A Case Study on Library Automation in Indian Academic Libraries of Universities in Maharashtra

Abstract

The automation of academic libraries in Maharashtra represents a significant chapter in the broader narrative of India's higher education digital transformation. This case study provides a comprehensive, longitudinal analysis of library automation across universities in Maharashtra—India's third-largest state by area and second-largest by population, with a higher education network comprising over 20 state universities, 300+ affiliated colleges, and several centrally funded institutions including IIT Bombay and NIT Surathkal. Spanning the period from 2000 to 2023, the study examines the evolution from manual, card-catalog-based systems to integrated library management systems (ILS/LMS), digital repositories, consortia-based e-resource access, and emerging smart technologies such as RFID and cloud-based platforms. The research synthesizes evidence from multiple case studies and survey-based investigations conducted across Maharashtra's academic libraries, including: (i) the pioneering automation of Shivaji University, Kolhapur's Barr. Balasaheb Khardekar Library (documented in SRELS Journal of Information Management, 2011), which details the phase-wise implementation of automation—retrospective conversion, barcode ID generation, member ID generation, and housekeeping operations—within the challenging context of a rural, semi-urban environment with weak IT infrastructure and limited skilled human resources; (ii) the assessment of KOHA Open-LMS implementation across 13 higher educational institute libraries within the Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha (MKSSS) in Pune (2022 study), which evaluates customization options, integration capabilities, user experience, technical support, and cost considerations, revealing that KOHA is highly valued for its cost-effectiveness, accessibility, cloud-based hosting, and Union Catalogue feature, with Circulation and OPAC modules being the most frequently utilized; (iii) the study of library automation status across Marathwada Shikshan Prasarak Mandal's college libraries in the Aurangabad region (2018), which surveyed 21 colleges (17 responses) to assess available library services and resources, digital library infrastructure, and means for improvement, revealing significant variation in automation levels and persistent infrastructure gaps; (iv) the analysis of UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium usage at Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University and Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University (2017), examining how consortia-based access to electronic journals transformed scholarly communication and information access for faculty, research scholars, and post-graduate students.