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Permalink Reply by Siddhartha Shankar Ray on July 13, 2016 at 18:44

Dear Sri Selvam M.

You can enquire at BCL Chennai. The BCLs have provisions for online access to Institutional Members.

Sincerely,

Siddhartha S. Ray

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Permalink Reply by Selvam M on July 14, 2016 at 19:53

Dear Siddhartha Sir,

Thank you very much for your reply. Its very nice to felt you are always ready to share your information to this forum.

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Permalink Reply by Siddhartha Shankar Ray on July 14, 2016 at 22:07

Dear Sri Selvam M.

Thanks.

But the appreciation really goes to Sri Abilash Achuthan. who so elaborately explained the membership issue.

I have with me the information from BCL Kolkata site but I thought it better that you should approach their Chennai Office.

I have gone through Sri Sayandeep Haldar's post and his perception of its usefulness. As I understand, that the collection development policies &  services of BCLs have undergone a sea change during last couple years! Of course quantitatively their membership has increased significantly but it has lost its earlier glamour and dignity & aristocracy. I know the BCL (CALCUTTA) closely since early 80's ( I was supposed to join them in 1984!!) In those days, majority of the front line Doctors of Calcutta used to become members of BCL (so that they can read afresh the two esteemed weekly Medical journals BMJ & The Lancet which the BCLs used to get directly through Air Mail) while the local Medical Libraries get them through surface mail which used to reach after 8 to 10 weeks at the earliest!!)

With the advent of time and modern technologies, this barrier vanished and the Doctors no longer depend upon the BCL in this Cyber age.

The Book Collection of BCL Calcutta was also splendid and virtually all of the MA Students of the Universities and researchers in Social Sciences and English had no other alternatives but to be a member of the BCL)

Any way, I am sorry as I have plonked a rather unnecessary account of by gone days.

Sincerely,

Siddhartha S. Ray

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Permalink Reply by Shyandeep Haldar on July 13, 2016 at 19:45

Sir,

I am an online member of British Council. There is provision for individual membership as well as institutional membership. The contents are good but I am not sure how much can be useful for research purpose.There are lot of books divided into fiction, short stories drama poetry etc.One thing is sure by accessing and reading these books one can develop good English whether writing reading or speaking. However you can only download the e-books.other e-resources including journals are  for view purpose. log https://www.britishcouncil.in/library to get details.

Regards,

Shyandeep.

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Permalink Reply by Selvam M on July 14, 2016 at 19:56

Dear shyandeep,

Thanks for your valuable reply. I am planning to use the contents for M.Phil Scholars. So, I think accessing eJournals would be very useful.

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Permalink Reply by Abilash Achuthan on July 14, 2016 at 5:47

The British Council Library online with its world-class digital library services accessible from within the comforts of your home and anywhere in India. You can now enjoy premium online services at a fee of only Rs1,100 annually

To register, logon to https://library.britishcouncil.org.in; go to ‘Join Now’ and pay Rs1,100 online after filling up your details and choosing a British Council centre closest to your location. You will receive your username and password the same day.

Your access to Online Library includes access to the following:

• E-Books – Read and download from over 2,25,000 full text books (academic and fiction). The complete database covers areas like Fiction, Arts, Humanities, Engineering, IT & Computers, Management, Medical Sciences, English Language, Literature, Law, History, Social Sciences, and many more.

• E-Journals - 7000 full text e-journals for academic and research purposes across subjects including Engineering, IT & Computers, Management, Medical Sciences, English Language, Business Communication, Literature, Law, History, Social Sciences, and many more.

• E-Literature – Literature Online is a fully searchable library of over 350,000 full-text works of English literature. Includes several literary databases of poetry, plays and fiction.

• E-Magazines – Read from an ultimate collection of international digital magazines including The Economist, Amateur Photographer, New Scientist, etc with the same great articles, photos, and ads as the print version, but packed with the power and convenience of the digital form. Each current issue and archive is delivered to your desktop or mobile device, for you to read anytime, anywhere.

• E-Movies – Watch over 5000 award-winning independent movies, short feature films and documentaries from all over the world. You have unlimited access to thousands of free streaming film-festival hits, including the best of Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, and more.

• E-Learning Modules – Over 40,000 online learning modules on software applications and soft skills (videos and presentations).

• Graphic Novels & E-Comics for Children – 16,000 digital graphic novels and comic books.

• E-Audio Books – Access to over 1000 audio e-books from classic plays, Doctor Who, children's collection and much more.

• E-Newspapers - You get access to more than 4000 newspapers and magazines from across the globe including The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Observer and London Magazine. The e-resource offers some brilliant features as Listening and Instant Translations in up to 18 languages.

The above services are available on any computer with Internet access. It also works on handheld devices through the web browser and various applications.

Note: The above membership is only for Individual not for Institutions.

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Permalink Reply by Selvam M on July 14, 2016 at 19:57

Dear Abilash,

Thank you for your information and it is very useful to know the British council services.

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Permalink Reply by Shuvadeep Sengupta on July 15, 2016 at 6:40

Dear Selvam

British Council has various membership options. Institutional or Access 10 membership is one of them. In this membership, which is designed specifically for institutions or corporate bodies, online resources are not entitled in it. If you like to access the online resources of British Council, you need to opt for Online Membership, which is based on single access per membership. For more information, kindly visit our webpage https://library.britishcouncil.org.in or you can contact me on +91 9830456700.

With kind regards,
Shuvadeep Sengupta
Manager Operations, Library and Information Services
British Council Kolkata

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