Fostering reading habits in youth

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In an attempt to bring students closer to the world of books, INDIAreads Online Library launched ‘Literathon’, a nationwide initiative to foster greater interaction between students and the literary world.

Its inauguration recently took place at the Conference Hall, Delhi University in association with Delhi School of Economics. The event kick-started with launch of ‘Poor Little Rich Slum’, a book by Rashmi Bansal and international management consultant Dr Deepak Gandhi. 

There was also a book reading session by Member of Planning Commission Dr Syeda Hameed and Gunjan Veda who read from their new non fiction-  ‘Beautiful Country: Stories from Another India’.  

The event was a sincere endeavour to provide students and faculty with an opportunity to get acquainted with books and interact with renowned authors. Literathon comprises a host of activities including book launches, talks, interactive sessions, book readings, book bazaars, creative writing workshops and online and on-the-spot competitions.

Gunjan Veda, CEO of INDIAreads says, “The initiative has been conceptualised to make not just books but even their writers more accessible. Literathon is a celebration of books and we are hopeful that we spread this celebration in every state of India.”

More News at : http://www.deccanherald.com/content/269663/fostering-reading-habits-youth.html

कॉफ़ी पीने के लिए पुस्तकालय में आइए

Photo: RIA Novosti

 मास्को नगर प्रशासन मास्को शहर में पुस्तकालयों के विकास के लिए एक ठोस कार्यक्रम तैयार कर रहा है। पिछले साल के आख़िर में यह बात सामने आई थी कि पाठकों ने अब पुस्तकालयों में आना कम कर दिया है, इसलिए अब पुस्तकालयों का रूप बदलकर उन्हें एक आधुनिक मल्टी-मीडिया सेंटर का रूप दे देना चाहिए।

इसके बाद, पिछले मई के महीने में मास्को की लाइब्रेरियों के प्रतिनिधियों ने लाइब्रेरी के विकास की अपनी-अपनी अवधारणा, अपनी-अपनी रूपरेखा नगर प्रशासन के पास भेजी। पुस्तकालयों के बदलाव के इस अभियान को नाम दिया गया -- पुस्तकालयों का पुनर्जन्म। पाठकों ने भी पुस्तकालयों के पुनर्जन्म के इस अभियान में बड़ी सक्रियता के साथ भागीदारी की। पता यह लगा कि लाइब्रेरियों के संचालकों और पाठकों ने लगभग एक-सी योजनाएँ प्रस्तुत कीं। उनका कहना है कि पुस्तकालयों या कुतुबख़ानों या लाइब्रेरियों को आज के ज़माने में सिर्फ़ किताबघर की भूमिका ही नहीं निभानी है, जहाँ क़िताबें ली और दी जाएँ, बल्कि उन्हें एक सांस्कृतिक केन्द्र का, एक विचार-विमर्श और बहस या चर्चा के केन्द्र का काम भी करना चाहिए। वहाँ रचनात्मक गतिविधियों को भी प्रोत्साहन दिया जाना जाना चाहिए। इसके अलावा पुस्तकालयों में आधुनिक तक्नोलौजी भी रखी जानी चाहिए।

मास्को के एक इंस्टीट्यूट के समाजशास्त्रियों ने इस सिलसिले में एक जन-सर्वेक्षण किया और लोगों से पूछा कि यदि लाइब्रेरियों में तमाम तरह के बदलाव कर दिए जाएँगे तो क्या वे फिर से लाइब्रेरी जाना शुरू कर देंगे। लेकिन पता लगा कि लोग इस तरह के बदलावों की बात सुनकर परेशान हो गए। आज मास्को में आम तौर पर स्कूली छात्र, अधेड़ और बूढ़ी औरतें तथा पुस्तक-प्रेमी ही पुस्तकालयों में जाते हैं। इनमें से ज़्यादातर लोगों का यह मानना है कि गम्भीर क़िताबों को पढ़ने के लिए ही लाइब्रेरी जाना चाहिए या फिर लाइब्रेरियों में काव्य-संध्याएँ आयोजित की जा सकती हैं और लेखकों-कवियों से भेंट-मुलाक़ातों का आयोजन किया जा सकता है। इसलिए वाई-फ़ाई जैसी नई सेवाओं को लोग पुस्तकालय जैसे मंदिर के लिए घातक मानते हैं।

