Banking on loaned books

YOU WORKED hard to earn that ECE seat, but realise now that the textbooks are hard on the purse. Of course, second hands, though a little dated, are available. As are pirated prints and photocopied text books at half the original price, which still works out to a great deal for a complete set.

The libraries are there at a long trudge, but only if you have a preference for books that have to be returned in a fortnight (few stick to the deadlines anyway).

And then, there are the book banks.

We see a lot of random efforts in Chennai, but if we are talking consistency, it has to be the Rajasthan Youth Association's (RYA) book bank, started in 1964. Members claim it is the first book bank in India and similar efforts since have adopted the RYA model.

What the RYA does is invite applications from college freshers for free textbooks. The students just have to pile up a bunch of official papers, including a guarantee letter and proof of income. They also get to specify the text books they want and their preference of authors.

RYA then selects the beneficiaries based on the genuineness of their need. That done, it draws up a list of textbooks based on the prescribed syllabus, the students' requests and advice from its own in-house `experts'.

On a fixed date every year, about 2,000 sets of textbooks are distributed free to students of Commerce, Arts, Science and Engineering (in almost all branches). Did we miss Medicine. Even RYA can't afford them. ``The books cost more than Rs. 10,000 and students prefer to have them for keeps.''

Not so with the others. The students are expected to return the books at the end of the first year. Most of them do, and in as good a condition as possible. It makes sense to do that, so they can apply for a set of books for the second year too. And then the third year.

The first year beneficiary returns his books and applies for a list of books for his next two semesters. Starting June, RYA has been distributing textbooks to second-year students every Saturday and a few hundred sets have been given away till now.

It's all done so systematically that the RYA found it easy to go techy this year with a website www.ryaindia.com, where students can fill in their applications online. ``Soon everything will be automated.''

The association is also going to start services in three more districts this year. Sivakasi is one, and they are still zeroing in on two more places. But the real mela will be on August 12 when the freshers get their books - a treat to watch 2,000 sets going down in two hours flat.

By Feroze Ahmed

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Section  : Southern States
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