1. Mohan Raj Pradhan M. Lib. Inf. Sc., MBA, Ph. D. Lecturer, Dept. of Library & Inf. Sc. Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, NEPAL Digital Library Initiative in Nepal

2. Country Background  Situated in South Asia  Nepal is an elongated, rectangular country, with an area of approximately 147’181 square kilometers.  Geopolitically, the nation lies between India and China, and is land locked.  Administratively, Nepal is divided into five development regions and 75 districts.

3. Country Background..  Administratively, Nepal is divided into five development regions and 75 districts. The lowest administrative division is the Village Development Committee (VDC) of which there are 3996.

4. The Internet in Nepal  The Internet in Nepal was first introduced in 1994 through dial-up connection (via uucp) and Fidonet  Nepal started Internet in mid-July 1995, when it established an on-line International link via NTC to Singapore Telecom through commercial ISP

5. Digital Library Initiatives..  Preservation of manuscripts;  Establishment of locally generated digital Libraries;  Provision of foreign research digital Libraries;

6. Digital Library Initiatives..  Telecentres;  Integration of conventional and digital Libraries.

7. Preservation of Manuscripts  Digitization of manuscripts was done with German help  Established Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project in 1970 (NGMPP)  NGMPP has microfilms more than 180,000 manuscripts

8. Preservation of Manuscripts  Published preliminary list of Microfilmed by the NGMP in June 2003;

9. Locally generated Digital Libraries  R & D projects report their results in limited quantity  Chart Nepal’s development efforts, experiences and priorities

10. Tools Used  WWW in HTML Format  Database  CD-ROM

11. WWW in HTML Format  WWW in HTML format is the most widely used tool for generating information in digital format.  Up to 2003 2500 np domain name has been registered.

12. Database  Most widely used software package (99%) for creating database is CDS/ISIS  To date only five organizations, namely ICIMOD, HLMC, TU Central Library, NHRC and HELLIS has searchable database in the web

13. CD-ROM  CD-ROM has become alternative means of accessing information in digital form.  Universities, INGO and NGO such as Tribhuvan University, UNICEF, HealthNet Nepal, etc have produced their information in CD-ROM format.

14. Establishment of Locally Generated Digital Libraries  For making accessible Nepalese newspapers, journals and scientific journals, WWW is used

15. Establishment of Locally Generated Digital Libraries  Organizations involved in establishing locally generated digital libraries:  HealthNet Nepal –Provides Nepalese Medical journals –Annotated health science bibliography of Nepal –Theses and report

16. Establishment of Locally Generated Digital Libraries  Mercantile Communication Pvt. Ltd –Online news services about Nepal from different newspapers and journals published from Nepal are hosted

17. Establishment of Locally Generated Digital Libraries  Programme for Enhancement of Research Information (PERI), INASP, UK is planning to provide support for publishers of scientific journal of Nepal.

18. Provision of Foreign Research Digital Libraries  HINARI is supported by WHO.  This initiative provides free access to 1500 medical journals

19. Establishment of Locally Generated Digital Libraries  INASP, UK initiative  This initiative provides 10,700 full text online journals, current awareness databases free of cost.  The publishers joined in this initiative are Blackwell, EBSCO, Emrald, Cochrane Library and Oxford University press

20. Telecentres  To alleviate the poverty and meeting the information needs 15 telecentres will be established  The focus will be on information related to crops, fertilizers, plant diseases, veterinary services, human diseases, family planning, terrorism, sanitation techniques

21. Integration of Conventional and Digital Libraries  In Nepal, only a portion of library has been digitized  Conventional library still is important to meet the information needs  The challenge is bringing a range of technologies and services together for creating an interlibrary loan and document delivery service meeting the requirement of users and the librarians.