#7 A Case for Public Libraries in India
We need accessible and open libraries for all
Public libraries are community spaces that act as an equalizer and bring people from different parts of the society together. Public libraries are life-long universities for people. We need more public libraries that are accessible and open for all.
Today, I want to present a case for public libraries in India. Before we begin, I must warn you that I am hopelessly romantic about libraries. A place where one can pick up any book and dive into any idea or any era is what my dreams are made of.
This romanticism has roots in growing up in a place where books were hard to come by. In small towns of India, books meant only one thing: textbooks. The only other books around were magazines, most of them in vernacular. I had friends whose parents forbade them to read any books outside the syllabus. Not that there were many books floating around us anyways. Books and magazines in English were available only at the Wheeler stall on the railway station. Most of the time, we just read whatever we could lay our hands on. Reading all the language textbooks before the year started? Check. Reading the weekly magazine twice over? Check. Reading that piece of paper that canteen vada-pav was wrapped into? Check.
Our school had a library room, but it was accessible only after grade 8. It did not help that there were rumours about the librarian being, ahem, a bit creepy with girls. “So, never go to the library room by yourself”, we were warned by our classmates.
Anyways, that was when I found out about the public library in our town. Back then, it was a small library situated in a very old building at a prominent location in the town. On my first visit, the silence of the reading room felt intimidating. As a very shy 13 year old, I was reluctant to enter. I was afraid to utter a single word or make any sound. Anyways, I somehow mustered the courage to talk to the lady at the desk. She helped me get my first library card, and there began my love affair with libraries. Even though the library was limited in its collection, the musty yellow pages of those books opened up a new world for me; a world that was out of bounds for a girl growing up in a small town in India.
Little did I know at the time how special the library was, and how my good fortune of having access to half-decent books through a public library was a rarity and a privilege that is not available to most children in India.
So then, how did I get so lucky?
The library I visited as a teenager was set up during the times of Sayajirao Gaekwad of Baroda, a progressive maharaja who understood the importance of education for all and pioneered the first public library movement of India around 1910. I was fortunate to be a beneficiary of that movement 90 years later. Another notable library that was built by his donation is the central library in BHU, and many libraries around Baroda.
Our library was doubly special, because it was also run by a very enthusiastic gentleman Shri. Mahadevbhai Desai, who went out of his way to encourage residents to come and engage with the library. He had started a program called “Mane gamatu pustak vartalap” meaning “Conversation on a book I like” where once every month kids would gather at the library, a few would talk about their favourite book in front of an audience of fellow young readers. Most kids attending that program came from modest family backgrounds. Most people gave their speech in Gujarati, most of the discussions also happened in Gujarati as that was the language most children knew. Some were naturally good speakers, while many others like me were clumsy.
I attended the program for many months as an audience member before I could gather the courage to volunteer as a speaker. The program gave an opportunity to each of us without prejudice. No selection, no screening. No worries if you fumble. Doesn’t matter if you just read out your speech. All you had to do was to muster some strength to face the audience. The audience, mostly made of 8-20 year olds plus a few curious elderly, was generally supportive. The audience would ask follow up questions, participants would answer, a discussion would follow. A self-selected, self-motivated group of kids showed up every month to listen in. There were no other avenues for us to indulge in such a thing, not even in our schools where debate competitions were infrequent and reserved for the most vocal kids. Our library program provided a nudge to even the most shy kids to be a part of the discussion. It was the ultimate Puliyabaazi. ( Puliyabaazi Hindi podcast is a space where we discuss ideas on policy, politics, technology, culture in a casual but thoughful manner. You can find Puliyabaazi on all podcast platforms including Youtube )
This engagement with the children elevated our public library from “just another dusty government library” to “the best library in the State”. Sayaji Vaibhav Library Navsari has received the Shri Motibhai Amin Library Award several times. I learnt a few months ago that Shri. Mahadevbhai Desai has passed away recently. His memory will be cherished by so many like me. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the guidance he provided and the platform he created for the children of Navsari. His legacy lives on in the form of the program that runs in many different versions today - for adults, ladies and seniors - and has been adopted by many other public libraries in the state.
What is the point of all this?
We need more well-run public libraries in every town and every village of India. I got access to good books because one Maharaja had thought about building a public library network about 110 years ago. I do not know the amount of money donated, but whatever it was, the fruits of that investment and subsequent donations by residents of the town, continue to benefit its people in intangible ways. But why is this a rare experience in India? Why is it not the norm? Why are there so few well-run public libraries in India? Is it because we, as citizens, are also not demanding them? And how will people demand something that they have never experienced themselves?
I currently live in Singapore and living here has given me a chance to experience what a good public library system can look like. But before I go into the details, let’s discuss the benefits of a public library. Some may ask, “Do we really need libraries in this age where everything is available on your phone through the internet?”. India has fairly cheap internet. Anyone can learn anything through youtube and hundreds of other free websites. Why should a developing country like India which is still busy sorting out the issues of poverty, malnutrition, and unemployment worry about building libraries?
Why do we need Public Libraries?
A great leveller: Our primary education system is deeply unfair. There is no comparison between a child getting educated in a government school versus those studying in private schools. A public library can provide access to those who have no other means to access good quality books otherwise, thereby bridging the gap somewhat. It is not merely about the ability to buy books. Someone from less privileged or less educated background may not even know where to start. Libraries can provide a good starting point and guidance for students and parents from underprivileged communities. Libraries also provide access to a wide variety of reading materials, encouraging kids to read on many different topics and build a variety of interests. The more privileged kids get this kind of guidance from their parents and social circle. Where do the underprivileged kids find such a community? A public library can potentially provide that. If we want to bridge the inequalities in our society, good public libraries that provide access to quality material to people from all social strata is a must.
