CHENNAI: Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the procurement of books for libraries across the state, particularly Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore, the government has appointed IAS officer RV Shajeevana as director of Public Libraries, with full additional charge. She replaced S Jayanthi, who heads TRB and was holding the additional charge as the director of Public Libraries.
Though sources confirmed the appointment, the official order regarding the new posting is yet to be released. Over the past several years, the directorate has largely been headed by officers holding additional charge, with K Elambahavath being an exception. He served as director from 2022 to August 2024 before being transferred. Subsequently, P Sankar, then chairman of the TN Textbook and Educational Services Corporation, and later Jayanthi held full additional charge of the post.
Though the Madras HC in 2012 had instructed the government to appoint persons with library science qualification as directors, the practice of assigning additional charge of the post to officers continued. Since 2022, IAS officers have been appointed. Librarians working in the directorate have repeatedly sought a full-time director, alleging that the additional-charge arrangement has affected administration.