The Indian Express
Mihika Basu Posted online: Thu Nov 14 2013, 03:25 hrs
Mumbai : From a small in-house
library at Sterling Centre to a 5,000-sq ft one at the Nehru
Planetarium, the Nehru Centre library, perhaps the only reference
library open to all in the city, has got a swanky makeover. With 20,000
books, 75 journals, 220 documentation subjects, an audio visual centre
and a coffee table corner, the library is being shifted to the Discovery
of India building in Worli and will be spread over a 10,000 sq ft area.
It will open to the public on Thursday, marking the 125th birth
anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. The idea is to make the reading area a
lively and attractive space for adults and children.
“In 1977, the library was started as a small in-house facility, which functioned as a research centre for the upcoming Discovery of India exposition and the planetarium. It was subsequently housed in the basement of the Nehru Planetarium. Perhaps with increased digitisation, internet boom and lack of interest in going to an ordinary library, fewer people were visiting the library. People now want to go to places where they can sit and relax in a comfortable ambience, pick up their favourite book or magazine or browse the internet. We have addressed these aspects in the new library,” said librarian Arati Desai.
“In 1977, the library was started as a small in-house facility, which functioned as a research centre for the upcoming Discovery of India exposition and the planetarium. It was subsequently housed in the basement of the Nehru Planetarium. Perhaps with increased digitisation, internet boom and lack of interest in going to an ordinary library, fewer people were visiting the library. People now want to go to places where they can sit and relax in a comfortable ambience, pick up their favourite book or magazine or browse the internet. We have addressed these aspects in the new library,” said librarian Arati Desai.
With meticulous planning over the past six months regarding
structural, sound, aesthetics and fire protection issues, 30 contractors
working under the guidance architect I M Kadri, it will be a hybrid
library with both print and digital information resources.
It will have a capacity to stock 50,000-80,000 books. The new
facilities include four independent cubicles for research scholars, a
cyber-centre with six independent work stations, multi-media viewing and
listening services, audio-visual stations and a digitised catalogue.
Unlike other libraries, readers will be able to browse the
library shelves online, check the books in a particular shelf and see a
snapshot of the books. The reading area will be well-lit, with a massive
map of the waterfront of Mumbai and an artificial landscaped green
area.
The library currently stocks books of all genres, bound volumes
and newspaper articles. It plans to gradually add more books, magazines
and journals. This will also include books in other languages. No fees
will be charged for reading the books.
“Since the library was earlier in the basement, it didn’t have
much visibility. The idea was to make it a one-stop resource centre. In
the evenings, we plan to use the reading space for book launches. After
all, a library is an ideal place for such events and not a bookshop,”
said Desai.
mihika.basu@expressindia.com
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