BENGALURU : With an aim to promote the concept of sustainability, Bangalore University library at Jnana Bharathi Campus is creating a study atmosphere in a green environment. The university is using 10 acres of land around the library to create a clean area with new dimensions like informative boards, pergolas, pathways, meditation corners, spaces for deep studies and group discussions, and path for heritage walks.
“Earlier, our education system was based on ‘talk less and read more’ principle. But today, we focus on more engagements with students. Libraries have also started to work in line with the changing student needs. We are using land around the library to create sitting space and pathways for discussions. Focus has been given to research scholars who want to discuss their thesis with guides.
Most departments don’t have enough space for this. When we started the university, there were 10 departments, now we have 55 of them,” said BR Radhakrishna, university librarian. The university is spending around Rs 36 lakh for this Green Library project. KR Venugopal, vice chancellor, laid the foundation stone of the project on Monday.
The department is also planning to launch an application in association with National Digital Library of India (NDL). Students can download books and read them outside. The main goal is educating users and spreading awareness about sustainability through green library web page, documentary projections, lectures, public discussions and book promotions. Their tagline is Read,Relax, Refresh.
“Today, students consume knowledge mainly from digital platforms.Acknowledging their needs and aiming to make resources more accessible for them, we are launching a mobile application through which students can access lakhs of study material. We have signed an MoU with NDL for sourcing crores of their books,” Radhakrishna added.
He said the university is at the first phase of the project now – application development. “It is going to be completed within 45 days. We will also finish the work of building pathways and other facilities for green library. By November, we want to finish this project,” he concluded.
A research scholar at the university, Lavanya K, admits that such initiatives can improve productivity of students, especially researchers. She says, “They are making an e-library too. As researchers, we expect to gather information as soon as possible. A separate green space for discussions is also a good idea. Inside the campus, there is a lot of space, but many a times, we get distracted by noises. But a special space for discussions can help PhD students and their research guides a lot.”