Open Book Library springs up for the love of reading

A stroll near Balgandharva Rangmandir on JM Road will reveal an iron bookshelf housing about 50 books in all languages. The bookshelf is the third installed under the Open Library Movement, a movement that propagates the Right to Read and works on a unique system of book donations and transactions.
Prithviraj More (21), a student of Indira College returns a book diligently to its shelf on JM Road.“I come here every day and spend around an hour reading different books. I think this is a great initiative for readers like me,” he said.

It all started with a cupboard near Jeet Ground at Kothrud on December 7. Named after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the cupboard housed about 100 books. Started by a group of ten youngsters, the Open Library Movement entails setting up a bookcase with donated books. Books are free access and anyone can donate their books and borrow as well.
The second cupboard or ‘box’ of books was installed near Paranjpe School on Karve Road on December 16 and was named after Swami Vivekananda. The most recent one was the one on JM Road and was installed on Savitribai Phule’s birth anniversary on January 3, and so, named after her.
Writer Abhishek Awchar, who is part of the group, says the basic concept behind the movement was to bring more books to the readers. “When a man buys a book and reads it, he is reluctant to part with it. He then installs a bookcase and keeps the book at home. In this way, during his lifetime, the man collects hundreds of books which he reads a couple of times throughout his life.”
The idea behind the Open Library Movement is to bring these books to readers who want actually want to read, Awchar said.
He explains that instead of selling the books to scrap dealers, these books if donated to the Open Library Movement help propagate the love of reading.
“The start of the movement was with 100 books. The box itself cost around Rs 7,000, so we all pitched in.The books were contributions from people who wanted to donate to the movement. The first day we thought we’d put up a small box and it may work out for long, but so far it has been a resounding success. People pick up the books, read and often put back around five books in return,” Awchar said.
About the worry of stolen books, Awchar says, “We felt that the day books start getting stolen, it’s a good thing because they are getting read. In this way, it gets forwarded to more people. The basic concept is don’t dump these books,” he said.
Awchar said the group had a lot of enquiries asking for more book boxes to be set up. “We feel making it as open access is better. No money transaction is our basic theme. People have tried donating money. Instead, we ask them to donate their books,” he said.
Every day around 50 books are taken out, Awchar says. “The response has been really good. Transaction is 50 books per day and donation is about 60 per box.”
Priyanka Choudhari, one of the leaders of the movement, said they hoped to take the movement to across Maharashtra. “We want to take it all across Maharashtra, particularly to rural areas. We want to start something called the children’s box with kids’ books and something called the educational box.”
She added that children in rural areas cannot easily access books. “We want them to have access to these books. From every good book we read, we are exposed to thoughts and emotions. So these books will play a big role in the children’s future,” she said.
About educational boxes, she said this would be an initiative where they would involve schools and colleges. “When students graduate to the next class, they don’t need their old books any more. They can deposit these books in the educational boxes for those who can’t afford these books. It will really be helpful for the next class,” she said.