VELLORE:Tamil Nadu leads in public library movement which was started by Raja Ram Mohan Roy who was the first educational reformer in the country, said Diptendu Das, field officer attached to the Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF) in Kolkata. He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day refresher course for librarians in Vellore district which began here on Friday. The programme is being sponsored by RRRLF.
Das said that according to details available with RRRLF the state of Tamil Nadu has taken lead in library and literacy movement among other states in the country, based on the parameters of number of libraries, books, access by locals, frequency of visits and infrastructure development. While majority of the people in this country still do not have access to tools of information and communication technology such as Internet and mobile phone, efforts must be made to promote libraries with materials equivalent to electronic resources.
Dr P Vinayagamoorthy, Librarian at the Thiruvalluvar University, in his address, underlined the need for public librarians to improve their technical skills to manage digital libraries. He said libraries were slowly taking an electronic avatar.