सार्वजनिक पुस्तकालयों का सन्नाटा

हरिवंश चतुर्वेदी, निदेशक, बिमटेक

             मकर संक्रांति पर सूर्यदेव जैसे ही मकर राशि में प्रवेश करते हैं, ठंड में ठिठुरता देश वसंत ऋतु के स्वागत में जुट जाता है। वसंत पंचमी पर विद्या की देवी सरस्वती की पूजा के साथ पूरे देश में साहित्य, कला, संगीत, नाटक से जुड़े समारोह व कार्यक्रम पूरे वैभव और उल्लास से साथ शुरू हो जाते हैं। आज से ही जयपुर लिटरेचर फेस्टिवल शुरू हो रहा है, जिसमें देश-दुनिया के कई बड़े रचनाकार और बुद्धिजीवी जुटेंगे। पिछले कुछ वर्षों में देश के कई बड़े साहित्यिक समारोहों में लेखकों, पाठकों और सामान्य दर्शकों की बढ़ती भीड़ कभी- कभी अचंभित करती है। मराठी, कन्नड़ और बांग्लाभाषी साहित्य प्रेमियों में अपने भाषायी साहित्य एवं इसके सम्मेलनों के प्रति सदैव से उत्साह रहा है। तमिल, तेलुगू और मलयालम में भी बड़े-बड़े लेखक आम जनता से जुड़े रहते हैं। लेकिन सबसे ज्यादा आश्चर्यजनक परिणाम जयपुर लिटरेचर फेस्टिवल में देखने को मिले हैं। 
            इसकी शुरुआत वर्ष 2006 में हुई थी। पिछले दिनों छत्तीसगढ़ सरकार ने भी रायपुर साहित्य समारोह का आयोजन किया था, जिसमें स्थानीय साहित्य प्रेमी बड़ी संख्या में अपने प्रिय लेखकों और कवियों को सुनने आए थे। साहित्यिक सम्मेलनों में उमड़ रही भीड़ से कभी-कभी भ्रम होता है कि क्या यह भारतीय मध्यवर्ग में साहित्य एवं संस्कृति के प्रति बढ़ते अनुराग की ओर इशारा कर रही है या यह एक फैशन की तरह कुछ समय के लिए उन्हें रचनात्मक साहित्य व पुस्तकों की ओर लुभा रही है?  साहित्य के जरिये क्रांतिकारी सामाजिक परिवर्तनों के सपने देखने वाले जनवादी लेखकों को इसमें साहित्य के कॉरपोरेटीकरण की बू आ सकती है, क्योंकि इन साहित्यिक समारोहों की ज्यादातर वित्त व्यवस्था कॉरपोरेट जगत की स्पॉन्सरशिप से हो रही है। साहित्यिक समारोहों के साथ-साथ फरवरी-मार्च में देश के कई शहरों में पुस्तक मेलों का भी आयोजन किया जाता है। दिल्ली और कोलकाता के पुस्तक मेलों में तो पिछले एक दशक से भारी भीड़ देखी जा रही है। देश के अन्य स्थानों पर आयोजित पुस्तक मेले भी अब बुद्धिजीवियों व लेखकों तक सीमित नहीं हैं। 
              तो क्या यह मान लिया जाए कि यह भारतीय मध्यवर्ग में पुस्तकों के प्रति बढ़ती रुचि का परिचायक है?  क्या अंग्रेजी में जितनी किताबें खरीदी जा रही हैं, उतनी हिंदी, बांग्ला तथा अन्य भारतीय भाषाओं में भी खरीदी जा रही हैं?  क्या पुस्तक मेलों व साहित्यिक समारोहों में मध्य वर्ग की बढ़ती सहभागिता टीवी तथा फिल्मों से उनके अलगाव की ओर इशारा कर रही है?  इंटरनेट पर हर किस्म की सूचना, ज्ञान और सामग्री उपलब्ध है, परंतु किताबें अब भी भारतीयों के कल्पना जगत से गायब नहीं हुई हैं। इंटरनेट व सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी के विकास से हमें पश्चिमी सभ्यता, संस्कृति व साहित्य के साथ एक गहरा रिश्ता बनाने में मदद मिली है। लेकिन क्या हम फिर से भारतीय साहित्य, कला, संस्कृति और अध्यात्म के साथ अपने कमजोर होते रिश्तों को मजबूत करना चाहते हैं? साहित्यिक समारोहों और पुस्तक मेलों में पाठकों की बढ़ रही रुचि अब राष्ट्रीय रूप ले चुकी है। 
              देश भर में लगभग 60 साहित्यिक समारोह हर साल आयोजित किए जाने लगे हैं, जिनके आयोजन पर 65 लाख से लेकर 10 करोड़ रुपये तक खर्च होते हैं। जयपुर लिटरेटचर फेस्टिवल में इस बार ढाई लाख लोगों के भाग लेने की संभावना है। इसके प्रमुख वक्ताओं में इस बार नोबल विजेता वी एस नायपॉल, पुलित्जर विजेता कवि विजय शेषाद्रि, मैन बुकर पुरस्कार विजेता लेखिका एलिनोर केटोन, हनीफ कुरेशी, अमित चौधरी, पॉल थेरो, फरुख ढोंडी आदि के नाम उल्लेखनीय हैं। पिछले साल इस समारोह में दस हजार किताबें बिकी थीं, जो उत्तर भारत के लिए महत्वपूर्ण हैं। 
फ्रैंकफर्ट, जर्मनी का पुस्तक मेला दुनिया में सबसे प्रसिद्ध माना जाता है, जिसमें तीन लाख दर्शक हर बार आते हैं। 12 दिनों तक चलने वाले कोलकाता पुस्तक मेले में पिछली बार 18 लाख दर्शक आए थे, जो दुनिया के लिए एक रिकॉर्ड था। इस बार यह पुस्तक मेला 28  जनवरी से आठ फरवरी, 2015 तक चलेगा। जर्मन लेखक गुंटर ग्रास ने कोलकाता पुस्तक मेले के बारे में लिखा है कि यह पुस्तक मेला जिंदगी की तरह एक सुंदर रचना है, जो हर साल खत्म होती है, किंतु किताबें सदैव बनी रहती हैं। देश के साहित्यिक समारोहों और पुस्तक मेलों में भारतीय दर्शकों की भारी भीड़ की तुलना अगर हमारे सार्वजनिक पुस्तकालयों में आने वाले पाठकों की संख्या से करें, तो बहुत निराशा होगी। 
               यूं तो देश के सभी जिलों में से अमूमन जिला स्तरीय पब्लिक लाइब्रेरी मिल जाएगी, किंतु वहां आपको पाठक कम और सन्नाटा ज्यादा दिखाई देगा। भारत को एक ज्ञानोन्मुख समाज बनाने और भारतीय गणतंत्र को और अधिक जनोन्मुख बनाने के लिए पब्लिक लाइब्रेरी से बेहतर कोई विकल्प नहीं हो सकता। देश को आजादी दिलाने और उसे एक आधुनिक राष्ट्र बनाने में इन पब्लिक लाइब्रेरियों की भूमिका को नजरअंदाज नहीं किया जा सकता। किंतु आज ज्यादातर राज्यों में ये सार्वजनिक पुस्तकालय बीते हुए युग की निशानी बनकर रह गए हैं। जजर्र भवन, टूटे फर्नीचर, फटी-पुरानी किताबें व अप्रशिक्षित लाइब्रेरी स्टाफ एक ऐसा माहौल बनाते हैं कि कोई युवा पाठक वहां जाना नहीं चाहेगा। वैसे तो हर राज्य में पब्लिक लाइब्रेरी के रख-रखाव के लिए कानून बने हैं, किंतु राज्य सरकारों द्वारा इनको पर्याप्त वित्तीय सहायता नहीं दी जा रही। क्या इनको हर जनपद की बौद्धिक गतिविधियों का केंद्र नहीं बनाया जा सकता? 
              सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी का व्यापक प्रयोग करते हुए इन पुस्तकालयों को बेरोजगार युवाओं को प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं की तैयारी और रोजगारपरक स्किल सीखने का एक स्रोत आसानी से बनाया जा सकता है। वैसे ‘राष्ट्रीय लाइब्रेरी मिशन’ के तहत देश के 35 पिछड़े जिलों में मॉडल पुस्तकालय बनाए जा रहे हैं। देश के 629 जिला पुस्तकालयों को इंटरनेट से जोड़ा जा रहा है। उत्तर प्रदेश के उन्नाव, बाराबंकी, लखीमपुर खीरी, रायबरेली तथा बलिया जनपदों में सार्वजनिक पुस्तकालयों के जीर्णोद्धार व आधुनिकीकरण का काम चल रहा है। और इस अभियान को स्वयंसेवी संस्था प्रथम, नैसकॉम फाउंडेशन, राजीव गांधी फाउंडेशन तथा बिल व मिलिंडा गेट फाउंडेशन से व्यापक सहायता मिल रही है। 
             मानव संसाधन मंत्रालय व नवगठित नीति-आयोग से उम्मीद की जाती है कि वे राष्ट्रीय पुस्तकालय मिशन को पर्याप्त वित्तीय साधन एवं स्वायत्तता देकर देश भर के र्सावजनिक पुस्तकालयों को बौद्धिक ऊर्जा का केंद्र बनाने में मदद करें। कॉरपोरेट क्षेत्र पुस्तक जगत के लिए एक बड़ी पहलकदमी लेकर आया है। इन्फोसिस के संस्थापक नारायण मूर्ति के बेटे रोहन मूर्ति ने 300 करोड़ लगाकर पुस्तक प्रकाशन की एक योजना हॉर्वर्ड यूनिवर्सिटी के साथ शुरू की है। मूर्ति क्लासिकल लाइब्रेरी ऑफ इंडिया के अंतर्गत संस्कृत, हिंदी, बांग्ला, कन्नड़ तथा अन्य भारतीय भाषाओं की अनुपलब्ध प्रसिद्ध पुस्तकों को अंग्रेजी अनुवाद के साथ प्रकाशित किया जाएगा। क्या कॉरपोरेट सेक्टर की अन्य बड़ी कंपनियां भी पुस्तक प्रकाशन, वितरण व लाइब्रेरी स्थापना में अपना योगदान देंगी?  (ये लेखक के अपने विचार हैं) - 

