Students express happiness as Jamia reopens library

NEW DELHI: The students of Jamia Millia Islamia expressed their happiness as they started using Jamia Millia Islamia's Dr. Zakir Husain Library, which was damaged in alleged police action in the university on December 15 last year, after almost three months as it reopened for students on Wednesday,

The library is fully functional now, the varsity said. Dr Zakir Husain Library, the central library of Jamia, was reopened after extensive renovation and face lifting, university PRO Ahmad Azeem said. "With a seating capacity of nearly 800, consisting of a reading hall, research floor, reference and periodical section and a well-equipped digital resource center, comprising 150 computers, the library resumed all its services," he said.

Azeem said effort has been made to provide better facilities to students by installing LED lights and bringing new and comfortable chairs. "Despite (all) odds, the library has been able to utilise its budgetary allocation completely and renew its subscription to electronic databases," he said.

The students, although excited said they will not forget the moments that led to this moment. "We are very happy that the library started functioning, however, it still pains to think about what had happened," said Adil an undergraduate student. Meanwhile, Azeem said, "The period of three months when the library was closed was utilised to migrate library management software to an open source software from a commercial one for more effective integration and discovery of resources."

In an estimate submitted to the Human Resource Development Ministry, the Jamia administration said the university suffered damages worth Rs 2.66 crore to its property due to the police barging inside the campus without permission.