DELNET: Strengthening Resource Sharing Among Indian Libraries

Every library, no matter how large its budget, faces the same hard limit: it cannot own everything. A research scholar in a small college might need a rare monograph held only in a Delhi institution, or a journal article published decades ago. Buying every possible resource is impossible, but sharing them is not. This is the problem DELNET set out to solve. As the first operational library network of its kind in the country, DELNET turned isolated collections into a connected web where a request placed in one library can be fulfilled by another hundreds of kilometres away.

Origin and objectives of DELNET 🔗

DELNET began at the India International Centre Library in January 1988. At the time, libraries in Delhi were growing rapidly in number and size, but they were constrained by limited budgets and shortage of space to house ever-expanding collections. Rather than duplicate purchases, the libraries chose to pool their resources through automation and networking. This idea took concrete shape with the launch of DELNET in 1988, and the network was formally registered as a society in 1992.

The initiative was made possible by institutional backing. The National Information System for Science and Technology (NISSAT), then a project under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, took the lead in setting up metropolitan library networks across the country. NISSAT provided the early financial support and infrastructure for DELNET. Technological strength came from the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which contributed software, databases, and connectivity. Over time, the network was also supported by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Originally called the Delhi Library Network, the network’s reach soon spilled well beyond the capital. As libraries from other states began joining, the name was changed on 13 September 2000 to the Developing Library Network, signalling that it was no longer a metropolitan project but a network without geographic limits.

The objectives of DELNET are practical and clear. According to its official statement of aims, the network exists to promote resource sharing among member libraries by collecting, storing, and disseminating information; to offer networked library services to users; to undertake research in information science and technology; to give technical guidance to member libraries; to coordinate efforts for suitable collection development; and to facilitate inter-library loan and document delivery. Underlying all of these is a single guiding principle: reduce unnecessary duplication of resources wherever possible.

Inter-library loan and document delivery services 🔗

The heart of DELNET is its Inter-Library Loan (ILL) and Document Delivery Service. Inter-library loan is a service that allows the users of one library to borrow materials physically held by another. DELNET applies this principle on a national scale, so that a member library short of a particular book or journal can obtain it from a partner library that holds it.

How the system works 🔗

The process is straightforward for the user. A reader or librarian first searches DELNET’s union catalogues to find which member library holds the required material. ILL requests for books can be registered online through the system. For resources not listed in the union catalogues, and for journal articles, requests can be sent to DELNET by e-mail. The holding library then supplies the item, either by sending the physical book through courier or by providing a photocopy or scanned copy of journal articles and book chapters. DELNET has also prepared formal ILL guidelines so that member libraries follow a consistent procedure.

There are modest costs involved. Actual photocopying charges, where applicable, and courier or postal charges for materials procured from outside the local city are billed extra. To make physical delivery faster and more reliable, DELNET introduced its own courier service with financial help from NIC.

Why it matters 🔗

The real value of this service shows up in smaller institutions. A college library with a limited collection can effectively offer its students access to the holdings of large university and research libraries across the country. In this way, individual libraries become access points to a vast, distributed collection rather than self-contained islands. This model of interlibrary loan and resource sharing is used by library systems worldwide, and DELNET adapted it for the Indian context where the gap between well-funded and resource-poor libraries can be wide.

Online databases and union catalogues 🔗

If inter-library loan is the engine of DELNET, its union catalogues are the map that makes the engine usable. A union catalogue is a combined catalogue that records the holdings of many libraries in one searchable place, so a user can see at a glance which institution holds a particular item.

The union catalogue of books 🔗

DELNET maintains an online union catalogue of books drawn from the collections of its member libraries. This catalogue is continuously updated and has grown into one of the largest bibliographic resources of its kind in the region. Records can be retrieved by author, title, subject, conference, or series, and an inter-library loan request can be placed directly through the online system once an item is located.

