LIBRARY COMMITTEE:
The Library Committee is responsible for the development, management, and effective utilization of library resources within the institution. It ensures availability of books, journals, and digital resources to support teaching, learning, and research activities. The committee formulates policies for library usage, promotes reading habits among students, and recommends new acquisitions based on academic needs. It plays a key role in enhancing knowledge access and academic excellence.
The Library Advisory Committee (LAC) is the statutory administrative and policy-guiding body for the college library, governed by the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016/Mumbai University Code, UGC Guidelines, and NEP 2020. Under NEP 2020, its role has expanded from a simple procurement body into a full academic support hub, covering digital integration, multidisciplinary collections, institutional repositories, and accessibility compliance.
Rules & Regulations
1) Mandatory composition — Chaired by the Principal with the Librarian as Member Secretary, 3–5 HoDs/senior faculty across streams, one optional management representative, and one student representative (library/general secretary); must meet at least twice per academic year.
2) Budget governance workflow — The LAC prepares and reviews the annual library budget based on faculty indents, student ratio, and new courses, submitting it to the CDC/Management; book purchases must follow GOC (Good Offices Committee) rate and discount standards.
3) Structured acquisition approval chain — Book procurement requires HoD/subject expert recommendation → Librarian stock verification → LAC approval → final Principal sanction, before any purchase is finalized.
4) Stock verification and write-off limits — Mandatory stock verification annually or biennially using library software (SLIM/KOHA) and barcode/RFID; a loss of up to 5 volumes per 1,000 issued/consulted per year is an acceptable write-off threshold, absent negligence.
5) Mandatory digital database integration — Under NEP 2020, the LAC must ensure subscription to N-LIST (INFLIBNET) and registration on the National Digital Library of India (NDLI), with remote access protocols for e-books/e-journals/OER.
6) Institutional Repository (IR) oversight — The LAC must oversee creation/maintenance of a digital repository (e.g., via DSpace) preserving faculty publications, dissertations, conference proceedings, and syllabi.
7) Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) procurement — The committee must procure literature, translation works, and reference material dedicated to IKS, per UGC directives.
8) Accessibility and inclusivity compliance — The LAC must ensure physical and digital library infrastructure is accessible to Divyangjan (differently-abled) students, including screen-reading software (NVDA/JAWS) for visually impaired users.