India Public Libraries Conference 2015

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Princely State of Kolhapur passed a Public Library Act in 1945. Tamil Nadu as part of the Indian Union, passed the Indian Public Library Act in 1948, my own state of Goa, in 1993 and last week in Delhi, we gathered for the FIRST Indian Public Library Conference. We are inching our way into the 21st Century in a globalised world and attempting to keep our Public Libraries on some track.

A conference around Public Libraries is the need of the hour in 2015 and due credit must be given to DEF and DELNET who planned, curated and executed this International Conference over two days. Sessions were broadly organized around themes and each session had speakers who represented an International perspective ( UK, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Nepal, Thailand) and many of the State / District librarians and NGO’s working in the area of library. It was a happy mix of players who gathered together at IIC , Lodhi Estate to consult and share.

Nijugrapher-Bookworm-India_Public_Libraries_Conference_IPLC_2015 - 3 - DSC_6850

Nijugrapher-Bookworm-India_Public_Libraries_Conference_IPLC_2015 - 16 - DSC_6882

Before the Conference, DEF had announced a Best Practices Award for libraries working with community and with public and it was in this regard that Bookworm applied and learnt more and more about the Conference. As we approached the venue on the 17th of March, 2015 on a cool Delhi morning, it was inspiring to see many posters of Good Practices displayed for browsing. Closer review indicated that many of the good practices centered around young children actively participating in book related activities in rather rich looking environments. There were a range of displays but the undercurrent of relationships with books, joy from reading and reading as a social practice was strong and predominant. We entered the Conference venue with these images resonating in our minds.

Nijugrapher-Bookworm-India_Public_Libraries_Conference_IPLC_2015 - 1 - DSC_6845

It therefore was rather jarring to find that most sessions nay all sessions presented particularly by Indian speakers had the complete absence of relationship building, youth, children and joy in the library. The imagination for the Public Libraries appears to be a sterile ‘ICT’ infected environment where knowledge will explode once you enter it’s portals. It was even more contrary to hear the International speakers in every session talk of the Library as a community space, one that was imagined and envisioned with community participation, spaces that looked towards the needs of the community and adapted and reformed to suit the changing needs and yet still maintained the hall marks of a library. Our imagination for our Indian Public Libraries is sterile and contrived. We have not understood yet that a Public Library must begin with public at the center and that relationships amongst people, books, media and the world will then flow from that center.

Nijugrapher-Bookworm-India_Public_Libraries_Conference_IPLC_2015 - 10 - DSC_6870

The IPLC 2015 began with a good thrust, it is an event that must continue to grow to provision for the argument of what drives a good library space and how can that be enabled. The Good Practices must become part of the main dialogue and not lie on the fringes of our discussion and practice. We look forward to IPLC 2016 and to a more progressive Public Library system in the country.

Nijugrapher-Bookworm-India_Public_Libraries_Conference_IPLC_2015 - 22 - DSC_6946

2 comments

  1. Urvashi Nangia

    “We have not understood yet that a Public Library must begin with public at the center and that relationships amongst people, books, media and the world will then flow from that center”….seems like we have a looong way to go….

    Thanks for sharing Sujata…Hope all is good at your end and at BookWorm…

    Keep thinking about the energy and love and patience and enthusiasm and connectedness that I felt the two times I visited BookWorm…

    Hugs,
    Urvashi

    1. Sujata Noronha

      Come visit again. We need to see more of you.
      Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, Urvashi. I look towards the future because of young people like you, awakened and excited about education.

      Sujata

Leave a Reply