Will you part with your rare books?

The Public Libraries Department and the School Education Department want to create a wealth of such books

Manuscripts at Kuppuswami Sastry Research Institute in Mylapore.

The readers’ circle of Connemara Public Library in Egmore has donated 500 books in support of a new initiative by the Public Libraries Department and School Education Department. Both these Departments seek to create a wealth of rare books and palm leaf manuscripts and make them accessible to the general public.

The readers’ circle of Devaneya Pavanar District Central Library in Anna Salai has also made a commitment to support this cause.

“Now, we have got a collection of interesting books on marine biology and ocean sciences which will be handed over to the central library. Our target is identifying 500 rare books in the next six months,” says Kadalar. K. Velayudham, president, readers’ circle of Devaneya Pavanar library.

Libraries across the city have requested their respective readers’ forums to support this initiative.

“We have to create a lot of awareness among the public. Our staff will be visiting various schools and colleges and explain the goals of this exercise to them. We will also be visiting various religious institutions and places of worship where we hope to find palm leaf manuscripts,” says the District Library Officer, S. Elango Chandrashekhar.

Having in mind those who may not be inclined to part with their rare books, the Public Libraries Department has said that people can lend their books to the Connemara Public Library in Egmore so that digital copies could be made.

“Digital copies have to be taken only at the Connemara library as it already has an exclusive section for rare books and a catalogue of such works is being maintained. This will avoid duplication,” says the District Library Officer.

Writers’ associations and many publishing houses have also come forward in support of the cause.

“The Public Libraries Department is on the lookout for books published before the 1930s and those that are out of print,” says the Librarian of Connemara Public Library, P. Meenakshi Sundaram.

The Public Libraries Department has been entrusted with another task by the State Government: adding to the books at the Jaffna Public Library in Sri Lanka.

Both the initiatives were inaugurated by the Minister for School Education K.A. Sengottaiyan, at Devaneya Pavanar District Central Library recently.

Those interested in donating rare books may call the Devaneya Pavanar District Central Library at 044 – 2852 4791 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.