When your library comes to you....

Bengaluru: In today's fast-paced world, not everyone has the time to visit a library as much as they would like. Then again, with technology progressing in leaps and bounds, your library comes to you! Online rental libraries like Just Books, EasyLib and Library Wala to name a few, make up for the time that one needs to commute to the library.

While the vast collection of books can be browsed online on smart phones and computers, the picks are delivered to your doorstep. "It works like any other traditional online subscription business. Once you are a member you can order any book from the catalogue, which will be delivered to your doorstep. Once you have finished reading, a request to pick up the book can be placed for return," explained Sridhar Rajaram, CEO of Just Books.

Online libraries not only save time, he added, but also allow access to reviews and a larger variety of books. "These libraries bring alive a huge catalogue of books that typically, cannot be kept in a physical location. For example, the entire catalogue of Just Books is over a million books strong.They also give you the convenience of reading reviews and ratings of other members on books so that they know what to pick," he added.

Compared to about half a decade ago, the trend is really picking up, says Hiten Turakhia of Library Wala that has been operating in Bengaluru. "The constraints of travel time were removed, readers welcomed the idea with open arms. The prices helped because they were not as expensive. Over the years we have seen a significant growth in readers and interestingly, 65 % of them are women."

Multi-tasking becomes easier and if the book comes to them they can squeeze it in the little time they get, he adds. "More than half our readers are women. I think this is because a service like this allows them to escape into their 'me' time, and at the same time, feel free to do other things till the books are dropped off."

EasyLib's Richa Chaddha which has its operations in Bengaluru along with Hyderabad says that it is not only women but parents that often become readers when they tag along with their children. "As soon as the exam ends or the holidays start, the number of children increases and it is a periodic thing."

But are traditional libraries losing out because of these online rental stores? Not entirely, Richa adds. "When we started in 2001, the first ten years saw the buzz of online orders. But over time, people are gradually coming back to inter-personal connections, the physical library." She admitted however that the greatest competition however, to rental libraries remains Kindle and online book stores.