Shikder Sohana Ferdoush
Nigar Nazneen, who works at a car company, is a regular borrower of books from Biswa Sahitya Kendra library in Dhaka. It has become a habit for her to visit the library on her way back home from office and borrow books of her choice.
``This is the only library in the city that lends books to the readers to take those home. It helps me a lot. It offers me an opportunity to read at home as I remain busy during the day with my work," says Nazneen.
The library at Biswa Sahitya Kendra boasts of having more than 300,000 books. It has also published about 300 books. Visitors can read books at the library and can borrow those if they like. This offer does not exist in some other major libraries in the city, including the Public Library.
Biswa Sahitya Kendra was formally opened on March 6, 1980 even though the idea was conceived in 1978. The brain behind the popular movement for reading is eminent writer and respected teacher Prof. Abdullah Abu Sayeed.
The main objective of the organisation is to promote the habit of book reading and thus help create enlightened people in the country. The activities are divided into several categories such as national talent development; national level library activity, reading, publication, audio and visual programmes.
Over the years the organisation has enlisted about 150,000 members apart from over 4,000 volunteers working across the country. In addition to publishing books by local and foreign writers, the Kendra runs mobile libraries - books on vehicles that stop at selected places. The idea is to reach books to the doorsteps of the people, especially the children who cannot go to the library of the Kendra.
Promoting talent and encouraging students to read books are the key activities of the Kendra. Study circles have been set up in parts of the country. The idea is to connect the schools and colleges in close proximity. Thus several such institutions form a branch. There are now more than 500 such branches across the country.
Some 100,000 students can read up to 175 world famous books at these branches. The best readers are awarded under this programme, aimed at promoting reading habit. In the new phase of the programme, about 25,000 students from 16 colleges and 250 schools at each district have been included. The target is to cover another 100,000 students from a total of 1,000 schools by the next year.
Says Prof. Sayeed, "Schools and colleges play a significant role in making a good man. This is the period when a child looks up to the world with both innocence and quest for knowledge. Whatever is taught at this stage remains imprinted in a child's mind throughout the life. That's why we are focusing more on development of talent."
College student Saikat Hasan says that Prof. Sayeed is right. He has been a member of the Kendra's mobile library since its inception. He likes it because books come to him, sparing him to travel to the Kendra.
``I come from a middle class family. My parents can't afford to buy too many books for me. It does not matter any longer as I get to read books from the mobile library that comes to my area," says Hasan. The books borrowed by him for a week are also read by his other family members.
The mobile library was launched in 1999 simultaneously in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi cities. In Dhaka, the capital city of 10 million people, the mobile library travels to 150 spots. Norwegian government has helped start the mobile library component of the kendra.
Members of the mobile library can enjoy two facilities. First, they can borrow from the mobile units. Secondly, they can do it sitting at home. The members are divided into two categories: the ordinary members are allowed to take books worth 150 takas one time, while special category readers can borrow up to at least 200 taka worth of books. The monthly library fee for a member is 10 takas, plus another 10 takas for those who want home delivery. There are also security deposits.
There is a timetable for delivery of books; the borrowed books must be returned within two weeks or else a reader will have to pay a fine of two takas per week for delays.
A mobile library makes a weekly tour to one spot and stays there for up to two hours. During this period, members take and return books. The mobile libraries vary in sizes - large, medium and small. The large one can carry up to 17,000 books; medium 11,000 and small 5,000. The mobile libraries have 18,000 members.
Says Prof. Sayeed, "It is a wrong notion that people are not interested in reading books. They read if books are made available to them. Those who don't ready books regularly show great interest in our mobile libraries. Our institution is helping readers open up their minds. We are instilling in the readers' minds the habit of asking questions."
Prof. Sayeed's library has taken books to the doorsteps of the readers. ``There are many, especially women and children, who can't travel to libraries for lack of security. This problem has prompted us to introduce the mobile library," says Md. Kamal Hossain, coordinator of Biswa Sahitya Kendra.
— NewsNetwork
The tale of promoting reading habit
FE Team | Published: July 14, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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