REVIVAL OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES…..A TREASURE TROVE OF KNOWLEDGE

I have a distinct and vivid memory of my first visit to a public library, an enormous place with unlimited books. My love for reading, instilled in my childhood by my father through varied picture books, evolved with the access to the library with its array of bookshelves full of books and magazines. The excitement of getting the books issued and reading in the stipulated period to get new ones continued my passion. We even created our library with comics at home, marking the books with our name rubber stamps to lend to friends, which was a disaster as they seldom returned the books, but that is another story. Nostalgia struck me when I revisited the same library with my young daughter. 

The first public library of the forces, which left an immense impression on me, was the one in BB Cantt Srinagar. Its vast collection and authorities  ensuring the latest collection in time for the families living in the Cantonment who could not visit the city due to security concerns was a blessing and a boon for a bookworm like me. This place, with its  collection of picture books, was the first introduction for my toddler to the vast work of books. She loved sitting on the tiny stools and going through those books while I scrolled the shelves.  When we moved to the peace station, I ensured we got the cards made for the local station library in the Cantonment as soon as we reached there. My daughter enjoyed getting hard-bound  ladybird books, thus imbibing a good habit at that young age. 

                         

In the pre-internet times, library books were the storehouses of information and knowledge. However, the relevance of books has not diminished as children at the university and college level still need to refer to the books in the library for their higher studies. Free access to books for poor children in rural areas is a perfect way to widen their horizons through public libraries. When my father decided to open a library in his old school in a village in the name of my grandfather, the school authorities jumped to the idea, and with his blessings, the library is doing very well now. The success of the Ghoda library, which trots up to the remote hills of Uttarakhand with little access to roads or libraries, with books on horseback for children, initiated by a twenty-nine-year-old is a case in point of the revival of libraries. The efforts of many such people are a step to make books accessible for everyone. 

In today’s Internet times, public libraries offer access to the Internet to equip them with the happenings in the world and broaden their horizons. These are the places for personal growth and help people to navigate through the information age. The purpose of the library remains the same, personal growth, to inform, share, and gather information, even though the ways have changed due to the advent of technology. It is a place which preserves the culture in the form of ancient texts. It also gives access to a wide range of information and internet access which is as essential as electricity in today’s times to the people who cannot afford the access at home. Thus filling the gap between the classes in any society as libraries are places of democratic culture. 

The government is promoting the culture of the library, the temple of knowledge, and reviving it in the digital times through its Festivals of Libraries this year as thousands of people depend on public libraries for knowledge gathering. President of India, Draupadi Murmu, rightly said, libraries symbolise the progress of civilisation. 

Public libraries, considered a symbol of collective consciousness and intellect of a society, are also the centres for social interactions and contemplation, especially for older people in an era of social isolation. Recently,  I visited the local college library of my daughter, and the sight of young adults engrossed in books showed a glimmer of hope that this culture is here to stay. This culture has survived in the past and underwent radical change, despite all threats, will survive where the young ones will get the wings to fly anywhere as books connect us and language as quiet power. You do not need an invitation to go to a library or  a reservation ahead of time to appreciate the bounty. 

These liberating spaces, were the beating heart of our communities, are being revived by smaller but definitely growing groups to make this culture a success that is motivating for others who want to plunge into the same field to make a difference as everyone deserves to live, dream and read instead of gatekeeping knowledge for the elite few.

Pictures from Google