How Young Librarians Are Managing 118 Community Libraries In All Panchayat Blocks Of Jamtara

Twenty-nine-year-old Milan Kumar harbours big dreams. Starting from his village, he wants to change the perception of people towards Jamtara, a cybercrime hub of the country.

He is the librarian of Fatehpur block library in Jamtara district, one of the 118 libraries that opened recently in the region.

¡°The library was inaugurated on November 18, 2020, and I was clueless until a relative of mine showed up one day and asked me to continue my studies at the library. While I was a regular at the library, the initial response to it was not heartening. I was appointed a librarian here in August this year, and due to my own efforts, the number of students who come to study at the library has increased,¡± Milan told Indiatimes.

While there is some reluctance from guardians, Milan says ¡°it has declined significantly over the months. Earlier there were only a handful of children who would come here each day to study, but the number is rising gradually after we started going door-to-door to convince the parents.¡±

Jamtara has achieved a rare feat of having a library in every panchayat block of the district. The district now has a total of 118 libraries, equipped with at least 200 books ranging from books on competitive exams, and study material for young students. The libraries also have religious books, in case anyone is interested in reading them.

Fatehpur block library, Jamtara

These libraries are expected to be a game-changer for Jamtara district, infamous for its phishing rackets.

The libraries are established after giving a makeover to the old, dilapidated panchayat or school buildings lying unused for several years.

Each of these libraries has been adopted by one teacher. To encourage more and more students to join government jobs, police officials are conducting coaching classes for the students on Sundays while Civil Administration gives classes on Wednesdays.

¡°These libraries are crucial to break away from the image of a cybercrime hub. We tell our children to aspire for more. The students in this area only aim to study till VIII or X. They seldom aspire to study more. Having a library in every block will help them spend more time among the books,¡± adds Milan who is also pursuing higher studies and managing a family alongside.

He also runs a Facebook page about the library to create awareness among the local community.

These renovated buildings are provided with a general set of books, chairs, tables and other amenities through crowd-funding and under the Corporate Social Responsibility funds.

Jamtara is one of the extremely economically backward regions in Jharkhand, and this initiative could transform the fortunes of this district, adds Milan.

Ashraf Ansari, who manages the Borwa panchayat library in Jamtara district is a young student. Nearly 50 students come to the library each day, of which girls constitute nearly 70 per cent of the total.

¡°The library in my block opened a year ago, and the locals here were elated. Most of them have never touched a book in their lives. Everyday, nearly 50 students come here to study,¡± Ashraf, a 21-year-old student of political science, told Indiatimes.

Borwa block library, Jamtara

Surprisingly, of those 50 students, more than 30 of them are girls, another rare achievement, considering the traditional approach of the locals towards education of girls.

¡°The lockdown has helped bring up the number of students who come to the library to study. Some bring their own books and study materials, while others pick books on competitive exams from here. Now that schools have opened up for classes IX and X, more students are coming to the library after their school hours,¡± Ashraf added.

Besides giving the rural youths a space for studies, these libraries have also turned to be a coaching centre for the poor and underprivileged students.

Moinuddin Ansari, librarian of the community library in Jiyajori, said that practice sets are given to students every Sunday to assess their capabilities. He himself is preparing for Railway examinations.

According to the information available at the library website --http://jamtaradistrict.in/library, a total of 2875 classes have been conducted so far altogether in these 118 libraries.