Hyderabad: 129-year-old library lies in a shambles

DEPLORABLE STATE OF AFFAIRS

• State Central Library, also known as Asafia State Library, is not able to keep up pace with the technology driven new generations and also losing its charm

• staff shortage is plaguing the library; from 105, the staff has been reduced to just 45 to run the library located in two buildings

• In spite of it having a rich history and in possession of rare and ancient books, some dating back to 17th century, it is losing readership

LOSING HERITAGE TO APATHY

• The library has a book stock of five lakh books including rare books from the 17th century and 45,000 digitised books

• Every day around 500 visit the library. Due to poor lighting in the library, the readers are seen sitting out in the open

• The 129-year-old library has two buildings: the main heritage building was built in 1897 and the annex in 1960

Hyderabad: Thanks to the meagre fund allotted for the upkeep of historic library at Afzaljung, the footfall is diminishing day by day and the memory of its glorious past is fading away in the dimly lit alleys of the library. The 129-year-old State Central library is allotted just Rs 1 lakh per annum for its upkeep, including purchase of books and maintenance of two buildings.

The State Central Library, also known as the Asafia State Library, is not able to keep up pace with the technology driven new generations and also losing its charm. The staff shortage is plaguing the library; from 105, the staff has been reduced to just 45 to run the library located in two buildings. In spite of it having a rich history and in possession of rare and ancient books, some dating back to 17th century, it is losing readership.

Broken benches, tables, cobwebs, empty chairs and dusty books welcome students here. Due to poor lighting in different sections of the library, the readers are forced to sit out in to open.

The water oozing from the ceiling during rainy season poses grave threat to priceless books of being damaged permanently.

Chief librarian G Srihari Sankar says, "Meagre funds are the prime reason for the sorry state of affairs of the library. "Small renovation works were carried out at the heritage building in 2012, but the annex building has not been renovated since it was built. As the annex building is adjacent to the heritage building, the engineers fear that any restoration works may damage the heritage building," he adds.

Few initiatives such as 'Books on Demand' scheme started in 2009 is keeping interest alive, especially among students. As part of the scheme, one can register a name of a book which would be procured within a month. On an average, 30 books are purchased. Till date, 5,000 books have been purchased under this scheme.

Four free reading rooms have been provided to students where they can bring personal material for reading along with motivational classes in a separate room for competitive exam aspirants.

Meagre funds are the prime reason for the sorry state of affairs of the library. "Small renovation works were carried out at the heritage building in 2012, but the annex building has not been renovated since it was built. As the annex building is adjacent to the heritage building, the engineers fear that any restoration works may damage the heritage building – Chief Librarian G Srihari Sankar