The Joys of Running a Children’s Library
As a seasoned expert in wood stoves and heating solutions, I’ve had the privilege of providing practical tips and in-depth insights on a wide range of topics, from fireplace maintenance to sustainable heating methods. However, today, I’d like to share a different story – one that’s close to my heart and has left an indelible mark on my life.
Becoming the “Library Aunty”
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as northwest Delhi was rapidly developing, I noticed that the local schools were more focused on academics than on extracurricular activities, especially when it came to encouraging reading. The libraries, if they existed, were often mere tokens, doing little to foster the love of reading among students. Even parents didn’t place much importance on reading.
It was against this backdrop that I decided to take action and start a children’s library in the small balcony of my two-bedroom ground-floor flat in a middle-class housing society. This was not a grand, lavishly stocked library, but it was a space where children could come and immerse themselves in the world of books.
The library was open twice a week, and the membership was open to all children, from those old enough to hold a book to those in high school. In addition to the two rickety shelves holding children’s books, there was a large bookshelf in the living room that housed the spanking new and gorgeous volumes of the World Book Encyclopedia, serving as a reference section for the budding scholars.
Building a Thriving Library
I was not a trained librarian, but I was a member and a voluntary home librarian of the Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children. The association lent me 25 books at a time, which were exchanged periodically at the main library. However, this limit on the books didn’t work for me, as within days of starting the library, there were more members than the number of books I had brought home. I quickly added some books from my own children’s collection to ensure that no child was turned away disappointed.
The subscription fee was a nominal ₹2, which was meant to make the children feel that they were actually subscribing to the library and not getting books for free. At first, only the children who loved books came in, but soon, parents began urging their children to enroll as members. Some were shy, others were curious, and yet others loved lounging on the sofa and browsing through the books.
The numbers kept growing, and soon, there were over 100 children, not just from the housing society but from neighboring ones as well. Library days were more eagerly anticipated than holidays. The books were arranged in three sections – picture books, books for the slightly older ones, and those for adolescents and teens. The books were mostly fiction, with some reference books, but no comics.
Nurturing a Love for Reading
As the librarian, I observed the children’s reading habits, levels, and interests, and gently encouraged them to take books that they would be able to read and find interesting. But if they wanted to borrow books that I knew were beyond them or lower than their level, I still let them take them. They would find out for themselves what worked for them.
I sat with the smaller ones, helping them choose the picture books, sometimes telling them the story or reading to them. I helped the older ones with suggestions about which books to take. My elder son assisted in maintaining the lending register and even tried to hide the books he wanted to borrow on the next library day, but he was eventually caught.
The high point of the library was the quiz competition conducted by the famous children’s writer and my good friend, the late Dilip M. Salwi. His books on science had demystified the subject for children, and he had written across genres, including science fiction and plays. It was a special day for the children as they got to interact with the celebrity writer, who mingled easily with them without overwhelming them with his personality.
The Lasting Impact
Over the years, I have earned many sobriquets, but the one I cherish most is “Library Aunty.” The children who came to my library knew me only by this name, and it stuck. When I recently returned to the locality I had left over two decades earlier, I was greeted enthusiastically by the now-grown-up children and their parents, who had not forgotten the “Library Aunty” who had turned them into readers for life.
The crowning moment for me as a librarian came last year, when a young woman who had been a member in my library wished me on Teachers’ Day, saying that I was the teacher who had taught her the joys of reading. What more can I ask for?
The Importance of Accessible Libraries
Libraries can be unconventional, run from anywhere – a park, a home, a school verandah. Innovation is often the name of the game, like Priti Gandhi’s mobile rural libraries, which have pioneered efforts to popularize books and reading among poor rural children.
When I read about the librarian in Rachna’s son’s school who was discouraging kids from reading, I was reminded of the gentle lady who ran the children’s library at the Children’s Book Trust in the 1980s and 1990s – Kamaljit Kaur. Her unobtrusive presence, keen observation of children’s reading habits, and gentle demeanor in enthusing them to read were qualities every librarian should possess.
The Lasting Joy of Sharing Books
Running a children’s library is not exactly tough, but it requires a lot of commitment and love – both for children and books. The joy I experienced when little children called out, “Good morning, Library Aunty!” or when I saw the kids discussing a particular book or recommending it to their friends, was truly priceless.
The magic of books and reading has always held a special place in my heart. As a child, I was lucky to have a trove of books in my grandfather’s house, which included classics and other children’s books – a great privilege for a lower-middle-class kid like me. It was in that room filled with books that I found the true magic of reading.
Today, I feel a special kinship with people like Priti Gandhi, who are working tirelessly to bring the joys of reading to underprivileged children. And I am grateful to have had the opportunity to nurture a love for books in the hearts of the children who passed through my humble library. It is a legacy I am proud to have left behind, one that continues to live on in the lives of those I had the privilege of serving.
