Residents of Kerala’s Alappuzha Municipality no longer have to go to a library to borrow their favourite books. The books would soon reach them at the click of a button.
Come November 1, the municipality will begin delivering books at the doorstep. As part of the project titled ‘Vignjana Nagaram-Vayanasala Vadhilpadiyil’, the civic body will soon launch a mobile application for people to order books online from the Alappuzha Municipal library and 17 other libraries within its limits. The libraries have a combined stock of 2.07 lakh books.
“The project is to encourage people to read books. Like online food delivery, we will deliver books of readers’ choice at their homes. We hope the initiative will also help create a bunch of new readers,” says Soumya Raj, chairperson, Alappuzha Municipality, adding the technological framework to implement the project will be provided free of cost by Techgentsia Software Technologies Private Limited, an IT company based at Infopark, Cherthala.
Touted as the first-of-its-kind initiative among local bodies in Kerala, the project will be materialised with the help of Kudumbashree units, whose members will act as delivery girls. The municipality will charge a nominal fee for book delivery and return. “Libraries in the municipal area have over two lakh books. At present, less than 5% of the registered members are visiting the libraries. Our aim is to make these libraries more accessible to the readers, especially to the younger generation by making the most of modern technology. We hope the initiative will reinvigorate the habit of reading,” says an Alappuzha municipal official.
In the initial phase, 39,161 books at the Municipal Library will be made available for home delivery. As part of the project, the entire 2.07 lakh book stock in 18 libraries will be brought under a common database.
“The technological framework consists of a web application for libraries and two apps — one for delivery girls and another for the public. We are developing the model aimed at delivering books within 24 hours of placing orders,” says Joy Sebastian, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Techgentsia.
