Camac Street: The British Council library's collection of over a lakh ebooks and videos can now be accessed from all corners of the state with the help of an app.

The digital initiative is an attempt by the British Council to change its image from just a library to an energetic learning and skill-enhancement space by reaching out to a larger audience.

"Our digital archive is not a mirror of our physical library. It offers a larger and ever-increasing number of books, videos and journals to its members," said Debanjan Chakrabarti, the director of British Council (East and North East).

The Camac Street address has around 25,000 books.

The RB Digital app, which was launched last year, will save students and book lovers repeated trips to the library's Camac Street address. "They don't even have to wait for the availability of a particular book in the physical library, Chakrabarti said.

From graphic novels to study material for research scholars, the digital archive hopes to cater to all tastes and needs. "A research scholar will have access to the JSTOR, that offers a wealth of resources online. It will save him/her several rounds of different libraries," Chakrabarti said.

The library offers  a digital-only membership to readers at an annual fee of Rs 1,400. For access to both the physical and digital archives, the fee is Rs 1,800 for individuals and Rs 3,800 for a family of two adults and two kids. A corporate membership comes for Rs 10,000 but does not include access to the digital archive.

The British Council is also focussing on making available contemporary works of fiction and non-fiction from the UK and facilitating the India-UK connect.

"We are hoping to turn the library space into an adda zone that will see interesting events and exchange of ideas and knowledge. And while waiting for a session to start, members can mix different cities and music on our digital Mix the City wall to entertain themselves. Our library space has metamorphosed from being a silent reading zone to a place buzzing with opinions on art, career and social issues," Chakrabarti said.

A correction. Aug 4, 2018
An earlier version of this report had said incorrectly that the library offers a digital membership for a monthly fee of Rs 1,400.  This is actually the annual fee. Also, the annual fee for a family of two adults and two kids is Rs 3,800 and not as mentioned earlier. The errors are regretted.