In a year where travel has come to a standstill, we think back to a time when we would enjoy exploring new cities. Back in 2015 we travelled for five months visiting small and mid-sized cities in India.  During our travels, we visited as many libraries as we could. When we would reach a new city, we would look up local libraries and bookstores. We were pleasantly surprised by some of the books we found in the libraries of colleges, public libraries and reading rooms including historical gazetteers, master plans, biographies of local public figures, and other wide range of documented knowledge about the cities. In various small towns, we often sat in the reading rooms, observing how local residents utilized the space. We almost always saw elderly (mostly males) reading the newspapers or younger youth using the space to prepare for an upcoming exam. We were welcomed into these learning spaces and enjoyed being able to find books specific to that context or sometimes just a place to sit and journal our thoughts about the city. 

Until COVID hit this world, we thought of libraries as the physical space that citizens can engage with their community but in these times libraries have been forced to evolve quickly into digital spaces as well. Libraries in many developed countries have been able to keep up with the changing times and be innovative with how they continue to serve their communities. Initiatives such as online book reservations, mobile vans bringing books into the communities, story walks where libraries paste pages of books on a nature trail, have engaged the community further. With a membership base already present, public libraries in many places have become the space that allows for citizens to explore learning further and engage with their surroundings.

On average, India has one urban library for over 80,000 individuals.

We are still a long way in India to making public libraries central to our urban existence. According to the 2011 census, India has only 4,580 libraries in urban areas, which roughly translates to one urban library for over 80,000 people. When you break down the types of libraries by sizes of towns, the picture is even more jarring. For our largest cities this number is  dismal - one public library for almost 22 lakh people! The smallest of our towns which have the highest density of public libraries also have only one library for every 25000 people. As per the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) standards, there should be one public library for every 3,000 people. 

Historically, the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh have been ahead than other states in development of public libraries as compared to other states.  These states also have a library cess that they charge in order to be able to maintain the libraries. For example, Vellore District in Tamil Nadu provides reports on all the public libraries in the district along with membership and lending numbers disaggregated by city or village type in its statistical report every year. However, this is an anomaly. This type of data is not available for other public libraries.

Incidentally, in our journey around small towns of India , we came across various public, private and semi-public/semi private libraries in many of these states. RPD College’s library and Sarvajanik Vachanalaya in Belagavi, Auroville Library in Auroville, Public Library and a Club’s library in Visakhapatnam, Private library collection of Rallabandi Subbarao in his house which has been converted into a Government Museum in Rajahmundry, and so many more. Some of these libraries were fantastic in terms of the breadth of books they had.

Libraries: Who is using them and why?

A recent Gallup Poll survey in the United States of America captured that visiting libraries was the most popular activity in the US in terms of the number of trips made by an American adult in 2019.

Average number of visits annually to the libraries (10.5) were almost double the number of trips (5.3) to the second most popular activity - watching a movie in a theatre. 

What is interesting, of the eight activities captured in the poll, visiting libraries is the only activity  in which lower income households frequented more than higher income households. As inferred by the poll, the probable reason for this is the easy and free access provided by the libraries for all the residents of a community, including low income segments. Additionally libraries also provide other free services such as wi-fi. Such numbers are however not available for India.

Studies from various countries show that provision of infrastructure such as community centers, public libraries and public museums improve interaction within the community, provide opportunities of learning and create space for community based classes. These spaces create a positive impact on community youth, encourage education within the community, and also promote an active and healthy community. They also have the ability to increase the property value in the community. Museums can benefit both individual and community level health and wellbeing by serving as public forums for debate and learning. They contribute to positive wellbeing and resilience “by helping people to make sense of the world and their place within it”. Public libraries are also seen as similar spaces. There is evidence suggesting that public libraries can serve as community resources that can improve public health. 

Thus the reason to visit public libraries is not just to read books, but also because these are spaces which can enable community interactions; satisfy knowledge needs of children, elderly and businesses; host  community awareness campaigns, counselling services;  as well as promote cultural activities. 

