GENESIS:

The Library of R. A. Podar College of Commerce & Economics (Autonomous) Matunga, Mumbai-19 was established in 1941, the same year when the college came into being. The library is located on the second and third floors of the main building. Mr. P. K. Garde was the first librarian serving the college library from 1942-1945. After retirement from the college, Mr. Garde got the opportunity to work as a librarian of the Hammer shield Section of the UNESCO Library. Mr. L. K. Gorey, Mr. B. V. Modgi, Mr. P. V. Ainapure, Mr. M. Ketkar, and Dr. V.V. Deshpande also served as librarians in this prestigious college in the subsequent years. The college library began with a modest collection of a few thousand books and expanded into a substantial collection with 1,20,096 physical books and 2565 bound volumes of national and international periodicals as of the academic year 2023-24. The college library has transitioned from a print-based to an electronic and hybrid format. Additionally, it began to subscribe to online journals, e-books, and electronic databases.

The current librarian, Mr. Santosh Patil, and his team of professionals, semiprofessional staff, have created a welcoming and conducive environment in the library. They are successfully managing the library and providing online and offline library services to meet the needs of its students, teachers, and researchers.

The College library works on the following five fundamental library laws:
1. Books are for use
2. Every Reader his/her book
3. Every book its reader
4. Save the time of the reader
5. The Library is a growing organism.

We believe that the college library is the entrance to knowledge and that it offers a necessary foundation for independent thought, lifelong learning, and the cultural development of both students and teachers. Our college library has continued to expand throughout the years as a result of concentrating on this crucial role.

2. Total Collection of the Library as of 31 st March 2024:


3. Area of the Library:


4. Working Schedule of the Library:

5. Daily Turnover of the Library:
6. Seating Arrangement

7. Collection Development:
New books are added to the library collection every year to enhance, enrich collection of the library and to support teaching, learning, and research. Details of the amount spent on library resources during last year:

Items added during 2023-24
	Number	Total Cost (Rs)
Books	1782+	8,65,619
Journals/Periodicals	42	1,22,102/-
E-Resources	11700	4,38,504/-
Newspapers	13	35,000/-
Total		14,61,225/-

Periodicals on the list for 2023-24

Online Journals and Databases for 2023-24

Newspapers

8. Fully Computerized Library:
To keep pace with the strides made in educational technology, the college library has been fully computerized with library management software iSLIM with cloud-based access. OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) and Internet facilities are also made available to the users.

Computer LAN of the Library:


7. Internet Facility:

The college campus is WIFI-enabled. It also has a dedicated Leased Line Internet connectivity with a speed of 200 Mbps. It facilitates access to the e-resources available on the internet. Users can browse the online resources on and off campus. A laser printer is also provided in sharing connectivity for printout purposes.

8. Photocopy Facility: A digital photocopy machine with three-in-one (Scan- Copy-Print) is available in the library for students and teachers.

9. Book Bank: For one academic year at a time, sets of books are given to needy students under the scheme of ‘College Book Bank’ and ‘University of Mumbai Book Bank’ This year the college library has allotted 88 sets of books to degree college students

10. Newspapers: The college library is subscribing to 13 Daily Newspapers in two sets, one for teachers and one for the students. These newspapers are kept in the Reading Hall for students and in the staff common room for teachers

13. OTHER LIBRARY ACTIVITIES:

Plagiarism Check:

To enhance the quality of research and to encourage and support the genuine output of scholars, the college library started providing a plagiarism checking facility through URKUND/DRILL BIT Anti-Plagiarism Software for Research article, Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate projects and dissertations, M. Phil Dissertation and PhD Thesis.

Library Orientation program: Every year the library conducts a Library Orientation Program for newcomers in order to make them aware of the library facilities available to them.

Book Exhibition: It has been a regular practice of our college library to hold a ‘Book Exhibition-Cum Sale’ event every year to provide an opportunity for the faculty and students to have a glance at recent publications and to facilitate the purchase of books to enrich library collection. This has been a prominent event of our college library.

Best Readers’ Award: Every year the college library gives the “Best Readers of The Year Award” to the students who make the best possible use of library facilities and spend quality time in the library. The award carries a certificate and a trophy.

Recipients of this award for the last three years:

Academic Year	Name of Students	Class	Prize
2020-21	Ms Vaishnavi Sharma	T.Y.B.Com.	1st Prize
	Ms Tanvi Dombe	T.Y.B.Com.	2nd Prize
2021-22	Ms. Tanaya Kambli	S.Y.B.M.S	1st Prize
	Ms. Tanvi Mestry	F.Y.B.Com.	2nd Prize
2022--23	Ms. Tanaya V. Kambli	T.Y.B.M.S	1st Prize
	Ms. Mukti M. Satra	S.Y.J.C.	2nd Prize
2023-24	Mr. Soham Pokharkar	T.Y.B.Com.	1st Prize
	Ms. Nithyasree Subramanian	S.Y.B.Sc.	2nd Prize

Library Funds: TThe funds for the library come in the form of fees from the students. Some share of grants comes from the University Grants Commissions, New Delhi, and a special allocation of funds comes from the parent body of the college, S. P. Mandali, Pune. For the year 2023-24, College Library received a budget of Rs 16,00,000/-to be utilized on enhancing and enriching library collection.

Grievance Redressal of the Readers:

1) Speak to Librarian/Chairman of LAC: Students can raise problems related to the library, its staff and its services. The librarian/Chairman of LAC will try to resolve them in his capacity or forward them to the Principal of the college.

2) Suggestion Box: A suggestion box is kept at the entrance of the library seeking valuable suggestions and recommendations from the readers. The suggestions made by them are taken up and discussed in the library committee meeting and they are implemented accordingly.

3) Library Advisory Committee for 2023-24 The Library Committee plays a vital role in enhancing and developing the library services, making suitable policies that will help the library to render its best. The committee holds two meetings every year. If required more meetings are also held.

Generally, the first meeting is held in the month of July, in which the Library Budget, allotment of funds to all the departments, previous year’s stock-taking report, and other issues related to the library and its services are taken up with the permission of the chairperson of the library committee for discussion. The second meeting is held in January or the in first week of February in which the resolutions passed in the previous meeting are followed up and reviewed. Other issues prevailing at the time are also taken up.

Members of LAC:

Library Staff :