Technology and public libraries
There is tremendous potential to turn
around public libraries with some value-addition as community
information, knowledge, resource, service centres
Investing in public libraries is the need of the time.
Libraries are the life blood of a nation. This is
particularly true for a country such as India, which has a large number
of young people aspiring for a better life. Yet, our public libraries
are grossly neglected. Each one of the country’s 676 districts has at
least one public library, an enormous resource that can deliver a
critical public good if properly utilised.
Have public libraries become relics of a bygone era with
rarely utilized resources? Are they struggling to survive in the
contemporary world, amid change and new generational demands? Without
enough visitors to serve their purpose, has their existence become
largely symbolic, especially in states such as Uttar Pradesh (UP) and
Bihar, and that, too, in the backward districts?
Have public libraries—the most democratic and
community-centric points—become a sorry story with unpaid librarians,
vacant positions, untrained staff, dilapidated structures, no innovation
in content and services and unmotivated environment?
This, despite that libraries are in our governance list
with a budget allocation, even if a meagre amount, and time and human
resources are being invested? Where’s the outcome? What is the change
that libraries are contributing to?
The scenario is not completely disappointing. There is
tremendous potential to turn around public libraries with some
value-addition as community information, knowledge, resource and service
centres.
Let’s consider some small examples. The Maharaja Harendra
Kishore Public Library, set up in 1905 in Bettiah in West Champaran, a
backward district in Bihar, was almost closed for years until the end of
last year with no visitors to avail the resources available. With a new
approach and method, the library since then has had more than 400
visitors as members were provided with access to Internet and
communication technology (ICT) services. More than 400 people were
trained in information technology (IT) skills and more than 200 availed
the electronic resources. The existing library staff were introduced to
new tools, membership was automated and digital cataloguing is being
introduced, an information service for public schemes and services has
been introduced, new partnerships forged with local agencies, schools,
colleges and the local administration to make the public library a hub
of activity. From no women visitors to more than 150, the library has
seen a transformation. The enthused district administration has come up
with investment in infrastructure, refurbishing the library, investing
in furniture, building public toilets and giving a new look to the
campus.
In another case, the Kanpur Nagar Public Library in UP
had a daily average visitor base of 20 with other infrastructural,
environment and management limitations. With a new push, it today has
more than 50 visitors and still counting. It has provisions for access,
learning IT skills, ICT services, membership automation, digital
cataloguing, digitization of manuscripts, e-book resources and staff
motivational programmes. These changes are also sweeping across district
public libraries in Unnao, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Raebareli and
Balia—all in UP.
These programmes are part of a national pilot
intervention in 10 districts of UP and Bihar that Digital Empowerment
Foundation, Pratham, Nasscom Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Foundation—all
non-profit organisations—have partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation since 2013 to facilitate positive transformations in these
public libraries with knowledge and support of the state and district
administration. The vision and plan to work in all functional public
libraries across UP is also being taken forward with the state
government. An India Public Libraries Conference in March is being
organized to take this momentum forward.
While the positive results are still emerging from these
and other innovations in public libraries, there are enough reasons for
the public library stakeholders to revisit and facilitate
transformations in these public spaces. Apart from the need to invest in
structural and operational changes, what has become urgent is to look
into library services and content for the future; scope and role of
technology in the library space; partnerships to strengthen capacities
of libraries; and look into stakeholders engagement and policy
amendments to enable public library subject as a programme and action
priority in governance agenda at the district, state and central levels.
The key national initiatives in the National Mission on Libraries (NML)
and Digital Library interventions may require a big thrust to scale up
and support public libraries in states. There has already been an effort
to set up NML model libraries in 35 districts with emphasis on
economically backward districts and provide 629 district libraries with
network connectivity.
This could also be the right time to look at our library
laws and revisit them to meet changing requirements. Strengthening
district library committees, giving more ownership and responsibility to
the librarians, adequate training and skills for the library staff,
constituting citizen committees at district level could be relevant
ideas to work upon. Connecting the knowledge networks with the public
libraries beyond the academic institutional libraries is a challenging
area. In a broader sense, we also need to think whether shifting the
library subject from the state list to the concurrent list will better
serve the cause. It also needs to be debated whether the responsibility
of public libraries should shift from the culture ministry to the human
resource ministry with links to the ministry of communications and IT to
provide a greater boost to out public libraries.
Investing in public libraries is the need of the time. It
has wider social, cultural, knowledge, economic and political
significance that has been ignored for long. It’s time to revive our
libraries, and restore their prime position in our society.
Osama Manzar is founder & director of Digital Empowerment Foundation and Chair of Manthan Award. He is also a member of working group for IT for masses at ministry of communication & IT. Tweet him @osamamanzar.
Source: Live Mint, 12 January 2015
Online Web Link:-
Source: Live Mint, 12 January 2015
Online Web Link:-
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