Periodicals, theses, and specialised databases 🔗

Beyond books, DELNET has built a wide range of databases. These include a union list of current periodicals covering science and technology, social sciences, and humanities, which is a major resource for document delivery; a union catalogue of periodicals containing full holdings data; and a database of periodical articles. The network has also compiled a database of theses and dissertations submitted to various universities and institutions, a database of Indian specialists, a union list of video recordings, an Urdu manuscripts’ database, and a database of newspapers.

This breadth is significant. A research student looking for an unpublished thesis, a librarian tracing an old journal article, and a faculty member seeking conference proceedings can all use the same network. Historically, the databases were maintained on DELNET’s in-house software, and access to NIC infrastructure made this large-scale hosting possible.

Over the years DELNET has expanded from a metropolitan project into a network connecting libraries across most of the country’s states and union territories, along with member institutions in a handful of other countries. Its catalogues now offer access to millions of bibliographic records of books, journals, articles, and other documents, which makes it the largest resource-sharing library network of its type in South Asia. The exact figures keep growing, so it is best to treat any single count as a snapshot rather than a fixed number.

Consortia and electronic resources 🔗

DELNET has also moved into the world of electronic resources through consortia arrangements. A library consortium lets a group of libraries jointly subscribe to costly databases and journals at negotiated rates, spreading the expense across many institutions. DELNET runs consortia for e-journals and e-books in fields such as management, pharmacy, medical science, and engineering, and it offers access to a large e-book collection and plagiarism-detection software for its members. This complements the older inter-library loan model: where ILL shares physical items already owned, the consortium model pools purchasing power for digital content.

Training and research support 🔗

A network is only as strong as the people who run it. DELNET recognised early that librarians needed continuous training to keep pace with changing technology, and it built professional development into its mission.

NACLIN: the flagship convention 🔗

DELNET’s best-known training initiative is the National Convention on Knowledge, Library and Information Networking (NACLIN). Held every year since 1998, NACLIN brings together library professionals, information scientists, and technology experts from across the country. Each convention is usually hosted in partnership with a university, with recent editions organised in collaboration with institutions in different states.

NACLIN serves several purposes at once. It is a forum for knowledge exchange, where professionals share best practices and new ideas. It includes hands-on tutorials and workshops on emerging tools and technologies. It is also a community-building event that strengthens the professional network of librarians, and a space to discuss the strategic future of library services. Recent conventions have run tutorials on subjects such as cyber security preparedness and content management systems, reflecting how the profession’s needs are shifting toward digital skills.

Workshops and digital resource management 🔗

Beyond the annual convention, DELNET conducts tutorials, lectures, workshops, and webinars throughout the year. A recurring focus is digital resource management, covering topics such as digital collection development, preservation, and the use of library management software. These shorter programmes let librarians upgrade specific skills without waiting for the yearly convention.

DELNET’s mandate also extends to research. As part of its objectives, the network undertakes work in information science and technology, develops new systems in the field, and applies and publishes its findings. This research role distinguishes a library network from a simple shared catalogue: DELNET is meant not only to connect libraries but to advance the practice of library science itself.

Why DELNET still matters 🔗

Decades after its launch, the problem DELNET was built to address has not disappeared. Information continues to multiply, user expectations keep rising, and library budgets remain tight. Resource sharing offers a way for libraries to grow their effective collections collaboratively rather than competitively. By combining union catalogues, inter-library loan, document delivery, electronic consortia, and ongoing training under one roof, DELNET remains a working model of what coordinated library cooperation can achieve. For students and researchers, it quietly removes a barrier they may never notice: the boundary between what their own library owns and what the wider community of libraries can lend.

What do you think? If your college library could give you access to the collections of hundreds of other libraries through a network like DELNET, how would that change the way you approach your research? And as more resources move online, do you think physical inter-library loan will remain relevant, or will electronic consortia eventually take its place?

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_networks_in_India
2. https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/26309/1/Unit-2.pdf
3. http://delnet.in/index.html
4. http://delnet.in/delivery-services.html
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlibrary_loan
6. https://delnet.in/delnet-databases.html
7. http://delnet.in/latest-programmes.html
8. http://delnet.in/professional-training.html