Role of school librarians spotlighted at Delhi Book Fair

New Delhi, Sep 3 (UNI) A neglected lot they may have been earlier. But not any longer.

Publishers have started realising the importance of inculcating the habit of reading in young minds at school level itself by focusing on the hitherto neglected school librarians.

A seminar titled 'Role of School Librarians in developing Reading Habit' among school students was organised by the Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) here yesterday at the 14th Delhi Book Fair.

Mrs B Tirki, Deputy Director of Education, presided over the seminar. Social worker Sudha Arora, President of the FIP R C Govil, Mr Ashok Gupta from Pustak Mahal Publications, Mr Naveen Gupta from Arya Publications and Mr Narendra Kumar from Diamond Publishing House were present on the dais.

Librarians of government schools participated in big numbers to discuss their problems and share their experiences.

They complained about the lack of interest from the government in providing funds and manpower to school libraries.

''The pay structure is not impressive enough to make a career in librarianship and there is no hierarchy,'' said Ms Charu Mathur of JDSKV, Mayur Vihar.

''We are not merely storekeepers of books. We also need some recognition,'' she added.

Ms Tirki addressed the issues by saying, ''The problem is there in the system and every concerned individual has to come forward to solve these problems at their individual level as this is not a problem of a particular department.'' She added that a proposal to organise a workshop of school librarians is being studied by the Ministry of Education.

Mr R C Govil, President of the FIP said,''The government should come out with a list of books at the fair to be provided to all schools.'' The idea of inculcating the reading habit in young minds for character building and developing study skills was mooted by Ms Arora.

''Bookish education is only to pass examinations Extra reading is important at school level,'' she said.

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