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Public Library riddled with manifold problems

Nur Uddin Alamgir
Chittagong Divisional Government Public Library in the port city has been facing manifold problems for long.
Lack of manpower, electricity generator, sufficient number of books and modem technologies cause immense suffering to the knowledge thirsty' people in the library when the library building has developed cracks, posing a threat of accidents to the readers and employees.
The library, source of spreading the light of knowledge, was set up at Nandan Kanon, opposite to Shaheed Minar in the port city in 1963. The four-storey library building was constructed at a cost of Tk 2.38 crore and opened to the readers in February in 1989.
The 46-year old library
contains a total of 72,716 books, including some rare books. Among them, 46,361 books are in Bengali while 25,578 in English, 777 in Persian and other languages, sources at the library said.
The library authorities keep 56 dailies and periodicals, both national and international, and preserves seven of the dailies.
The library has been providing facilities to the book lovers from all ages, mainly the students of universities and colleges, on all the four floors from 8.00am to 8.00pm in two shifts daily, excluding the government holidays.
The readers, however, are to face problem in borrowing books from the library as the authorities do not allow it while frequent power disruption causes sufferings to them too much as there has no alter-
native arrangement for power, even a candle.
On the other hand, only 31 employees and officials against 41 posts have been running the library alongside the supervision of 10 other public libraries in the districts under the Chittagong divisional, said the sources.
The library also lacks sufficient textbooks for school and college students as the local authorities cannot buy them on their own and are to wait for central authorities in the capital.
The sources said the cracks in the walls of the library building have been posing a risk to lives of readers as well as employees as it can collapse in any time due to light to moderate tremor.
Kawser Hossain, a student of Chittagong College, said though the
library has huge books but no system to take them to residence as it is tough for a student to pass time in the library.
He said they are to pass maximum time of the day in college and get a little time for searching the desired one from huge books in the library. Besides, study at the library is hampered during the loadshedding as it has no generator, he said.
He said if the authorities can make an arrangement for taking book outside even in exchange for security' money and ensure uninterrupted power, it would help smooth study of the student there.
Jinat Ara, a student of Hazi Mohammad Mohsin College, said sometimes they are to go back home for lack of sufficient textbooks and to spend huge time in vain only to find the
name of books from huge number of cards simply due to lack of computerised system there.
In-charge of the library Muhammad Hamidur . Rahman said emphasised the need for computerising the library to keep pace with the faster world based on information and communication technologies.
“As the authorities procure book centrally, wre can do nothing but preserve those they send us.” Hamidur said.
Regarding cracks on the walls, Hamidur said the library' is not under the Public Works Department, which is responsible for taking care of the building, for regular maintenance.
Sometimes the department repairs the building on temporary basis that cannot reduce the risk, he added.