NEW DELHI: With readership shifting rapidly towards e-books, libraries in Delhi are struggling to survive. Most believe that the concept of a library has changed from a room full of books to a ‘cloud’ on the Internet.
While the AAP government in Delhi wants more mohalla (locality) libraries, the state of the big, empty and intimidating halls with books shows a different page.
Delhi Public Library (DPL), inaugurated in 1951 by then PM Nehru, has 39 branches in Delhi. Over the years, it has seen a decline in visitors. The biggest and oldest branch is at Chandni Chowk, where around 200,000 books on over a dozen subjects can be found.
Reeling under a severe staff crunch, its total sanctioned staffers is 449, of which only 196 are present. This DPL recently dedicated a section for children, but failed to draw visitors. “We have seen a decline in the number of people in the last decade. The library is mostly used by students preparing for competitive exams,” said DPL’s joint director H R Meena, who has been with the library for 20 years. He added, “Lack of people’s interest is visible. Now, we have to focus more on web management.” In all, DPL has 18 lakh books and a daily footfall of around 3,000.
Marwari Public library in Chandni Chowk is the oldest in Delhi. Portraits of freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, who visited it don the central hall. Established in 1915 by freedom fighter Lala Kedarnath Goenka, it has 36,000 books.
Hardayal Municipal Public Library, a heritage library, has not bought any books for the last six years. It houses around 170,000 books, out of which almost 7,000 are rare. It is struggling to pay salaries to its employees. MCD, which manages the 150-year-old library, has plans to uplift the mood and environment around the space. “We need funds, which have become very hard to get after the trifurcation of MCD. We plan to lease out spaces to coffee shops to change its boring look,” said an MCD official.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Library near Jantar Mantar has its own peculiar problem. Noisy protesters at the site dampen the spirit of reading. in the library.
The sprawling one acre campus of Dyal Singh Library on Minto Road has 100 visitors each month. The library has made more than 40,000 books available online for its readers, which can be also accessed by a non-member.
Library Card
Marwari Public Library membership fee is Rs 20 per annum
Dyal Singh Public library membership fee is Rs 500 per annum
Delhi Public Library membership fee is Rs 200 per annum
Sardar Patel Library membership fee is Rs 500 for two years
Out of the above four, just Dyal Singh Library has made large number of e-books, audios and e-journals made available online, which can be accessed by anyone. The library has made a payment of Rs 1.75 lakhs to make this service available for the readers anytime