Karnal: Libraries in colleges face staff crunch

Parveen Arora

Karnal, February 4

Libraries in colleges, which play an important role in nourishing students’ intellectual level and grooming their personality, present a picture of neglect in the district as they are reeling under acute shortage of staff.

There are 22 government, aided and self-financed colleges in the district and majority of them are facing shortage. Government colleges are worst affected due to lack of technical staff members. In the government colleges, four posts — one each of librarian, junior librarian, library attendant and restorer — are sanctioned, but except one college, the post of librarian is lying vacant in nine government colleges. The remaining three posts are yet to be filled in almost all government colleges, said a source in the office of the education department in the district.

The shortage of staff members is affecting the digitalisation and modernisation of the libraries.

“The government is planning to digitalise and modernise the libraries across the state, but in the absence of professional staff members it seems a distant dream. The government should focus on this sector also, which has been long neglected,” said a teacher of one of the government colleges.

He said the situation was almost the same in majority of the government colleges across the state. The aided and self-financed colleges can appoint librarian and other staff on their own, but in government colleges they have to adopt a proper procedure as they are appointed through HPSC or HSSC, he added.

Rajiv Kumar, a student of a government college, said: “Library is the main feature of any college that helps a student grow, but lack of technical staff hampers the purpose.”

DC Nishant Kumar Yadav said he would raise the issue of shortage of staff in libraries with the government so that students could avail the benefits.