CU to throw open library to people from all walks of life

Kolkata: People from all walks of life will soon be able to access the books kept in the Calcutta University library.

The varsity, which has the oldest library in the country, has a rich collection of books and periodicals. Sonali Chakraborty Bandyopadhyay, vice-chancellor of CU, said the state Mass Education and Library department has given a grant of Rs 2 crore to the university and with the money, around 54,000 books have been purchased.

The department will give another Rs 3 crore on getting the utilisation certificate for the previous grant. Persons with identity cards can approach the university to get access to the books.

Apart from the central library on College Street, the university authorities will also open eight libraries situated in the different campuses to the public.

There will be units for different kinds of books, like the Anglo-Indian corner, Film Studies corner and sports corner. In addition to this, there will also be a huge collection of books which are required for the competitive examinations.

Chakraborty Bandyopadhyay said the university authorities first thought about the kind of books that will be kept in the library before opening them to the public.

The collection of the books will be such that it will cater to all sections of people, from housewives to professionals. There will be a huge collection of fictions, story books, novels and books on different professions.

Soumitra Sarkar, chief librarian, said processing of the books has begun. People will not only be able to use the reading room, but will have access to the digital library as well. This arrangement will benefit the students of the university too.

The university has a collection of around 12 lakh books. Of this, around 15% have become rare. There is a huge collection of digital books as well. The central library will function from 10 am to 8 pm, while the campus libraries will be open till 5 pm.