See more at: http://www.livehindustan.com/news/editorial/guestcolumn/article1-Cold-Titurta-country-spring-reception-Vasant-Panchami-57-62-468406.html#sthash.arieuibS.dpuf

Rare historical books deck up Rashtrapathi bhavan library

NEW DELHI: A peep into history is at the centre of Rashtrapati Bhavan's initiative to refurbish its library with rare books dating back to 1800 on 'Tipoo' Sultan and another signed by Lord George Curzon in 1904 to find a place on its racks. This is part of efforts by Pranab Mukherjee, who after taking over as President in July this year, has been devoting time reviving places of historical importance within the sprawling 340-room Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

The look of the library is being recreated to match the ambience in 1950 when it started functioning with tables in the room also being aligned the way it used to be. The books, which can be a real treat to any researcher, date between 1800 and 1947. They include a rare book of 1800 written by Alexander Beaston on "A View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultan". The book is a narrative of the operations of the British Army under the command of Lieutenant-General George Harris, and of the siege of Srirangapatnam--near Mysore--and the defacto capital of 'Tippoo' Sultan. 

Read full story at :http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/rare-historical-books-deck-up-rashtrapathi-bhavan-library/articleshow/17636245.cms

Library at home for book lovers

Taking care of books can be a challenge especially if you have a large collection. Even though there are a substantial number of people who have taken to e-books, loyalists still prefer paperbacks for various reasons. Some say they love the smell of books, others say just sitting in a comfortable place and holding a book makes them feel like they’re actually learning something.

READ FULL NEWS AT: http://www.thehindu.com/homes-and-gardens/library-at-home-for-book-lovers/article4150936.ece

शिक्षा की बेहतरी का जरूरी माध्यम

प्रेमपाल शर्मा

खुशी की बात है कि मानव संसाधन विकास मंत्रालय के एक विशेषज्ञ समूह ने राष्ट्रीय पुस्तक प्रोत्साहन नीति के तहत देश भर में पुस्तकालयों का संजाल बढ़ाने का फैसला किया है.

पिछले पांच-सात सालों में शिक्षा में सुधार के दर्जनों सुझावों के बीच गांव-गांव में पुस्तकालय खोलने की बातें भी होती रही हैं लेकिन ऐसी योजनाएं अब तक कागजों से बाहर रूप नहीं ले पाई हैं. उम्मीद है कि अब जल्दी लेंगी. ऐसा नहीं कि शिक्षा और साक्षरता के संदर्भ में पुस्तकालयों के महत्व की बात पहली बार उठी हो. साठ के दशक में सिन्हा समिति ने गांव-गांव पुस्तकालय खोलने की बात कही थी. योजना आयोग ने भी 1964 में एक नीति के तहत सार्वजनिक पुस्तकालयों की वकालत की. इस मामले में बिल भी पास हुआ. हालांकि कुछ राज्यों ने अभी भी वह बिल पास नहीं किया है पर जहां यह लागू है, वहां भी कार्यान्वयन की गति निराशाजनक रही है.

प्रश्न नियम, कानून या बिल का इतना नहीं है जितना इसकी जरूरत के अहसास का है. सूचना क्रांति के बाद तो यह और भी जरूरी लगने लगा है. साक्षरता पिछले एक दशक में बढ़ी है लेकिन उसके स्तर को लेकर तरह-तरह की शंकाएं की जा रही हैं. ये शंकाएं निराधार भी नहीं हैं. जब पांचवी या आठवीं का बच्चा सही ढंग से अपना नाम न लिख सके, कुछ हल्के-फुल्के गणित के जोड़, घटा न कर सके तो साक्षरता के आंकड़े तो बेहतर हो सकते हैं लेकिन उसकी समझ को लेकर प्रश्न बने ही रहेंगें.

