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LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019 Issue15
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Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal’s
NARSEE MONJEE
College of Commerce and Economics
Bunko, a very unique type of private children’s
library in Japan. Bunko (pronounced “boon-ko”), to
put it simply, can be defined as a private library
specialized for children, which is typically run by a
volunteer or a group of volunteers. The word
“bunko” originally meant “library” and it is
comprised of two parts “BUN” and “KO.” BUN
means literature or sentence, and KO storehouse, so
“Bunko” is similar in its formation to
“Bibliothèque.” The bunko plays an important role
in cultivating the reading habit in children at an early
age in a homely and nurturing environment.
Bunkos can be found throughout the country; the
total number of bunko could be around 4,000 today.
They are established in a variety of places; private
house, community center, temple, church,
supermarket, and any places where books can be
stored and children may freely gather. A bunko that
is opened in a private house is called katei bunko, or
a home library, and a bunko set in other places is
called chiiki bunko, or a community library.
These activities are offered by volunteer staff, or
librarians of bunko and 90% of the staff are women.
Bunko is a private and free activity, and anybody
who has an interest in offering books to children can
design a bunko as she or he likes it. At the same
time, the bunko has an existence beyond a mere
substitute for a public library. If you visit a bunko,
you will notice its homelike atmosphere and a close
relationship between bunko women and children,
and that is what the public library lacks. For
children, a bunko woman is not only a librarian but
also a very special person whom children meet and
talk regularly with beyond their relations with their
parents and teachers.
History of Bunko before 1945 is very interesting and
inspiring. The oldest example of bunko can date
back to 1906. It was established by Kasui Takenuki,
a children’s writer, editor, and public librarian, in
his own house in Aoyama, Tokyo. Bunkos have
contributed to the improvement of reading
environment in the communities in many ways.
They offer a good place for children to visit freely
and to meet good books. And also bunkos have been
the place for many mothers to be familiar with
children’s literature and storytelling. To encourage
children to read, adult bunko members carefully
select books for the bunko by considering the
content of the books and children's reading interests;
read aloud; conduct book talks; tell stories; display
books; and have children and adults take turns
reading to each other. Some other activities
conducted were puppet show, origami, theater, etc.
BUNKO: private children's library in Japan
Collection: Dr. Vaishali Dawar
HAPPY READING June, 2019 Issue No. 53
LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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Ex-students Service
- Reading room
- Study Room
- Syllabus copies
- Limited Current
reading
Offline Services
Current Reading
Home Lending
Library orientation and Database orientation
Reference service - Specific Document search and delivery
Self-study Reading room
Study room after library hours
Newspaper clippings
Inter Library Loan
Book-bank for financially weaker students
Bibliographies
Reading Lists
Question papers
Content Page of Journals – Staff room and Library
Monthly Newsletter – displayed on notice board
Book of the Day- Book display with its review
Friends of library – Students committee – to encourage reading and increase interest in
library
Facilities in library
UGC Network Resource Centre- 5 computers with
Internet
Network printer – Black and white
Color printer
Scanner
Wi-Fi access to laptops
Plug-ins charging for laptops
Continuous CCTV surveillance and security persons
Barcode printer and scanner
Low level book showcases for physically challenged
Reprography
Open access inside the counter
Two Library Cards for home lending Books + Extra Library
Card for students securing more than 80%
Suggestion Box
Offline Services and Facilities in Library
Book Reviews
Displayed on Books showcase
along with the book
Prepare Reading lists
In newsletter
Bound for future use
LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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Online Services
Institutional Repository
(Documents stored in Google drive)
Links through-
Library on College website
Google groups e-mails
Notice Board
Google Groups
Division-wise groups of all
students with their personal
e-mail ids
Teaching and Non-teaching
staff Google groups of all
staff members with their
personal e-mail Ids
