Gandhinagar: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah visited the Information and Library Network Centre (INFLIBNET) in Gandhinagar today and reviewed its functioning. During his visit, he offered key suggestions to further strengthen the institution’s reach and services, and launched the mobile application of the Sastu Sahitya Vardhak Karyalaya.

As per an official statement, Shah emphasized the need to make library services more accessible to students and citizens and to modernize public libraries across his constituency. “I am a child of the library myself. Libraries have played a priceless role in shaping my personality,” he remarked, highlighting the transformative power of reading.

Shah expressed his continued commitment to ensuring that every book finds its reader and every reader finds the right book. He advocated for enriching and modernizing libraries in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency through digital integration and connectivity with INFLIBNET’s digital resources. He also praised INFLIBNET’s proposed model for an e-Public Library project.

During his visit, Shah toured the Data Centre at INFLIBNET and recommended further expansion of its capabilities. He also urged the Centre to promote its services more widely so that a greater number of students and libraries can benefit. Shah advocated for the integration of all public libraries in Gujarat and his constituency with the INFLIBNET common portal to ensure seamless access to information. He also stressed the importance of encouraging youth to develop reading habits and called for the digitization and preservation of rare books in Gujarat’s traditional libraries.

The INFLIBNET Centre, an Inter-University Centre (IUC) of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Ministry of Education, Government of India, was launched on February 27, 1991. It aims to modernize university libraries across the country using cutting-edge technology and provides digital access to a wide range of global academic resources for researchers, students, and scholars.

Officials from the Department of Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, librarians from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, and senior scientists and the Director of INFLIBNET were present during the visit. DeshGujarat