Amrutraj Benahal hails from Hubballi, Karnataka, and has more than 15 years of professional experience. He has a BSc (Physics, Mathematics, Statistics) degree from P. C. Jabin Science College, Hubballi, followed by an MLIS from Karnataka University, Dharwad. He qualified for the UGC NET for lectureship in December 2012 and earned a postgraduate diploma in library automation in 2016.

Prior to his current role, Amrutraj interned at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, where he gained hands-on experience in an automated library environment. His work included responding to complex information queries using over 40 business and management databases and developing a strong foundation in the technical processing of reading materials. As a Project Fellow at the University of Mysore, he deepened his understanding of academic research through extensive literature reviews using LISA and compiling materials for a research project. His role as an Associate at Accenture provided exposure to a corporate setting, where he supported the management of the information resource centre. His responsibilities included collection development, circulation, technical processing, preparing information products (such as new arrivals and article alerts), and coordinating the distribution of training materials, certificates, and professional certification applications.

At the University, his responsibilities include managing the IIHS Knowledge Gateway and library systems, overseeing circulation and help desk services, handling e-resource subscriptions, tracking budgets and IIHS’ research publications, applying for ISBNs and DOIs, managing the IIHS Google Scholar profile, updating staff profiles, preparing reports, content and promotional content, and performing technical processing.

His research interests include library automation, OSILS, cataloguing, bibliometrics, and artificial intelligence. He has attended several conferences, workshops, and seminars, including the National Conference on Global Trends in Libraries and Librarianship at Nehru Arts & Science College, Kanhangad (May 2024); the National Conference on Academic Publishing, Libraries and Artificial Intelligence (MILAN-APLAI 2024) at University of Mysore, Mysuru (June 2024); and the international workshop ‘Transforming Library Data into Global Knowledge: An International Workshop on Linked Open Data and Semantic Web Technologies’ at the Indian Statistical Institute, Bengaluru (January 2025), among others.

He is an NCC ‘C’ (B Grade) certificate holder. He was awarded Best Performer in 2012 at Accenture India. He has been an editor and contributor to the translation of the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) from English into Kannada.