NDMC libraries turn new leaf with fresh ambience and latest books
THE IDEA To not just increasing footfall, but to also make them popular among the youth
NEWDELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)’S libraries at Laxmibai Nagar and northwest Moti Bagh have got a new lease of life with the civic body replacing the old furniture, renovating the flooring, seating area, lights, green spaces and also getting new books.
The idea behind the project is not just increasing the footfall but to also make these centres popular among youngsters, officials said.
Naresh Kumar, NDMC chairman, said in the next two months, the civic agency will work on renovating the other six libraries in its jurisdiction, besides digitising the records of all books.
“We have completed work at the Laxmibai Nagar and Moti Bagh libraries. Most of these libraries were constructed over 25 years ago. Due to improper infrastructure, facilities and limited choice of books, they were losing popularity,” a senior NDMC official said.
“We are refurbishing the interiors such as constructing larger windows to allow more sunlight, developing reading corners in green areas outside the library, planting trees, installing CCTV cameras and computers. But our main focus remains on providing a wide variety of books to readers,” the official said.
“Around 10,000 old books, which were not popular or were damaged, have been removed from these libraries recently to create space for new books. We are emphasising on adding competitive books so that students preparing for various examinations can visit the place in large numbers,” the official added.
While the renovation works at Moti Bagh and Laxmibai Nagar are already complete, the work is going on at the libraries in Kaka Nagar, Babar Road and Rohini and will be completed by the month-end.
A resident of Laxmibai Nagar, Narendra Kumar, a regular at the NDMC library, said, “I never thought the library would be renovated. Earlier, books were pushed to a corner, making it really inconvenient to browse through them. Insufficient lights, broken tables and chairs were further demotivating people from come here. Now, the library is completely different and much better.”
Officials said they would organised community programmes to encourage reading session at the libraries.
Chitranjan Kumar, 40, a resident of Moti Bagh said that her two daughters Jaya (15) and Jasmine (11) have been going to the public library every day after it was renovated.
“It’s more peaceful here. For readers, facilities of Wifi and new
computers have been provided while the digital platform such as e-granthalaya can be soon accessed from the library. Students will be able to access over 68 lakh books on subjects such as literature, mythology, science, research papers and academics free of cost at e-granthayalaya,” he said.