The process of digitisation of old books undertaken by the State Central Library has hit a road block due to dearth of funds. While there are over four lakh books in different languages, about 10 per cent of the books have been digitised till now.
The process was started three years ago with the financial assistance from the Centre and Carnegie Mellon University, the USA. The University provided five scanners and 20 computers for the project and the work was done at the Universal Digital Library section at Central Library.
About 40,000 rare books of Persian, English, Urdu, Telugu and Hindi languages covering various subjects were digitised with the available funds. “We prioritised rare books which were in tatters and required digitisation. A few thousand books need to be digitised immediately but dearth of funds prevents us from continuing the work,” says an official of State Central Library, declining to be identified.
Fearing legal wrangles, the authorities didn’t venture to digitise thousands of books which are covered under the Copy Rights Act. As the authorities were facing difficulties in getting permission of the author and publisher, they decided not to go ahead. “Some of the books are a century old and we do not know whom to contact for permission. Until the government takes a decision in this regard we cannot proceed,” the official explains.
As of now, visitors can refer the e-books at the Universal Digital Library section where 20 computers are kept for the purpose. One can get the hard copy of the books by paying one rupee per page and softcopy for fifty paisa per page.
