Dr. H.K. Kaul, Library and Information Science specialist, author, poet, bibliographer and institution builder displays in his personality the wisdom of a knowledge expert, 50 years experience as a Library specialist, the creativity of a poet and the man with a vision who established two institutions, the DELNET – Developing Library Network in 1988 and the Poetry Society (India) in 1984. He is Director DELNET and President, The Poetry Society (India).
He has been the Chairman of several committees of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Ministry of Culture and DRDO. He is the Member, National Mission on Libraries, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, 2012. He was the Chairman of National Mission on Libraries, Working Group on National Virtual Library, Modernisation and Networking of Libraries, 2012. He has been member of the Working Group on Libraries of the National Knowledge Commission, Indian National Commission for Unesco, and the member of major national committees such as High Powered Committee on the Government of India Libraries, Ministry of Culture, Government of India; Advisory Board, National Library, Calcutta, Board of Management, National Library, Calcutta; Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation, Calcutta; Delhi Library Board; Committee to Review the Functioning of the Asiatic Society set up by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India; National Selection Committee, Fulbright Professional Fellowships in Information Science and Technology; Scientific Advisory Committee, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India; Working Group on Libraries and Informatics, and Convenor, Sub-Group on Modernisation, Manpower Development, Informatics and Finance, Ninth Five Year Plan, 1997-2002. Planning Commission, Government of India, among many other important assignments.
Dr. Kaul is the Founder Director of DELNET, and worked as Chief Librarian of India International Centre, New Delhi. He served the Centre for 40 years. He is internationally known as an expert in Library Networking. DELNET has become the major Library Network in South Asia. It networks more than 6,000 libraries; gives access to 2.5 crore records of books, articles, journals, etc.; gives access to online full text content; offers library management software at subsidized rates and inter-library loan services at national and international levels to scholars living in any part of the world. He has developed it as the first major self-supporting library network in Asia. The establishment of the National Convention on Library and Information Networking (NACLIN) by Dr. Kaul in 1988 has become an institution in itself. Thousands of Library and Information Science experts have benefited from these national conventions.
Dr. Kaul’s first book came out in 1972 and since then he has authored and edited 58 books, besides research papers and over 100 articles, in the fields of library networking, bibliographical studies, history, poetry and publishing. He examined in the 1970’s thousand’s of rare books on India and produced Traveler’s India and Historic Delhi, both published by Oxford University Press. His books on Library Science and networking include Library Networks: An Indian Experience; Library Resource sharing and Networks; Library and Information Networking (12 vols.) and National Library Services. His latest book “Empowering Libraries : Strategies for the Future” was published in 2017.