About us
The Knowledge Resource Division (KRD) is the research library that officially serves the CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre. It is one of the leading research libraries in the field of Structural and Civil Engineering in India, aiming to fulfil the research and information needs of the scientific and academic community of the institute as well as the scholars from other institutions from all over India.
Nestled amidst the greenery in the campus, the KRD building was designed to allow abundant natural light and quiet ambience, and was inaugurated in the year 1994. Aesthetically laid, and in an ambience conducive to serious reading, is the modern centrally air-conditioned building. Its stately reading hall of two floors height houses the reference collections and the current journals. The stacks hold the back volumes for convenience of reference. This area also houses the standards collection. On the Mezzanine floor, books are arranged in bays for easy location using bay guides and shelf locators.
The KRD's collection of over 40,000 consisting of books, back volumes, standards, microfiche, maps, CD Rom, which covers almost all aspects of structural engineering and its related sciences, not limited by format, or national boundary, and includes research materials from all parts of the world and comprises of documents in English, Hindi, French and German languages.
The staff members at KRD are assigned as liaisons to facilitate discovery, retrieval, and integration of print and digital information. Thanks to highly advanced access and retrieval technologies together with professional expertise, the huge collection of knowledge is made available at every staff member's desktop itself.
The KRD offers a wide range of services to satisfy the requirements of users. All operations and services of the KRD have been automated using KOHA, an open-source library software. A web OPAC module facilitates search on the intranet/internet environment. Users have seamless access to all resources from their desktops. Online access to journals is provided through one nation one subscription (ONOS) and National Knowledge Resource Consortium of CSIR-SERC. The RFID security system has been installed which includes anti-theft and also easy issue / return of documents. A self-service kiosk for automated issue/renewal of documents and a drop-box for automated return of documents is available as a part of the RFID system. The users are issued with smart cards for accessing these automated services.
Institutional Membership
The KRD is an institutional member of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC), Federation Internationale du Beton (FIB), Reunion Internationale Des Laboratoires Et Experts Des Materiaux Systemes De Construction Et Ovurages (RILEM), France, Indian Buildings Congress (IBS) and International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE).
KRD Membership
The KRD is also open to non CSIR-SERC/CSIR users, with several categories of memberships being available. Category A is a daily membership. Categories B-H are annual memberships.
|
Category |
Category Type |
Amount |
Max. No. of Passes |
|
A |
Temporary Membership |
50 / person / day |
- |
|
B |
Educational Institutions (Govt) |
1000 / pass |
4 |
|
C |
Educational Institutions (Private) |
10000 |
4 |
|
D |
Govt. Organizations |
1000 / pass |
4 |
|
E |
Public Sector Undertakings |
2000 / pass |
4 |
|
F |
Private Organizations |
20000 |
4 |
|
G |
Private Individuals/Consultants |
1000 / pass |
1 |
|
H |
Students, Govt. Employees |
500 / pass |
1 |
|
I |
Retired SERC/CSIR Staff |
Free entry / No charge |
1 |
KRD Opening Hours
Monday – Friday 9 A.M. to 5.30 P.M.
Contact Details
Head, Knowledge Resource Division,
CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre Library, CSIR Campus,
TTTI Post, Taramani, Chennai 600 113
Telephone 044 2254 9131/132/133
Email liba.serc@csir.res.in


