Digital libraries and repositories in India: an evaluative study

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to identify and evaluate the collections within digital libraries and repositories in India available in the public domain. Design/methodology/approach - The digital libraries and repositories were identified through a Study of the literature, as well as internet searching and browsing. The resulting digital libraries and repositories were explored to study their collections. Findings - Use of open source software especially for the creation of institutional repositories is found to be common. However, major digital library initiatives such as the Digital Library of India use custom-made software. The collection size in most digital libraries and repositories is in a few hundreds. Practical implications - The paper highlights the state of digital libraries and repositories in India in late 2007. Originality/value - The paper is the first of its kind that attempts to identify and evaluate digital libraries and repositories in India. It also gives a comprehensive listing of digital libraries and institutional repositories in India available in the public domain.