Chinmayee Bhange interviews Ms. Arati Desai on the occasion of International Women's Day - 8th March.
Please tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to become a librarian?
Reading was always a passion and I did my B.A with English Honours. Then when I got a temporary vacancy job in a management library, I discovered that I loved libraries too. The 3-month stint there helped me to understand the nitty-gritties of library management, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of book selection, classification, cataloguing, shelving, circulation and stocktaking. The next logical step was to get myself qualified to be a librarian. So I headed to Mumbai University to do my B.Lib.Sc.
Your current position is "Librarian and Documentation Officer at Nehru Centre". Please describe in detail your day to day activities.
Being a Librarian of a public library entails new challenge every day. Here is a list of the work that I do.
1. Overseeing all daily routine work in the library done by subordinate staff.
2. Guiding staff to locate information for readers and playing the role of an information facilitator.
3. Planning and implementing development programmes for the library. These could include expansion plans, increase of services and the nature of those services, digitization plans, modernization plans, planning of outreach activities for all categories of readers.
4. Providing information on request to other libraries on inter-library loan basis, networking with libraries within and outside Mumbai, keeping abreast of literary activities.
5. Selection of books, journals, multimedia for the library, obtaining approval to purchase the same, classifying & assigning subject headings to the newly acquired material.
6. Checking data entries done by staff before uploading on the website.
7. Periodically reviewing shelf arrangement of books, journals to provide appropriate storage.
8. A daily scan of all newspapers and magazines to mark relevant articles for documentation.
9. Networking with schools, colleges, other libraries and the community to understand their requirements and taking suggestions for value addition in the library services.
10. Organizing outreach programmes of literary interest like children’s literary festivals, meet-the-author sessions, book discussions, creative writing workshops, essay competitions, educational workshops and quiz competitions. All these activities involve proper planning and implementation in co-ordination with staff.
Please tell us more about the origin of the Nehru Centre library.
From a small in-house library which mainly functioned as a research centre for the up-coming Discovery of India exposition and the Planetarium, the Nehru Centre Library has evolved into a popular reference library for members of the public. Today, the library houses about 20000 books, 75 journals, 220 documentation subjects, 15 newspapers, a well-configured cybercentre with 6 computers and an audio-visual corner. We also provide photocopying facilities to readers. The library has gained immense popularity amongst students for their school/college projects and assignments. The collection has gradually grown into a comprehensive one and includes all disciplines. The richness and diversity of a well-selected collection has made it a complete resource centre. Automization of the library catalogue is in process and we have also begun bar-coding of all library books. We have prepared a common keyword thesaurus of all books and articles in the library to enable fast information retrieval.
In the past, various members of the library committee of the Nehru Centre library had suggested a relocation of the library to better premises. It had been shifted from the Sterling Centre to the Discovery of India building and was housed in the basement of the Planetarium.
A public reference library has to function as an efficient resource centre for all members of the public. It has to be located in a prominently visible area of the organization, it has to be well-lit and ventilated and it has to provide ample comfort to the reader. The relocation of the library to the first floor of the DOI Building has greatly enhanced its profile as the physical layout of the area also suits a library’s requirements. It has provided increased visibility to all those who enter the precincts of the Discovery of India (DOI) building. Its proximity to the DOI Exposition has added to the value of the Exposition as the library now plays the role of a true resource centre. The rich collection of books, encyclopedias, journals, documentation and online resources is utilized to the fullest not only by visitors to the DOI but also by interested readers.
Services that the library provides are greatly automated. An Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) has replaced the old manual card catalogue. All computers in the library have the OPAC, Internet and digital resources. The Nehru Centre Library has emerged as a hybrid library with both print and digital information resources.
We organize book discussions, workshops and meet-the-author sessions. With the relocation of the library, we now host these events in the ‘Who Are We’ Hall, which is adjacent to the library. It is very important that literary events should be organized near the library so that those attending can browse the material that they are interested in.
There is a dearth of good libraries in the vicinity of the Nehru Centre. Members of the reading public are always in search of a place to read their favourite author, to browse through the daily newspaper, to look up articles on a subject of their interest or to surf the Internet for information. The library will act as a ‘one-stop-resource-centre’ where all these will be available in the comfortable ambience of the new location.
Since the library has material to cater to every age group of readers, we propose to conduct orientation programmes for different categories, e.g. school students, school teachers, college students, college/university faculty, professional librarians and adults/senior citizens. The Nehru Centre Library is part of DELNET, a large network of libraries from all over the country and abroad. It will function as the nodal agency in Mumbai for member libraries.
What according to you is the role of a librarian in the tech-savvy world?
