All There is to Know About HEC Digital Library

Overview of HEC
What is HEC Digital Library?
Institutes Affiliated with HEC Digital Library
How to Access HEC Digital Library
How to Register for HEC Digital Library

With the advancements in technology, every aspect of our lives has been made easier, even education. Before the internet, in order to properly research, one had to go through many books, articles, journals etc., but now it can be done with just a few clicks, but even then there were many limitations and issues of access, however that has all been solved with the introduction of HEC digital library. 

Scroll down to find out more about this programme and how to use HEC digital library!

Overview of HEC 

Formed in 1974, HEC or the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan is responsible for handling and overseeing all the matters related to higher education in the country. From planning and executing higher education curriculums to attesting all graduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as providing scholarships to students at the national and international levels, HEC has a wide range of responsibilities.  

To find out more about the roles and responsibilities of HEC, read our guide on registering on HEC E-portal or the HEC student portal.  

What is HEC Digital Library?

The National Digital Library Programme (NDLP) is a nonprofit e-learning platform, having a huge collection of E-books and research material. As per the digital library’s website, there is around 75,000 electronic content available for the researchers to use anytime.

One of the many responsibilities the education commission has is to boost research in the country, thus in order to fulfil this responsibility, the commission has collaborated with many national and international organisations to provide researchers with access to scholarly articles. 

Not only is this platform beneficial to students and researchers, it also greatly benefits the faculty members in providing quality content to the students.

If you are a faculty member, looking to facilitate your students, all you need to do is access the list of educational institutes affiliated with HEC digital library and register your institution. 

Resources

As mentioned above, a user can access countless high quality, databases and peer-reviewed journals with the help of the national digital library programme. 

A user will have access to two types of resources:

• Basic Resources
• Premium Resources

Basic Resources

These resources are made available to affiliated universities, colleges as well as academic and research institutes across the country.

These resources include:

• Ovid
• Springer Link
• ASTM
• INFORMS
• Wiley
• Taylor & Francis (T&F)
• PQDT

Premium Resources

Limited public and private universities are given access to these resources, as they are a bit expensive, they include:

• IEEE
• JSTOR
• IOP
• Scopus (HEC Only)
• Web of Science (HEC Only)
• ACS
• Science Direct
• Emerald
• AIP
• ACM

Institutes Affiliated with HEC Digital Library

A number of public and private institutes are affiliated with the National Digital Library Programme. Here are some of the most well-known universities in both the sectors that belong to the list of affiliated institutes with HEC digital library:

Public Universities

• Air university (Islamabad)
• Institute of Space Technology (Islamabad)
• Quaid-e-Azam University (Islamabad)
• COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (Islamabad)
• Kinnaird College for Women (Lahore)
• King Edward Medical University (Lahore)
• University of Engineering & Technology (Lahore)
• Dow University of Health Sciences (Karachi)
• Pakistan Naval Academy (Karachi)
• NED University of Engineering & Technology (Karachi)
• University of Karachi

Private Universities

• Capital University of Science & Technology (Islamabad)
• Riphah International University (Islamabad)
• Foundation University (Islamabad)
• Punjab Law College (Rawalpindi)
• Lahore School of Economics
• University of Management & Technology (Lahore)
• Lahore University of Management Sciences
• University of South Asia (Lahore)
• Aga Khan University (Karachi)
• Mohammad Ali Jinnah University (Karachi)
• Commecs Institute of Business and Emerging Sciences (Karachi)
• Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (Karachi)
• PAF-KIET (Karachi)
• Institute of Business Management (Karachi)

If you wish to see the complete list of universities and research institutes affiliated with HEC national digital library, you can visit the following webpage, http://www.digitallibrary.edu.pk/institutes.php.  

Eligibility Criteria

The National Digital Library cannot be accessed at an individual level; one can access it only through an affiliated institute. 

The institutes need to fulfil the eligibility criteria, in order to be registered with the e-learning platform. Here is the eligibility criteria for this program:

• Degree awarding public and private sector universities that are recognised by HEC
• Institutes operating under HEC recognised institutes
• Non-profit research institutes
• Teaching hospitals
• Higher education colleges
• Other organisations that are recognised by HEC

Institutes that cannot access the National Digital Library fall under the below-mentioned criteria:

• Universities not recognised by HEC
• Military institutes or the ones affiliated with the military, except the ones recognised by HEC
• Atomic or nuclear research and development institutes

Terms and Conditions

Before registering your institute with the HEC digital library, you must thoroughly go through the terms and conditions put forward by HEC. Here are some of the conditions that you must follow if you wish to avail the services:

• Participants must not take any of the materials for financial advantage
• Copyrights of all the publishers affiliated with the national digital library must be respected
• Downloaded copies must not be used for public use

You can find the detailed terms and conditions on the Digital library’s webpage. 

How to Access HEC Digital Library

 If you are looking to access HEC digital library as an individual you first need to make sure your institute is affiliated with the e-library. If your institute is associated with this learning platform, then all you need to do is follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Visit http://www.digitallibrary.edu.pk/institutes.php
• You will find the institutes to be divided according to the sector they belong to
• Click on the sector your institute belongs to
• You will now find the institutes to be divided as per the region they are located in
• Click on the name of your institute
• You will be redirected to a page, that shows the list of content you will be allowed to access
• Contact the institutional representative regarding the matter, they will provide you with the credentials to access the material

How to Register for HEC Digital Library

In case your university isn’t associated with the National Digital Library Programme, visit the webpage and follow the below mentioned steps: http://www.digitallibrary.edu.pk/app_form.html

• Download the form 
• Fill the form
• The information you will require will include the name and type of institution, details about the contact person, signature of the applicant and  the head of the institution
• Once the form is filled, make sure there are no spelling mistakes and send it to Mr. Muhammad Asim Khan on the following email address : masim@hec.gov.pk
• The subject line of the email must be “Registration Form”

With this we come to the end of our blog, we have told you what HEC digital library is and all that you need to know about, from the available resources on the portal to the affiliated universities, as well as how to access and register your institute for the programme. 

If you have any queries, please write to us at  blogs@jagahonline.com.

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Happy Researching!