Berhampur: Chief Minister Sri Naveen Patnaik inaugurated NRO proposed Model Public e-Library in Berhampur, during the one-hundred-fiftieth celebration of Berhampur BMC. Sri Patnaik also dedicated various development projects in Berhampur city along with the e-library nearby BMC.
The Information and Communication Technology(ICT) enabled model public library will function as a resource center, information house and community center for all sections of the community and bridge the digital divide. The model library will not only provide the services of a typical traditional library, but also bring Internet and computing to grass root level to address the current socio-economic and educational need of the community. The library model is intended to be driven by the need of the direct beneficiaries, and the users.
The library will provide the various services likeInternet Room that will provide broadband internet service to all. People will have access to world of information like youtube channel, Khan Academy, educationals lectures and many more. People can communicate around the world via e-mail.Internet-Audio-Video enabled Community Hall for various community meetings, informational/educational seminars of common interest. Educational/informational movies can be broadcasted in the community hall. Remote video lectures can be organized for the community. There can be power point presentations by Govt. officials to bring awareness on various schemes of the Govt. There may be presentations by a doctor, a banker or a lecturer or an expert, or a teacher or an artist and the list can go on. There may be storytelling for the children or may be a seminar on specific skills.Digital Content: The computers can provide access to various educational content around the world. There can be access to Microsoft Platform, Unix Platform, Microsoft Office, Adobe, digital books, digital magazines and various digital contents.Library Automation Service: All library resources will be managed efficiently by e-Granthalaya or similar software and will be helpful to understand the usage pattern of the direct beneficiaries.Reading Room will provide access to printed newspapers in Odia/Hindi/English, magazines, journals, and books to meet the educational need of children, youth, adults, students, and retired people.Friends-of-library, will be an integral part of the library to support, advocate, promote the library in the community and help the library management to make the library more vibrant. They would help in fundraising for the library and bring awareness on the services being provided by the library.Users Group, will be an integral part of the library who would represent the direct beneficiaries across all sections of the community. They will provide direct input on the need of various services in the library, and be vigilant on effective and smooth operation of the library and work with friends-of-library, help conducting various educational information sessions, and educational activities.
The Odisha Society of the Americas(OSA) had funded, proposed to repair, renovate, modernize pre-existing libraries and bring Information and Communication Technology(ICT) to grass root level to address the socio-economic and educational need of the community by establishing a model library. BMC and OSA agreed and selected the current location as the most cost effective solution for establishing this model library. It is the contribution of NROs in North America for Phailin and the impact of public libraries in developed countries, that inspired to redirect the funding for establishing “Model Public Libraries” in Odisha. The OSA administration, and public library team have been working since early 2014 with state administration, district administration, and BMC officials. The help from the local volunteers Sri Surya Narayan Padhy, and Dr. BNR Subudhi is commendable who have been consistently following the library developments. The current DM Sri Prem Chandra Chaudhary, current BMC commissioner Sri Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, former commissioners Sri Sushant Mishra, Sri Manoj Mohanty, have been very supportive in making the model library a reality. The OSA has been pursuing to have a well-integrated public library system in Odisha and optimistic with the last years approval of “Rules Notification for Public Library”.
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