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Down to Earth

Central Public library’ Offers Limited Facilities

By A S hl Nurunnabi
So much ts the importance promoting and^enrtchlng ^the intellectual life of a people that
In all developed countries, public libraries occupy a high place tn the educational system Public libraries under government auspices In our country had their origin more than 30 years ago But the progress since then has been rather tardy There was a time when public libraries tn some form or other functioned under unofficial patronage Most of them have since become extinct owing to lack of patronage from philanthropists and also due to gradual decline in reading habit of the people
The Central Public Library tn Dhaka ts the biggest public library of the country Its present collection numbers one lakh eleven thousand volumes. It functions under the administrative control of the Minlstty of Cultural Affairs. It has two branches in the city: one at Armanitola and the other at Mohammadpur. The students mainly form Its clientele. The number of general readers ts not considerable.
The library is said to be suffering from severe financial constraints. On this account, the library Is yet to go a long way to fulfil the expectations of the reading public. According to library sources, the total annual allocation for the pur chase of books for the library and its branches in the districts is fifty lakhs. The allocation Is said to be grossly inadequate in the light of the re
quiroments of the library The selection of books, periodicals, magazines, etc. Is made by a committee consisting of teachers, intellectuals, representatives of publishers, concerned ministry and the li-
The library has three reading rooms: one for general reading, the second for science subject* and the third for the children. It operates on open self system Though the library lias as Its objective the Introduction of lending system. at the moment they are not ready for U The main reason Is that they are not yet equipped with multiple coplea of books and other supporting facilities. The library mainly caters to the needs of graduate and post-graduate level students. It also plays a part in the promotion of mass/adult education by way of providing sustained back-up service to those engaged in that field.
In all developed countries, public libraries maintain mobile units to bridge gaps tn readership needs of any community. It is understood that though the library has such a scheme, at the moment want of facilities tn logistics stands in the way of its Implementation.
The library Is headed by a Director who is an officer of the administrative service cadre. Library sources point out an anomaly tn this respect. Though the relevant rules say that the Director should be a professional librarian, government has now though It fit to appoint an officer from the administrative cadre to this
post It Is felt by observers that on account of the specialised nature of the job optimum re suits tn tl»e management and development of die library can be expected from profession al* Yet tn the whole set up it is said, only 50 per cent of the posts are held by persons with degrees, diplomas and certift cates in Library Science. It Is understood that there is somc grievance among the profes sionals on this score
According to a section of professional librarians, there is at present no dearth of senior and experienced librarians In their opinion, allowing these professionals a grealei share ui the country's library administration would have a positive Impact In Improving the library services
The all Important factor prejudicing the progress of this library is Its financial constraints, as Indicated by library sources. An allocation of only 50 lakh Taka annually is said to be a mere drop In the ocean of needs. Because of financial stringency, the range of books, periodicals and newspapers, etc. acquired for the library is limited. Unless the allocation Is substantially augmented, the pace of progress In this sector will continue to be slow and unsubstantial. a* opined by these source
In these days of rising trend of prices of books, a large number of readers turn to pub lie libraries to satisfy their reading needs. From this as peel, a properly equipped II brary is a blessing for a community