Documentary captures Tiruchy's street libraries becoming learning centres

TIRUCHY: Street libraries, the brainchild of Manikandam Block Educational Officer (BEO), are evolving into learning hubs for children in Piratiytur. Introduced to cultivate a reading habit among children, the libraries are abuzz with parents sending wards there to clear doubts and get homework done. With the habit catching on, it is now common to spot at least 10 students in the libraries in the evenings looking for help from peers and seniors.

Street libraries are shelves placed in front of the house of a student of the Corporation middle school. Students manage books and registers, arrange the books and take them in at night. There is no lending fee and it is open to all. There are six libraries, one in each of the six streets surrounding the Piratiyur corporation middle school.

"While we were trying to bring in more activities after the lockdown, like readers' circle and recitation, the libraries are evolving on their own. If it was school as usual, they would ask their peers or the teacher for help. With online classes, they hadn't invested much in the lessons. However, with tests and homework, they needed more help and found it at the libraries," Maruthanayagam, the BEO, said,

As news about their utility spread, filmmaker Vigneshwaran (a) Vicky (known for the film 'Traffic Ramaswamy') visited the town on Saturday to make a documentary on the libraries. Vighneshwaran is making the film pro bono and will be handing the finished documentary to the school.

Speaking about his plans for the libraries, Maruthanayagam said, "There are 50 government schools in Manikandam, and we wish to have such libraries around each of the schools. When the documentary is out, we hope more schools or local communities would set up similar or better libraries."

"We plan to make it easier for students to seek guidance from their peers and seniors. We are going to check with students well-versed in a subject if they can help others. This way students would be able to meet both books and the best brains at the libraries," he added.