Pokhara:

The British Council Nepal has opened a virtual library in partnership with Cosmos International College at Palikhe Chowk in Pokhara. The library was officially opened by Dr Andrew Hall, British ambassador on February 23.

The Virtual Library Pokhara provides a range of information services in digital format for students and young professionals, including information on the United Kingdom, education opportunities in the UK, and it supports everyone learning the English language, said Sangha Bhattarai, Events and Public Relation Manager of British Council. She added that members will have access to a wide range of electronic resources from the library and also from home or work.

The resources include E-brary, Online Databases, Encyclopedia Britannica, Infotrac, Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford Reference Online, Grove Art Online, Grove Music Online, Oxford Scholarship Online, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and Ashridge Virtual Learning Resource Centre.

According to Bhattarai, E-brary provides access to 7,500 online books on management and education from more than 200 leading academic and professional publishers and users can personalise the database by keeping items on their personal ‘bookshelf’ and can make their own notes on the items they select.

Members of the British Council Virtual Library Pokhara will also have access to all the library services in Kathmandu, including the lending service, reference enquiries and varied learning events, she added.

To fulfil the growing demand for British Council services outside Kathmandu and to support the British Council’s strategy of ‘Reaching Millions More People’, the Council decided to expand its electronic services outside Kathmandu and chose Pokhara for its first virtual library.

The British Council Nepal has been offering library and information services to all its users for more than 47 years.