When Gajanan Deshmukh read about a unique meet for
100-year-old public libraries, he was determined to travel for more than 10
hours from Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district to Mumbai.
Rare books at
Dadar Sarvajanik Vachanalay. More than 40 representatives from 83 libraries in
the state were felicitated by the Maharashtra Seva Sangh.
Last week, Deshmukh made that long
journey to the city to represent Lokmanya Taluka Vachanalay that was started by
his great grandfather in 1887. More than 40 representatives from 83 public
libraries of Maharashtra were felicitated by Maharashtra Seva Sangh, a cultural
organisation, as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations.
“The library is very close to my
heart and the next step is to computerise the library so that rare books are
preserved,” said Deshmukh, who retired as a school principal in 2001 and is now
involved in library work.
The oldest library was in
Ratnagiri, set up in 1828 and libraries such as the Dadar Sarvajanik Vachanalay
– popularly known as DASAVA - and the Mumbai Marathi Grantha Sangrahalay, Dadar
east were also felicitated.
“These books are invaluable for
historical research because Maharashtra and India witnessed major social
upheavals in 19th and 20th century,” said Pratibha Gokhale, chief librarian,
Mumbai University. “They have maps, letters and manuscripts
written by thinkers such as Lokmanya Tilak and Babasaheb Ambedkar.”
Added Nandini Hambarde, secretary,
Maharashtra Seva Sangh, “The event gave representatives a chance to exchange
notes on issues such as preservation of rare books and financial challenges.”
Source: Hindustan Times dated 22/05/2012
