THE LIBRARY - Don't Worry!
A library is a room or building where a collection of books is kept for the purpose of reading or for reference . There are different kinds of general libraries; the personal library, the free or public library, the school library , the college library, the circulating library and lending library and the reference library. I must say there are students who has never seen a library in their lives.The personal library is kept by a man in his own house. He keeps a collection of his favorite books at home to read them at leisure. The personal library may also consist of the books, magazines and journals connected with his profession. A doctor keeps a personal library of medical books; a lawyer, a law-books and an engineer, engineering-books. I have a mini-library with 70-80 books not personal though.
The free or public library contains books which the public can borrow to read without payment. This library is supported by rates, that is, the subscription collected for the library service. The books of the lending library can be borrowed with or without any payment. The circulating library lends books to make profit. The reference library has books which are to be consulted. The reference books are never lend out. The school library contains books on all subjects, chiefly , the books which can be easily read by the students of the particular school. Abridged story-books are to be kept in it. Books written in a simple language can be easily read by them. The books which give them the basic information about games and sports should find a prominent place in the school library. The biographies and autobiographies of great persons, history books, books on science, collections of simple poems, books on geography, alas, illustrated books, and translations as well as magazines and news-papers in the regional languages and in English should be kept in the library as well. The teachers should guide them in making use of the library books.
The college library should have books on all subjects in English and in the regional language. The reference books should also find a place there. The whole works of authors as well as their abridged editions should be kept in the library. They are to be kept on racks according to the nature of the subjects. Travel books, translations, journals, criticism, and reviews should be there.The students should be able to see the books, select the books they want and borrow them on their library tickets. The librarians as well as professors should guide the student who stands confused there, not knowing what book he should select. The freshers are often frightened at the sight of thousands of books in the library.
The public library should be located at a place which is in the center of a town or a city. Borrowers should find it easy to reach the library. There should be books on all subjects, kept in order on the racks. The visitors should be requested to pay the rates while the selected books are lent to them. in modern times subscriptions half-yearly or annual are collected from the borrowers of books whose names are enrolled. Borrowers of books should be strictly warned against damaging the books.
The library should have worthy of the name. As ruskin says, only the best books in all subjects should be found in a library. Obscene writing should never be kept there. The members should be guided in the selection of books with a catalogue. There should be chairs and tables for the members who want to read in the library itself. Ancient books freshly printed and modern books should be kept in the library.The visitors to the library should be impressed by the fine arrangements of books. They should be able to get the books they want easily and quickly. The impressive appearance of the inside library should inspire every member to read a large number of books, not only of one subject, but also of other subjects in a language known to him and become a great scholar in the shortest period of time so that he may be called 'the walking library' by his kith and kin.(ain't that funny)!
Thank you,
R.Rajkumar