काठमाडौं विश्वविद्यालय
Kathmandu University

Central Library

Introduction

Kathmandu University Central Library (KUCL) is in Dhulikhel Campus, Management Library in Balkumari, Arts and Education Library in Hattiban, and for Medical Sciences KUMS Library in Chaukot, Panauti for Basic Sciences, for Clinical Sciences in Dhulikhel Hospital KUTH. All libraries hold books, video and audio cassettes, CD-ROMS, journals and magazines specific to the areas taught on their campus.

Objectives
  • To provide information for the fulfilment of the objectives of the university.
  • To provide information for teaching, research and management of the university.
  • To provide learning materials both in conventional and e-resources for study and research.
  • To adopt ICTs in housekeeping operations of the library.
  • To be a full-fledged modern library.

Collection of Information

KU library system has:

  • 56,091 - Volume of books
  • 2500 - CD-ROMs
  • 200 - Videocassettes
  • 125 - Journal titles and newsletters and
  • 75 - Audio cassettes

Rules and Regulations

  1. Library Opening Hours: 7 A.M. - 8 P. M. in weekdays and 12 PM - 6 PM on Saturday
  2. Books Circulation : 7 A. M.- 7:30 P. M.
  3. All bags, Briefcases and personal belongings should be left outside the Library. Books as well as the personal files should be checked out from the checking counter.
  4. -Body search can be done for those who is suspected of malpractice in the library.
  5. The member is expected to return borrowed books on or before the due date stamped on the date label in the book. An overdue charge will be levied for the late return of the book as follows: Up to 15 days Rs. 1.00 per vol. per day and for rest of the days Rs. 3 per vol. per day.
  6. If the due date lies during holidays or vacation period, the book should be returned to the library on the opening day. Failure to return on the opening day are subject to overdue fines of the holidays/ vacation period too. Books may be renewed if not required by other readers.
  7. Journals, Newspapers and reference materials are to be used only in the library.
  8. In case of loss of Identity Card, Duplicate Card could be made with a fee of Rs. 100.00
  9. The library books are for the benefit of not only the present but also the future members of the library. They should, therefore, be handled with every care and consideration.
  10. Food, drink and smoking are not allowed in the library
  11. Identity Card is not transferable.
  12. Identity Card should be returned to the library while obtaining library clearance.
  13. Those who tear out the pages from the magazine or book will have to pay a fine and the fine will be decided by the librarian.
  14. The following are the penalties for doing malpractice in the library:
    1. First Chance:
      • a fine of Rs. 1000.00 or the triple amount of the book which is going to be stolen; the higher is charged
      • Notify the Director, Student’s Affairs as well as in the Notice Board
      • Inform the guardian
    2. Second Chance:
      • all of the penalties mentioned in (a)
      • suspension of the membership period for the remaining semester or year
    3. Third Chance:
      • all of the penalties mentioned in (b)
      • action to be taken for expulsion

Specialities of KUCL

Location:

Situated in one of the beautiful hills of Dhulikhel, Kavre, 28 km from Kathmandu surrounded by greenery and magnificent view of the Himalayas in the north, in a pollution free environment.

Library Building:

Centrally located within the campus and is accessible within a reach of five minutes from each and every department. It is of three storey building having 10,000 sq ft area in each storey. It is well planned and will be sufficient for future development.

Information Resources:

Being a research cum teaching university, focus has been given to enrich the reference collection with less priority for text books which on the other hand the students themselves would be able to purchase. With this view, the library spent most of the budget in purchasing reference materials. Thus the collection has proved to be a best collection in the respective field and is admired by faculty members and researchers within the campus, as well as the outsiders and visitors. The access to online e-resources received through PERI, WHO & FAO further enriched the resources as well as the research activities in KU.

Library Budget:

Keeping in view the importance of the library, the university has given number one priority among the physical facilities provided by the university. The library budget for books & journals is increasing every year.

Infrastructure:

Periodical section, Technical processing section, Reference section, Stack-cum-reading room, Circulation section, Offices for librarian and assistant librarian, Store are all well designed. They are all equipped with necessary library furniture and equipments designed by the experts.

Internet:

It has got 30 computers connected to the internet and are available to the students from 7 AM to 8 PM in weekdays and on Saturday 12 PM to 6 PM to help them in their study.

Library Automation:

Library automation means automating all the housekeeping operations of the library such as, acquisition, cataloguing, serials control, circulation, OPAC, etc. KU library previously used CDS/ISIS for information storage & retrieval. It was just a computerized catalogue. The technological development and the increasing demand of the users compelled us to think of the library automation, which resulted to purchase Software for University Libraries (SOUL) developed by INFLIBNET Centre, an inter-university centre of UGC of India. It has been installed and used in three different libraries of KU, i.e. Central library, KUMS library and Management & Education library, which made KU library the first academic library to have library automation in Nepalese context. The web-based Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) is a remarkable feature of the software by which a user would be able to find out his/her requirements and his status himself online. The use of Barcode make the circulation work fast and systematic.

Services:

Library provides various services like;

  • Circulation
  • Interlibrary loan
  • Reference and referral services
  • Reprographic services
  • User education
  • Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI)
  • Current Awareness Services (CAS)
  • Paper clippings
  • OPAC services
  • Internet and e-mail services
  • Online Books/Journal/Articles (directly works on KU network/premises; no need for username and password; URL: https://portal.research4life.org/)
    • Hinari (The world's largest collections of biomedical and health literature)
    • AGORA (Digital library collection in the fields of food and agriculture)
    • ARDI (Scientific and technical information)
    • GOALI (Law and social sciences, including politics, economics, philosophy, history and more)
    • OARE (Information resources on environment, including ecology, geography, energy and more)