The refreshing makeover of Visakhapatnam Public Library (VPL), one of the largest in city, has come as a boon to self learners. Today, the library has about 37,000 memberships. You can become a lifetime member by paying a one-time fee of ₹250. Located in the heart of city in Dwarkanagar, the building got a recent facelift to accommodate a maximum number of readers with an innovative approach. From redesigning the parking lot in the basement for a reading room to installing benches in the green stretch outside, the library is seeing a renewed interest among the student community.
M Durga Rani, librarian, VSL, says, “Each day, 500 to 700 students visit the library and a majority of these come here to prepare for the public sector entrance exams.”
VPL’s central aim is to provide support to the people preparing for entrance exams. The career guidance cell of the library keeps the exam aspirants up to date with general knowledge. Each day trivia and quizzes are given to students so they are in touch with current affairs.
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“It took five long years to raise funds for the library. In 1999, the fund raising efforts were started and the library became operational in 2005,” says BS Verma, Secretary, VPL.
A decade down the line, for some reason, the library became a forgotten infrastructure. As a result, in 2015, the board decided to hire younger blood to bring about the winds of change. As part of the recent facelift efforts undertaken last September, a lawn reading concept was taken up jointly as a CSR activity by Essar and The Hindu. The library has a collection of over 55,000 books of different genres.
Since the last six months, Chimayee Behera has been spending eight hours every day at VPL preparing for exams, she says, “Access to the latest books helps a great deal. Also, when I can’t solve a question, seniors help me.”
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Verma continues, “The aim of the library is not to just give access to a healthy physical space but create a hub to share knowledge and culture.”
The conference halls on the ground floor are where all types of events take place. From once a month guest lectures from industry experts to bi-monthly seminars by academicians on Economics, Politics and History to weekend movie screenings. There are two conference halls on the ground floor, they also serve as a source of funds for the library as they can be hired for rent.
Work in process
The first floor of the library is under renovation while the second floor is under construction. Verma says, “This project is expected to be completes in the next eight to nine months.” He hopes one day VSL will stay open round the clock like libraries in other countries.For now, his priority remains to double the number of books and set-up a computer library.
The conference halls have set the right benchmarks for renovation the library. However, other rooms are still far from matching the standards of the conference halls.
Gopal Krishnan, another frequent visitor, says, “I am grateful to have a place like VPL to prepare for exams. There is lot of scope for further improvement of infrastructure, but then again, there is no support from the Government to make this library better either.”