Why do we need to invest in Libraries?

UNESCO’s Public Library Manifesto reads “The public library, the local gateway to knowledge, provides a basic condition for lifelong learning, independent decision making and cultural development of the individual and social groups. The Public Library is the local centre of information, making all kinds of knowledge and information readily available to its users”

Even though the smaller cities have more public libraries, the facilities in these libraries are not necessarily adequate to improve the knowledge of citizens in their cities. They merely act as spaces where books collect dust. There is a dire need to improve the facilities in these spaces that enable knowledge and information to be communicated within the cities and communities. 

As India rapidly urbanizes, there is a need to invest in urban community assets that enable its residents to live full lives other than the basic needs of housing, jobs and basic infrastructure.  Humans are social animals and need to feel included is a basic human instinct.  Such community infrastructure as public libraries can not only enable people to learn but also provide opportunities for personal growth and provide community spaces for increased social interaction. 

With reducing familial and community ties in cities, there is a dearth of spaces that can enable community interactions. A study shows that having a library in a neighborhood reduces possibilities of social isolation that may be felt by residents. In a survey, 64.1 percent of elderly, in urban India, were found to be suffering from loneliness. The reasons for loneliness were because they lived alone as well as due to decreased interaction within the family. Other studies also point that loneliness, mental anxieties, depression and other such conditions are increasingly an urban phenomenon. As per the latest Census figures of 2011, India is 31% urban. More of Indian population is statistically going to be urban by the time Census 2021 results come out in a few years but is already prone to such risks. 

There are limited government programs that are focused on cities, which have an explicit component on strengthening and enhancing their knowledge infrastructure such as libraries. A National Mission on Libraries was launched in 2014 with a budget of INR 400 crores. However as per the numbers available, less than 50 state libraries have received funds and about INR 42 crores have been sanctioned to them.  According to another estimate, India spends only seven paise per capita on public libraries. 

Our cities are investing a lot in addressing the physiological needs of the citizens such as transit, housing, sanitation among others. However, to meet the higher needs of love, belonging, esteem and self actualization (as per Maslow’s hierarchy) of their citizens, it is imperative that cities invest in resources that could help meet those needs. Libraries are one such resource. While we need to increase the number of libraries, we also need to increase the useability of these places. A library can turn into a classroom, platform to share information about access to public services, polling details, meeting place for youth and children clubs, cultural arena, book club, space with affordable access to wi-fi and computers and a space to build community ties.  In order to do this, we need to be able to prioritize libraries by also committing to providing funding for them.  

In different country contexts, the role of public libraries has been examined as providers of community information services, ICTs, builders of resilience and social trust, economic development among others. The IFLA considers the library as key for a number of activities including strengthening the reading habit, ensuring access to citizens for all kinds of information, providing opportunities for personal development, providing adequate information services to local enterprises, associations and interest groups, and facilitating the development of information and computer literacy skills to name a few. 

These community learning spaces are not limited to libraries, even well maintained community centers, parks and museums increase significantly to the quality of life of residents of a city. As India focuses on making its cities smart, it is important that it also invests in making its citizens knowledgeable (and smart)  by providing them access to knowledge resources and assets such as libraries.

Imagine that you wake up and go for a walk in your neighborhood park. After coming back home and getting yourself and your child ready - you can walk with your child on the footpath to the school. Then you get on a bus that takes you to work. At the same time, your aged parents, go to the community center which has a physiotherapy center. They continue to stay there to hang out with their friends for a cup of chai or coffee. Once your child is done with school, they can walk to the public library and attend a creative writing workshop as well as exchange books. Post work you go to the community center for your work-out session or an info session that is being held for your community before heading back home with your child.

We hope that we as citizens are able to actually live a day like this in our Indian cities where we have access to all this public community infrastructure. 

In the mean time, you can find a library close to you in the list below:

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