Problems And Prospects of Library Automation in Rural Colleges of Meghalaya: With Reference to Mawsynram Border Area College

Abstract

This article presents a scenario of library automation and the networking in a college library located in a rural area of Meghalaya. It also describes the issues and challenges faced during the process of automation in view of the fact that it lacks basic infrastructure and facilities viz. regular power supply, good Internet access, shortage of manpower and constraint in library budget. In spite of these hindrances, best efforts were made by the college to establish a LAN using a desktop computer as a server with open source software (OSS) Koha as the Integrated Library Management Software (ILMS) to manage the library operations. The shift from a traditional to an automated mode of operation in the library had made a huge impact in the manner in which library services are being offered to the students and teachers of the college. The article also highlights certain issues and problems faced by the college when trying to offer online services to e-resources provided by INFLIBNET through the NLIST programme.