PU library to open at night from November 12

CHANDIGARH : As the demand for 24x7 open girls’ hostels intensify, Panjab University has decided to keep the text book section open for girls overnight from November 12. The AC Joshi Library, Panjab University, has initiated the process of increasing seating capacity for students.


“For research scholars, a proposal has been sent for allocation of grants to create necessary infrastructure for the archival cell on the fifth floor of the AC Joshi library,” said Dr Rashmi Yadav, University librarian, A C Joshi Library, Panjab University.


Currently, girl hostellers are allowed to go to the library at night after getting the proforma signed by wardens. The total membership of AC Joshi Library in Panjab University (PU) has increased from 13,087 in 2013 to 15,292 in 2018. Around 5,000 to 7,000 books are added every year to the library collection.


The library building houses more than 7.75 lakh volumes and has a seating capacity of 500 readers. Besides two main reading halls, there are reading rooms in periodicals and special collection sections and an outer reading hall that is open 24x7 to study personal books. The library collection includes books, bound volumes of journals, theses/dissertations, rare books, reports, government documents, back files of newspapers, and a prized collection of 1,490 manuscripts.


The library subscribes to about 550 current periodicals. Its holdings of back volumes of periodicals go back to the 19th century. The book and journal collection is augmented by a variety of online sources. The library provides access to 14 online databases and more than 300 e-books and 134 online full text journals campus-wide through LAN. As many as 6,948 PhD theses have been digitized and uploaded on the Shodhganga platform, a reservoir of Indian theses @ INFLIBNET that makes it available to the entire scholarly community in open access.