Lucknow's iconic library is now fully digitised

Lucknow, May 19 Lucknow's iconic Amir-ud-Daula Public Library is now 100 per cent digitised with as many as eight lakh pages of 24,000 rare and antique books and manuscripts.

The library has over 1.6 lakh books.

The digitisation process of the library was started in 2020 under the Smart City project.

Shashi Kala, head librarian of Amir-ud-Daula Public Library, said, "A private company, Informatics Publishing, was given the task, which was completed in two phases."

"Some rare manuscripts, which are as old as 300-400 years old, have also been digitised and even improved for readability with 300 DPI (dots per inch) quality. Several teams undertook the digitisation process with each page of the book being scanned through a Czur scanner, " said Raj Aryan, facility manager of Informatics Publishing.

"Any student with library membership can access the library's website online at -- lucknowdigitallibrary.com -- and access all these books. As many as 1,000 e-newspapers and magazines can also be accessed here," he added.

Along with digitisation, a self-help kiosk has also been installed at the library.

At this kiosk, a member can issue a book by punching a card without the assistance of others. A sensor machine has been installed at the gate's exit, and any book taken out of the premises without being issued would trigger a siren.

A museum dedicated to Mushi Naval Kishore at the Amir-ud-Daula library premises in 2006, however, lies neglected with several of the old machines, Litho stones, typecasts collecting dust.

A big iron machine used for printing has been kept in an abandoned corner. Several Letho stones, one typecast, have also been kept at a corner, covered with dust.

Shashi Kala, when asked, said that dust and dirt is due to the ongoing maintenance activity. She said that it will be taken care of after the work is over.