वे मास्कोवासी, जो अक्सर लाइब्रेरी में नहीं जाते, उनका मानना है कि लाइब्रेरियों को सूचना-केन्द्र का काम भी करना चाहिए। उनके लिए यह ज़रूरी है कि वहाँ पुस्तकें ख़रीदी जा सकें, वहाँ कॉफ़ी पी जा सके, वहाँ कम्प्यूटर सेवाएँ तथा ऑन-लाईन सेवाएँ उपलब्ध हों और लाइब्रेरी में पुस्तकों की उपलब्धता के बारे में उन्हें घर-बैठे ही सारी जानकारी हो जाए। विशेषज्ञों का भी कहना है कि यदि ये सब सुविधाएँ रूस की राजधानी के पुस्तकालयों में जुटा दी जाएँगी तो 20-25 साल की उम्र के युवक-युवतियों को भी पुस्तकालयों की तरफ़ फिर से आकर्षित करना संभव हो जाएगा।

लेकिन जन-सर्वेक्षण में सामने आए विचारों को ध्यान में रखते हुए विशेषज्ञों का यह भी कहना है कि पुस्तकालयों में ये अतिरिक्त सुविधाएँ जुटाते हुए बहुत सावधानी से काम लेना होगा। पुस्तकालयों में कॉफ़ी-हाउस, क़िताबों की दुकानें या विचार-विमर्श केन्द्र आदि सिर्फ़ प्रयोग के तौर पर शुरू किए जा सकते हैं। इसके अलावा मास्कोवासियों का यह भी कहना है कि पुस्तकालय की सदस्यता पूरी तरह से निशुल्क होनी चाहिए तथा वहाँ क़िताबें भी निशुल्क उपलब्ध होनी चाहिए।

मास्को में कुल 440 सरकारी पुस्तकालय हैं। क़रीब 27 लाख लोग नियमित रूप से इन पुस्तकालयों का इस्तेमाल करते हैं। मास्को में पहली सार्वजनिक लाइब्रेरी 17 वीं शताब्दी के मध्य में शुरू हुई थी। इसके बाद सभी लाइब्रेरियाँ विभिन्न सरकारी विभागों ने खोली, उन सभी के उद्देश्य अलग-अलग थे और उनमें क़िताबें भी अलग-अलग विषयों से सम्बन्धित हुआ करती थीं। लेकिन तभी से मास्को की पुस्तकालय-व्यवस्था लगातार विकास करती चली गई। वह लगातार जटिल होती चली गई। आज हालत यह है कि पूरे रूस में हज़ारों लाइब्रेरियाँ हैं। कोई बच्चों की लाइब्रेरी है तो कोई वैज्ञानिक लाइब्रेरी, कोई विदेशी साहित्य की लाइब्रेरी है तो कोई विदेशी भाषाओं में साहित्य की लाइब्रेरी। सबसे बड़ी बात तो यह है कि इंटरनेट और कम्प्यूटर के इस युग में, ऑन लाइन क़िताबों के इस ज़माने में रूस में लाइब्रेरियाँ ज़िन्दा हैं और समय के साथ-साथ अपनी शक़्ल भी बदलती जा रही हैं।

More News at : http://hindi.ruvr.ru/2012_07_12/masko-pustakalay/

Library of a different kind

Books were the main source for education outside school and one should utilise every opportunity that was given to them to acquire knowledge.

They pledged to dedicate their time to acquire knowledge and develop a reading culture which would enable them to bring a positive change not only to their lives but also to society.

For the inmates of the Central Prison, Poojappura, who spend a considerable amount of time in the company of books, there could have been no better time to take such a pledge than during the Reading Week celebrations.

‘Vayanotsavam’

Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan inaugurated the ‘Vayanotsavam-2012' here at the Central prison on Friday. Additional Director-General of Police (Prisons) Alexander Jacob recited the 'Reading Day' pledge to the inmates at the function jointly organised by the Central Prison, P.N. Panicker Foundation, and various other departments. (The Reading day observed on June 19 is a week-long celebration to honour P.N. Panicker who started the library movement in Kerala).

Books were the main source for education outside school and one should utilise every opportunity that was given to them to acquire knowledge.

It was important to inculcate reading habits among people for the development of society, said Mr. Radhakrishnan to the gathered audience.

