit Objectives

12. Start-up

13. Audit Objectives

14. Acquisition

15. • From 2004-08, only 5-12% of books published
I in six Indian vernaculars were received
• In six other languages 20-26% only received
II
• No enforcement of Act
III
• Penalties not imposed
IV
• UK & Australia: Legal deposit linked to
V Copyright Act
• Fines in South Africa, US & Canada plus jail
VI terms

16. • Penal action against defaulting
I publishers
• Govt. of India to reformulate
II rules under Section 8 of DB Act
• Create and update database of
III books published in India

17. • No specific book acquisition policy
I • No user feedback
• No panel of experts
II • In 13 of 27 cases expert selector not on panel
• Expert visited only once to select 336 books
• Purchase from vendors limited mostly (72%) to
III Kolkata-based vendors only
• Less price discount of 5% obtained from vendors
IV • Delhi University Library obtains 15% price discount
• British Library categorizes holding as ‘selective’, etc.
V – ex. music acquisitions based on regional traditions

18. • Review gaps in holdings
I
• Conduct market surveys for
II price
• Consult other publicly-funded
III libraries for price discounts

19. • For 900 books received, only
I 252 reciprocated
• For 7335 books & microfiche
II received, no reciprocity at all

20. • Redouble efforts
I for exchange

21. • 11 of 64 prominent research journals received under
DB Act
• Although Rs. 30 million spent of 745 foreign
I journals, subscription list never updated nor relevance
reviewed
• Vendors not selected by competitive bidding
II • No journal usage data available
• Library does not monitor price rise owing to foreign
exchange rate fluctuation
III • Despite 13 terminals in reading room, no online access
or CD/DVD access available
• IIT, Kharagpur, has e-access to over 7,000 journals with
IV a Rs. 3 million budget

22. Introduce electronic
and online access for
users, including Wi-
Fi zones

23. Processing

24. • Except four divisions, all others have adequate HR
I • Four divisions have excess HR
• Hindi division has 49014 unprocessed books in arrears
• Despite processing software, shelf cards generated
II manually
• E-data not shared between divisions
III • Users deprived of 300,000 books
• Other Kolkata-based publicly-funded libraries such as
IV RKM & ISI have automated full process

25. • Review and rationalize HR
I
• All processes from purchase to
cataloguing should be
II automated
• Effective steps to clear backlog
III of unprocessed books

26. • 5 foreign language divisions for holdings in 58
I languages
• Experts only in 5 languages
II
• Books in other languages not processed for
III shelves
• Unprocessed books loaned to users
IV
• No experts or outsourcing of foreign language
V skills resorted to

27. Outsource foreign
language skills to
universities and
other academic
institutions

29. Preservation

30. • Except 12 alcoves, no consolidation of other rare
I books
• No Accession register maintained
II
• No catalogues available for rare inventory
III
• Movement Register for documents sent to other
Division do not have return dates recorded on
IV
them
• Users unaware of rare collections
V
• Magna Carta at British Library digitized by
VI Microsoft

31. Definition of ‘rare’ to be
revisited
Single Accession Register
for all rare materiel
Digitize rare materiel

33. • Only 9141 documents digitized in a decade
I
• Although a million target set for next phase, no work
II undertaken since early-2006
• 7000 unbound/damaged books not fit for flatbed scanners
III
• Less than a per cent of old newspapers and journals
IV digitized
• National Library of Norway digitized more than 300,000
photographs, 150,000 hours of radio broadcasts, 1,000,000
V newspapers and 25,000 books in a decade
• British Library and Microsoft digitized over 25,000,000
VI pages spread over 100,000 books

34. • Collaborate with National
Archives for National Policy
for digitization and
I preservation
• Hire I-T personnel
II

35. • No guidelines on conservation process
I • No expert opinion sought
• Binding materiel not chemically analyzed for suitability before use
II • No guidelines on conservation process
• No expert opinion sought
III • Binding materiel not chemically analyzed for suitability before use
• 155 books from a famous collection suffered damage owing to
substandard/unsuitable binding chemicals
IV • Supervisory ‘preparatory’ unit not worked for over 15 years
• Corrosive flour and copper sulphate used as glue
• Available freezer dryer machines for disinfecting never used owing to
V no available HR
• No relation between field of training and deployment for trained HR
VI

37. • Need for immediate conservation policy
I • Greater coordination between divisions and laboratory
• Preparatory unit be reconstituted
II • Outsource binding in situ to professional binding firms
• Establish in-house training division
III • Introduce more technical know-how
• Sponsor university training on preservation in
IV association with universities

38. Environment

39. • Air-conditioning switched off after working
hours - high humidity in Kolkata not neutralized
I
• No power back up available for air conditioning
II
• No monitoring of temperature by maintenance
engineers of CPWD
III
• No termite survey done after 2003
IV

