A public library is a library that is accessible to the general public regardless of any differences and is usually funded by public sources such as community contributions. Public libraries provide free access to a wide range of books, journals, and research papers to a person belonging to different educational backgrounds and age groups. Public libraries collaborate with schools and universities to organize debates, storytelling competitions, and educational activities for youth, children, and adults.
Libraries are synonymous with education and provide countless learning opportunities that can foster economic, social, and cultural development. The inspiring story of William Kamkwamba from Malawi underscores the difference a library can make. Borrowing a book about windmills from his local library, Mr. Kamkwamba learned how to build an energy-producing turbine for his village. On the strength of this experience, he went to study at a leading university in America. That one book not only changed his life; It also changed the lives of the people in his village community. Stories like these explain why many countries are keen to ensure that libraries continue to provide access to knowledge, learning, and ideas.
During COVID, public libraries supported their members by offering e-books to access information online. This has helped books reach the remotest places and fostered a reading culture in small towns. Public libraries are places that bring communities together and host events related to educational programs. Such community outreach programs help in inculcating reading values and promoting literacy among people from marginalized communities. Public libraries have played an important role in developing reading as a leisure activity. Books in multiple languages have brought new readers to libraries who prefer to read books in the original languages with different socio-political dimensions.
The National Library Policy will ensure the availability, accessibility, and affordability of books across India. Since libraries are a State subject, the need of the hour is to pay attention to the modernization of public libraries in the State. State libraries suffer from a paucity of financial funds and the non-availability of books in English and other vernacular languages. There is ambiguity regarding the number of functional libraries functioning at the state and national levels. As per the National Library Policy, there will be accurate data regarding operational and non-functional libraries in the public domain.
Recognizing the cultural importance of sharing, Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can survive if it tries to be exclusive”. The motivation to share and reuse information and knowledge comes in many forms. Perhaps the most deeply rooted in our human instincts is the desire to preserve our culture for future generations. It is one of the most important functions of libraries.
Libraries are rich repositories of historically and culturally significant collections, many of which are not available anywhere else in the world. Without an appropriate copyright exception, a library may not preserve or replace a damaged work while it is still covered by copyright. For example, it cannot legally copy or digitize an old newspaper or a unique sound recording to preserve it. Without proper library exceptions, this cultural heritage will be lost to future generations.
Today, many works are “born digital” only, such as websites or electronic journals, and are not available in print format. Without legal means of preserving and replacing works in various media and formats—including format transfer and moving electronic material from obsolete storage formats—many of these works will inevitably be lost to future generations of historians.
The National Library Policy will help in strengthening the efforts of NGOs working in remote areas of the country. The need of the hour is to formulate a National Library Policy to adopt new and modern practices from the best libraries across the world and to formulate standardized practices to preserve this cultural heritage of India.
The writer is a Research Scholar in Political Science, Poetess, Independent journalist and columnist.
