Bookworms keep libraries alive

GUWAHATI: With the world now turning to the internet and electronic media for seeking information on all kinds of topics, one would think libraries have almost become obsolete. But going by the increasing number of members joining District Library here, it seems books still hold their away among the residents of the city.

The premier library is registering a steady growth in its membership and with good reason - District Library has more than 50,000 titles in its fold and is considered a Mecca forbookworms in the city as it caters to each and every topic of interest and study besides boasting a substantial collection of children's books as well. At present, it has 36,617 registered members (as of January 30, 2012), excluding those who have joined in the past three months.

"I come to District Library as it provides me with many title options. It is a treasure trove of old and new books. Since many of the books available in the market are quite expensive and one can't buy all of them, I prefer the library. One can't turn to the internet for everything," said Sangeeta Deka, a student who's a member of the library.

"The Interest in books hasn't gone down with the rapid spread of the internet and electronic media as yet. I don't think library membership will be affected adversely in future as well as it caters to the need of thousands of knowledge seekers who want to do indepth study on a topic and want to read real books and not e-books. The registered members have increased and the figures show a positive trend," said Jaya Choudhury, assistant librarian. She added the library has begun computerisation of all the titles and by 2013, the process, which began last month, will be complete.

Consecrated under the scheme of educational development (5th Five Year Plan of 1951-1956), which foresaw the improvement of library services, four district libraries along with the State Central Library in Shillong were set up in 1954. With the shifting of the capital from Shillong to Guwahati in 1972, District Library became the foremost library in the state.

It was in 1984 that the library was upgraded to the directorate of library services under the department of education, keeping in view the importance of library services and the rapid growth of libraries. At present, Assam has a public library system functioning under the directorate, and there are 23 district libraries, 14 sub-divisional libraries and 204 rural ones.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Bookworms-keep-libraries-alive/articleshow/13372577.cms