A Proposed Model of Consortium for Public Libraries in Karnataka

Many consortia initiatives have been taken up in India and booming in the field of academic and R&D institutions. To gain financial benefits and to avoid duplication of resources, libraries are forming homogeneous consortium or joining heterogeneous consortia groups. International, National and regional consortia are playing imperative role in providing e-resources to different kind of users. Degree colleges, universities, health science institutions, technical institutions and R&D institutions are gaining advantages under library consortium. Yet, many public libraries in digital world are providing information services in print format/traditional format only. Hence, this paper will propose a model for ‘peoples university’ i.e. public libraries and identifies the main thrust areas to share resources and major challenges involved in implementing the same.