Now, books at the doorstep of senior citizens, disabled TNN, Sep 8, 2009, 01.34am IST CHANDIGARH: There is cheer for senior citizens and disabled in Chandigarh who are fond of reading books and magazines. UT administration has decided to take the library to the doorsteps of senior citizens who are fond of reading but cannot visit libraries owing to the age factor or physical deformity. All that they will have to do for availing the facility is to ring up a number and convey what all they want to read. The scheme is being launched on September 8, World Literacy Day. Conceived under the community outreach programme, the education department, in collaboration with state NSS cell and central state library, has arranged to execute the scheme and deliver books and magazines at houses of senior citizens and disabled with the help of NSS volunteers. Director higher education Ajoy Sharma, the brain behind the scheme, said, "Such persons require assistance and we are doing our best to reach out to them, for ensuring that they do not feel handicapped and their reading habit is sustained. If the aged and disabled cannot come to the library, let the library go to them," he quipped. The modalities of implementation of the scheme have already been worked out. For convenience sake, Chandigarh has been divided into five zones- north, east, west, south and central. Every zone will have two coordinators and 12 NSS volunteers. All that the senior citizens and disabled have got to do is to ring up 2701269 and tell the person at the other end what books or magazines they want to read. The librarians will approach the coordinator in their respective areas who will further assign the work to NSS volunteers. The delivery will be made thrice in a week- on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, over 15 days. The volunteers will deliver and collect the books or magazines from their houses. State librarian Suraj P Nagpal said Chandigarh had central state library, Sector-17, state library, Sector-34, three branch libraries at Manimajra, one in village Badheri and a reading room at Burail. Besides, the city has a mobile library. The total number of members of these libraries is about 45,000. Out of these, about 200 to 300 members are not able to visit the libraries due to one reason or another. Bikram Rana, state liaison officer, NSS cell, UT, said the move would indeed be a service to senior citizens and disabled. Involvement of NSS volunteers, numbering more than 12,000 in Chandigarh, would definitely inculcate the feeling of community service in them, he added. Volunteers would also be assigned the duty of enrolling new members in their respective areas. All formalities will be completed at their houses. The forms, complete in all respects, will be handed over to the state librarian, who will make the enrolments and issue identity cards, Rana said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chandigarh/Now-books-at-the-doo... http://snipurl.com/uf2c9 sent by --- Dr P Vyasamoorthy, 30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278 http://www.google.com/profiles/vyasamoorthy. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.