The central library of the University of Kannur now functioning from a rented building is at last being shifted to the newly constructed five-storey building adjacent to the university administrative campus at Thavakkara.
Though the construction work is yet to be finished, the university authorities have decided to shift the library to the new building. The shifting process will begin on July 1 and is expected to be completed by July 5. The shifting will end the space crunch presently experienced.
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“The ground floor and first floor of the new library building are ready for the shifting in the first phase,” university Registrar Balachandran Keezhoth told The Hindu on Wednesday. The total area now available for the shifting of the library is 25,000 sq ft, he said adding that the library would have full-fledged facilities as and when the other floors of the building were completed.
Work on the new building was to be completed in January last year.
The space crunch had forced the library authorities to keep the new arrivals in boxes. The library has been functioning from the rented building since 1998.
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The full-fledged library will have a seminar hall with 350 seats and a separate research area. Also envisaged are an audio-visual section, archives section for Malabar collection, art gallery, a heritage museum and a digital library. The estimated cost of the construction work is Rs.25 crore which includes Rs.2 crore for setting up the digital library and Rs.1 crore for purchasing books.
Bookless daysThe university officials said that library operation would be suspended during the shifting process. Dr. Keezhoth also said that the examination wing of the university would be shifted to the administrative campus at Thavakkara next week. At present it is functioning on the Mangattuparamba campus.