‘Please maintain silence’ isn’t a command that needs to be given at the Visakhapatnam Public Library. Chock-full with students who are busy with books, the mammoth library is a quiet space one can retreat into at any point of the day.
In love with the library
The idea behind creating a dedicated space was thought by VarahalaChetty of Book Center way back in 1996. Soon, like-minded people got together and the library became operational since 2004. A large space, it offers respite from the humdrum that honks outside the four huge walls. Huge sections earmarked for reading periodicals, a dedicated room for children’s books and fiction were designed to be at the ground-floor. The upper floor was equipped with meeting halls and reading rooms.
The change
However, with changing times, the new committee headed by Dr. S Vijayakumar as President, DS Verma as Secretary and other members, decided to address challenges faced by the readership. They found that readers would get disturbed by the meetings. A study also showed that people came here primarily for the environment and for group-studies, because this motivated others. To make this space better than before, the library was revamped early in 2017. It now has two meeting halls on the ground floor towards the left, while the reading room on the right has additions of new desks and reading material. The first floor has air-conditioned career-guidance rooms for girls and boys, which are stocked with updated study material. There is a separate section for fiction, children’s books and reading material. A lift has been added for easy access. More space in the cellar has been allotted to students, who sit in rows in complete silence as they prepare for competitive exams. They are provided with daily updates on study material. Also where once it was the librarian’s responsibility to manage the whole facility, now the Visakhapatnam library and facility management have been divided into two aspects and the new staff is in place. The greenery around the building has been enhanced with the CSR support of Essar. Addition of benches in the lawn allow students to sit and read outdoors as well.
Future plans
Today the library has 55000 books, with new ones added every day, based on donations and reader recommendations. The library soon plans to take digital reading initiatives too. Going by Sri VarahalaChetty’s dream, work is on towards a goal of one lakh books that will soon become a reality with the addition of a new floor, which is in progress. Addition of more books catering to other readership and new subscription plans are on the anvil. With a lot of its members comprising of students from rural and lower income backgrounds, the library committee shares that their future plans will keep them in focus for any change. Keeping the physical reading habits going in this digital world is the Visakhapatnam Public library. At a nominal lifetime membership charge of Rs. 200/-, the library committee is working on large dreams with little budget. This is a hub that offers the most exhaustive pool of preparatory material and daily updates, and we only hope that it will grow and fuel the love for reading.
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