In the professional literature, the term consortia cover a great range of cooperation situation and expressions according to the different contexts and period they were formed and developed. It has long been a precept of librarianship; however libraries have not used it widely until about the 1980s. The prime reason of establishing a library consortium is to share physical resources between member organizations. Through consortia, libraries are coordinating their purchasing to offer the best quality and quantity of resources to their patrons at a lower cost and also to make them available on users’ desktops. “Consortium purchasing is assisting libraries to deal with the increasing pressure of diminishing budgets, increasing user demand, and rising journal cost”

1. Mohit Kumar
SRF, IASRI, New Delhi

2. 
1.Introduction:
In the professional literature, the term consortia cover a great
range of cooperation situation and expressions according to the
different contexts and period they were formed and developed. It
has long been a precept of librarianship; however libraries have
not used it widely until about the 1980s. The prime reason of
establishing a library consortium is to share physical resources
between member organizations. Through consortia, libraries are
coordinating their purchasing to offer the best quality and
quantity of resources to their patrons at a lower cost and also to
make them available on users’ desktops. “Consortium purchasing
is assisting libraries to deal with the increasing pressure of
diminishing budgets, increasing user demand, and rising journal
cost”

3. No single library can satisfy all the information needs of its
users.
 Due to the literature explosion, it is not possible to acquire all
the bibliographical materials at one place.
 Individual libraries can not afford the cost of acquiring the
materials, hardware and software and manpower required to
maintain the modern information technology.
 Gradual decrease in budgetary provision for the library and
information centres to provide various information services.
 Government cuts on funding the information activities in view of
liberazation , globalization, and privatization of such activities.
 Availability of access facilities for various types of databases,
electronic information increases the users demand for
information.


4. The UGC-Infonet Digital Library Consortium was formally
launched in December, 2003 by Honourable Dr. A P J Abdul
Kalam, the then President of India soon after providing the
Internet connectivity to the universities in the year 2003 under
the UGC-Infonet programme. The Consortium proved to be a
recipe to university libraries which have been discontinuing
subscription of scholarly journals because of "Serials Crisis".
The term "serials crisis" refers to exponential and continuing
increase in subscription cost of scholarly journals

5. Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET)
Centre is an Autonomous Inter-University Centre (IUC)
of University Grants Commission (UGC) involved in
creating infrastructure for sharing of library and
information resources and services among Academic
and Research Institutions. INFLIBNET works
collaboratively with Indian university libraries to shape
the future of the academic libraries in the evolving
information environment

6. There are following advantages of UGC-Infonet;
 It becomes a vehicle for distance learning.
 It is a tool for distribution of education material and
journals to remotest of areas.
 It is a resource for researchers and scholars for tapping
most up to date information.
 It forms a medium for collaboration among teachers
and students, not only within the country but all over
the world.
 It is on Internet for university automation.
 It established a channel for globalization of education.

7. Scaleable Architecture to grow from Universities to affiliated
Colleges.
 Nation-wide terrestrial Backbone using Fiber optic links.
 Integrated Satellite WAN supporting broadband and SCPCVAST technology.
 Comprehensive Network Management System for overall
monitoring of the network, down to each and every device.
 Linkage with other Academic and Research Networks all over
the world.


8. Data security and virus protection using Firewalls and
Intrusion Detection Systems.
 Dedicate Data Center for Web hosting, e-Journals and Mail
Boxes.
 Mirror sites Spread all over the country for content hosting.
 Broadband Multimedia and Video Channels for Distance
Learning


9.  Training
of manpower is one of the most critical resources
for successful implementation of high-tech programmes
like UGC-TNFONET.ERNET India has setup a modern
training laboratory to train Network System Managers and
users of UGC-Infonet. Technical staff from each of the
participating universities is trained to take maximum
advantage of the infrastructure. More than 140 computer
and library professionals from 129 universities have been
trained at ERNET India, New Delhi, Above 96 Library
Professionals from 63 universities have been trained for eresources management at INFLIBNET Center, Ahmedabad.

10. 
For accessing these e-resources INFLIBNET had conducted
many awareness programmes in different universities. So far
one awareness programme in the use of e-resources has been
conducted in 36 universities across the country. Two days
National Seminar has been also conducted in five different
places-Varodara, Bangalore, Goa, Kolkata and Delhi.

11.  These
e-resources covers almost all areas of learning,
including Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Physical
Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Computer
Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, etc. The programme
is wholly funded by the UGC and executed by the
INFLIBNET (Information and Library Network) Centre,
Ahmedabad.
 The Consortium provides current as well as archival access
to more than 7000+ core and peer-reviewed journals and 10
bibliographic databases from 26 publishers and aggregators
in different disciplines. The programme has been
implemented in phased manner.

12. 
Under the UGC-Infonet E-journal Consortia 50 universities
are provided free access to E-Journals in the first phase in
2004. In the second phase, 50 more universities were added to
the programme in the year 2005. So far 160 Universities out of
181 that come under the purview of UGC have been provided
differential access to subscribed e-resources.

13. 
A small beginning under a bigger umbrella has been made in
right earnestness. INFLIBNET is probably the most ambitious
venture of its type in India, involving massive content
gathering, organizing and management. It also a well-thoughtout e-journal service with great potential to scholars and
libraries in the country. It is believed and hoped that
INFLIBNET will leverage on the initiative to come out with
relate services of use and importance

14. http://www.ugcinfonet.ernet.in/StatuAll.asp
 Murthy,T A V, UGC-Infonet E-Journal Consortium for
University and Colleges: An Indian Experience, Library
Herald, 44(1) (2006) 1-13.
 Walmiki, R H; Ramakrishnegowda, K C and Prithviraj, K R,
Awareness and use of UGC-Infonet Consortium by the
Faculty members of the Karnataka State University, Annals of
Library and Information Studies, 57
(2) (2010) 33-43.