बहरहाल, पुस्तकालय आंदोलन साक्षरता और शिक्षा की बेहतरी में तो मदद करेगा ही, एक बेहतर नागरिक बनाने में भी इसकी भूमिका उतनी ही महत्वपूर्ण होगी. दूसरे राज्यों से सबक लिया जाए तो केरल इसका सबसे अच्छा उदाहरण है जहां लगभग हर गांव में पुस्तकालयों की श्रृंखला मौजूद है. इसका फायदा भी उस राज्य को पूरा मिला है.

लड़कियों की शिक्षा हो या साक्षरता अथवा लिंग अनुपात या ह्यूमेन डेवलेपमेंट इंडेक्स- सभी में केरल बाकी राज्यों से बेहतर है. क्या ऐसे राज्य की सफलता पूरे देश में नहीं दोहराई जा सकती? इसके मुकाबले उत्तर प्रदेश, बिहार जैसे राज्यों की स्थिति उतनी ही खराब है. बल्कि लगता है कि पिछले दशकों में और भी खराब हुई है. कुछ समय पहले तक जिन स्कूल-कॉलेजों में नियमित तौर पर पुस्तकालय चलन में थे, आज वहां ये लगभग या तो हैं ही नहीं या बंद हो चुके हैं.

यहां कि तक महाविद्यालय विविद्यालयों में भी ऐसी गिरावट स्पष्ट है. देश में पिछले दिनों में इंजीनियरिंग या दूसरे व्यावसायिक कॉलेजों की बाढ़ तो आई है लेकिन पुस्तकालय उनके प्रबंधन की प्राथमिकता में नहीं हैं. कम से कम उत्तर भारत के शायद ही किसी नये कॉलेज में कोई समृद्ध पुस्तकालय चल रहा हो. जब डिग्री कॉलेजों और स्कूलों में ही पुस्तकालय नहीं हैं तो वहां पढ़ने वाले बच्चे पढ़ने की परंपरा कहां से सीखेंगे? उनके लिए शिक्षा का अर्थ लौट फिर कर कुछ कोर्स की किताबें, कुंजियां या उनके प्रश्न रटना भर रह गया है. सर्वे के अनुसार लगभग पचहत्तर प्रतिशत स्कूल और कॉलेज के विद्यार्थी कोर्स की किताबों के अलावा और कुछ नहीं पढ़ते. शिक्षा, शोध के गिरते स्तर के कारणों में एक बड़ा कारण यह पक्ष भी है.

भारत गरीब देश है जिसकी अधिसंख्य जनता बहुत कम सुविधाओं में गुजर-बसर करती है. यदि हर गांव में एक पुस्तकालय हो तो उन मजदूरों, किसानों के बच्चे भी उसका फायदा उठा सकते हैं जिनके अभिभावक न तो पढ़े-लिखे हैं और न ज्ञान के विभिन्न स्रेतों से परिचित हैं. पंचायती राज के माहौल में तो गांवों में बहुत आसानी से पंचायत भवन के एक हिस्से में पुस्तकालय की अनिवार्यता की जा सकती है.

ग्रामीण विकास की सैकड़ों परियोजनाओं के बीच इस पर बहुत ज्यादा खर्च भी नहीं आएगा. सामाजिक क्रांति के लिए पुस्तकालय सबसे बेहतर धर्मनिरपेक्ष स्थान साबित हो सकता है-धर्म, जाति किसी भी विचारधारा से ऊपर. क्या एक सच्चे लोकतंत्र की दिशा में बढ़ने के लिए हमें ऐसे नागरिकों की जरूरत नहीं, जहां पुस्तकों की रोशनी में बेहतर नागरिक बन कर निकलें? अंधविास, पाखंड, जाति-धर्म के खिलाफ लड़ाई में भी पुस्तकालय कारगर भूमिका निभा सकते हैं.

पुस्तकालयों की व्यावहारिक जरूरत पर भी एक नजर डाली जाए. सवाल है कि क्या उत्तर प्रदेश, बिहार जैसे राज्यों के विद्यार्थी रहने या खाने-पीने की सुविधाओं के लिए ही महानगरों में आते हैं? बिल्कुल नहीं. वे इसलिए आते हैं क्योंकि दिल्ली, मुम्बई, कोलकाता जैसे महानगरों में पढ़ने-लिखने, पुस्तकालयों व विविद्यालयों की बेहतर सुविधाएं हैं. अस्सी के दशक में जब मेरी पीढ़ी दिल्ली पहुंची तो इन पुस्तकालयों की बदौलत ही रास्ते खुलते गये. दिल्ली पब्लिक लाइब्रेरी की शाखाएं दिल्ली के कोने-कोने में थीं.

अंग्रेजी, हिंदी के अखबारों समेत नई से नई किताबों से भरी हुई. पुराने प्रतिष्ठित पुस्तकालय हरदयाल लाइब्रेरी और तीन मूर्ति लाइब्रेरी तो थी ही, मंडी हाउस पर साहित्य अकादमी, आईसीसीआर लाइब्रेरी, आईटीओ पर मौलाना आजाद लाइब्रेरी समेत दिल्ली विविद्यालय और जवाहर लाल नेहरू विविद्यालय के पुस्तकालयों की बदौलत हिंदी भाषी राज्यों के युवक दिल्ली की तरफ खिंचते चले आए और आज भी यह क्रम जारी है. लेकिन क्या दिल्ली या किसी बड़े महानगर में पहुंचना ही एक रास्ता है? और क्या पूरा देश दिल्ली पहुंच सकता है?

सच यह है कि जिन पुस्तकों, ज्ञान सूचना के स्रेतों के लिए शहर भागना पड़ता है, यदि वे गांव में उपलब्ध हो जाएं तो सीमित संसाधनों के चलते कोई भी नौजवान अपने ही घर गांव में प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं से लेकर बेहतर शिक्षा अर्जित कर सकते हैं. इसीलिए जितनी जल्दी हो, सरकार को इस दिशा में आवश्यक कदम उठाने चाहिए और केवल सरकार ही नहीं, उन प्रबुद्ध बुद्धिजीवियों या समाज के उस पढ़े-लिखे हिस्से को भी सक्रिय रूप से आगे आना चाहिए जो चाहता है कि भविष्य के लोकतांत्रिक भारत में सभी की समान रूप से भागीदारी बढ़े.