40. • Sanskrit books lying bundled since 1961 – dust that is
I corroding the collection
• Old newspapers kept in non-AC godown in central
II business district
• 64 of 83 fire extinguishers have no residual shelf life
III
• National Library of Sri Lanka and British Library have
IV 24-hour temperature control
• National Library of Sri Lanka also holds courses in
V preservation and advises other repositories

41. Climate control
should be ensured
Regular fire response
drills essential

43. Control Systems

44. • Except one, no division maintained
I record of books sent to other divisions
• No acknowledgement of receipts
II
• Several months taken for
III unbundling, sorting & accession
• Shelf shortage – books dumped in
IV various locations

45. • Norms of stock verification not available
I
• Physical verification not carried out regularly
II
• Imperial Collection shows significant differences from
III various sources
• Verification done in 2 of 39 divisions
IV
• No census of books - some not returned even after 20
V years
• Books issued on verbal instructions of librarian
VI

46. • Functional CCTV not available
I
• No frisking of visitors/baggage X-ray
II
• No dedicated security for rare books
III division
• No boundary wall demarcating library and
IV non-library areas
• Easy access to campus over boundary wall
V

47. • Annual verification plan
I
• RFID (bar coding) of holdings
II
• CCTV system
III
• Visitor frisking & baggage X-ray
IV
• Automated monitoring of movement of books
V
• British Library has CCTV with pan, tilt and zoom
VI

49. Reader Services

50. • Low footfall in 10 reading facilities
I
• No electronic cataloguing – uncataloged books issued
despite 13 terminals being available but without
II networking
• No value added services, eg. Courier delivery for users
III at their homes
• No foreign language expert in 53 languages
IV
• Divisions without an assistant – even part-time ones not
V available – users remained unserved

51. • No system to identify prize winning books
I • Journals not on display
• Old books displayed
II • No publicity, conferences, seminars, etc.
• Books requisitioned but not found in stacks
III • Reading rooms closed before scheduled time
• User feedback not considered
IV
• British Library segregates users and offers matching
V services

53. • 58% of books requisitioned by users not returned by
I previous borrower even two years from date of issue
• Despite available VIRTUA application, OPAC global
II standard not implemented
• No remote services on web site
III
• In situ personal search for titles only recourse for users
IV
• National Libraries in Australia, France, Egypt, Finland and
V Japan OPAC-enabled
• Ask a Librarian in US Library of Congress
VI

54. In 2007, National Library of Russia
conducted 462 topical exhibitions, 936
exhibitions of recent acquisitions, 813
guided tours, 32 reader
conferences, brought out 48
publications

55. User Group Target Group In situ Services Remote Services
Research Higher Reading rooms, Online library catalogs,
Education, bookshop, subject resources
Governments, publishing
Writers services
Business Biz R&D, hi-tech Advisory services, Document supply,
industries, conferences, science & technology
media, science corporate services information services,
parks reprographics
Education Teachers, Exhibitions, school Online education pages
students, lifelong tours, bookshop on web site, curriculum
learners, resources, online
bookshop
Library & Other libraries, Training, visits, Bibliographic services,
Information information exhibitions, tours library catalogs,
societies documents supply,
librarianship service,
virtual reference library
Public Exhibitions, event Web resources, online
s, tours, bookshop bookshop

56. Bibliographic Services

57. • 2002 proposal to convert 2.5 million bibliographic records
into machine readable cataloging limited to only 7% of
I holdings up to 2008
• Duplicative effort in conversion as US Library of Congress
already retro converted these documents
II • Even records uploaded are not validated
• Indian National Bibliography (INB) of Central Reference
Library (CRL) not completed even on the same campus
III owing to books not sent to them by National Library
• Duplicate cataloging by INB and Library division
IV • Separate cataloging vendors for INB and National Library
• National Library paid Rs. 1.30 million more than CRL for
V the same job

58. • Greater synergy of activities
with Central Reference
I Library
• National Library should be
nodal agency for all
II bibliographic activity

59. Weak internal controls
Acquisiton Verification Preservation Conservation
Outmoded Practices
Digitization Cataloguing
O&M
Fire Security

60. • Legislation not enforced/enforceable
I • Transparent & Competitive Bidding
• No exchange programs with libraries
II • No online journal subscriptions
• No rationalization of processing HR
III • Large backlog of accession
• Rare manuscripts not digitized
IV • No online digitized holdings
• Inadequate I-T HR
V • No conservation policy
• No coordination between functional divisions
VI • Inadequate climate control, fire control and CCTV
• Inadequate stock verification
VII • No bar coded holdings

61. Recommendations
PA Opinion
O&M
Preservation
Acquisition
Scope & Methods
Audit Objectives