  This study is a survey of digital library initiatives in India collecting
secondary information from about fifty digital libraries from their respective
websites. The findings show that in most cases the actual conception of the
digital library is still in a nascent stage. Online subscriptions and links to
third-party websites are also considered digital libraries. However, many
digital libraries do have not any proper search interface on their respective
website due to improper arrangement of metadata. In some cases, they do not
have their own digitized collection and provided other collections or referred
to their users to some third-party website. Moreover, there are many digital
libraries that cannot be accessed outside (remote access) of the organization.
Hence, regular website maintenance, remote access facility, and proper training
of information professionals are required. Moreover, the so-called digital
libraries in India have not developed their own standards or are not following
any global standards. However, the usage statistics for government digital
libraries are far better than the usage statistics of academic or public
libraries. Users are perhaps more interested in government rules, laws, orders,
etc. That is perhaps a positive sign of digital governance and reaching the
public. There are several important observations and policy suggestions that
may be helpful for students, scholars, library professionals, and the
decision-makers in the government.
