NatWest Group India and ISDM unveil a first-of-its-kind Digital Library for the Social Sector

New Delhi, June 14, 2023: Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), in partnership with NatWest Group India, has launched the NatWest Library which is available in both digital and physical form with the physical set-up at the ISDM’s NCR campus.

It is an effort to bring together carefully curated knowledge on a wide range of Development and Management topics that will have a far-reaching impact for social purpose organisations (SPOs), professionals, researchers, academicians, and students alike.

The library will deliver access to various open access and subscribed online databases, newspapers, journals, magazines, and millions of eBooks via a single access platform. It will start with more than 2 million open access eBooks, 517 journals, 4,413 international newspapers, 85 international academic presses, and 8 United Nations database. The physical library is also home to 3034 books at present and the plan is to expand it to 7000.

This partnership with the ISDM is an extension of NatWest Group’s commitment to supporting organisations engagement in sustainability and societal transformation. The launch was officiated by Tania Chatterjee, Head of Sustainable Banking, NatWest Group India along with Sharad Agarwal, Founder Director of ISDM at the Noida campus.

Speaking at the launch, Chatterjee said, “We are excited about the launch of the NatWest digital and the physical library in collaboration with ISDM. The library will furnish access to the most up-to-date resources on sustainability and development related emerging trends, information, practices, and frameworks. This state-of-the-art digital library will serve as a great platform for students, academicians, and practitioners to access knowledge and information that will equip them to develop evidence-driven projects and influence the social and environmental ecosystem.”

Membership to the library will be through an institutional integration mechanism that will ensure customised and streamlined access to content relevant to the respective users.

On the occasion of the NatWest Library launch, Agarwal said, “The launch of the library is a significant milestone for ISDM, and more importantly for the social sector. ISDM has always been a digital-forward organisation in its curricula, the creation and dissemination of knowledge, and in establishing models of collaboration. The NatWest Library has provided ISDM the opportunity to open a world of important and critical knowledge products, books, journals to researchers, development professionals, and students. The vision of a just, humane, equitable society through the tenets of Development Management must begin with equity in being able to acquire appropriate knowledge for communities and the planet. We welcome SPOs, researchers, and others to come draw from this very indispensable digital library platform.”

ISDM reinforced its commitment to increase accessibility and expand the collection of resources to make it more contextual to the requirements of the development sector through the process of regular engagement and continuous feedback.