Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Haji Anayat Ali Thursday asked the Council Secretariat to initiate the process for digitalization and on-line posting of books available in the Council library in Srinagar and Jammu.“We have collection of rare books at the Council Secretariat both at Srinagar and Jammu and these should be preserved through digitalization. It would also facilitate easy access of this treasure to the Legislators as well as the public at a click,” he said.The chairman, who is the Ex-officio Chairman of the Library Committee, issued the direction in a meeting convened today to review the available references in the Library of the Council Secretariat both in Srinagar and Jammu.The meeting was attended by the Legislators, Dr Shehnaz Ganai, Surinder Choudhary, Charanjit Singh and Surinder Mohan Ambardar. They gave valuable suggestions for making the working of the Library Committee result-oriented.
The meeting also discussed various other issues including purchase of new books, upgradation of existing infrastructure, enhancement in budget allocation and the funds released earlier out of Constituency Development Fund CDF for purchase of books.It was decided that the concerned Members will conduct on the spot visit of Jammu Library soon. It also decided that the Committee will recommend enhancement in budget allocation under the proper head for purchase of more books.It was also decided in the meeting that before purchasing the new books, the concerned Committee Members will be taken into confidence. It was given out in the meeting that there are books and journals related to the field of history, art and culture for specialized research and reference.The two sections of the Council Library have a collection of as many as 12517 rare books in English, Urdu and other regional languages. Beside this the books of revered saints and religious scholars are also available in the Council Library, the meeting was told.Senior Officers of Council Secretariat were present on the occasion.