'Active members' of libraries to form managing committees: Minister

Kolkata: In a bid to ensure proper functioning of libraries in the state, managing committees of all the libraries will be formed by "selecting active members" instead of going for elections that remained suspended since 2005.

Siddiqullah Chowdhury, the state Library minister, said: "The move to select members to form the managing committees instead of holding elections has been taken to ensure better functioning of the libraries."

He added that the Local Library Authority (LLA) of every district will be selecting the members of the managing committee. It will be decided in a meeting of the LLA comprising seven members including the district magistrate, two local MLAs, district library officer and two experts in library management. The LLA will select committees of all district, town and rural libraries in the district.

Earlier, the managing committee of a library with less than 500 members used to consist of eight members. Libraries with members ranging from 500 to 1,000 had a committee of 10 members and there used to be 12 members in libraries with over 1,000 members.

As per the new notification that has already been issued, each of the new managing committee of the district libraries will consist of six members including two women. There will be four members including two women in town libraries and three including one woman in rural libraries.

"Earlier, people involved in functioning of a library were not allowed to be a part of the managing committee. With introduction of the selection procedure, people who remained involved with different programmes and functions of a library will now be a part of the managing committee," said Chowdhury, adding that it will ensure proper functioning of libraries with people in managing committees who have knowledge about libraries.

This comes at the time when the state government has decided to take up several steps for upgradation of libraries.

He said at present, there are over 1.78 crore books in the state libraries and every year 4,500 books are added to it. Around 400 computers will be set up in libraries and 250 out of it have already been sent to different libraries. In the 2016-17 financial year, the state Library department has sanctioned Rs 1.74 crore for the upgradation of 1,037 libraries. Applications for 58 new libraries have been received by the department.