Dear Friends, A small lamp of knowledge was lit in Bandaramaram village of Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh last Friday, January14, 2011. Bandaramaram Library and Information Centre (BLIC) was inaugurated by Mr. Vinod Reddy, Chairman of Nalgonda Zilla Granthalaya Samstha at an impressive function attended parents, children and local media. As a symbolic gesture and first contribution, Mr. Vinod Reddy presented two big bundles containing books received by him as complimentary copies from publishers/authors. He exhorted the gathering not to depend on the Government for library development but mobilize resources on their own and strive to start libraries in villages. Mr. A. Srinivas of Gundrampally Library and Information Centre provided a large number of books from his duplicate collection to BLIC and guided on its establishment. The driving force behind BLIC is Mr. Gaddam Satyanarayana, Librarian of Fergusson College in Hyderabad. He struggled for almost three years to smoothen out political differences among the local leaders belonging to various parties and finally could enlist their support for establishment of a village library. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Gaddam Uppalaiah, sarpanch of Bandaramaram Gram Panchayat appealed to the parents to send their children to the village library whenever the children have free time to gain knowledge and information. Responding to the appeal made by him, several donations in the form of a book rack, chairs, newspaper/magazine subscriptions, etc., were announced by the participants at the meeting. It is heartening to note that an amount of Rs.1000 was donated to the library by a young, low-salaried constable belonging to ST community. Bandaramaram is in a backward area with poor literacy level (30%). Unemployment is the major problem faced by the local youth. It has a high school with a strength of around 250 students. This school does not have a library of its own. It is hoped that BLIC would serve both as a public library cum school library for the whole village. Of the total population of 3000, STs form a major part numbering 1400. The people of this village need books in Telugu and English mainly of the following types: Reference books (dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, career guides, etc.) Religious books English—spoken and written Agriculture Light reading (novels, stories, childrens literature, etc.) I appeal to all LIS professionals and library lovers to support this fledgling library in whatever manner they can. You may wish to contact directly Mr. Satyanarayana at the following address: Mr. Gaddam Satyanarayana, Librarian, Fergusson College, P.G. Centre, Mushirabad, Hyderabad - 500020. Mobile No. 9490019787. Email: gsatyam@gmail.com OR Bandaramaram Library and Information Centre (BLIC) Bandaramaram Village Pasthala Post Thungathurthy Mandal Nalgonda District Andhra Pradesh, India PIN CODE 508 279 On the return journey, Mr. Vinod Reddy visited the Konda Gadapa, another small village in Thungathurthy mandal and motivated the local village development committee to start a library in their village. Hopefully, this library should also start serving the people within the next six months. Who says public libraries are on the decline? Thank you Sincerely T.V. Prafulla Chandra T.V. Prafulla Chandra Research Officer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dharma Vana Arboretum Administrative Office Plot 95/1, Phase 2 IDA Cherlapally Hyderabad 500 051 Andhra Pradesh India Mobile: 93962 51106 Phones Direct +91 40 3911 4202 EPABX +91 40 3911 4200 Ext. 202 +91 40 2726 0801 Ext. 202 Fax +91 40 3911 4219 www.arboretum.org.in ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.