An unending supply of books, is something I missesd sorely in India. Libraries are almost non-existent in India; there were some private local libraries but the collections were pitifully small, and the books old. Needless to say, as a student, I could not afford to buy books. Then I needed 5-6 paperbacks per week; pretty expensive stuff. Now, as I make up for lost time (so many books, so little time) I read, but ironically now that I have the resources, I don’t have as much time. What I have, I have scrounged from the dregs of a full schedule. And it’s mostly night-time reading, the more I read, the less I sleep.
There is no special requirement you have to fulfill, to borrow books from a local library in the US. You just have to live in the local area, and (presumably) pay taxes. And they are utilized well; the local libraries I go to are almost always well-packed with kids and adults. These libraries are not hallowed portals of silence by any means, they exude a feeling of usability beside the subdued noise from the kid’s section. What a great service this would be, if available in India !
Dilip D’Souza writes about libraries in this very interesting article, and Vikram Sequiera write about his experiences at the Indian Bookshop in his blog post. As for the libraries I agree with D’Souza – indeed they contribute to society, at the very least they contribute to your private amusement or entertainment. The Indian Book-shop I am not so sure about, a good resource yes, but affordable? That I am not so sure about. The last time in Delhi, I wandered around browsing. Looking at the prices, I wondered if the middle-class could actually afford these. And kids ? Maybe the ones with generous amounts of pocket-money. An average paperback (like say Enid Blyton or a P.G.Wodehouse) was from Rs.100 to Rs.500 , a little cheaper than what it would have cost in the US in dollars ($5-10). Compare that with relative pay-scales in both the countries, and books are still expensive in India.
Since my philosophy on books is “read ’em and leave ’em”, the library concept fits in very well with my life. When I buy, it must be a book I totally loved and would probably want to re-read. However, sparse buying habits do not prevent me from browsing. I have looked for books at the roadside book-sellers in Connaught place, and the sprawling book markets of Old Delhi. Truth be told, I have still bought very little. But, oh the pleasure of browsing for books !