A public space where people from different walks of life can come together and forge a unifying identity centred around acquiring knowledge. People who go to the library see themselves as a community. For many young adults who do not have a quiet place to study at home, public reading rooms are invaluable spaces. Public libraries are also community spaces that can host a variety of programs to engage with residents. In Singapore, libraries host a variety of activities like reading sessions by authors, career counselling for students or lectures on positive parenting by experts. These activities are often led by volunteers and conducted at no or low cost. Such initiatives can make “a good life” somewhat accessible even to the underprivileged.
I quote my friend Saurabh Chandra who said this on our Puliyabaazi about the relevance of libraries in today’s age:
पुस्तकालय सिर्फ किताबों को लेने की जगह नहीं है,
पुस्तकालय किताबों के साथ होने की जगह है।
The world “Public” is the key
I stress on the word “public”. Public libraries means that they are open to all and are either free or have very nominal membership charges. This is important to remember because there are many private libraries in bigger cities in India. Private libraries are either a part of some educational or private institution or clubs, where only the people connected to that organisation have access. My office had one such library. Other private libraries often have a considerable monthly fee, if their collection is any good. Many people have rightly noticed a need in this segment and many small “books and toys” libraries have also sprung up in bigger cities. The alternative that the Indian middle class has figured out is basically to create private services wherever a public service is lacking. While it's good that these private libraries also exist, our goal must be to have public libraries that are truly accessible for all.
Libraries need to be accessible
There are three things about the public libraries in Singapore that make them accessible to every resident of Singapore. I think we can learn something from them on how to make a library welcoming for its residents.
They are free for Singaporeans. (Foreigners pay a small annual fee.)
They are inclusive - every library has a collection in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Because the libraries are so good, the rich and the poor in Singapore go to the same libraries.
They are also interconnected. You can get a book from one library and drop it at another. If you are a member, you have access to all libraries in Singapore. More importantly, they are everywhere.
Public libraries in Singapore are present in central locations in dense neighbourhoods, nearby a market. They are often co-located in a community centre, where other government services are also available. They are accessible due to their location. One does not need to spend much time or money to reach there. Most kids in the neighbourhood can walk to the library by themselves, or reach there by bus. Hence, it is a part of a normal routine of any family with school going children to go to the library. In a city of 5.5 million, there were more than 1.62 million visitors to the library network. National Library Board reaches about 60% of the residents through its many different touchpoints.
Now, we cannot compare libraries in India with libraries in Singapore. It’s a much smaller country with much higher per capita income. However, we are a young country whose prime resource in the coming decades would be its young people. We cannot become Vishwaguru through Whatsapp university. If we want to become a developed country, we must invest more in the education of our children and our young people. If we leave out the bottom 50% of our youth to fend for themselves, we would deny them a fair opportunity to grow and learn to their fullest. In doing so, we would be undermining our own growth as a society.
The good thing is that even in India, most public libraries are free to use and have very nominal membership fees. However, the general vibe of most public libraries in India is such that one feels intimidated. Many educated people also don’t know that all public libraries are free to sit and read. Most have never set foot in any public library in their whole life. The staff looks aloof and books are often kept in locked cupboards. This creates a sense of hesitation. It may be done with good intentions, but the effect is that the reader feels distant. Our libraries need to do more to engage with the citizens.
While this may be a softer aspect, the biggest challenge is the abysmally low number of public libraries across many states in India.
Funding remains a challenge
A lack of library legislation in many states: As per this paper, there is no official information on the per capita expenditure on libraries. Only 19 states have passed state library legislation. Of these only 5 have provision for a library cess or tax levy.
There is also a lack of awareness in the library community. The Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation funds 34000 out of 70000 public libraries in India under its various schemes. Despite availability of funds, many states do not send any proposals to the foundation. Due to poor appropriation of funds by State governments, the foundation is not able to show proper utilisation of funds leading to reduction in proposed budgets from the Central government the next year. (Source)
Philanthropy is one alternative. Most of the educational institutions in India, until about a few decades ago were built through trusts and philanthropy money. Temples still get built in India mostly through philanthropic money. If people show the enthusiasm and demand for a library in their community, donors will emerge too.
Community led libraries
The way I look at it - libraries are a community space. Any library project can thrive only if the community engages with it.
A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.
-Andrew Carnegie
One model can be that people from a town, village or locality come together and form a library under a trust or a society. The library can run independently, but can apply for a grading from the district council. If it meets certain minimum criteria, then it can become eligible for receiving grants from the State government. Once it reaches a certain level, then it can become affiliated to the State or District Library Network and receive other benefits of being a part of a larger library network such as digitisation of library operations and swapping of books.
This kind of arrangement can give community libraries the autonomy to run and grow without much State intervention. Grading and funding would require that the community library is open and accessible for all. As the library matures further, it can become a part of a larger library network. The government does not need to run all these networked libraries. The community can run them, while the government supports them with funds. The library also benefits from being a part of a larger network. This seems to be the model in Kerala which alone has about 9000 public libraries.
Most importantly, we need to build more awareness about the need for public libraries in India. We did a podcast on the history of public library movement in India on Puliyabaazi Hindi Podcast that I co-host. Do check it out here.
Also, folks at Community Library Project and Free Libraries Network are doing some excellent work towards building free and open public libraries. Do check out their website for more resources.
References:
https://yourstory.com/2017/06/70000-public-libraries
http://eprints.rclis.org/33242/1/Policy%20review_public%20libraries_India.pdf
You brought back the childhood memories of visiting the library. Very apt point, if India wants to develop, we need to have more such institutions in the public domain. These institutions are the foundation of the new India that we need.