There was surprise when the part-time library at Kandanchavadi opened last week, after remaining closed for nine days. “Nearly 20 people visited the library today, which is a good number considering that it is open only for three hours,” said G. Rajagopalan, showing the register book. A senior citizen, who moves about with a walker, is the new caretaker of the library. “I volunteered to open the library after learning that the person who was in-charge of it had left,” said Rajagopalan, a resident of CBI Colony, who has donated six books of Ponniyin Selvan to the library.
“I am asking people to donate books as the library has the potential to draw more people,” said Rajagopalan. With libraries everywhere almost everywhere else reinventing themselves to draw more people, the branch libraries on Rajiv Gandhi Salai and East Coast Road have a long way to go. These libraries come under the Kancheepuram district administration. The part-time library at Kandanchavadi occupies a small 12x12 feet room at a commercial complex and has nothing much to flaunt. A first-timer can mistake the library for a book shop. It has a collection of around 600 books and only subscribes to two Tamil periodicals. Apart from residents, it has working professionals who borrow books.
The branch library at Okkiam Thoraipakkam is better off. Opened in 2012, the library has over 500 people enrolled as members and on an average around 40 people visit the facility. It has a collection of over 3,000 books and is in the process of adding new collection. “On an average, around 20 people borrow books,” said the in-charge.
The library at Palavakkam is also small and is scouting for a better place.
According to the district library officer K. Rajendran, the department will be improving the facilities in the libraries. “In a few months, the part-time library at Kandanchavadi will be shifted to a new building where we will be adding more books,” he said.
With the city expanding, experts say, government must explore ways to allow people to lend, borrow and donate books. Circulating libraries are a hit as they reach the person’s doorstep.
“Libraries must flourish as they are the heart of a society and public libraries have a greater responsibility,” said A. Amudhavalli, professor and HOD, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Madras.
