All govt libraries in the city to be digitsed soon

BENGALURU: The Department of Public Libraries is working to digitize all libraries in the city. This is part of a larger plan to digitise libraries across the state. Renovation of a number of old heritage libraries that are lying in neglect is also in the pipeline.

In Bangalore, the plan is to take up digitisation in a phased manner, according to Dr Satishkumar S Hosamani, director, Department of Public Libraries.“There are as many as 200 libraries in the city. These are divided into five zones with around 40 libraries in each zone. In the first phase libraries in the central zone such as the RPC library in Hamp Nagar, RT Nagar, KH Road will be digitised. Thereafter, work will start in libraries in the south zone and so on,” says Satishkumar.

Satishkumar also highlighted how work had begun last year on the state central library in Cubbon Park on the ocassion of it’s 100 years celebration . “Since then we have already digitised as many as 50,000 books in the library and these are also available through a mobile app,” adds Satishkumar.
Across the state, there are as many as 30 district libraries, 26 city center libraries, 127 traveling libraries, 100 slum libraries, 31 children’s community centers, and finally 5766 rural libraries.  

“We are now planning to build around 127 new library buildings across the state. We have also undertaken renovation work of some buildings and will also be doing more on this front,” adds Satishkumar. The Cubbon Park library was closed for renovation last year. A library at Chikkabalapura, not very far away from the city was built at a cost of Rs 5 crore and inaugurated recently.  

Raghu Yadav, a city resident who frequents the state library in Cubbon Park and other city libraries says that the conditions of some of these libraries are in a very bad. “A number of libraries in the city such as the one in double road, Shanthinagar, Vijaynagar look very good from the outside. However, if you go inside, there are many things lacking. I request the department of libraries to do something about them,” says Raghu.