Every afternoon, the children’s section at Periyar Nagar Full Time Branch Library in Chennai turns into a dining hall. Seated in small groups on the floor, students are served lunch.
The library’s management and Vallalaar Trust have made this happen, benefiting students visiting the library to prepare for competitive exams.
Around 110 students avail the free lunch consisting of rice, sambar, rasam, appalam and poriyal. A serving of sweet is an add-on during special occasions.
Moved by the long hours students spend at the library preparing for competitive exams, C.A. Mohanarangam, grade II librarian, Periyar Nagar Full Time Branch Library, reached out to the Trust to sponsor lunch.
“Many of the students come from the outskirts or have temporarily relocated to the city to prepare for these examinations. I have seen students sharing the little lunch they bring from home,” says Mohanarangam, adding that at least 40 students live a hand-to-mouth existence.
The cutlery to serve lunch was bought by the librarian. “Transport cost is borne by the library. Every day, two two-wheelers are employed to ferry the meals from a kitchen in Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar,” he says.
The Branch Library in Dhandeeshwaram has created an additional space outside the building to accommodate 20 to 30 students. Besides seating arrangement, a water dispenser is found in this space.
At the Branch Library in Dhandeeshwaram
The Branch Library at Anna Nagar is one of the busiest in the city as the neighbourhood has many centres offering coaching for civil service examinations. In April, the centre got a new study hall.
The Directorate of Public Libraries is planning to construct an additional study hall on the terrace of the building to accommodate more students.
S. Mathuvanan, a native of Tiruvannamalai who recently cleared TNPSC Group II (A) exam, owes much of his success to the learning environment he got at Anna Nagar library.
(The Directorate of Public Libraries has reportedly instructed branch libraries to create a conducive learning environment for students preparing for competitive exams)
He says many like him cannot afford to go to a study hall and the library is where they spend much of their time, discussing the subjects with peers as well as tapping into the vast collection of books.
“At least 10 people who studied at the Anna Nagar branch library with me have cleared various competitive examinations,” he says.
At the libraries in Anna Nagar and Periyar Nagar, coaching academies conduct a free mock test for students once a week.
Access to printer and paper, WiFi and a discussion room are among other amenities offered by these libraries.
‘Some branch libraries will stay open all days of the week’
For many years, the timings of libraries functioning under the District Central Library were set in one and only mould — open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with Friday as holiday.
There are now tweaks in the time schedule of some libraries, particularly the ones that are popular among the student community. The Directorate of Public Libraries is encouraging its branch libraries to remain open on Fridays, second Saturdays and also extend their timings.
Branch libraries in Anna Nagar, Periyar Nagar, Ashok Nagar and Dhandeeswaram register an impressive footfall of students preparing for competitive examination and extend their timings beyond 8 p.m. whenever there is a request for extended hours.
Kavitha M., Chennai district library officer, Directorate of Public Libraries, says a majority of students using public libraries are from outside Chennai and they stay in hostels. “We do not want a student to return disappointed or not study because the library near them is not open,” says Kavitha.
She says there would be at least 10 libraries that have been instructed to open on second Saturdays and Fridays. Depending on the footfall and feedback of users, the Department has been working to make these spaces more user-friendly.
Under a pilot project, the terrace of the library at Anna Nagar will be getting a new discussion room, with WiFi connectivity, air-conditioning and other features. “The Director has also instructed us to procure books that students specifically ask for,” she says.
As per data collected from the libraries, 25 students have cleared the TNPSC examinations and the department wants to increase this count so that these spaces benefit more students.
A new look
Currently, 34 libraries are being renovated for repairs under the Library Cess Collection funds. An additional four are being improved under the Tamil Nadu Assembly Fund.
‘‘At the Shenoy Nagar library, much of the renovation work is complete. An additional space has been constructed to accommodate students,” says Kavitha.
At libraries where patronage is poor, the primary focus is on ensuring basic amenities are provided. Goschen Library in Chintadripet is being taken over by the PWD’s heritage wing for renovation work. “All these things have been possible because of the State Government’s will to improve libraries. Towards this end, it allocated ₹20 crore in the budget for the district,” she says.
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