Two buses are bringing books to different neighborhoods in Bengaluru that don’t have public lending libraries.
These mobile libraries are an initiative of the Karnataka government’s department of public libraries and have been on the road for over 20 years.
These start from and return to the Sheshadri Iyer Memorial Hall in Cubbon Park between 10.30 am and 5.30 pm from Tuesday to Saturday. Manned by a driver and an assistant staff member, these buses visit four different locations each day, stopping at each for 45 minutes. They don’t ply on Sundays but take inquiries from people visiting the park.
One of the buses is named in honor of Dr SR Ranganathan, the father of Indian Library Science whose vision gave life to this initiative. The other is named after the former chief minister of Karnataka D Devaraj Urs.
Although the bulk of their collection of books is in Kannada, they also stock Tamil, Telugu and English literature. From academic books on science, sociology and geography to classic novels and anthologies, they offer a variety. Kannada novels are popular among women while children enjoy an assortment of comics and storybooks. They have about 2,000 registered members, shares a staff member Srinivas R.
The books are stacked from floor to ceiling inside the bus and have enough room for the public to hop on and move and browse around. It is also equipped with lights and fans.
The books are selected by a state-appointed committee that consists of authors, editors, publishers and journalists, among others, informs Ronald Francis Pais, who runs the ‘Dr SR Ranganathan’ mobile library. The collection is refreshed every six months.
To avail of the services of the library, fill up a membership form provided by the staff for a fee of Rs 202. You also need to submit a photocopy of your Aadhar card and five passport-size photos. This is a one-time payment and is refundable upon cancellation of the membership.
Members are issued three ID cards, which can be deposited to borrow a book for 15 days. A fine of Re 1 is levied every day if you don’t return the book within the stipulated time.
Call 080 2224 0920 for the SR Ranganathan library, and 080 2654 8829 for the Sri Devaraj Urs library.
.