Calcutta University has thrown open its Central Library collection for reading to the public.
The library now has books by James Patterson, Sydney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer, among others, which anyone can borrow.
Earlier, the collection was only accessible to students and faculty members of the university.
The Central Library has been refurbished and a number of books have been purchased with a one-time grant of Rs 2 crore from the West Bengal Directorate of Library Services and Mass Education in 2016-17.
Housed on the first and second floors of the Centenary Building on the College Street campus, the library has added books on women studies, films, sports and general fiction. Academic texts and references were already there.
“We have books on competitive exams, too. And it’s not just UPSC exams, we have books on clerkship exams, banking exams, and WBCS and UPSC exams. So those students who cannot afford to buy these books can readily access them in the public library,” said CU vice-chancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee.
“The library can also help women, home-makers, retired people who can come to the Central Library and read. There are books on film studies, one can also watch movies at the library...,” said the VC.
All PhD dissertations submitted to the university can be found in the library.
“All dissertations have been digitised. It helps PhD students identify research gaps,” said the VC.
The dissertations are not just on social science or language studies. There are science dissertations, too, including ones on medical science.