BANGALORE: Established in 1998, the BTM Layout library, albeit a small branch under the City Central Library, South Zone, it houses more than 42,000 books. Set-up in private premises, the building looks quite outdated for a library with neither proper toilet facilities nor drinking water. To top it all, the excessive traffic noise disturbs the readers to no end.
The library consists of books in Kannada, English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Gangadhar, the librarian said, “Books for students who have finished 12th standard are available here.” On the flipside, he added, “We do not have an internet connection, however, we maintain strict records of the books.”
As far as emergency facilities like fire extinguishers are concerned, the library is devoid of any such facility. Gangadhar also informs that there is no drinking water facility in the library and that the public have to bring in their own drinking water.
When City Express interacted with a few readers in the library, their complaints were mostly related to lack of toilet facilities. P Ramachandra, a resident of BTM layout said, “Since most of us are senior citizens, the library should have proper toilet facilities at least.” Voicing a similar opinion Iswara said,” There is a toilet near the librarian’s office, but readers are not allowed to make use of that.”
Silence is what people look out for in a library but readers here complain that constant noise disturbs them. M L Gowda said, “There is a drilling store nearby and the noise coming from here is really disturbing.”
Another reader, Vijaymohan said, “Since the library is near a traffic signal, the ensuing noise is inevitable. Another thing that this library needs is a parking space. Situated in such a crowded area, it is often troublesome to find parking space whenever visitors come in their vehicles. This is why people prefer to walk to the library.”
The library operates from 8 to 11 am in the morning and from 4 to 8pm in the evening.