With the advancement of information technology and the internet, the world of knowledge is just a click away at Jaipuria Noida. Our communication methods have undergone a sea change and have changed the ways we gather information. Jaipuria Institute of Management Noida can boast of a very rich Library and Resource Centre since 2004, which started offering its services on the web in 2008. But as if that is not enough—they are furiously working to put in place a state-of-the-art virtual library that will change the way students collect data and gather information.
“Presently we have a hybrid library which offers print material such as books and magazines as well as electronic-based material but to introduce more features and make it accessible to all the students and faculty, we are embracing various advanced technologies”, says Suresh K. Chauhan, Librarian at Jaipuria Noida, who is always looking for ways to attract students to the library.
PGDM has become very competitive and in order to excel, students and faculty members need to access quality literature. “We gather literature from all our resources and pool it at one place so that our students and teachers access best material available. For example, we recently got the subscription of IMF’s digital library”, says Mr. Chauhan. Jaipuria Noida has made arrangements with other organizations and foreign institutions so that resource exchange can take place. “We are able to access latest research and theories which help us get an international perspective on present-day problems”, says a second-year PGDM student.
All this is not to suggest that the physical library is being relegated to a secondary position. The physical library provides an environment to study which no electronic library can provide, and many students prefer printed material.
Innovative methods are devised to encourage students to use library and consult available material. Names of the best five books and best five library users of the months are displayed on the notice boards and the web site of the institute. It has been observed that frequent visits to the library get reflected as improvement in grades. Concepts like these are showing their results as it helps motivate students to visit the library and make use of the vast resource of knowledge at Jaipuria Noida.