January 31, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 1, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: The Higher Education Commission (HEC), besides providing research journals through its digital library initiative, will also provide E-Books. One of the main objectives of the HEC is to provide innovative mechanisms to support the delivery of information as well as teaching and research aids to enhance the academic experience in universities across the country, a press release said.

Following the development of a world-leading digital library programme of the commission, which now provides access to thousands of leading research journals and a wide range of academic databases, the HEC has expanded the programme to include access to leading academic books online.

The E-books support programme allows researchers to access leading academic books in electronic format, in a wide range of subject areas.

Over 20 leading digital libraries of the world are currently providing free access to their content through the digital library E-Books programme. Access is free to all who wish to utilize these resources. A complete listing of books currently available under the programme may be viewed by visiting the digital library website.

The most important of these libraries include Project Gutenberg, containing a collection of over 5,000 classic literary books; the National Academy Press, containing over 2,500 books in science, engineering, and health texts free online; and the Oxford Text Archive, containing more than 2,500 high-quality books for research and teaching.

Also included are top medical dictionaries and encyclopaedias such as medical encyclopaedia and medical dictionary online.

A number of foreign institutional repositories have also been identified that promote usage of their online resources, and these have been included for reference.

In the near future, the digital library programme seeks to acquire more electronic books that cater to the specific needs of the public.