Nepal Library and Information Consortium (NeLIC)

The Nepal Library and Information Consortium (NeLIC) was established by a group of institutions with the idea of facilitating access to electronic resources to Nepali educational institutions. It was established on 10 December, 2009, as a non-profit organisation under the Social Organisations Registration Act 2034 with the objective of becoming the nodal body to help provide educational information services in Nepal, including access to journal databases and other electronic resources.

Objectives:

The main objective of NeLIC is the provision and dissemination of information in digital format. In order to fulfill these objectives, NeLIC will:

• help libraries, research institutions and education service providers in delivering library and information services effectively and efficiently through the use of  information and communications technology (ICT);

• help provide access to electronic databases to the widest possible group of users;

• try to achieve cost effectiveness for members by providing the maximum quantity, the best quality and the widest variety of information resources;

• promote information and resource-sharing among members and the general public;

• promote the deployment of appropriate ICT technologies, with particular emphasis on free and open source software (FOSS) among members, and facilitate training and availability of ICT expertise; and

• promote fruitful interaction and inter-dependability by developing standards among member institutions.

Partners:

As part of its strategy to meet its goals, NeLIC will form partnerships with national and international organisations and networks. NeLIC has already become associated with two major international initiatives that provide support to developing countries with electronic resource accession as well as other technical and non-technical support:

• eIFL.net (Electronic Information for Libraries) www.eifl.net
• INASP (International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications) www.inasp.info

Other activities

While efforts are ongoing to increase the activities of NeLIC, the following are some of the areas of its focus:

Open Access

NeLIC plans to work towards building a network of open repositories and open access journals; provide training and advice on Open Access policies and practices; and empowers library professionals, scientists and scholars, educators and students to become open access advocates.

• Free and Open Source Software

NeLIC advocates the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in libraries. Through this programme, NeLIC aims to raise awareness and understanding of FOSS in Nepal.

• Intellectual property

Intellectual property and copyright issues are likely to gain greater importance in the years to come. NeLIC will take the lead to protect and promote the interests of libraries on copyright and intellectual property issues with librarians becoming activists for fair and balanced copyright laws as well as leaders in promoting access to knowledge in the digital age.

Source: nelic.org