City’s one of the oldest public libraries Dinshaw Memorial or the DM in Sakchi, as it is popularly known, will soon get a facelift. If everything goes as planned it will soon be renovated with introduction of new facilities like e-library, wi-fi and digital library.
Food and Civil Supply Minister Saryu Roy, who inspected the library of Saturday, directed the local civic body — Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) to prepare a revival plan of the library and send it to the Urban Development Department. He will personally monitor that the library gets renovated, he added.
Though DM library is one of the oldest libraries, inaugurated in 1939, no new books have been arrived for past several years, which otherwise used to boast of a regular attendance. It used to be one of the most popular libraries, especially among college students. Everyone at some point feels the need of a good library, be it a homemaker or a businessman. Jamshedpur proudly boasts of great schools and colleges, but along with them, it also has many libraries with their vast collection of books, journals and encyclopaedias.
Deepak Sahay, special officer of JNAC who was present while Roy inspected the library, said the civic body would prepare and a development plan and forward it to the Urban Development Department. As per the plans, a consultant will be appointed to revive the library with world class facilities.
Officials said the library had been lying defunct with no new books arriving from past two decades. The library used to be an ‘adda’ for the intellectuals. But, it is now reeling under a financial crunch.
M Raghunathan, a member of Dinshaw Memorial library, says: “It is a welcome move. We are really happy to see the interest shown by Saryu Roy, who is also the local MlA.
It is the same library which generated a reading habit in many denizens. People from across the city gathered here every evening and read with interest. I think we need to revive the same passion.”
The library’s stock used to be nearly 25,000 books during it’s hey days but it has been reduced to a few in numbers as the old and outdated ones had to be discarded. Drive to restore the library and a spacious hall was added, but still a lot needs to be done.