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Neglected shelves: Pune public libraries in dire need of revival as students hesitate to use facility
Pune, being the educational hub, welcomes students from across the state
Pune, being the educational hub, welcomes students from across the state. However, one major facility that students are reluctant to use are the public and government libraries in the city. Public libraries were hubs for the exchange of ideas and dialogue. However, they are now suffering from neglect and are in dire need of upkeep.
Pune district has 565 libraries, of which 90 are housed in Pune city, however, it has been observed that many students prefer private libraries than the public ones.
Vaibhav Edke, president, Maharashtra students’ welfare association, Pune said, “The students prefer private libraries with individual cubicles. The advantage of the government libraries is that the fee is minimal. But they do not have proper infrastructure. Better facilities and easy accessibility to books should be provided.”
There are approximately 2.5 lakh students who study in Pune for competitive examinations. They demand proper reading facilities and a good studying environment along with materials and books. Atharva Gholap, a student preparing for NEET examination said, “The private libraries and reading rooms are expensive, but there are more facilities. There are separate cubicles for each individual. As many aspirants use private libraries, there is an advantage of peer learning as well.”
Though the youngsters prefer private libraries, the senior citizens and middle-aged readers continue using government libraries regularly. Dilraj Joshi, a resident of Sadashiv peth said, “I have been using the district library for the last six years. It is a very good space for reading newspapers and magazines.”
The government libraries have an abundance of books and research archives available for common people. Suresh Riddiwade, librarian class 2, Government Divisional Library, Pune said, “We have around 4.5 lakh books along with newspaper archives for all. We also have free computer facilities. However, as there are limited seats available for reading, only some students use the facility. Additionally, I have observed, that the trend of reading hardcopy books has reduced among youth due to e-libraries.”
The state government is making efforts to set up e-libraries, computerisation of libraries, increasing manpower, modernising the library management and other special facilities.Shreya Gokhale, district library officer, Pune said, “As students prefer e-books, we have started adding our database in an e-portal. Many libraries in the district have started providing the facility. We plan to bring the e-library facility in the district by next year.”
Talking about lack of proper usage of available facilities, Gokhale added, “There are proper facilities, reading rooms and MPSC centres in some libraries like Pune Marathi Granthalaya, but not many students are aware about it. There needs to be more awareness about the accessibility of the public and government libraries among the student community.”
