Eight spacious floors with a dozen exclusive book sections in them, one probably could not ask for more from a centrally-located public library with an aesthetic design. Some of the sections of the Anna Centenary Library may have been a big draw among visitors, but book lovers say much more was expected from the state-of-the-art library.
To start with the collection, the competitive exams guidance section on the ground floor does not have enough books in the genre. Same is the case in the periodical section, where empty racks display the names of magazines and newspaper. “The competitive exams section is comparatively new and books from other sections were brought here. We were told that new books are being procured but I don't think that happened,” says V. Suprajaa, who visits the library to prepare for public service examinations.
The employees say that the subscription of many of these periodicals has not been renewed for quite sometime.
The student community has other grievances. No photocopy machines are available to print study material, especially because the library is yet to begin enrolling members. The restrooms are poorly maintained.
For a library equipped to house a collection of 12 lakh books, the current stock is only about five lakh. While sections devoted to children's books, Tamil books and periodicals are the most widely used, the medical and pure science sections have very little patronage, thereby bringing down their utility value. Regular members to these sections say that the collection of journals was not being added and cataloguing has not been done.
Administratively, too, the library has shortcomings, as no chief librarian or deputy librarian has been appointed. Subject experts who have been part of the library since its inception say if only membership opened the campaign for its preservation – after the government unveiled plans to convert ACL into a children's hospital —would have been stronger. “Today, it is a “glass house” where people are in awe of its look and comfort. Nobody is talking about the resources and services being offered, which is what a library should be about,” says a subject expert.
With no budget being allotted, there are many other problems that ACL would face. The library has so far not established any link for resource sharing with famous foreign institutions such as the British Library in London. And the ACL collection is yet to be digitised to enable it to be linked with any of the national libraries. “All these were in-built problems that are only going to make things worse for the functioning of the library,” says the expert. Today, what makes a library a success is its user-friendly services. “It could be personalised service for scholars, where the staff should be competent enough to suggest titles,” says M.K. Jagadish, former director, American Library.
“Replenishing material should be done on a continuous basis and any library should have a collection of archival material,” he added.
Although various promotion committees were started, the follow-up was poor, say sources. The children's section did conduct a few activities on weekends to draw new readers, but there are no such initiatives now.
Keywords: Anna Centenary Library
The valued points of your news should be taken in to serious discussion by the library administration as well as the Government. Really it is a panic situation that a library works without a chief librarian. we should think how could a library render its services to the readers in all perspectives without chief librarian and fund allocation? The efforts what you have been caring of the library could have taken earlier as well as applicable to all the departments irrespective of discrimination. especially in the case of uncleaned rest rooms, not only the ACL's restroom is dirty but also it is a common situation in all the Government offices. If u blame the government offices and ask to close it there is no way all the government institutions, colleges, collector offices even Secretariat should closed or shifted to somewhere where the usage of public could be radically poor. Simultaneously, a library should have its own time to recover and render needful services.
It is a great pity that we are satisfied with so little - the outpourings of support for the library against its inability to even lend books is an indicator of the same. With laptops being given to all students the TN government should ensure that free and fast Internet is available in all educational institutions and buy e-books that they can offer their students as a free download. Coming to the elitist Anna Library which was a grandiose project of Karunanidhi and full of corruption - Jayalalitha is right , scrap it , sell the land and use the money to fund excellent libraries,e-books etc across Tamil Nadu.
The new Government should consider solving all these woes (subscription renewal for all magazines. periodicals etc ; buying new books, maintaining toilets, ofering modern facilities like Photo Copying etc etc) and making this a truly worl class library instead of trying to destroy the good work done by the previous Government. Thus both Governments may 'own' the good work and the Tamil Nadu Public will be benefitted. This way, Tamil Nadu can be proud of this unique facility rather than throw it away.
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