Ministry of Culture to hold 'Festival of Libraries' next month

The Ministry of Culture is holding a two-day 'Festival of Libraries' on August 5-6 at Pragati Maidan in Delhi which will focus on various aspects of libraries.

President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the festival.

The Ministry said that the festival will serve as a platform to showcase iconic libraries from around the world in initiating a dialogue on the modernisation and digitisation of libraries.

The festival will also mark the launch of a special ranking system for libraries across India. The event will culminate with a valedictory function to be attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

“Libraries preserve manuscripts and bridge the gap between history and the limitless future. Our digital library initiative breaks barriers, empowering all citizens with access to knowledge,” Culture Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, while announcing the event.

Exhibitions on calligraphy, cartography, archives – manuscripts and tribal fonts will be available and workshops, seminars, round table discussions will be held. Exhibitions of rare books, archives and oral histories will also be available. The festival also aims to facilitate the formulation of action-oriented policies for the development of Model Libraries in India, right down to the village and community levels, the ministry said.

A crowd-sourced Directory of Libraries will be launched and a tripartite MoU between three prominent libraries including Patna’s Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library, the Rampur Raza Library, and Tonk’s Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Arabic Persian Research Institute will be signed for long term collaborative events. Celebrations of 250 years of the Rampur Raza library, launch of the Sassy Library Series, and the release of a set of cursive writing books in the 22 vernacular languages will mark the event.

“The event aims to bring together stakeholders across the board, from librarians & academics to district collectors of 100 aspirational districts & directors of model libraries to develop a roadmap for encouraging Libraries to become the Drawing Rooms of the Community and for the Readers to emerge as future Leaders, in consonance with the spirit of a country that reads, is a country that leads,” the ministry said.