FREE TO ALL (Inscription above the main entrance to Boston Public Library)
“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
What is a public library?
Public libraries are generally supported by taxes (usually local), governed by a local board, open to all and they provide basic services without charge. They are distinct from college, university, research and other specialized libraries. They come in all shapes and sizes.
Public libraries exist in almost all parts of the world. They are considered an essential part of having an educated and literate population. Public access to books is not new. The Library of Alexandria, Egypt goes back to 4th century BCE. It is estimated that it housed 400,000 papyrus scrolls. The Library of Nalanda in the 5th century BCE had hundreds of thousands of volumes. Over the centuries there have been many more libraries around the world. Most of them were for well do to literate people who were very few. There were also many private libraries and lending libraries. The world’s first tax –supported public library was founded in Peterborough, USA, in 1833.
Functions of Public Libraries
A public library adopts its role to the need of the local community. Some of the usual functions of a public library are to provide:
1- Reading rooms for children and adults.
2-Loan books, audio and video disks, tapes, children toys and other materials as suitable for the local community.
3- Get books for the patrons from other libraries for a small fee (inter-library loan).
4-Provide meeting rooms for small groups.
5-Host authors, painters, musicians and story tellers.
6- Provide computers with internet connections wherever feasible.
7-Provide computer education for the patrons.
8- Can preserve local writings, arts and crafts.
Public Libraries in Odisha
There are very few public libraries in Odisha (as defined in this article). When I googled “public libraries in Odisha”the only one I could find was the Harekrushna Mahatab State Library at Bhubaneswar. It houses the state Library of Odisha and the public library for the city of Bhubaneswar. The Orissa Public Libraries Act was passed in 2001 to establish a network of public libraries in Orissa. To the best of my knowledge, very few public libraries have been established since the act was passed. Odisha has a population about 46 million with very few public libraries. By contrast USA with a population of 320 million has 120,000 public libraries.
What Government of Odisha should do to establish more public libraries?
1- Implement the 2001 Orissa Public Library Act.
2- Give money to villages, panchayats, towns and cities to establish more public libraries. The big towns and cities should establish branch libraries in various localities (paras). Give the money but leave the day to day operation to the local library board.
3- Provide mobile library services to remote villages and schools.
4- Each community, each school, small or big should have access to books.
Conclusions
I grew up in a village in the present Bargarh district in the 1950s and 1960s. My village’s elementary school had no library. I finished Bhagabata Purana in Oriya during my third grade. I attended Kamgaon government middle school and stayed in the hostel but the school had no library. The C.S. Zila School which I attended from 1958-1962 had a nice library. During my summer vacation, after the 10th grade, my library teacher gave me “The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes’’ by Arthur Conan Doyle. The book was in English and was about 1000 pages long. I finished the book in my village in about two weeks. I was hooked. I loved the book and it was the beginning of my love affairs with books. I have been a voracious reader since that time. I was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, in 1968. AIIMS had an excellent medical libray but one corner of the library was named ‘Rajkumari Amrita Kaur’ section. Rajkumari Amrita Kaur was the first health minister of India. She had donated all her personal collection of books to AIIMS. That section was a heaven for me. I had an opportunity to read all kinds of non-medical books there and I still do so.
Books have enriched my life greatly. I know that everybody will not be a reader but at least, all have the access to books. It is the obligation of the government of Odisha to open as many public libraries it can, small or big, in all parts of Odisha especially in rural Odisha. I am hoping that youth of Odisha will pressurized their local elected officials, panchayat members, MLAs and MPs to open many more public libraries in the areas they represent.
Dr Saheb Sahu