The prison has a collection of 15,000 books and at least 80 persons use the library daily.

The fact that an inmate had taken a Ph.D. and as many as 124 inmates were pursing various degree courses in the different jails was an achievement, said Mr. Alexander Jacob.

The prison library has a varied collection of books and has a regular supply of all the leading national and regional newspapers and magazines. The prison also has computer labs, television, and radios for the inmates to keep up with the latest happenings around the world.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/article3562135.ece

Most U.S. readers unaware of e-books at libraries - poll

By Joseph O'Leary

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Though Kindles and Nooks are becoming almost as common as books, more than half of all U.S. readers don't know they can borrow e-books from their local library, a Pew Center poll showed on Friday.

The poll showed 62 percent of readers didn't know if their library had e-books for lending, and only 12 percent of Americans 16 and older who read e-books had borrowed at least one from a library in the past year.

"The most important thing libraries can do is make sure e-books are accessible through the rest of the library system," said Micah May, the director of strategy at the New York Public Library, about raising e-book lending awareness.

Of those who had borrowed e-books, 66 percent said their library's selection was at least "good," while only 4 percent thought theirs was "poor," the survey said.

There are difficulties, occasionally, with the process, with 56 percent of borrowers saying their libraries didn't have a particular e-book while 52 percent found there was a waiting list to borrow a book they wanted. Some 18 percent had incompatible readers for the e-books they wanted.

May said most e-book lending problems were due to the current library e-book distribution system. On Thursday, book publisher Penguin agreed to digitally lend its books to the NYPL, joining Random House and HarperCollins to become only the third of the "Big Six" publishing companies to lend e-books through libraries.

Simon and Schuster, Macmillan and Hachette don't lend new e-books through libraries, according to Publisher's Weekly.

Print readers expressed interest in e-books, though. Of those who don't borrow e-books, 46 percent said they'd be at least somewhat likely to borrow a device pre-loaded with a book, while 32 percent would be at least somewhat interested in learning how to use an e-reader or download e-books.

Those who borrow e-books are much heavier readers than those who don't, averaging six more books than non-borrowers last year.

The lack of knowledge about libraries and e-books means many readers still buy; 55 percent of e-book readers with library cards prefer to buy their e-books, while 46 percent said they prefer purchasing printed books.

The purchasing numbers lessen with those who borrow e-books; 33 percent of e-book borrowers prefer to buy e-books and 57 percent prefer to borrow them.

Reading is still important to many Americans. Fifty-eight percent of those 16 and older have library cards, while 69 percent said the library was important to them.

The Pew poll surveyed 2,986 Americans aged 16 and older by phone with a margin of error of 2 percentage points. (Reporting By Joseph O'Leary; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh)

Source:http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/most-us-readers-unawaree-books-at-libraries-poll_721171.html

A thriving library

BANGALORE: Whoever thought the habit of reading books was going down surely was mistaken, as the Dayanand Nagar public library of the North Zone seems to prove otherwise. The library’s membership seems to be thriving with 800 existing members and 53,062 reading material, including 137 magazines and 31 newspapers. The visitors seem to be really fond of reading as they seem to be braving a lot to visit the library.

The library which is situated in a BBMP complex on the first floor, has a bathroom on the ground floor at the entrance. The bathroom is extremely dirty and emanates a strong stench as soon as you walk into the complex. When you walk into the complex itself, the first thing that hits you is the foul smell. Added to this, there is water leaking from the ceiling onto the floor which creates a huge puddle at the entrance of the building.

The library seems to be well maintained though it’s a little small in size. The librarian Pradeep BM says, “Since the library is not very big, there is not much space for the storage of books. The expensive books are kept inside the cupboard and is taken out as and when it is needed.” The existing space is well managed with neat stacks of books on the racks and well defined spaces for readers to enjoy their reading time.

The library has proved to be useful in the area specially because they do not charge for reading books inside the library and even the reading charges are not high which starts only from `25. All the books can be borrowed by the public. The library gets new collection of books at least once in three months.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/a-thriving-library/259798-60-119.html

Library of Congress and Ad Council Team Up with Reading is Fundamental to Launch Public Service Advertising Campaign to Encourage Parents to Read to their Children

press releases

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Research shows that success in school and life starts with literacy. When children become good readers in the early grades, they are more likely to become better learners throughout their school years and beyond. In a nationwide effort to communicate to parents the importance of reading to their school-aged children, the Library of Congress and the Ad Council have teamed up with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) to launch a new national public service advertising (PSA) campaign, "Book People Unite."