पुस्तकालयों के नाम से ही कुछ लोग बहस को विपरीत दिशा में ले जाने की कोशिश करते हैं कि इंटरनेट, ई-मेल, टेलीविजन के इस युग में किताबें पढ़ता कौन है ? कितना भोला है यह तर्क? यदि किताबें इतनी अवांछनीय हो गई हैं तो इनसे पूछा जाना चाहिए कि वे अपने बच्चों को स्कूल क्यों भेज रहे हैं? क्यों अपने बच्चों को स्कूलों में किताबें पढ़ने दे रहे हैं? इंटरनेट और दूसरे संचार माध्यमों का पुस्तक से कोई विरोध नहीं है. शिक्षा की शुरुआत तो किसी न किसी किताब से ही करनी पड़ेगी और जब पुस्तकालय की बात की जाती है तो इसका उद्देश्य बहुत सहजता से उन लोगों के बीच पहुंचाने का है जो पीढ़ियों से निरक्षर बने हुए हैं. पुस्तकालय योजना तो उनको उस निरक्षरता के अंधेरे से बाहर लाने का सबसे सार्थक कदम है.

इन पुस्तकालयों में भविष्य में ऑडियो, वीडियो या कंप्यूटर की दूसरी सुविधाएं भी जरूरत के हिसाब से बढ़ाई जा सकती हैं. दुनिया के विकसित देश अमेरिका, यूरोप में भी सार्वजनिक पुस्तकालय अभी भी उतना ही महत्वपूर्ण स्थान रखते हैं. विकसित देशों में तो पुस्तकालयों की इतनी लम्बी फेहरिस्त है और इतनी सुविधाओं के साथ कि आप किसी भी पुस्तकालय से पुस्तक ले कर कहीं भी जमा करा सकते हैं. शोध और बैठने की तमाम सुविधाओं के साथ राज्य का काम ऐसी सुविधाओं को हर व्यक्ति तक पहुंचाना होता है.

क्या समझदार नागरिकों के बिना लोकतंत्र की कल्पना की जा सकती है? और इस दिशा में पुस्तकालय आंदोलन प्रभावी भूमिका निभा सकता है. पुस्तकालय आंदोलन विशेषकर हिंदी पट्टी में साहित्य, संस्कृति के प्रति जागरूकता भी पैदा कर सकता है. यदि किताबें सहज और सस्ती उपलब्ध हों तो धीरे-धीरे उन्हें पढ़ने की आदत भी पड़ेगी. इससे पुस्तक की बिक्री और प्रसार में भी शायद आसानी हो. अभी तो प्रकाशक सिर्फ पुस्तकालय संस्करण के भरोसे इतनी ऊंची कीमतें रखते हैं कि आम आदमी इन्हें खरीद ही नहीं पाता. नुकसान दोनों ही पक्षों का है. लेखक और पुस्तक का भी और उस ज्ञान से वंचित जनता का भी. भारत सरकार के नेशनल बुक ट्रस्ट, प्रकाशन विभाग जैसे संस्थान सस्ती पुस्तकें उपलब्ध कराते हैं. विभिन्न भाषाओं के दूसरे प्रकाशकों को भी इस आंदोलन में हाथ बढ़ाने की जरूरत है. शिक्षा के उदारीकरण के इस दौर में क्या कोई काम गरीबों के लिए भी क्रियान्वित होगा?

साभार: प्रेमपाल शर्मा एवं http://www.samaylive.com/

Harvard Library To Contribute "Crown Jewels" to Digital Public Library of America

By RADHIKA JAIN, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

When the Digital Public Library of America officially launches on April 18, 2013, anyone with access to a computer will be able to study and enjoy the “crown jewels” of Harvard’s Library system, which spans 73 physical libraries and approximately 17 million volumes.

The Harvard Library announced last Wednesday that it will contribute content from a number of its special collections to the DPLA, an online, not-for-profit initiative to digitize scholarly material from public and private libraries across the country.

“That, in general, is what I feel our responsibility is here at the library,” said Robert C. Darnton ’60, Harvard University librarian and one of the original visionaries behind the DPLA. “We have these great collections and now thanks to modern technology we can share our intellectual wealth.”

The announcement makes Harvard the DPLA’s first individual ‘content hub’—the term DPLA has given digital libraries with which it will work directly to acquire material. Leaders agreed that Harvard’s commitment is a big success for the endeavor.

“It is a major vote of confidence in the system,” said John G. Palfrey, Jr. ’94, President of DPLA’s Board of Directors. “What Harvard is planning to do is share some of the crown jewels of its library collections.”

Darnton cautioned against “exaggerated expectations” and emphasized that the launch will be only the “beginning” of a massive digital library. But Harvard’s special collections represent a unique contribution to the DPLA’s offerings and feature some “fabulous” content, he added. University collections that have already been digitized include a plethora of mediums, from daguerreotypes of the moon and early manuscripts of musical scores by J. S. Bach and Mozart, to field notes and diaries from naturalist Louis Agassiz and original trial records and maps from around the world.

The library has not yet finalized which of these materials will go online first, but the decision will be made in “a matter of weeks, not months,” Darnton said.

Material in the special collections is usually older and already in the public domain—a huge advantage as the DPLA continues to navigate copyright law in striving for open access to as large a collection of material as possible.

“The copyright issue is, in my opinion, the most difficult problem that the DPLA faces—and we’ve got lots of problems,” Darnton said. “It won’t be a great library if we can’t make material available from 1964, 1923. We’ve got a third possible copyright date of 1893. Imagine if we were unable to make available to the American public any book published after 1893.”

There are certain ways to work around copyright law—especially for material out of print—without hurting authors or publishers, he said. The DPLA is also exploring the fair use element of copyright law, which allows a book under copyright to be digitized depending on the purpose of its use.

The DPLA already has seven ‘service hubs’—including the Kentucky, Oregon, and South Carolina Digital Libraries, in addition to the Boston Public Library’s Digital Commonwealth Project—that aggregate content and metadata from surrounding public and private libraries. In return, said Kenny Whitebloom, a member of the DPLA secretariat, these repositories help local libraries increase digitization efforts and expose rich, but often unknown, collections.

“DPLA is seeking to connect our various digital repositories and institutions across the United States through a single outlet,” said Whitebloom. “The really amazing stuff is going to get more visibility—reignite some sort of interest in local history.”

As the DPLA looks to expand the content it will make available in April, Harvard’s involvement is especially promising because of its potential to inspire support from other universities, who often think that transferring content from existing digital databases to the DPLA is cost-prohibitive, according to Darnton.

“We have to convince them that it won’t cost anything,” he said. “The DPLA’s front-end interface has been designed in such a way to favor this.”

A number of institutions have already expressed interest following in Harvard’s footsteps, said Palfrey. “We are very hopeful that other libraries will follow suit,” he said.

The Harvard Library’s decision to support DPLA is the most recent in a number of efforts by the country’s second-largest library to promote digitization of collections and open access. After expressing concerns about Harvard’s ability to maintain journal subscriptions in tandem with rising costs from publishers, the library made 12 million bibliographic records public in April of this year. The Faculty Advisory Council to the Library also circulated an appeal to faculty in the spring, encouraging professors to publish in and patronize journals committed to free, open access.

—Staff writer Radhika Jain can be reached at radhikajain@college.harvard.edu.

