A library of sorts

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 14

To develop reading culture among residents and encourage people to read and share their books with others, Sunshine Youth Club, formed by a group of zealous youngsters, has set up a public library booth near Chattiwind Chowk.

Club members feel that people need to read books to be able to make informed choices and contribute towards social and political uplift.

At the booth, anyone is allowed to take home a book without having to ask anyone. “All you have to mention is the name of the book you are taking home. Mentioning your name, phone number or address is not compulsory. We expect that you will return the book after reading it. But we will not contact you even if you have mentioned your personal details,” said Arshdeep Singh Judge, one of the founding members of the Club.

The unmanned booth has been installed outside Soni Pharmacy. Sirjan Kaur Sehmi, whose family owns the pharmacy, has taken it upon herself the task to manage the booth. So far, there are around 50-55 books at the booth. “I will keep a check on which books have been donated on a particular day and which have been borrowed. I will also lock the booth at night and unlock it in the morning,” she said.

Arshdeep said the purpose of monitoring was to ensure that nobody keeps a book which is controversial or banned. “We have also requested people not to donate any religious book. It will create an issue if someone donates a religious book and some miscreant desecrates it in one way or other,” he said. Book lovers are also allowed to donate books that they want people to read.

Arshdeep said they had earlier set up such a booth in Moga. “We are planning to set up 256 such booths across the state. We earlier did a project at martyr Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village — Khatkar Kalan — and villagers had assured us that they will donate books on Bhagat Singh for these booths,” said Arshdeep.

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