Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Race for space

G.Mahadevan

Additional block at library not a solution

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Is the University Library losing out in the `race for space' in what is officially its own additional block?

According to the original space utilisation plan submitted by the former deputy librarian N. Parameswaran, the ground floor was to house the canteen that was demolished to make way for the additional block. Part of the first floor was to be allotted to the publications division of the University of Kerala. The rest of the space was to have gone to the University Library.

Now there is no canteen. The ground floor will now be a sales counter for the publications division as will half of the first floor. The rest of the space on the first floor will be given to the National Book Trust for display and sale of its books. Only the rest of the space - the second floor - will now be given to the library.

With the university planning an EDUSAT lab inside the library, the availability of space for actual library purposes may shrink further. .According to Mr. Parameswaran, almost all the available space in the library has been utilised to the maximum possible extent. "As it is, there is no space to store fresh purchases, especially books on engineering and management. The library urgently needs more space," he said.

According to library personnel, one prudent move would be to shift out the scores of volumes of `abstracts' and the volumes of newspapers that are now stored on the ground floor to the additional block. Then the entire ground floor will be opened up for use. The proposed INFLIBNET browsing centre, for instance, can be housed here. Further, if the rarely-used books in what is called the Closed Reference (CR) section are moved to some other location, that space too would be free.

"The library has about three lakh books. A good number of the old books can be shifted to the cavernous cellar beneath the Senate Hall," said the former Vice-Chancellor of the university B. Ekbal. "In many foreign universities, books that are seldom used are stored away from the main library. If anyone asks for those books, they are asked to return after a day or two. Why should the library store newspapers? They are readily available on the Net. Moreover, the Sahitya Akademi is now digitising newspapers, including the back-volumes," he added. University Vice-Chancellor Ramachandran Nair told The Hindu that the library should first decide what it wants to do with the space in the additional block. "The university is actively searching for someone who can prepare a scientific space utilisation plan for the library," he added.

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