Library Initiative: Workshop for Librarians
The librarian is the most important link between the reader and the resources. The Internet has, no doubt, a plethora of information. But, after all it is only AI (Artificial Intelligence), not Real Intelligence and ML (Machine Learning ), not Real Learning. One reads everyday about the wrong information given on ChatGPT and such other chatbots. These are all inanimate tools. They need a librarian to guide them and sift the genuine from the fake information. So I would say that a trained librarian is the only powerful search engine 'with a heart'.
Nehru Centre Library is a public library. Considering your vast experience here, is it true that reading has been the second choice for most people or is it a misnormer?
Reading has never been the second choice for people. The modes of reading may have changed. Like today, you may read the book, or from your preferred device like the IPad, Notebook, Kindle Reader or anything else. But we all want to absorb the written word in whichever form it is.Library Initiatives: Meet the Author and Drawing with the Author
Just to give an example, I was at the Jaipur LitFest earlier this year where almost 200 new books were discussed and the venues were overflowing with audience. This is true for most literary festivals. So, the nextgen reader loves to read as weel as the interactivity that the festivals have.
How do you reach out to your readers / patrons?
The tagline in your question is 'reach out'. So, if it is the issue of outreach, then I like to use all modes of communication to do so.
Inculcating the reading habit since childhood
Talking, calling on the phone, emailing, organizing outreach events for all age groups, in short all forms to reach out. That is why, if you visit my library, my room has a glass door from where I can see the reading room and ask a reader 'May I help you?' in case he/she needs help. I am happy that this has helped my reader community grow very fast from a miniscule to a large number.
What is the major collection in your library - books or newspaper clippings?
We have 35,000+ books and 50,000+ newspaper clippings. Also our Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) has multiple item types like journal articles, maps.
Well Organized Stack Rooms in Nehru Centre
If you maintain any newspaper clippings, how do you classify, catalog and maintain them? Is it manual or automated?
They are mainly digital, scanned pdf copies covering 200+ topics. they are available only in the library.
What are the services provided by this Library?
A public library does not limit its services in any way. It is, and should be, always flexible to the readers needs. So, in addition to the traditional services like a spacious and comfortable reading room, catalogue and Internet browsing facility, photocopying, printouts, we also organize numerous outreach programmes like book discussions, Meet-the-Author sessions, seminars, panel discussions and orientation programmes on request.
A special library initiative is the 'A Book I Wrote', which is an online poetry/story writing competition for primary school children in which we call for entries from schools/individuals, after which the 12 best entries are selected and published in a beautifully illustrated book. This is an annual event organized on Children's Day.
What are the membership options?
We are a reference library. There is no circulation. Hence, there is no membership fee. Also, there is no entry fee.
Do you arrange for orientation sessions in your library? What is the normal flow - is it a guided tour or a ppt presentation?
Yes. As I earlier mentioned, we do so on request from the organisation. We give the group a guided tour of the library covering 20,000 sq.ft. followed by a demo of our different online resources and social media pages.
What is the USP of Nehru Centre Library?
It is a beautifully designed library with all modern facilities for the people of Mumbai. Like one journalist said, "The Nehru Centre Library is setting an example of change done right - not frantic and wholesale but focused, organic and for the long term."
Your library seems to be an architectural marvel. How did you bring about this change?
Nehru Centre Library: An Architectural Marvel
Yes, you are right. The library is housed in the Nehru Centre's Discovery of India building which itself is an architectural marvel. In fact, the genius architect behind it is the nonagenarian architect Shri I M Kadri who is also the General Secretary of the Nehru Centre. He is a stickler to perfection, loves open spaces and greenery and who put his heart and soul in planning the library. In fact, it was a dire need of the day to shift the library out of the Planetarium Basement to a more visible place. So when it was decided that it would be shifted to the Discovery of India building, we used to have daily brainstorming sessions with the entire team i.e. the airconditioning technicians, the electricians, the landscaping people, the furniture and interior designers and the architect team. These meetings would take place every day as soon as we checked into office and before we left office for the day. This is the result of that non-stop hard work of six months.
In your vast experience as a librarian, what changes have you witnessed?
Honestly, nothing has changed much. The books still remain, the written word still intrigues the reader and information is still sought. Formats have changed with time. Preservation has gained importance. Digital has replaced manual. But the love for stories still remains and will always continue to do so.
Your message to anyone willing to be a Library Professional.
Become a Librarian because you want to be one, not because there is nothing else to do. Also, love reading books and love meeting people too. Only then will you be a successful librarian.
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Visit the library - https://www.nehru-centre.org/library/
Library timings are given below:
Monday to Friday, 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturdays
10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
2nd and 4th Saturdays
10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Closed on Sundays and public holidays.
Contact:
Tel: 022 – 24964676 – 80 Ext. 5
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