While the directorate of public libraries has implemented a slew of measures to establish the digital presence of their resources, libraries in the city too are working towards attracting more visitors and members.
S. Kanappan, Director of Public Libraries, said that 10 branch libraries, including the ones at Ashok Nagar, Shenoy Nagar and Villivakkam, are being developed with the aim of appealing to children. “Weekly events, including competitions and workshops for children, are being organised there and we hope that through this, more residents in these areas would be encouraged to visit the libraries,” he said. The department has also been taking steps to give government school students memberships at libraries in their districts to enable access to the resources there.
Weekly talks
With a focus on youth preparing for the UPSC and other competitive exams, libraries, including the Anna Centenary Library and Connemera library, have been organising weekly talks by IAS and IPS officials, as well as building up a catalogue of books to help them.
“The library has over 1.4 lakh registered members, around 20,000 of whom are regulars. The number of UPSC aspirants using the facilities here is increasing on a daily basis and the library also has a dedicated section for them,” said Meenakshi Sundaram, the librarian at the Connemera Public Library.
