Media Coverage: The Hindu 7th Aug 2008

Libraries to have Internet facility

Staff Reporter, The Hindu Daily

• Provision will be made in budget: Isaac
• National policy for libraries mooted
• Plea to streamline functioning of libraries

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: All libraries in the State graded A and B would be provided Internet connectivity within the next three years, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said here on Wednesday. Adequate provision would be made in the next three budgets for this.

He was speaking after inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Redefining the Role of Public Libraries in India - The Knowledge Society Imperatives,’ organised by the Kerala Library Association.

He said the government would also ensure that the cess on the building tax that is to accrue to the Kerala State Library Council reaches the Council. This would be implemented from the next financial year. However, the Council would not be given any arrears, he added.

In a globalised world where there is a digital divide, Information and Communication technology itself becomes an instrument of intervention in the social process. In such a scenario, the very nature of libraries needs to undergo change. “Libraries must change from collection-oriented institutions to service-oriented institutions and librarians have to change from custodians of books and documents to information managers and disseminators,” the Minister said.

For this, the libraries have to digitise their valuable documents, get themselves networked and develop a pool of trained library professionals. India will need a national policy for libraries and information centres in the new socio-economic environment. Dr. Isaac argued that Kerala lost out on an excellent opportunity to re-orient its libraries when it failed to dovetail the Akshaya centres into the State’s library network. If only Akshaya centres had operated out of libraries, the institutions would have been at the forefront of change and empowerment in the State, he said.

University libraries should set an example, a model to other libraries, in effecting changes that are in conformity with the needs of a knowledge society. In his presidential address, president of Library Council G. Balamohan Thampi said successive governments had not been too keen on providing adequate funding for the libraries in the State. Even the money that is due to the Council is often not forthcoming. The attitude of the bureaucracy towards the council is that it is a superfluous body. “The Council is a necessary nuisance,” Dr. Thampi said.

Though there are about 6,000 libraries in the State, many of these institutions do not function properly. Many do not maintain proper records on how many books they have, how many people visited the library, how many books have been issued and so on. The phenomenon of globalisation seems to be a blessing as far as libraries are concerned. Years ago, if someone wanted a book from the U.K., it was a very difficult. Now if one has a computer and a bank account, the book can be purchased very easily. Dr. Thampi said it was time that the Kerala Library Act was amended. In addition to elected representatives, the Library Council should have professionals capable of giving technical advice.

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