Source: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/11/7/library-contributes-jewels-dpla/

Library being restored at Rashtrapati Bhavan

by SMRITI KAK RAMACHANDRAN

The Hindu

Renovation work is in progress at Rashtrapati Bhavan Library , in New Delhi on October 18, 2012. Photo:Sushil Kumar Verma

Old but vivid photographs and fading memories as aids, the historic library in Rashtrapati Bhavan overlooking the Raisina Hill is being reinstated to resemble Edward Lutyens’ original design.

Extra shelves that were added over the years to accommodate books have been removed, an old table that Edward Lutyens designed, complete with a set of chairs inspired by his famous round spectacles occupies the pride of place, and artefacts that were buried in vaults are being retrieved and polished. Work is underway at a frenzied pace to restore the library to its magnificence.

The decision to revert to the original was an outcome of President Pranab Mukherjee’s wish to spend time in the library.

“Over the years the number of books in the library rose to 15,000. There were bookcases everywhere suffocating the room. By trying to restore the Library we are trying to bring out the unique features of the room, especially the floor and the pillars,” said Venu Rajamony, Press Secretary to the President.

In his book ‘Dome Over India - Rashtrapati Bhawan’ Aman Nath says as per the original design, the Library was equipped with 60 feet of book cases, two fire places, a marble and golden-yellow Jaisalmer stone floor with a ‘Swastika’ in the centre and pillars circling the room with bells of the Delhi Order.

To catalogue the books, some of which date back to the 18 Century and to ensure the library is equipped with political history and other genres that the President prefers, the Rashtrapati Bhavan staff is being assisted by a team from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

To be ready by November, the Library will only have select books apart from rare titles like the coffee table compendium of engravings in pictures of various art schools, published in 1807 and presented to Lord Curzon in 1904 by the Raja of Hill Tripura.

Artefacts that were placed along the two fireplaces have been traced and will be put on display. “All the Presidents have visited the Library during their respective tenures, they would ask for books, which I would then have delivered to them. But this is the first time that a President has expressed the wish to sit in the library,” said the Library incharge who has been in the position for nearly three decades.

“We are planning to include the Library in the tour of Rashtrapti Bhavan in the future. We are also seeking help from scholars to assist us in documenting the historical events that took place inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises. Pre Independence, there would have been a lot of discussions and meetings that took place here, and the President has instructed that we should document these. There are a lot of books about the Rashtrapati Bhavan, but we are yet to discover the ones that documents what happened in here,” Mr. Rajamony said.

Discussions are also underway with experts in museum conservation to give a facelift to the existing museums inside the Presidential retreats in Shimla and Hyderabad and in Rashtrapati Bhavan. “We are tying to explore the long term best arrangements for these museums,” Mr. Rajamony said.

READ MORE NEWS AT: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/library-being-restored-at-rashtrapati-bhavan/article4012252.ece

Banaras Hindu University Central Library to be open round the clock

VARANASI: Students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) can avail the facility of reading in Central Library round the clock. The library is gearing itself to capacitate around 500 students in an under construction air condition hall which will be open 24 hours for university students. Apart from that, the hall is likely to have over 100 computers installed in it so that students can have access to library's e-resources.

According to deputy librarian, Central Library, BHU, Dr M Anandamurugan, "this facility is likely to start from January onwards. All the students, whether residing in university hostel, private accommodation or day scholars including students of Women's College and Faculty of Education, Kamachha, can avail this facility.

At present, the scheduled library timings are 9am to 9pm which will be the same as far as issuing of new books is concerned. "No new books will be issued after 9pm, however, students will be allowed to read the already issued books and their own books in the library. Students can also bring their laptops to the library," said Anandamurugan. The hall will be provided with internet connections and over 100 computers will also be installed in the hall to provide access to online journals, research papers, and other publication among the students, he added.

According to university librarian, AK Srivastava, "in view of poor power supply in the city and to provide e-resource access among students who cannot afford to buy computers or laptops, vice- chancellor, BHU, Dr Lalji Singh proposed this idea. "The hall will take around one month for completion and is likely to be inaugurated during the culmination of 150th birth anniversary celebrations in December last," he informed.

Banaras Hindu University organizes special lecture by VC

The department of musicology, Banaras Hindu University, organised a special lecture on 'Science of Establishing Identities: Past, Present, Future' by vice-chancellor Dr Lalji Singh, noted scientist of molecular biology, on Tuesday.

Delivering the lecture, Singh said the 21st century is the century of science, and it is essential for everybody to keep information of scientific developments. Speaking about DNA fingerprinting, he said the technique is being extensively used for forensic investigation, paternity determination and seed stock verification.

DNA fingerprinting evidence is presented in the court of law. This indigenous technique is used in cases like paternity disputes, identification of missing children, identification of mutilated bodies, exchange of babies in maternity wards and cases of rape and murder. He said the DNA fingerprinting can effectively be used to infer the generic affinities among related group of animals.

The fingerprint profiles are believed to have evolved too rapidly to be informative over a large period of time. It is also being used for wildlife preservation and better management of endangered species in zoo and also for identification and isolation of genes for useful characters in silkworm races. This technology is also being used for medical diagnosis.

Read more at : http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-17/news/34524394_1_university-hostel-central-library-library-timings

Library readying digital hall of fame for rare and old books

KAVYA PRADEEP KUMAR

Antique texts is being preserved in the ongoing digital drive

It may be a crumbly text with a frail spine from the outside, but its pages hide a rare treasure. The book, lying buried among volumes in the Public Library, contain meticulously drawn illustrations of what appears to be statues and engravings in temples.

According to one of the librarians here, a visit by a painter who is involved in the renovation work at the Madurai Meenakshi temple revealed that the drawings in the book are indeed sketches of the original from the temple, drawn to scale and with an anecdote scribbled in Tamil beneath each sketch.

ANONYMOUS ARTIST

Probably one of the rarest books here, the unfortunate part is no one knew who the artist is or who gave this rare manuscript to the library. “It was just there among the collection,” said a staff.

This book is among the many antique texts here that will be preserved in the digital drive going on in the library for the past few years.

In a phased manner, the library, in association with the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT), has been scanning government gazettes and original documents dating back to 1538.

The materials are available for viewing only in the Local Area Network of the library and in time, they will be uploaded to the Net.

“The library has completed work with gazettes between the 1904 and 1954,” another staff said.

Aside from creating a PDF format of the documents, those involved in the work had to go through a painstaking task of making corrections and eliminating loopholes.

In-built with a Malayalam keyboard and a dictionary, the software is capable of making connections with variants of the same word.

For instance, keying in ‘Travancore’ in the search box, will also display documents containing ‘Thiruvithancode’ in Malayalam and a Tamil version as well.

They have now begun work on gazettes dating post-1954. Few more old books are left to be converted and 1,183 of them have already been uploaded to the server.

 SOURCE: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/library-readying-digital-hall-of-fame-for-rare-and-old-books/article3990773.ece

DU teachers unite to fight copyright breach slur

Authors and teachers came together on Wednesday to show their solidarity against the recent move of the consortium of international publishing houses — Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and

Taylor & Francis, slapping a case against Delhi School of Economics (DSE) photocopy shop citing copyright infringement.

