Demand for kids’ books up as libraries reopen

Parents are doing their bit to wean children away from their mobile devices

Libraries were allowed to reopen in Bengaluru last week, and are reporting a steady demand for children’s books.

Eloor Library, Infantry Road, has been around for 30 years and is bouncing back after a dull year.

Gopal Rao, manager, says, “Almost 50% of our members are back at the library. We have about 30 members walking in every day.”

Children’s books are in demand. “The Percy Jackson series and children’s mysteries are popular now,” he says. Adults pick up crime and thriller novels, and chick lit has a devoted readership, too.

City Central Library (north zone), Malleswaram, has 20% of its pre-lockdown readers back.

Sunitha J, assistant librarian, says, “We used to see around 150 people for book transactions every day, and it’s around 30 now. There is no rush yet in the reference section, where students used to sit from morning till evening.”

Kannada works by S L Bhyrappa, Kuvempu and Girish Karnad are popular picks. Books on personality management and economics are also top choices, she adds.

Karnataka Digital Public Library gained around 13 lakh members from the north zone during the lockdown. “About 1 lakh digital books are available there,” Sunitha says.

Online spike

Some libraries have moved entirely online after the lockdowns in 2020.

Hangout Library in Bellandur is one such. It went fully virtual in July 2020. Aanchal Agrawal, founder, says membership has gone up compared to 2019.

Many libraries did not survive the lockdowns. “Even school libraries are not open now, which led to more young readers for us,” she says.

While adults had moved to books on parenting and cooking in 2020, they are back again to fiction, management, personal development, and biographies. “Children are reading more, since they are not allowed to play at the parks. Harry Potter, Geronimo Stilton, Famous Five, Secret Seven and Tintin continue to be favourites,” she says.

Reopening physically is not a wise idea now, says Aanchal.

Nool Library, earlier located in Kaggadasapura, went online last year.

Srikant Sahoo, manager, says, “We got more memberships after we adopted an online avatar. After the recent lockdowns, we saw more children as members, as their parents don’t want them to indulge in excess screen time.”

Compared to 2019, Nool has seen a 15% increase in members. “Children’s books like Captain Underpants, Dork diaries, and Geronimo Stilton are popular,” he says.

On the other hand…

Just Books, Sarjapur, sees only four or five customers walking in every day. “The second wave has really shaken people up,” says Rachana Palit, owner.

The latest lockdown came at the peak of the children’s summer break. “This is when we usually get our maximum new memberships,” she says. Self-help books and business books are in demand there. Bestsellers by Jeffrey Archer and John Grisham are always popular, she says.