The Hindu : Remit library cess on time, Semmalai tells local bodies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 13, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Remit library cess on time, Semmalai tells local bodies

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI June 12. The Education Minister, S. Semmalai, today urged officials in local bodies to ensure that the library cess due to the local library authority was remitted promptly so that the library system did not suffer for accumulation of arrears.

Inaugurating a seminar on `The new public library in the Information Age' here, Mr. Semmalai regretted that the local bodies had not remitted the cess (levied on property tax) regularly, resulting in arrears running to several crores. The Education department struggled to get the arrears to the tune of Rs.10 crores, he said and appealed to authorities to ensure that the cess was remitted promptly. By this gesture, "we will be able to construct more libraries and provide a larger number of books to readers".

Tamil Nadu had 2,884 small and big libraries, besides the grand Connemara Library, Chennai. Over the years, the demand for books from readers increased. The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, sanctioned Rs.2.2 crores for purchase of books and Rs. 4.35 crores for construction 54 library buildings, besides ordering the opening of 867 rural libraries. Happily, the Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation (under the Union Ministry of Culture) gave a matching grant of Rs.1.5 crores to the State Government. Of this, Rs. 50 lakhs would go towards providing computer facilities in 10 district central libraries.

On the seminar theme of using information technology in public libraries, he said when the old concept of single building libraries was giving way to one of interlinked library systems/networks, modern advancements should be suitably adopted here.

The School Education Secretary, C.V. Sankar, and the Director of Public Libraries, S. Lakshmi, highlighted the government's efforts at improving the public library movement. For the first time in the country, renewal of books in a public library, Connemara Public Library, could be done online.

The member-Secretary of the TN State Council for Higher Education, S. Muthukumaran, said while information technology tools would help in networking and reducing the storage space required for preserving all publications, books could not become obsolete.

The Chairman of the Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation, Suryanath Kamath, released a public library vision document written by Venkatappiah Festchrift.

The Minister earlier inaugurated the CPL's web site, which gives a brief history of the region's first public library founded by Lord Connemara, then Governor, in 1890, and which started functioning in 1896; the rare books found in the library and a facility to renew books by e-mail. Another set of computers has been provided to enable access the catalogue and to see whether a book is available or not.

According to the Deputy Director of Public Libraries, Avudaiappan, of the 5.5 lakh books in the CPL, more than 3 lakhs have been catalogued and the rest would also be catalogued gradually. Bar coding of the inventory would begin soon.

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