Catch ’em young: New ‘mantra’ to revive public libraries

Saket Suman -

Once a favourite spot for learners and scholars, most of the 70,000 plus public libraries in India have now turned into haunted houses with few visitors to grace their premises.

This depressing image of the vital institutions may soon witness a change.

The various stakeholders in revitalising public libraries in India under the Ministry of Culture are now eyeing at tapping the interest of the younger generation to reinforce substance and provide better resources to libraries in accordance with the needs of children.

Spearheading this programme is Indian Public Library Movement (IPLM), supported by the Global Libraries initiative of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and hosted by NASSCOM Foundation in the Capital.

Consider the Summer Fest for children that IPLM organised recently in partnership with Delhi Public Library. The fest is aimed at bringing children to libraries in the Capital and engaging them in a host of activities ranging from storytelling and poetry recitations to painting and stage play performances.

The free-of-cost programme is a boon to the many parents, who cannot afford to send their children to expensive summer retreats that cost anywhere from Rs 5,000 to Rs 35,000.

It was thus that hundreds of children joined this programme and came face-to-face with all that the libraries offer.

At present, the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF), is the nodal agency of the government of India to support public library services and systems.

Its budget runs into Rs 100 crore and it supports approximately 34,000 out of the 70,000 public libraries in India under its various schemes. The irony is that despite such funds, images of ill-maintained public libraries — laden with dust and poor-infrastructure — barely prompt a second visit for most library-goers.

Shubhangi Sharma, Executive Director, IPLM, reminded that children are the future of the nation, while also impressing upon the need to invest into inculcating positive aspects into their lives.

“Public libraries can play a very vital role in introducing them to reading at an earlier stage of their lives. We have also seen a decline in people visiting libraries in the past few decades; so if we are able to tap the young population at the right time, it is going to become a lifelong habit for them,” Sharma said.