IndiaSpend:
Bengaluru: Saturday, June 22, 2019.
On
a recent walk in Bengaluru, we found that a branch of JustBooks, a private
lending library chain, had been relocated from an isolated stretch at a
crossroads to a location facing a neighbourhood park in Kalyan Nagar in
northern Bengaluru. While the earlier location did not attract too many
visitors, the new one was filled with people of different age groups, many of
them park-goers who had happened to notice the library for the first time.
While models such as JustBooks attempt to foster a library culture through
private investment, this was the role public libraries were meant to play—free
and open spaces meant to provide information and access to information
resources for all.
Public
libraries were also meant to be well-funded; to be continuously upgraded and improve their facilities to keep up with
the changing times, as we wrote in our 2018 paper, A Policy Review of Public
Libraries in India. The library cess or public library tax, a surcharge of
property tax paid to the local government, city corporation or village
panchayat was meant to finance them. But the question arises: how much money is
India actually spending on its public libraries?
We
filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act when we
discovered, after analysing the data on public libraries, that there were no
official documents available on per capita expenditure on public libraries. The
RTI was redirected from the ministry of culture to several central libraries in
the country including the National Library of India at Belvedere Estate,
Kolkata, the Delhi Public Library, and the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation
(RRRLF), Kolkata. However, no information was forthcoming. While a few
libraries were able to provide details of their individual expenditure, there
was no information on annual national public library expenditure.
Public
libraries in India
The
first public libraries act, the Madras Public Library Act, was passed in 1948.
Its goal was to introduce legal provisions for offering public library
services, for the public and funded by the public.
India’s
public library movement, which was pioneered by the likes of Maharaja Sayajirao
III Gaekwad of Baroda, American library administrator William Alanson Borden,
and mathematician and librarian S R Ranganathan, began in the late 19th
century. The movement was part of pre-Independence social movements for
literacy development that took place in several states such as Kerala and
Andhra Pradesh, and included initiatives such as a boat-library in Andhra
Pradesh, and books on bullock carts in the then Madras state.
After
Independence, there have been a few government initiatives for public
libraries, such as the National Mission on Public Libraries, improving school
library services as part of five-year plans for education and assistance, and
provision of grants by the RRRLF for library programmes aimed at training and
development. A few public libraries in villages and talukas have also been
given financial aid in the construction of buildings and upkeep of facilities.
However, these programmes have been ad-hoc and not administered with concerted
efforts by the ministry of culture, which manages the National Library of India
and the National Archives of India.
Several
libraries remain in poor conditions with no concerted programmes--for example,
Livemint reported in May 2013 on a
poorly functioning district library in the West Champaran district of
Bihar that housed 12,000 tattered books, managed by a librarian who was paid Rs
700 per month--the cost of a meal for one at a mid-range restaurant in a metro
city. Nevertheless, several students visited the library daily to study for
their exams.
There
were 70,817 libraries in rural areas and 4,580 in urban areas serving a
population of more than 830 million and 370 million, respectively, according to
the 2011 Census where libraries were notified (officially identified) for the
first time. These numbers roughly translate to one rural library for every
11,500 people, and one urban library for over 80,000 people. However, there is
no precise information on the functionality and level of service capabilities
of these libraries--the rural libraries could be a room with a few books, while
others could be running through the support of private donors or NGOs.
After
the launch of the National Mission on Libraries in 2014, which intended to
develop a conducive ecosystem by setting up model libraries, building capacity
and undertaking detailed surveys, the culture ministry undertook another
official census of libraries to study the practices and performance of the
public library system. This was known as the ‘Qualitative and Quantitative
Survey of Libraries’, and began with the preparation of baseline data of 5,000
libraries. However, there have been no updates on the findings since 2014, and
the outcome of the survey is unclear. The numbers too appear contradictory, as
presently the total number of registered libraries in India is 5,478 according
to the records of the National Mission of Libraries, but the numbers are much
higher in other surveys.
The
functioning of public libraries
In
India, there is no uniform, country-wide system of administration for public
libraries.
Public
libraries are run by state governments using taxes from local administrative
bodies, such as city corporations or village councils. Of India’s 29 states and
seven union territories, 19 states have passed state library legislation, of
which only five have the provision of a library cess or tax levy.
Percentage
of library cess from states
States
with lower literacy rates did not have library legislation until recent
years—Bihar and Chhattisgarh passed legislation in 2008 and Arunachal Pradesh
in 2009, yet both are still without a library cess.
At
the state level, there are several departments that manage public libraries—in
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, libraries are regulated by the
department of public libraries; in Tripura and Haryana, libraries are managed
by the department of education, while those in Mizoram and Goa report to the
department of art and culture.
Local
library authorities are supposed to record and publish the expenditure and
provision of library services available to the public, but we found that most
do not.
Some
districts, such as Vellore in Tamil Nadu, have been publishing statistics about
public libraries annually in their District Statistical Handbook, which is also
available on these districts’ websites. If such information were available for
all the districts, it would go a long way in informing the public about this
important service.
Financial
autonomy is imperative for the proper functioning of public libraries. Except
for the five states that collect library tax—Tamil Nadu, united Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Kerala and Goa (see map)—the other 14 state laws have no teeth to
secure financial security for public libraries. This makes it difficult for the
libraries to expand their services. Also, the low expenditure versus high
population in many states means that the number of libraries is not adequate to
cover the entire population, as The Indian Express reported on May 31,
2017.Source: Vellore District Statistical Handbook, 2016-2017
Growth
of literacy and public libraries
Literacy
development is closely linked to public spending on arts, culture and
libraries. In India, the literacy rate has consistently risen since 1951;
however, the number of public libraries, their expansion and coverage have not
developed alongside.
There
is no relationship between a state’s capacity to spend on libraries and its
willingness to do so, studies have revealed. There may also not be a
straightforward relationship between a state’s capacity to spend on libraries
and the funding it receives, and its willingness to spend on libraries, as the
latter depends on a state’s education and literacy policies. For instance, the
southern states, especially Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, have always had higher
levels of public library development, with around 2,000 libraries each (see
data below), far higher than the numbers in Bihar, which has a larger
population. But these states have not always had large central government
assistance for this purpose. On the other hand, many states have also failed to
even seek funding from the Centre for the development of public libraries.
Central
financial assistance released to public libraries in India
Public
libraries in the US, UK and other European countries use library resources to
cater to large populations. In the US, for example, the public library system
provides services to 95.6% of the total population and spends $35.96 per capita
annually, whereas in India the per capita expenditure on the development of
public libraries translates to 7 paise. The funding for libraries in the US is
primarily local—80% of the funding comes from local councils rather than
national funds.
In
Europe, 83% of the budget for public libraries comes from local municipalities,
according to a survey of 425 libraries. Many developing countries in Africa,
Asia and South America spend way less or have few statistics on their per
capita expenditure on public libraries. For example, in Nigeria, spending on
public libraries works out to approximately NGN 5.00 (about 4 cents in the US),
according to a study by Unnuma Opara, released in 2008.
The
Legislative Council Commission, 2016; Sethumadhavrao, 2016Public libraries are
regarded by scholars as far more than a repository for books. They are seen as
a landmark, a catalyst for urban development, a space for social interaction
and a vital hub of the public domain as an experience. In today’s information
age, libraries in many countries are exploring, along with traditional library
services, a range of activities such as hosting of events, digital services,
engagement with the public especially with neglected communities that need
support, and creating a knowledge economy that can give access to education.
For
libraries in India to serve broader functions, investments in public libraries
should be increased, while also making concerted efforts to systematically
improve the functioning and services provided by libraries.