The publishing houses have also claimed Rs 60 lakh as damages. 

“I was the happiest person when my book was put up on the web, giving it open access to all. Knowledge cannot be contained, it has to keep moving,” said

Satish Deshpande, head of the Sociology department.

 “We don’t even get huge royalties by writing these books. We put in a lot of efforts and years in for the people to read them,” added

Deshpande.

Several academic authors signed photocopies of their printed books and donated them to school’s library.

Author and former faculty member of DSE Amartya Sen, who could not come, said, “I am distressed to learn about the attitude of the Oxford

University Press (OUP) on the use of photocopied course packs for the benefit of students.”

“I am personally distressed as an OUP author to learn about this policy decision. I hope something can be done to make the academic arrangements for the education of students less difficult and more sensible,” he said.

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Nivedita Menon said the fact that the teaching community is able to write is because it is a public-funded institution and the funds come from taxes. “We write to be read. Students pay us, publishers do not pay us,” said Menon.

According to Menon, India has one of the best copyright laws. “Ninety-nine per cent of academic authors even after publishing their books with these publishing houses will call this action illegal,” she added.  As per

Section 52(1) (h) of the Indian Copyright Act, “(h) the reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work- (i) by a teacher or a pupil in the course of instruction; or (ii) as part of the questions to be answered in an examination; or (iii) in answers to such questions” is permissible and constitutes an exception to the Act. 

There is no quantitative restriction on the amount of material that can be photocopied.

Historian Uma Chakravarty said, “All my works are mine and my labour. The more it is read the more fulfilled I am as a scholar. Copyright go to hell.”

Author Arundhati Roy also sent photostated copy of her recent book

‘Broken Republic’ lending support to the campaign.

Bonojit Hussain, student leading the campaign, is of the view that the issue is not about disallowing a photocopy shop to make copies of the reading material but to make people aware that photocopying reading material is not illegal.

“All the photocopy shops in DU have suddenly started self-policing by putting up posters that they will not make copies of complete books as it is illegal which is not the case,” he said. He also added that similar incident took place in Pune Univeristy recently. Student alumni of Oxford Univeristy has also sent a petition to OUP regarding such an act,” he said.

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/284567/du-teachers-unite-fight-copyright.html

Libraries reinvent themselves as labs of creativity

Local libraries are becoming centers for creativity and innovation – not only places to borrow stuff, but also places to make stuff.

By Cat Johnson, Shareable

A librarian leans over to help a senior citizen use her iPad while learning how to set up and use a Facebook account at a class at a branch of the New York Public Library. Besides teaching online skills, public libraries have begun helping people create things on site, from photographs, books, and music to podcasts.

From their inception, libraries were designed to be hubs of information. What that looked like for a long time was that they housed books and other media including music, film, and historic documents.

These days, being a hub of information looks rather different. In addition to lending traditional media materials, libraries are becoming community centers for creativity and innovation. By providing patrons access to emerging digital and manufacturing tools, libraries are reinventing themselves as laboratories that help bridge the digital divide and move projects from the idea stage into the production stage.

Recently, the Online Education Database published a round-up of the 10 Most Amazing Library Laboratories. Among those featured were some well-known projects: the NYPL Labs at the New York Public Library and theFabLab at the Fayetteville Free Library in Fayetteville, N.Y., as well as some lesser-known labs that are helping to move libraries into the center of future-forward communities.

RELATED: 20 banned books that may surprise you

Through book publication, digital media workshops, "makerspaces," and even organic gardens, these laboratories are demonstrating that libraries aren’t just places to borrow stuff, they’re also places to make stuff.

Catering exclusively to teens, the YOUMedia Lab at theChicago Public Library offers young people a way to create, edit, and produce podcasts, recorded music, blogs, film, photographs, and more. By providing access to digital tools of all kinds, the library gives voice to the teens and nurtures a new generation of creators.

Providing a way to write books and to publish them on-site, the Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library’s I Street Press turns readers of books into makers of books. Using the Espresso Book Machine, patrons can print their own material or access one of thousands of out-of-print titles. The library also offers writing classes for budding authors.

A digital media laboratory for teens, the StoryLab at the Tacoma (Wash.) Public Library is a production center for digital illustration, filmmaking, photography, music production, and the like. Boasting tools that range from MIDI controllers to tablets (as well as classes on how to use the tools), the lab is an incubator for a variety of projects.

RELATED: 20 banned books that may surprise you

Proving that space doesn’t have to be an issue when it comes to library laboratories, the Allen County Public Library Maker Station is located in a trailer right behind the library in Fort Wayne,Ind. A makerspace open to library patrons, the Maker Station features laser-cutters, 3-D printers, digital sewing and embroidery machines, saws, vinyl cutters, and more. As methods of production become increasingly available to the public, spaces like this will become necessary elements of communities.

While access to digital tools is imperative these days, so is access to healthy food. A community hub of a different kind, the Library Farm at the Northern Onondaga Public Library in Cicero, N.Y., encourages patrons to use its organic garden as a laboratory. Patrons can “check out” a small plot of land and learn from master gardeners how to grow organic produce on it.

There’s also a community area, for those who don’t want a plot to themselves. The stated purpose of the project is to teach food literacy, preserve the knowledge that our grandparents had, and to provide food to local pantries.

• This article originally appeared at Shareable.net, a nonprofit online magazine that tells the story of how sharing can promote the common good.

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2012/1010/Libraries-reinvent-themselves-as-labs-of-creativity

The Public Library Manifesto

Why libraries matter, and how we can save them. by David Morris

Photo by Simply Shutterbug

In an age of greed and selfishness, the public library stands as an enduring monument to the values of cooperation and sharing. In an age where global corporations stride the earth, public libraries remains firmly rooted in local communities. In an age of widespread cynicism and distrust of government, the tax-supported public library has widespread, enthusiastic support.

This is not the time to take the word “public” out of the public library. It is time to put it in capitals.

The public library is a singularly American invention. Europeans had subscription libraries for 100 years before the United States was born. But in April 1833, the good citizens of Peterborough, New Hampshire created a radically new concept—a public library. All town residents, regardless of income, had the right to freely share the community’s stored knowledge. Their only obligation was to return the information on time and in good condition, allowing others to exercise that same right.

Public libraries are one of the most ubiquitous of all American institutions, more widespread than Starbucks or McDonalds.

By the 1870s, 11 states together boasted 188 public libraries. By 1910, all states had them. Today, 9,000 central buildings and about 7500 branches have made public libraries one of the most ubiquitous of all American institutions, more widespread than Starbucks or McDonalds.

Almost two thirds of us carry library cards. About half of us visit a public library at least once a year, many of us much more than once. Library use varies by class and race and by age and educational level, but the majority Americans—blacks and Latinos and whites, old and young, poor and rich, high school dropouts and university graduates, use the public library.

Protecting the Right to Know

When we think of libraries, we tend to think of books, and rightly so: Public libraries are by far our largest bookstores, and a majority of the 2.5 billion items checked out are still books. Indeed, for every two books sold in America, one book is borrowed from the public library.

