Kolkata: At a time when there has been a sharp fall in the number of readers in public libraries across the state, Bhowanipore Pathagar is going to celebrate its platinum jubilee with the slogan "Read Books and Help others to read them".
The two day celebration will be inaugurated on January 12. Local residents and members of the library will take part in a march in the morning on January 12. There will be a sit-and-draw competition, recitation and songs by local children.
There will also be a cultural function in connection with the celebration. Justice (Retd) Chittatosh Mookerjee will be present at the platinum jubilee function, among other dignitaries.
Shampa Basu, secretary of the library, said there are around 28,000 books which include some rare books and magazines. Due to paucity of funds, digitisation of the rare books could not be done.
The monthly subscription is Rs 15 for one book and Rs 20 for two books. The library functions in the evening.
"The number of readers is falling fast. We are trying to create awareness among the local residents and requesting them to bring their children to the library," she said.
The library was set up following the initiative of Sajani Kanta Das. Litterateurs like Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, Achintya Sengupta, Annada Shankar Roy, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Samaresh Basu and Asutosh Mukhopadhyay, among others, had visited the library and took part in the functions organised by it.
"There were debates, seminars and a literary meet at the library," said Animesh Kanti Ghosal, a senior member of the library.