Public library at historic Rambagh to remain open from 10 am to 10 pm now

The public library inside the historic Rambagh that was inaugurated recently by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will now remain open till 10 pm. The timings for access to the library have been revised following a request by the students and the extended hours are intended at giving them more ease of access to books and other reading material.

Earlier, the library was open for eight hours, from 10 am to 6 pm, but now it will be open for 12 hours. A large number of students have been using the library for study purposes since its opening.

The students who use the library for reading and study purposes had requested the Municipal Corporation to extend the hours, install power back-up and keep the library open even on public holidays. Vishal Wadhawan, Assistant Commissioner, MC, said that while keeping the library open on public holidays is not possible, the request for extension of timings and power back-up has been accepted.

“We have given orders and from tomorrow onward, the library will remain open till 10 pm for students. The library was set up primarily to serve as a centre of knowledge for students, who otherwise did not have access to books. We will ensure that they get the benefit of this service,” he said.

As for the request to provide a generator or proper back-up to avoid problems caused by frequent power cuts, Wadhwan said that he has given instructions to the staff to install a generator for power back-up, which could take a few days.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had inaugurated a public library inside the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama at Company Bagh, under the state government’s special initiative to push for an education revolution. Amritsar has four public libraries functional currently and these have been equipped with high-end facilities like Wi-Fi, solar power, digital analogues and others. The libraries have all types of books on contemporary literature and curriculum, providing a rich learning experience. At Panorama, the library has more than 5,000 books related to history, social and life sciences, arts and literature.