But libraries are much more than bookstores. About 30 percent of the people who visit libraries don't borrow books or even DVDs. For a greater number of people than we might care to believe, the library serves as a warm and dry sanctuary, a place they can sit without fear of being bothered. For others, it is a refuge from loneliness, a place full of hustle and bustle, where you can attend a concert, or hear a lecture, or read a magazine free of charge.

Since its inception, the American public library’s prime directive has been to protect the public’s access to information. In 1894, this emphasis on the right to know led Denver’s public library to pioneer the concept of open stacks. For the first time, patrons had the freedom to browse. In the 1930s, the right to know led Kentucky’s librarians to ride horses and mules, their saddlebags filled with books, into remote sections of the state.

In 1872, the right to know led the Worcester Massachusetts Public Library to open its doors on Sundays. Many viewed that as sacrilege, but head librarian Samuel Green calmly responded that a library intended to serve the public could do so only if it were accessible when the public could use it. The six-day, 60-hour workweeks common at the time meant that if libraries were to serve the majority in the communities, they must be open on Sundays. Referring to those who might not spend their Sundays at worship, Green impishly added, “If they are not going to save their souls in the church they should improve their minds in the library.”

More than 125 years later, Sundays remain the busiest day of the week for public libraries; Sunday closings are the first sign of fiscal distress.

In a time of soup lines and economic destitution, the library was known as the “bread line of the spirit."

By 1935, public libraries were serving 60 percent of the population. They had so proven their value that few libraries closed their doors even during the Great Depression. To stay open, the Cleveland public library sponsored “overdue weeks,” encouraging patrons who could afford to do so to keep their library books until they were overdue, allowing the library to collect the 12 cents per week fine. In a time of soup lines and economic destitution, the library was known as the “bread line of the spirit."

Its mission of protecting our access to information has often led the public library to confront authorities that would obstruct that access.

In 1953, at the height of McCarthism, when magazine like the Nation were banned in many places and William Faulkner’s novels were seized as pornographic literature, the American Library Association (ALA) adopted a Library Bill of Rights. “The freedom to read is of little consequence when expended on the trivia,” it insisted. “Ideas can be dangerous … Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.”

In the 1980s and 1990s, when the federal government began giving taxpayer-financed data to private companies, who then copyrighted the information and charged higher prices for access, the library community expressed its displeasure. Then ALA President Patricia Shuman declared, “privatization has resulted in less access and higher cost for the America public. If we accept the commodization of information…we will diminish the public’s right to know.”

Just as fiercely as public librarians fight to protect our access to information, they fight to protect our personal information from prying eyes. In the 1980s, when the FBI tried to turn librarians into spies by asking them to identify those who checked out military or subversive books, Americans librarians firmly rejected the request.

12 Things Really Educated People Know

Sometimes, protecting the people’s right to information means not only confronting the authority of government but of parents. A few years ago the director of the Elkhart Indiana Public Library explained, “Sometimes a parent will get angry at a book a kid has brought home. And the parent will bring in the kid’s card and tell us he’s returning it. We mail the card back to the child. It’s his card. The child can return it, but no one can return it for the child.”

This month the Queens Public Library, located in one of the most ethnically diverse and immigrant-rich communities in the world—its web site and phone answering system are in six languages—will begin allowing the "matricula consular," a personal identification card issued to immigrants by their consulates, to be used as a valid document to obtain a library card.

"At Queens Library, we strive to make our collections and services available to all," said Maureen O'Connor, director of programs and services for the library. They’ve succeeded admirably: The Queens Library has the highest circulation rate of any public library system in the country.

Libraries in Danger When We Need Them Most

Despite their enormous popularity and widespread use, public libraries have rarely been well funded. Librarian Robert Reagan offers one reason: “Everybody loves libraries, but mostly they are mute about it.” Libraries "are plagued by the image that we are nice, but not essential” one librarian complained to the Washington Post. People will defend their libraries, but only when the lights are about to go out.

Now, the lights are beginning to go out. U.S. mayors facing budget shortfalls report that library budgets are one of the first items on the chopping block. Some 19 states cut funding for public libraries last year. More than half of the reductions were greater than 10 percent. Meanwhile, operating costs—electricity, maintenance, materials—are going up. The result is that even when operating budgets remain constant, something—books or computers or service hours—has to give.

These budget cuts are coming just as library use is soaring. Economic hard times encourage people to borrow DVDs, books, and newspapers rather than buy them, and to use public computer terminals for job searches. Library usage is increasing by 15-30 percent while budgets are being cut by 10-15 percent.

All That We Share

Welcome to a new kind of movement—one that reshapes how we think about ownership and cooperation.

This is truly a case of penny wise and pound foolish. By any cost-benefit calculus, dollars spent on public libraries are a wise investment.

A few years ago, the Windsor, Connecticut Public Library hosted an Open House named, “I Got My Money’s Worth at the Windsor Public Library.” At that time, for about $26 per person per year, Windsor residents could borrow from more than $7 million worth of resources, including books, records, tapes, compact discs, and videos—not even counting the much larger treasure trove of materials available through inter-library loan, another 19th century American innovation.

Today the per capita cost of the Windsor library has increased to $36 a year, although the rate of increase has been much slower than inflation. Meanwhile, the information and resources available have soared dramatically. Over 80 percent of all public libraries now have publicly available computers. They have supplemented their print media with free online access to thousands of newspapers and journals and reference materials, either on-site or from their patrons' homes. And today most librarians will answer questions not only in person and by phone but also via email. Last year they collectively answered about 300 million questions.

Library Economics

Some 60 percent of the individuals who use public computers a Chicago’s libraries are searching for and applying for jobs.

In 2010 the Chicago affiliate of FOX TV News aired a segmentcalled, "Are Libraries Necessary, or a Waste of Tax Money?" You may already know the narrative: “They eat up millions of your hard earned tax dollars. It's money that could be used to keep your child's school running. So with the internet and e-books, do we really need millions for libraries?... should these institutions—that date back to 1900 B.C.—be on the way out?”

Mary A. Dempsey, the head of the Chicago Public Library System delivered a classic librarian’sresponse—fact-filled, to-the-point, and devastatingly effective:

Let me speak about the Chicago Public Library, which serves 12 million visitors per year. No other cultural, educational, entertainment, or athletic organization in Chicago can make that claim.

The Chicago Public Library, through its 74 locations, serves every neighborhood of our city, is open 7 days per week at its three largest locations, 6 days per week at 71 branch libraries, and 24/7 on its website, which is filled with online research collections, downloadable content, reference help, and access to vast arrays of the Library’s holdings and information.

Last year, Chicagoans checked out nearly 10 million items...

The Chicago Public Library provided 3.8 million free one hour Internet sessions to the people of Chicago in 2009. The Internet has made public libraries more relevant, not less, as your story suggests. There continues to exist in this country a vast digital divide. It exists along lines of race and class and is only bridged consistently and equitably through the free access provided by the Chicago Public Library and all public libraries in this nation. Some 60 percent of the individuals who use public computers a Chicago’s libraries are searching for and applying for jobs.

