Create school libraries with soul, don’t merely ‘collect’ books
Even in a typical government school in a tribal area, an enthusiastic team of teachers and community volunteers have come up with innovative ideas that make children fall in love with books
At the heart of a vibrant library is a
professionally trained library teacher who understands books and is committed
to children’s learning.
I recall my recent visit to a district public
library in Jharkhand. I was excited to learn that the collector had reclaimed
the public library building that had been occupied by paramilitary forces for
years. The building was large, spacious, well ventilated. It had a number of
shelves, full of books. However, the soul of the library was missing since
there was neither a trained librarian nor any users. It was being managed by a
clerk who was protecting the collection and the building without drawing and
connecting with users. Unfortunately, this is not a stray story of a neglected
public library, but representative of long and widespread neglect of libraries
and librarians.
Consider another scenario in the same
district in Jharkhand. This was a typical government school in a tribal
heartland. It did not have separate library room, as space was a constraint.
There were only two teachers in the primary school and no librarian. Teacher
and community volunteers had made book holders using locally available gunny
bags which were full of picture books in Hindi and Mundari (tribal language).
Children had free access to books. The well-thumbed books made it evident that
these were in regular use.
The children had also made library cards
recording books borrowed for home reading. During the library period, the
community volunteer, who had received special training on running a classroom
library, did an effective read aloud, using a picture book. She read with voice
modulation, moved around in the class to show pictures as she read, asked
questions encouraging children to predict what would happen next, and got them
to relate their own experiences to characters in the book, communicating in
Mundari and Hindi. Children’s interest and engagement with books was apparent.
One knew, this could be the beginning of a life-long bond of children with
reading and learning.
The Right to Education mandates every school
to have a library. While majority of schools have library books, those are
locked in cupboards. Only 26% to 40% schools have functional libraries. At the
heart of a vibrant library is a professionally trained library teacher who
understands books and is committed to children’s learning.
Our collective resolve to invest in building a cadre of librarians who have
knowledge, skills and vision for open access libraries for children would be
the best way to get children to fall in love with books
India celebrates National Librarian Day on
August 12 in the memory of Dr SR Ranganathan. Known as the ‘Father of Library
Science in India’, he is remembered by library scientists for his seminal
contribution through new classification system and cataloging, combining his
expertise in mathematics and library science. As an educator, what inspires me
is his vision of library and librarianship. He advocated that libraries should
be dynamic, books should be used and not hoarded. For him users were most
important, they were at the heart of the library.
Regards
Pralhad Jadhav
Senior Manager @ Knowledge
Repository
Khaitan & Co
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