I n any metro, gated communities-based libraries are bound to be as numerous as the pages of The Complete Miss Marple – for those unaware of it, this tome lumps together the Miss Marple novels and stories by Agatha Christe and runs to a whopping 4,032 pages.
These libraries may be thick on the ground, but the ones that go beyond a dilettante style of functioning are only as numerous as the words in Ernest Hemingway’s six-word short story.
Usually run with time volunteered by enthusiasts in the community, these libraries can get desultory, and when the initial enthusiasm is spent, it is just a matter of time before they start functioning fitfully, or be shut down.
Hooked On Books — a library at The Central Park South (TCPS), a gated community in Sholinganallur — is among a handful of such libraries in and around Chennai that seem to be bucking the trend.
It seems to have got a basic fact right — books need not necessarily draw children to reading, but activities centred around books surely will.
The library has become a hub of reading-related activities since September 2019.
Sumitha Iyer, a resident of TCPS and one of the key members of the Federation of OMR Residents Associations, and Rakesh Ohri, president of TCPS residents’ association, attribute the changes to the volunteering work at the library by two new residents of TCPS — Supriya Santhanam and Aruna Venkateswaran.
Reading challenges
Supriya begins, “As we wanted to make reading sustained, and the visits more regular, we first started a 30 books in 30 days challenge. As this was a steep challenge for those from certain age groups, we then launched a winter-reading programme, from November 15 to December 29, with varying reading targets for different categories. Wee readers ( six years and under) – 45 books in 45 days; Book Buddies (ages 7 to 12) – 30 books; The Bookaholics (ages 13 to 19) – 15 books; and The Wise Owls (20 + years) – six books.” There are rewards for children, but not adults. The children who complete a challenge successfully get a star in their membership card, and also get to borrow one book more than their stipulated weekly quota. They will be part of the golden club.”
The participants are given their reading logs, where they can colour in the titles that they have to read.
“As reading challenges come with an end time, and therefore exert pressure on the readers, we also started the ‘Reading Bingo’ programme that children can follow at their leisure. It offers them fun choices such as these: “Read with a hat on”, “Read to a friend”, and “Read Out Loud”. It is based on some of the popular reading challenges, and primarily aimed at infusing fun into reading,” says Supriya.
Early on, the volunteers realised that getting the entire family involved is essential to keeping the reading initiative and library going at a regular and steady pace.
Story time
“We have story-times at the library, and these are becoming popular. Budding Bookworms Storytime takes place twice a month, on alternate Thursdays, and has parents of the children in the community telling stories to the little ones. Grandma/ Grandpa Storytime is on alternate Fridays, and has grandparents telling stories to the little ones. Besides, we have started Storytime By Kids, again twice a month, where kids tell stories for other kids,” explains Supriya.
Another striking feature of the library is the clear-cut systems: There are book boxes and racks with books segregated on the basis of reading levels.
“Each member of a family can have a membership card, but a parent can take only books that pertain to their age group/ level. They can’t borrow a children's book on their card for their children,” says Supriya.
Another carefully-followed system is the “Author of The Month” section and “New Arrivals”, with one featuring books of a particular author and the other displaying books added to the library recently.
Currently, the author of the month, Ruskin Bond looks on cheerfully from a displayed photograph, with some of his books standing proudly by.
“Second-hand books bought from the recent book fair and those received from the recent Book Swap event by FOMRRA are in the new-arrivals boxes,” says Supriya.
Upcycling discards
The furniture and the book racks and other related paraphernalia have “reuse philosophy” written all over them.
Drawers of discarded shelves have been turned into book boxes. TMT steel rods have been put together to create newspaper stands. Car rims have been repurposed into seats.
The volunteers feel the necessity of more volunteering and are giving the finishing touches to a plan to start what they call “Library Helper Squad”.
“ This squad will consist of children, with each little volunteer placed in charge of the maintenance of one rack,” says Aruna. “ I learnt everything about the kind of books children would need at every stage by just observing my 10-year-old daughter, Varshita.”
Supriya says the same thing, and sees her 10-year-old daughter Mithra as the guiding light.
“ The highlight of the initiative is that it is entirely free. The residents are not charged, and everything that you find in the library came as a result of a donation from residents. Even the talent to make the place what it is and also run it, is sourced in-house, and for free,” says Rakesh.
As one enters the library, a wall stares at you with a panorama of images from Jungle Book, presented in oil paint, and they have come from the brushes of two residents: Anita Sivakumar and Padmini Rambhatla.
