Press Clippings Information Service of the Jawaharlal Nehru

University: A Case Study

By:Mahesh Chand

Assistant LibrarianJawaharlal Nehru UniversityNew Delhi – 110067 (India)

mchand@mail.jnu.ac.in

The Jawaharlal

Nehru University

Library

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was established in the year 1969 for nurturing the higher education in India to further heights. The JNU campus is located on 1000 acre area of the Arawali Hill renge of South Delhi. Part of the campus host dense forests, sustaining a birdwatcher's paradise and some forms of wild life.

The Library is the Knowledge Centre of Jawaharlal Nehru University, which has rich resources mainly in Social Sciences, Humanities and Sciences.

For meeting the research requirements of the Faculty and Research Scholars of the University, the JNU Library started several premium information services; one of these services is Press Clippings Information Service.

Press Clippings Information Service:

The press clippings information service is provided by many libraries and information centers in India but at the university level the press clippings information service of the JNU Library is the most comprehensive service in India. The JNU Library provides number of user services and the Press Clippings Information Service is one of the premium services being provided.

The Press Clipping Information Service in Jawaharlal Nehru University Library was started in 1974 to cater the information requirements of the faculty and scholars of School of International Studies on topical issues. It collects all important, relevant and up-to-date news items, editorial comments and articles on developments in the international and bilateral relations, political, economic, socio-cultural, natural hazards etc. At present, the clippings are taken from 18 English newspapers published in various parts of the country and two newspapers from overseas. The Press clippings are maintained chronologically in subject folders and stacked in proper sequence according to the Colon Classification scheme.

The Collection:

The press clippings collection consists of over 12 lacks of press clippings on different topics of social sciences and area studies. Press clippings are maintained chronologically in subject folders according to a broad class numbers based on the Colon Classification system.  These folders are not issued out, these completed press clippings folders can be consulted in the Reading Rooms of   the   Press Clippings Section. Finally the press clippings boxes are arranged subject and area wise on the racks.

The Services for Scholars:

1. Reading Room:The Press Clippings Section of the JNU

Library is providing reading room for users. The section is open for scholars from Monday to Friday, 09.00 AM to 05.30 PM, except for national holidays.

Access is available for research and reference for the University faculty and scholars, the

guest scholars can use the services with the recommendation letter from their respective departments/ institutes and permission from the Librarian of the JNU.

2. Information and advice:

Professional staffs are available to provide personalised advice to the scholars on:

• how to use the press clippings collection • to assist users with their enquiries• provide reference, SDI, CAS services

3. Photocopy Services:Photocopy services are available only from the current press

clippings kept in the pigeon holes. The press clippings from folders can’t be copied for the safety and security reasons and also the

short life of the paper.

Usage:

The press clippings are being used extensively specially by Faculty, Research Scholars of SIS and the research scholars of other social sciences and humanities discipline are also using. Guest scholars from different universities and institutes of higher education from all over the country are also visiting the JNU Library for using this unique collection.

Digitisation of Press Clippings Collection:

The enormous advantages of the new digital media in terms of both supply and demand have brought about a veritable revolution in modern times. Also the short life of the newspaper and damage caused to the press clippings collection by continuous usage led the thinking and planning digitisation of press clippings collection. In the traditional form of this collection, it was becoming difficult to maintain and provide service. To safeguard the collection and provide the better access to scholars the JNU Library has started digitisation.

Software Selection:

Out of the different software options available for digitisation of press clippings, the JNU Library opted for ‘VIRTUA’ software; since the JNU Library is using ‘Virtua’, an integrated library management software for library and this software can also be used for image database also. The JNU Library started using ‘Virtua’ for full text image database of press clippings

Sample Screen Shots from the Database

Thanks