To view the multimedia assets, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55363-ad-council-library-of-congress-book-people-unite-psa-to-encourage-reading

Created by advertising agency, Mother New York, the new television, print, outdoor and digital PSAs feature a medley of notable book characters, including Pinocchio, Madeline, Humpty Dumpty, Curious George and Raggedy Ann and Andy coming together to encourage parents to "Read to a child today and spark a lifetime of ambition."  The original song in the television PSA was produced by Grammy award-winning band The Roots. Celebrity vocalists Jack Black, Chris Martin (Coldplay), John Legend, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Jason Schwartzman, Consequence, Regina Spektor, Nate Ruess (fun.), Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia) and Melanie Fiona lend their voices to the song.

"The Library of Congress is so pleased to continue its longstanding collaboration with the Ad Council and to join this effort with RIF," said Gayle Osterberg, director of communications at the Library of Congress. "As America's oldest cultural institution, the Library encourages the use and enjoyment of our nation's creativity and knowledge. We hope this entertaining campaign – combining beloved children's book characters and world-renowned musical talent - inspires families to establish a lifelong love of reading."

All of the PSAs direct audiences to a new campaign micro-site, BookPeopleUnite.org, where they can join the Book People Unite movement by taking the pledge to love reading and declare themselves a "book person." Each person who pledges will receive a free download of the song featured in the PSA. The site also features access toLibrary of Congress and RIF's respective web sites where people can find great tips and advice for reading with their children.  

"For more than twelve years we have partnered with the Library of Congress to promote literacy in all types of learning," said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. "Our new campaign with RIF, featuring many of the notable book characters we all grew up with, will encourage parents to establish positive reading practices with their children. We hope that families will understand that reading is fun. All it takes is a few minutes a day to inspire your children to become lifelong readers."

The characters in the television PSA were brought to life through specially-crafted puppets by Jim Henson's Creature shop and Curious Pictures created the animated characters. Additionally Emmy award-winning actorLeVar Burton makes a special cameo in the television PSA and talks about why he is a Book Person in one of the radio PSAs.

"One book can spark a lifetime of ambition and we are asking the nation to join us in igniting a culture of reading where all kids can explore, dream and achieve," said Carol Rasco, president and CEO of RIF. "This PSA is part of our campaign to unite a community of people who believe in the transformative power of books and are committed to this critical cause. Together, we can realize our vision of a literate America."

"We can all point to one or many books that fueled our childhood adventures. Without RIF these windows of adventure that books open every day may close to those most in need.  We were astonished when we heard from RIF that in some of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the US there is only one book available for every 300 children," said Phil Graham, Co-Head of Strategy of Mother New York. "We hope that this campaign will spark a reading revolution in America and a greater recognition on the vital role books play in kick-starting children to a lifetime of literacy."

Since 2000, the Ad Council has partnered with the Library of Congress on a national Reading campaign. The campaign targets children aged eight to twelve in an effort to inspire fun and promote literacy in all types of learning, including reading books, magazines and cartoons, online and interactive tools, visiting museums, creating music and using one's imagination. To date, the campaign has received over $388 million in donated media support.

Per the Ad Council model, the PSAs will be distributed to media outlets nationwide this week and will run and air in advertising time that is donated by the media.

About the Library of Congress

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. The largest library in the world, the Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both on-site, in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill, and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov. The Library of Congress is the home of the Center for the Book, a major national force for reading and literacy promotion and sponsor of the award-winning Read.gov website and National Book Festival each September in Washington, D.C.

About The Advertising Council

The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has effected, and continues to effect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit www.adcouncil.org.

About Reading Is Fundamental

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) delivers free books and literacy resources to children and families in underserved communities in the United States. By giving children the opportunity to own a book, RIF inspires them to become lifelong readers and achieve their full potential.  As the nation's largest children's literacy nonprofit, RIF has placed 400 million books in the hands of more than 35 million children since it was established in 1966. Learn more and help RIF provide books to kids who need them most, visit RIF.org.

SOURCE The Ad Council