Easing the reading process

To keep the culture of reading alive, here’s EasyLib – walkin or login

November 18, 2014 06:59 pm | Updated 06:59 pm IST - Bangalore:

Meet your fave writer The books can even be delivered to your doorstep. Photo Courtesy: Lionel Lewis

Meet your fave writer The books can even be delivered to your doorstep. Photo Courtesy: Lionel Lewis

There’s the never-gets-old, heated debate of tangible books versus online books, hard copy versus soft copy and page flipping versus page scrolling. And then there’s EasyLib. The endearing online book rental hotspot and cultural hub almost moved out of Koramangala along with its founder, Vani Mahesh, much to the dismay of the residents there. Until, of course, a very enthusiastic reader started a new branch there. And the delighted regulars of EasyLib all gathered at the new venue on Saturday evening to inaugurate the new franchise, in a merry celebration.

Based in Chaitra Earappa (the new franchise owner)’s house, the celebration began with a high tea on the terrace prior to the official event downstairs. An exuberant Chaitra addressed the gathering - “Libraries are a big part of our culture and life. EasyLib has been in Koramangala for 13 years, and we didn’t want Vani to close it, so there you go! The original idea was to go ahead and start a library, but this feels like a great initiative to keep the momentum going”.

Reena Puri, the editor of Amar Chitra Katha, was also present, along with her team. She said, “When Vani messaged us saying she’s moving out of Koramangala, I was heartbroken. And then when I got a second message about EasyLib, I went “yippee!”. Here, I found new friends, met enthusiastic readers, and got responses for my writing as well. It’s a wonderful cultural hub. And as a library itself, I can’t underline the importance of a set-up like this, where children and adults can come around, meet authors and have a good time”. ACK proceeded to conduct an activity for children (and willing adults!), which involved creating a story through a puzzle, called Folktale Finding, which went down pretty well with the tots.

Vani, who was having a great time interacting with the buzzing crowd herself, was all enthusiastic about the new franchise. So what’s the essential idea behind this 13 year-old-concept? She says “I felt that there were a lot of readers in exile, and I wanted to ease the entire reading process itself for them. And the internet is such a big part of lives, it makes things so much simpler if you embrace it. So this is an online library - you can reserve your books online, get them delivered to your doorstep, and return it when done. ‘Walk in or Log in’ is the main motto of EasyLib”. And how is EasyLib a cultural hub as well? Vani explains - “We have events here that range from philosophy clubs to writing workshops, and author meets as well. If anyone has anything to offer culturally, we want them to step forward”.

EasyLib spots can be visited physically, or the books can be accessed by visiting www.easylib.com for membership.

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