The State Central Library at Palayam is grappling with poor maintenance of the buildings and premises.
The roof tiles of the library buildings are broken or damaged at various places, leading to seepage of rainwater. The latest spell of heavy rain saw water leak into the reading room meant for members. The tiles in a corner of the British Library section blew away in heavy wind recently. Banyan tree growth which has made inroads into the structure too has to be plucked out.
The library has not been painted in years, it is learnt. The condition of toilets is pathetic, with no separate facilities for women staff.
While maintenance on a small scale is on, such as in the rare books section where roof tiles were changed at a few places and steps were taken to prevent seepage of rainwater, more needs to be done if the heritage structure is to be preserved.
State Librarian P.K. Sobhana said a proposal submitted by the Public Works Department had been forwarded to the National Mission on Libraries for availing itself of a grant of Rs.1 crore for renovation of the buildings. However, the grant had not been forthcoming.
No nod yet
In the absence of a formal intimation by the mission, the library was in a fix as the Public Works Department could take up building renovation only if it got administrative sanction.
Ms. Sobhana said that in the wake of enquiries from Members of Parliament about pending projects for which funds were needed, the issue had been brought to their notice.
She said there were plans to ask the PWD to submit a fresh proposal and send it to the National Mission on Libraries.
Asked about painting, she said it was on the agenda but logistics of shifting books from wherever work was on, especially when the library had little free space, needed to be worked out.
Staff shortage
The library also suffers from manpower shortage. It has 45 librarian posts, inadequate keeping in mind the number of books in its collection, 4.75 lakh, and the number of books it issues a day, nearly 3,500, not to mention periodicals. The collection includes 25,000 books received from the British Library and those in the children’s library. The librarians are helped by people posted against temporary vacancies, and apprentices.
Books to the tune of Rs.50 lakh which were purchased last year have not been processed and made available to the public owing to lack of staff. Also, the library did not have closed-circuit cameras to monitor the premises, a library official said.
