Introduction
Library on Wheels or mobile library is an amazing movement seen today. Less celebrated but it has a great impact on readers who lounge for the library nearby but is not able to find any. So library on wheels, using a truck or a van or maybe a tram is made available for them.
When did it begin?
One such movement was seen around 2016 when a couple Satabdi Mishra and Akshaya Kumar Rautaray introduced a mobile library with an overall total of 4,000 books on a truck. They targeted to travel for 90 days, for about 10,000 km across 20 states.
What was its purpose?
The motive of this movement was to increase literacy and to encourage reading among people in the country. They used to halt at places which were open to the public so that they can approach the library without any hesitation, such as public parks or parking areas.
The general public could easily walk up to the library and they would charge absolutely nothing. Reading books were made available for free through this library. If someone wants to buy any book they would give them a 20% discount on their purchase. The truck was overwhelmingly loaded with a variety of genres from fairy tales to thrillers and also modern bestsellers.
This was not just one instance of a library on wheels. Here’s a list of a few more libraries on wheels in India-
1. Maharashtra–
A movement called ‘Let’s Read India’ started in Maharashtra by a group of IT professionals and engineers is another example of a mobile library. Their objective is to make this screen prone generation flip pages instead of scrolling along with this they want to educate and civilise citizens.
They have a collection of around 10 lakh books. This library today makes visits to places in Maharashtra and they aim to first cover one state with this cause and then spread boundaries to other states as well.
2. Kolkata–
Children’s Day 2020 was a remarkable one in this city as the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) along with Apeejay Anand Children’s Library gifted their young readers a one of it’s kind, Young Reader’s Tramcar, which is a moving tram with a variety of books with varied genres.
3. Chennai–
Gopi Sampath is associated with books since 2001 when he opened a library named bookworms which catered to many readers nearby. Later as it got relocated his regular readers were emptied as they could not find a source to satisfy their cravings for books.
Sampath also felt vacant, following which he brought up a van and introduced its readers with a van loaded with books on their doorsteps. He has got over 3,000 publications. His van is now attached to a cafe an idea of his son to reward the readers with a better treat. This mobile library is called Stories Library Cafe.
Conclusion
Many more such good motives are taken by many more people including the habit of reading amongst others. The generation revolving around screen needs to be introduced to the bright side of books. These movements should be largely celebrated and supported, as they make reading even more comfortable by bringing them to your doorsteps.
EDITED BY – Banibrata Chakraborty
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