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National Digital Transformation: INFLIBNET and UGC-Infonet
Dr. Murthy's most nationally significant contribution is associated with the INFLIBNET Centre (UGC) and its large-scale programmes for academic library networking, scholarly access, and digital knowledge infrastructure. He played a visionary leadership role in establishing the UGC-Infonet e-Journal Consortium in 2003, which was inaugurated by the Hon'ble Indian President Dr. APJ Abdulkalam. This early national model for consortial access to scholarly resources and contributed to the wider policy environment that eventually supported initiatives such as One Nation One Subscription under Hon'ble PM Modi's vision. Dr. Murthy's enormous contribution at INFLIBNET included the start of nationwide use of SOUL integrated library management software, an international conference called CALIBER, establishing regional-level librarian training programs such as IRTPLA, IT@AGRILIBNET, starting a regional conference called PLANNER for North-Eastern India, and initiating a digital library of doctoral theses that later became widely known as Shodhganga. His contributions can be described as;
Digital access to scholarly journals and databases for Indian academia
Resource sharing and document delivery systems through INFLIBNET
Union catalogues and bibliographic standards for academic libraries
Open access, electronic theses and dissertations, and institutional repository development
Information literacy and professional training for librarians and academics
He played a leading role in uplifting INFLIBNET services as a national research and academic enabler, improving access to knowledge, saving crores of rupees for the nation, promoting resource sharing, strengthening Indian higher education, and building infrastructure that outlived his tenure.
Former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, formally dedicated the UGC-Infonet E-Journal Consortium to the nation on December 28, 2003, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The launch coincided with the concluding day of the University Grants Commission's (UGC) Golden Jubilee celebrations. The program was attended by Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, the Minister of Human Resource Development (MHRD) at the time, Dr. Arun Nigavekar, Chairman, UGC.
Dr. T. A. V. Murthy signing a contract with the publisher during the MoU signing ceremony.
Institution Builder and Library Modernizer
Dr. Murthy is one of the very few library professionals who could modernize libraries and information centres across several government and higher education institutions. His contributions and impacts were not simply emphasizing the management of libraries, but transforming them into technology-enabled knowledge hubs. His professional modernization priorities included Library automation and integrated library management systems; Digital repositories and multimedia information systems; Networking among universities and research institutions; Training programmes for library professionals and academics; Digital literacy, access equity, and support for underserved regions etc. This long institutional arc makes him an important national figure who contributed to nation-building and institutional building with demonstrated continuity in his leadership abilities. He contributed, in addition to INFLIBNET Ahmedabad, to the following organisations.
Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad
Institute of Defence Management, Secunderabad
University of Hyderabad
Small Industry Extension Training Institute, Hyderabad
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
National Library, Kolkata
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi
Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad
English Foreign Languages University, Hederabad (also as Registrar)
EMRC, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad
INFLIBNET Centre, Ahmedabad
Professional networks and national training programmes
Pioneer of Cultural Informatics and Digital Heritage
At the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Dr. Murthy is credited on the website with establishing the Kalanidhi Reference Library and Manuscript Information System, leading the Multimedia Digital Library Project, and contributing to cultural informatics initiatives that integrated technology with Indian cultural heritage. The website also refers to the establishment of India's first Cultural Informatics Laboratory at IGNCA in 1994, focusing on digital technologies, multimedia, manuscripts, archives, preservation, documentation and public engagement. Dr. Murthy's career connects librarianship with cultural memory and national heritage, moves beyond conventional academic library administration and shows how information science methods can preserve, organize and disseminate India's artistic, manuscript and archival resources for scholars and the public. The cultural informatics contribution from him is a national heritage contribution: the application of information technology to preserve and communicate Indian knowledge traditions, in which Dr. Murthy took another visionary leadership role.
Scholarship, Publications and Knowledge Leadership
He published books, edited conference proceedings, journal articles, book chapters and conference papers spanning from the late 1970s onward. The subjects show an unusually broad and forward-looking agenda: databases, regional planning, agricultural information, document delivery, e-journals, resource sharing, UGC-Infonet, ETDs, institutional repositories, multilingual computing, copyright, digital libraries, cultural heritage and information literacy.
Selected books and edited volumes
1998 Sustainable Library and Information Services - Proceedings of 43rd ILA Conference
2002 Proceedings of CALIBER 2002
2003 Automation of Libraries in North East Region - PLANNER 2003
2003 Mapping Technology on Libraries and People - CALIBER 2003
2004 Content Creation, Access and Management in Networking Environment - PLANNER 2004
2004 Librarian's Guide to WWW
2005 Library Without Walls
2009 Doctoral Theses Collection in Indian University Libraries: Problems and Solutions
2022 Design and Development of an Information System for Small Industry
Capacity Building, Mentorship and Recognition
Dr. Murthy's professional record includes extensive orientation, training and capacity-building programmes across universities, colleges and professional forums, including programmes such as CALIBER, IRTPLA, IT@AGRILIBNET and PLANNER, with special attention to libraries in North-Eastern India.
As a research mentor, he is described as an academic guide associated with several universities and as a supervisor of doctoral scholars in Library and Information Science. His mentoring role adds depth to the infrastructure story: he not only builds systems; he helps build professional talent to sustain those systems.
His Legacy of National Impact
Dr. Murthy repeatedly applied information technology to widen access, connect institutions, preserve knowledge, train professionals and improve the public value of libraries. Dr. T. A. V. Murthy's career can be summarized as the work of a national knowledge infrastructure builder. His contribution spans three major domains: academic digital access through INFLIBNET and UGC-Infonet; institution building and library modernization across major national bodies; and cultural informatics for digital heritage preservation.
His significance lies in his role in connecting professional librarianship to national development. Through networking, automation, resource sharing, e-journal consortia, research visibility, cultural informatics, and training programmes, he helped move Indian academic libraries from isolated collections toward connected, technology-enabled knowledge systems.
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