Libraries and their uses
The first thing that I normally do upon arrival at a new station is to find out about its libraries and bookshops. Though bookshops may offer the latest in books, the utility of libraries surpasses that of bookshops. Libraries house a world 24 of knowledge. It is not only difficult but almost impossible for an individual to collect or possess all that a library can possess. Books. reference books, various kinds of dictionaries, magazines and periodicals all can be found in a good library. With the present day prohibitive cost of books, it is the library habit that pays. Besides the cost, all books do not have the same utility for everyone. A few books one may like to read over and over again but there are many that one only needs to refer, to read once, to compare versions or to find additional information. This is true not only of reference books and dictionaries but many voluminous history and autobiographical books as well.
Libraries may often acquire and possess rare books for the life of a library is not limited to one generation. Libraries go on enriching themselves year after year and generation after generation. Many good university libraries establish archives in order to collect works of national importance and of famous writers. They also buy and preserve manuscripts and letters and thus make it possible for the past and the future to be related to each other.
Libraries, at times, also conduct seminars and discussions. They provide avenues for discussion and exchange of ideas. They also have been responsible at times for introducing the public to the latest trends in various subjects and may have forums where book reviews are presented. Thus they attract the public attention towards the latest publications and their book reviewing has an additional advantage in that it is a two-way traffic and not confined to the mere reading of the review.
No one can question the importance of a good library for the serious researcher. He not only needs the rare books and manuscripts, reference hooks, specialized journals but also the other services of the library like inter-library loans. catalogues and various other things. Most libraries are willing to lend hooks to other institutions but not to individuals. Many also undertake to provide bibliographical details and make reading lists on various subjects and thus facilitate research.
But libraries are meant not only for the serious researcher but also for the ordinary individual – the growing child, the busy housewife and the active businessman, the diplomat, the soldier and the manager. In modern times libraries are tending towards specialization. We have children’s libraries, devoted primarily to social sciences or humanities. We also have mobile libraries which have specific days on which they visit certain areas. People who are too busy or too ill to go out to a library benefit from this facility. This helps them to maintain their contact with the world and also to help overcome the sufferings and stresses of personal life. There are many libraries which serve the public through the mail by the postal membership scheme. Most cities have a public or a municipal library where the membership fees are nominal and a large number of people can benefit. There are many books which are good enough to read but not good enough to treasure.
Sometimes reading is done out of intellectual curiosity and at other times merely to pass some examinations. Not all hooks may be of enduring value: but still one has to read them. Libraries are very useful in this respect. Almost all of us find the need to depend on libraries. They are a storehouse of knowledge and in a library, in the presence of hooks, one comes face to face with the limited world of the self. They teach us a lesson in humility.
