The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Members disappointed, but hopeful

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Friday, Dec 14, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Members disappointed, but hopeful

Sangeeth Kurian

British Council decision to close down the library in the city and divert funds to mega projects

David A. Hart: The decision is totally unacceptable.

P. Mohanan: It is like performing the last rites of your sibling.

K.V. Thomas: The library has given birth to a number of civil service officials.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Long-time members of the library have expressed concern and disappointment over the British Council’s decision to wind up its library activities in the city.

David A. Hart, a British priest and writer settled in the city, believes that the decision is unjustified. “At a time when there is greater commercial and educational co-operation between India and the United Kingdom, the decision to cease the operations of the library is totally unacceptable. It is like pulling the plug out instead of encouraging relationship between the two countries,” he said.

According to officials of the library, the decision to terminate its operation was taken as a part of its strategy to ‘reduce its physical presence’ in the country and to divert funds to mega projects in the fields of culture, education, science and research.

But Rev. Hart disagrees: “I cannot see how they (British Council) can provide a better service than the one which they are currently offering.” According to him, the number of candidates taking the International English Language Testing System (I.E.L.T.S) has increased drastically over the last couple of years. “The library acted as a resource centre for students aspiring for admissions to various universities in the U.K.,” said Rev. Hart who currently teaches I.E.L.T.S at a private institution in the city. “A lot of nurses and doctors used to frequent the library to know about the job prospects in Britain,” he said.

“Moreover, the library was also a centre for the British tourists who visited the city to keep a tab on the latest developments back home through newspapers such as The Guardian and The Times,” said Rev. Hart. He has decided to write a letter to the British High Commissioner in New Delhi expressing his disquiet at the closure.

For P. Mohanan, cartoonist and novelist, shutting down the library also means closing a window to the world. In a voice choked with emotion he said: “It is like performing the last rites of your sibling. I have never been to the U.K. but I am familiar with the streets of London through the books and periodicals, which I have borrowed from the library.”

Mr. Mohanan’s first cartoon exhibition too was held at the library last year.

A professor of dentistry, Mohan Kumar is one of the earliest members of the library. He became a member through his mother way back in 1966. “Over the years this place has become a part and parcel of my life,” said Dr. Kumar who visits the library nearly four times a week.

Joseph Oommen, Additional Secretary, believes that the popularity of the Internet and a variety of other means to get information have contributed to the stagnation of membership at the library. “With the popularity of new-media technologies knowledge today has become easily accessible, but that does not discount the role of a library. Perhaps a better marketing of its facilities to recruit new members would have saved it from closure. The residents of the city should now feel disgraced,” said Mr. Oommen.

K.V. Thomas, a former divisional manager with the Life Insurance Corporation of India, however, is hopeful that the State government would intervene and prevent the library from closing down. “The library has given birth to a number of civil service officials, professors and other professionals,” said Mr. Thomas who became a member in 1965.

“I really doubt if there are any other libraries here that give the same ambiance as a British Library does,” he said.

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