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PM urges states to set up public libraries

Last Updated 21 March 2012, 17:28 IST

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has urged state governments to pay “special attention” to the setting up and maintenance of public libraries, noting that there is a “great hunger” for knowledge in the country.

“I see a great hunger for knowledge in our country. We need to provide our people, particularly our youth, access to quality books. I take this opportunity to urge every state government and every municipality and panchayat to pay special attention to the setting up and maintenance of public libraries, including community, locality and village libraries,” Singh said on the sidelines of a function organised to celebrate the centenary of the Oxford University Press India, here on Wednesday.

The prime minister noted that these days, parents often lament the decline in the reading habit of their children. “But, given the crowds one sees at our book fairs and the growth of the publishing industry in India, I am not sure if we exaggerate this fear,” he said.

To support his contention, he gave an example of the rise in the sale of the Oxford University Press’ publications in the country. “I understand that OUP (Oxford University Press) India’s own sales have tripled over the last 10 years,” he said.

However, the prime minister  underlined that the challenge before the government was to widen the population of readers in the country, not just the market for books

“It is with this objective in mind that we recently commissioned a National Mission for Libraries, anchored in our Ministry of Culture. The Mission will focus on improvement of the public library system of the country particularly concentrating on the states where library development is lagging behind,” he said.

The National Mission hopes to cover approximately 9,000 libraries in three years. It will conduct a national census on libraries, work towards upgradation of infrastructure, of reading resources as well as seek to modernise and promote the networking of libraries, he added.

However, Singh said that the mission cannot succeed through governmental effort alone.

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(Published 21 March 2012, 17:28 IST)

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