With 708 stalls housing 450 publications, the 41st edition of the Chennai Book Fair organised by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (Bapasi) was inaugurated at the St. George’s Anglo Indian School grounds on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the fair, Minister for School Education K.A. Sengottaiyan said the government had been taking steps towards making libraries more accessible, and would work together with publishers in taking works to Tamil readers all over the world.
“All the district libraries have been involved in collecting books from publishers and readers for donating to the Jaffna Public Library. The Directorate of Public Libraries has also been coordinating a donation drive, in which we have asked the public to come forward and give rare books and scriptures to us to help preserve them,” he said.
Stating that work to computerise 316 libraries was under way, Mr. Sengottaiyan said district libraries would also become coaching centres for IAS aspirants in the near future.
Among the special attractions at the book fair is Bhavishya, a robot that has been placed at a stall near the entrance of the fair.
Based on the preferences of the visitors, the robot has been programmed to guide them on what books to buy and which publications they can check out.
Awards given away
Bapasi also gave away awards in various categories, including best publishers, children’s book writers and booksellers.
M. Sirajudeen, an executive member with Bapasi, said the fair would be open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. onwards on weekends.
“The association has distributed over 5 lakh tickets to school students in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts. Keeping in mind that many children will be visiting and to encourage reading among them, there are several stalls dedicated to children’s books and educational material,” he added.