Chicago’s schools offer the shortest school day in the nation. As schools slash their budgets for school libraries and shorten their classroom teaching time, thousands of children flock to Chicago’s public libraries every day after school, in the evening, and on weekends for homework assistance from our librarians and certified teachers hired by the public library.

Only recently have public libraries needed to use economics to justify their existence, but the results are consistently eye opening. A Florida study found that for each dollar of taxpayer money spent on libraries, communities received $6.54 in benefits. A study of Wisconsin’s libraries estimated a $4 benefit for each $1 of taxpayer money; one in Indiana estimated $2.38 in benefits; in Vermont, it was $5. In other words, for every $1 states or cities cut from their library budgets, households and businesses spend $2.38 to $6.54 more from their own pockets.

Consider the case of Philadelphia. In 2010 the city spent $33 million on its public libraries, which received another $12 million from other sources. That same year the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania undertook a detailed analysis of the economic impact of the public library.

A Florida study found that for each dollar of taxpayer money spent on libraries, communities received $6.54 in benefits.

Among other things, it found that within 1/4 mile of one of Philadelphia’s 54 branches, the value of a home rose by $9,630. Overall, Philadelphia’s public libraries added $698 million to home values—which in turn generated an additional $18.5 million in property taxes to the City and School District each year. That benefit alone recouped more than half of the city’s investment.

Add to that, the value of 6.5 million items borrowed each year, a value Fels calculated at more $100 million; the value of the 3.2 million reference questions answered; the value of the 1.2 million times people used computer terminals to access information outside the library; and the millions of times people read materials inside the library but did not borrow them.

Add the value of the lessons in computer literacy and English as a second language of after school tutoring.

And then add the hard to quantify intangibles: a safe and warm refuge, concerts and lectures, camaraderie.

Even the most Scrooge-like conservative would conclude that Philadelphia should increase, not decrease, its investment in its public libraries.

Trying To Take The Public Out Of Public Libraries

Recently, the idea of public ownership has been under attack; Fort Worth's example shows how effective that attack has been. The city explained that it was dropping the word “public” from the name of its library system because of its “potentially negative connotation.” John Adams wrote in 1776, “There must be a positive passion for the public good, the public interest … established in the minds of the people, or there can be no republican government, nor any real liberty: and this public passion must be superior to all private passions.” Thomas Jefferson agreed, “I profess… that to be false pride which postpones the public good to any private or personal considerations.”

Would it be improper for me to mention the Forth Worth rebranding initiative was mostly paid for by a large oil drilling company?

Before the advent of the public library, information was much harder to access for those without wealth.

Carl Spitzweg, The Bookworm. Oil on canvas, c. 1850. Georg Schäfer Museum.

An increasing number of library systems have gone beyond name changing to actual privatization of ever-larger parts of their library operations. The biggest player in the library privatization game is Library Systems & Services (LSSI), founded in 1981 to take advantage of President Reagan’s initiative to privatize government services. LSSI now privately manages more than 60 public libraries nationwide and now trails only Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City as an operator of library branches.

For many years, libraries have outsourced some operations. But the new wave of privatization goes far beyond simple contracting out for services and raises fundamental questions. For example, LSSI’s contract with Santa Clarita, California gives LSSI control of all hiring and materials purchasing.

Privatization can undermine the public library’s mission: protecting the public’s access to information. The public library is a non-profit organization controlled by representatives of the users of the library; the mission of private companies is to maximize profits. They are controlled by representatives of their investors. LSSI, for example, is owned by a private equity fund, Islington Capital Partners, whose investors surely expect a handsome profit on their investment. (The company does not disclose its earnings.)

LSSI’s Chief Executive Frank A. Pezzanite is straightforward about how he views public libraries. “Somehow they have been put in the category of a sacred organization,” he says. To him, they are just a business.

Private companies insist they operate more efficiently than a public non-profit, but that is problematic. After all, LSSI charges administrative fees as high as 15 percent. When the city of Linden, New Jersey ended its LSSI contract early, Mayor John Gregorio maintained the city would save $300,000—about 15 percent of the library budget—by running the library itself.

Private companies cut costs the same way the public sector cuts costs—by cutting services, acquisitions, staff, or staff benefits. In 2007 Jackson County, Oregon contracted with LSSI to run its library system. The five-year contract was for half the amount the county had previously paid to run its libraries. It also cut in half the libraries’ operating hours. All libraries are now closed on Sundays.

A truly public library is there for the long term. A private company has a short-term view. The Paterson, New Jersey library board considered an LSSI proposal but instead found a new automation-savvy director, Cindy Czesak. "I'd have no trouble hiring LSSI to do consulting, but I have real questions about them running a whole system," says Czesak, a former New Jersey Library Association President. "I think they worry less about developing long-term relationships within the community."

As I’ve observed, librarians have often stood up to authority when it came to protecting their patrons’ privacy or access to information. When public librarians go to work for private companies, they often lose job protection. It will be much harder for them to take a principled stand when they risk their jobs.

We need to fight the privatization of the public library while at the same time defending and nourishing our existing libraries.

A few weeks ago the nation celebrated National Library Week. You didn’t know? Few did. A search of more than 500 U.S. papers via Nexis came up with only a few dozen news items on the subject. The vast majority consisted of a couple of lines about an event at the local library. At a time when public libraries are fighting for their very existence there was no fiery advocacy, indeed, no fire at all.

When activists have managed to put a library funding measure one the ballot, they usually win. In 2010, some 87 percent of these ballot initiatives were approved across the country.

Because most libraries get 90 percent of their funding from local taxes, grassroots initiative can have a major impact. When activists have managed to put a library funding measure one the ballot, they usually win. In 2010, some 87 percent of these ballot initiatives were approved across the country.

We need a grassroots effort to defend our public libraries, an effort that can and should be part of a growing nationwide and international effort to defend the public sphere itself. Such efforts have begun.

In Bedford, Texas, after a community-wide petition campaign to oppose library outsourcing gathered 1,700 signatures in four days, city council members voted 4-3 to reject privatization.

51 Ways to Spark a Commons Revolution

What you can do, alone and with others, to share life.

In 2008, without a formal vote of the City Council, Philadelphia announced it was going to close 11 library branches. Grassroots organizations such as the Coalition to Save the Libraries sprang up, and residents of the affected neighborhoods along with several city councilors filed suit, citing an ordinance that no city-owned facility may close, be abandoned, or go into disuse without City Council approval. After two days of hearings packed with library supporters, and just hours before the mandated closure, Judge Idee Fox granted an injunction against the closures.

In her ruling Judge Fox made clear the city’s decision was about more than money, “The decision to close these eleven library branches is more than a response to a financial crisis; it changes the very foundation of our City.”

Fort Worth got it wrong. We need to put the PUBLIC back into public library.

---

David Morris is vice president and co-founder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and a contributor to On the Commons, where this article was originally published.

Source: http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/the-public-library-manifesto