Mobile library rolls in reading habit among Thane kids, a big hit among senior citizens too
The library, which has a stock of 10,000 books, works seven days a week crisscrossing the city
On Saturday evening, 8-year-old Nikhil Nair was patiently waiting near
Ozone Valley at Parsiknagar near Kharegaon with a book in his hand. His face
erupted with joy as soon as he saw a white and blue bus heading towards him. An
elated Nikhil hopped on to the bus to choose his book companion for the week.
Around 450 such children from across Thane city wait every week just like
Nikhil for their mobile book library to arrive. An initiative started around
four years ago to entice book lovers by Marathi Granth Sanghralaya (MGS), it
has since become popular among children.
Pranali Khobole, the librarian of the mobile library, said that out of
the 1,100 subscriptions that the library has gained in the last few years, 450
are children. To ensure more children are interested in reading, they include
more children-oriented English books, she said.
Sachin Sutar, who drives the mobile library, popularly known as the
Granth yaan, said, “Children are so excited about getting their hands on a book
that they do not wait to get home and instead start reading from within the
bus. We have made arrangements within the bus to read but not many can wait
here so as the numbers increase we have to ask them to leave. However, they are
so eager for the books that sometimes if we are stuck in traffic for 10 minutes
also we start getting calls.”
“I love to visit the small mobile library and choosing a book for
myself; this has become a weekly activity. I love to read and this library is a
boon as I have many choices every week,” said 13-year-old Meena Iyer, a
resident of Kashish Park near Checknaka.
The mobile library has a stock of more than 10,000 books that the
readers can borrow and read from; books are available in English, Hindi and
Marathi. The bus halts at each stop for around 1.5 hours. It covers five spots
a day.
Khobole said the library tries to keep its fee reasonable. It charges a
monthly fee of Rs100 monthly with an entry fee of Rs50 and deposit of Rs500. It
charges a late fee of Rs1 per day. The most popular spots for children are
Kharegaon, Kasarvadavli and Upvan, Khobole said. Besides children, a number of
senior citizens from Vrindavan society near Eastern Express Highway also
eagerly gather around the library upon its arrival.
Srikanth Tavade, 67, from Vrindavan Society is an avid reader has been a
member of the Marathi Granth Sanghralaya since his college days, said “This is
one of the oldest libraries and I have been a member since my college days, but
since the last seven years due to ill health I avoid travelling in crowded
places. This makes it very difficult for me to go to the library. Initially, my
son used to exchange books for me on his way back from work but since the
Granth yaan began I prefer waiting at the stop and choosing books myself. There
is a different joy to be surrounded by books in the library, I used to miss
that but thanks to this initiative I have revived my joy for reading.”
Started due to the great demand by book lovers who lived at distant
places and could not make it to the library, Granth yaan functions all seven
days of the week. The first stop is at 12.30 pm and it wraps up its services
around 8.30 every evening except on Friday mornings; this is reserved for
maintenance and to add more books in the bus. Following a time-table, it visits
each of its stops once a week. The library covers around 35 major areas in
Thane city.
The Thane Marathi Granth Sanghralaya was started by Vinayak Laxman Bhave
in 1883, a writer of Maharashtra saraswat and resident of Thane. This was the
first full-fledged Marathi library in the nation, and has taken various
measures over the years for book lovers. The Granth yaan was started in 2014
and within months, it plans to go in for digitalisation of its books, and make
available e-books and e-library for its customers.
Source |
Hindustan Times | 18th February 2018
Regards
Prof. Pralhad Jadhav
Master of Library & Information Science (NET
Qualified)
Senior Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan & Co
Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978
What a great initiative this mobile venture is and how well it is being received.
ReplyDeleteThe true benefits for these children will be seen as they grow for, because of your service and caring, they will have a far better opportunity for more productive and happy lives and ability to contribute to their communities.
I commend you for your initiative and for your caring and compassionate approach. What you are doing will CHANGE LIVES and not just of those eager children who wait for the bus but for their families, friends and other in their communities.
This is a big part of what libraries *should* be about - active and involved.
Congratulations and thank you for sharing this with us here and on LinkedIn, which is where I first heard of it.