Kerala: Rural libraries all set to go hitech with free Wi-Fi

KOZHIKODE: In an attempt to revive the rural library system or village library in every panchayat, the local administration department has come forward with a plan to develop more libraries that will have all the modern amenities. The mission envisages development of 1,000 libraries initially in every panchayat in the state spending an amount of Rs 10 crore and embracing the online route in the sector as part of a modernisation drive.

The state-level launch of the project will be inaugurated by local administration minister K.T. Jaleel on Sunday at Ponnani in Malappuram district. Chathamangalam panchayat that already has an A grade library, will be set as a model by developing a rural library with hi-tech facilities including free Wi-Fi. Hence, the panchayat will take the initiative of developing more libraries in Kozhikode district with the assistance of local administration department.

“This is a time when libraries are attracting fewer visitors and the concept of village library has almost faded away in many rural parts of the state,” said State Public Library Coordinator Advocate E. Appukutty. Hence, our mission is to digitise its services to enable the members to browse through the details of lakhs of books.

In addition to this we will convert all these libraries to an E-information centre, where anybody can easily step into for any kind of information, let it be about the government processes or any other information, he explained. In addition to this, the state government in its budget announcement has declared its intention to provide Wi-Fi to the 1,500 libraries in the state and a major focus will be given to the public libraries.

More computers touch screens to browse information and the library management software will be introduced in all these libraries to help in providing details about the books, author, current status, and other information. In short, the mission is to attract more people, especially youngsters to the library and revive the system of rural libraries in and around the State, he further pointed out.