Tuesday, September 8, 2015

On World Literacy Day, a walk through libraries in the city

TECH-SAVVY LIBRARIES

The State Central Digital Library in Andheri and the library at Mumbai University are both digitised. Their content is housed in CDs and DVDs. They have internet-enabled computers with academic material, movies, games as well as books. Because of their extensive database, they are a blessing for researchers. Some physical libraries also have e-libraries that help you look for books online. British Council Library and Max Mueller Bhavan are some examples. Sameer Sherlekar, from Just Books CLC, says, “Online libraries have made life easier.“

CAFETERIA LIBRARIES

These are places where books will distract you more than steaming cups of coffee. Café libraries provide much-needed comfort to balance work and leisure for students and professionals. There are at least half a dozen options to choose from like Leaping Windows Cafe, Food For Thought and Neighbourhood Book Cafe in the city . These cafes are wellstocked with an impressive collection of comic books, classics in Hindi, Urdu and English. You can also buy books here.

KIDS' LIBRARIES

Specially dedicated to kids, these are a godsend for parents who wish to inculcate reading habits in their young ones. Couple of these offer a variety of books, right from touch and feel books for young kids to Enid Blyton and the Harry Potter series for older ones. Vaishali Shinde from MCubed library in Bandra, says, “This is the best place for parents who want to spend quality time with their kids. Today , children's choices are getting more refined as they are even opting for self-improvement books.“

LIBRARIES FOR A CAUSE

Health Education Library for People (HELP) in Tardeo houses books and pamphlets pertaining to health-related topics in an easyto-understand language. Similarly , the Akshara library at Elphinstone and Majlis in Kalina are dedicated to issues concerning women. Apart from books, they have reports, posters etc. on women-oriented topics like laws, feminist rendition and old texts.Queer Ink, a one-of-a-kind online library for the LGBT community houses a diverse collection of books related to queer subjects.

CROWDSOURCED LIBRARIES

`Books for the people, by the people' is their motto. Thriving on the concept of good faith, they collect used books and share it with others. The Little Free Library in Andheri and Bandra, for instance, is an open-to-all place. If readers do not wish to part ways with a particular book, they can replace it with another one. Pushpendra Pandya from Crowdsourced Library in Vasai, says, “It doesn't matter even if it's a single book that we have to deliver; the pleasure of handing it over to someone, who is looking forward to reading, is a different joy altogether.“

Source | Times of India | 8 September 2015

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