Govt library lies neglected

Pavneet Singh Chadha

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Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 28

The lone government library in Phase I, here, is in a state of neglect as it lacks adequate space for reading or stocking books.

Started in 1989, the library is run from a guest house of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department. The library, which has over 24,000 books, has over 900 registered members and a daily footfall of 20 persons.

The furniture is in a dilapidated condition and in urgent need of repair. There is no drinking water facility for visitors or a printer copier for staff. The three congested rooms are crammed with overflowing book cabinets. The staff at the library includes a librarian, a library restorer, a Class IV attendant and a security guard on night duty.

Bhupinder Kaur, the librarian, who has been the in-charge of the library since 2000, said, book lovers preferred to go to public libraries in Chandigarh in Sectors 17 and 34.

“Libraries in Chandigarh have better infrastructure and internet facility. Moreover, the culture of reading is declining. Nowadays, youngsters prefer to read on their e-book readers or smartphones,” she added.

Bhupinder Kaur said when the library was allotted space in the guesthouse, it was supposed to be for a short interim period, adding that her requests of shifting the library to a permanent building had fallen on deaf ears. She said awareness was also a reason for decline in people visiting the library.

“The library is not located in a central location. People simply do not know a government library exists in Mohali,” she said. Pawan Kumar, a resident of Sector 68, said he had been coming to the library for over two decades.

“I became its member in 1991. Over the time, the readership at the library has declined. Earlier, over 75-100 persons used to visit it in a day.”

Kumar said the authorities should either renovate the library or shift it to one of the centrally located areas, adding that the authorities should digitise and properly catalogue some of the rare books available at the library.

Bhupinder Kaur said she had requested the authorities to consider shifting the library to one of the park libraries in Mohali. The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) had built six parks in Phases 3B1, IV, VI, Sector 65 and Sector 69, which were recently handed over to the MC. The corporation, however, is yet to procure books, newspapers and furniture for those libraries. Kulwant Kaur, area councillor, Ward No. 7, said she would raise the issue during House meetings.

The apathy

Started in 1989, the library is run from a guest house of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department. The library, which has over 24,000 books, has over 900 registered members and a daily footfall of 20 persons. The furniture is in a dilapidated condition and in urgent need of repair. There is no drinking water facility for visitors or a printer copier for staff. The three congested rooms are crammed with overflowing book cabinets.