Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 4
The concept of libraries in Nagaland has been that of a ‘house of books’ confined to academics. Rarely have independent public libraries not directly connected to academic institutions or the state government flourished.
Perhaps the first functional public library outside the confines of schools and colleges with promise of persisting has come up in Dimapur. The brainchild of a group of friends, Dimapur Public Library (DPL) opened its doors to the community on May 4.
Located at Tongpok Villa, Industrial Estate Firing Junction, NH 36, the library was inaugurated by Lampha Konyak, Registering Officer, Department of Arts and Culture today.
A counsellor with a degree in Psychology, Susan Lotha, a core member of the founding group, said the idea took shape in June 2017 when she came across a Facebook status posted by one Imtisunep Longchar expressing the prospect of having a public library in Dimapur. She is currently a member of the Juvenile Justice Board, Dimapur district.
Despite being the state’s educational hub, Dimapur has still to have a functional public library.
Susan recalled how her late father often used to speak about his wish “to see a beautiful library set up in Dimapur where he and his pensioner friends can hang out and read books and spend their time.” The Facebook post led to Susan sharing her wish with Longchar, who happened to be the founder/director of ilandlo.com – an e-commerce platform that promotes indigenous products of the north-east.
Susan met with Longchar and his team charting the ground works for the library. Till that time, she said that they have never met. “In no time about 11 people responded positively and held the first official meeting on 13 August 2017 and formed the core team and started planning for the Dimapur Public Library.”
In the months of planning that followed, she said that the core team even conducted a survey taking the views of people from varied professional backgrounds. According to her, the response was very supportive.
With “zero budget” she said that finding a place to house the library was tough. The team even wrote to the Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur exploring the possibility of leasing any vacant government property. The DC was supportive of the proposal but unfortunately he was transferred “and there wasn’t much he could do to help the team,” she said. Meanwhile, support from well-wishers had already started pouring in the form of donation of books. A well-wisher from Bangalore, “Dev Das Gupta started donating books for the Library from July-August 2017,” she said.
The team eventually decided to go ahead with an available space and started the library through donations in cash and books. “This was a collaborative effort of a team from different professional backgrounds,” she said while crediting the team.
Among others, the team includes Watila Longkumer, proprietor of Naro Ki; Lipokjungla Ozukum, ilandlo.com; Temsusenla, an entrepreneur and proprietor of Fusion Store; Kim Leivion, a theologian and counsellor; Rohit Jain, business head of P. K Travel; Orentsani Kikon, a yoga instructor; Kaboto, a studnt and a social activist; Ashe Kiba, a member of the Nagaland Disability Forum and; Sakoremla, a young graduate, who will be the DPL incharge.
As for donations towards the cause of the library, well-wishers can donate in cash as well as both used and unused books. Meripeni Ngully, Associate Professor of the Dept of History, Dimapur Government College speaking on the importance of having public libraries termed the opening of the DPL as a “paradigm shift in the concept of a library.” She recalled how libraries were predicted to become obsolete, but added, "Contrary to the predictions, the usage of libraries has expanded dramatically.”
She regarded community engagement for the sustenance of libraries. “Community engagement is the constant dialogue and interpersonal communication between the user (people) and the service provider (library). Once that relationship is established, it becomes easy to mobilise the community to create social capital.”
Having a sense of ownership will create a sense of responsibility towards “our library” as a mother nurtures her child, she said. Further, she said that it also just as important to respect library etiquettes.
Lampha Konyak, describing the independent initiative as very encouraging, called for registering the library with the government, which would enable the DPL to access governmental aid.
He lamented that Dimapur district has around 80 “rural libraries” in the official record of the Arts and Culture department but mostly not functional. While stating, “They don’t even come for collecting books,” he remarked that it appears as if people apply for registering libraries just for the governmental aid.
Library Timing:
Week days: 11 AM to 2PM (Except on Tuesday)
Saturday: 4-5PM Sundays: 11:30AM-12:30PM