Google groups used for
Sending links to database
with ids and passwords
Course notes prepared by
faculties
Notices
Placement Cell instructions
Lists of new additions of
books in library
Reading lists with book
reviews
Bibliographies
Any other important
information
Social Media Use WhatsApp
Staff groups – sending
information, sharing
information, sending notices,
sending documents
Staff-Students groups –
sending information, notices,
instructions, documents,
sharing information
Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)
One dedicated computer in
library
UGC-Network Resource
Centre
On College website (Library)
Online Reference Service
Online Database search on
specific topics on demand
Document delivery
Other important Online
resources – on website
Library Xpress -Monthly Newsletter
Published in E-Bulletins on college website
Inspirational article
Know your library – a library service
in detail
Library news-line – Introduction to
database
Thumbnails of new books added,
Book review
A wisdom story
Introduction to famous library
Happy time in library – photos
Students Corner – articles, poems,
quizzes, feedbacks
Students suggestions and actions
taken
NVDA Software
For visually challenged
Library fully automated using KOHA software - Circulation through barcode
LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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LIBRARY NEWSLINE
VACHAN PREENA
DIVAS
LIBRARY NEWSLINE
A Tea-Seller & a Teacher Set Up India’s Loneliest ‘Library In a Forest’ in Kerala
How the world came to know about this small library in Kerala is when a troop of
journalists lead by none other than P Sainath visited Edamalakkudy.
by Lekshmi Priya S. May 9, 2019. The Better India
https://www.thebetterindia.com/181572/kerala-tea-seller-teacher-forest-library-edamalakkudy-amazing-india/#
One of the things we take for granted in our lives is a library. Perhaps it is because we can
find one at a stone’s throw in most cities, towns and even some villages across India. But for the
Muthuvan tribal community living in Edamalakkudy, one of the remotest hamlets in Idukki district
of Kerala, the possibility of borrowing books from a library or even have one in their locality was a
distant dream.
Until 2010.
That year, two things happened in the hamlet: one, Edamalakkudy became the first hamlet in
Kerala to have a tribal gram panchayat and second, a ‘library’ was established at a tiny tea shop at
Iruppukallu area of the hamlet. Perhaps this is the only library in the world that you’d find in the middle
of an impenetrable forested region, where one could only reach by foot till a jeep made its way to
Edamalakkudy for the very first time in March this year.
With a total of 160 books when it started, this little library, quite literally in the middle of
nowhere, charts a fascinating tale that revolves around the contribution and dedication of two
individuals: a tea shop owner, PV Chinnathambi and a teacher, PK Muraleedharan. Muraleedharan
is no less of a living legend amidst the Muthuvans, who made Edamalakkudy his home two decades
ago to make education accessible to the Adivasi community.
In conversation with The Better India (TBI), he shares the catalytic incident which led to the
founding of the library.
“One of my friends, Unni Prasanth, who used to work with Akashvani and RedFM in
Thiruvananthapuram, had visited us in Edamalakkudy sometime between 2009 and 2010. Lodged at
Chinnathambi’s hut, we discussed the state of education here and the lack of reading habits. That was
the first time the idea of creating a library here was first broached,” recalls Murali Maash, as he is
known amongst the locals. (Maash is an endearment in Malayalam for teachers.)
A few months later, he shares that Unni along with his friend, BR Sumesh, a sub-editor at Kerala
Kaumudi, came back with 160 books that they had collected themselves. Murali Maash also adds that the
local community has played a crucial role in maintaining the library and keeping it running all these years.
“Together, we carried all these books and walked to Edamalakkudy, covering several hamlets
along the way. Otherwise, there was no other way to reach here. We planned to establish the library
at Iruppukallu, but we had no building or even an area to set it up. That’s when Chinnathambi stepped
up and offered to maintain a library in his humble tea shop,” he says.
LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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LIBRARY NEWSLINE
VACHAN PREENA
DIVAS
LIBRARY NEWSLINE
Chinnathambi’s logic was simple. “People would come to his shop for tea and snacks and
they could either read the books or borrow them at a minimal fee. Shortly after, our library took
flight, with more and more people in the community visiting the shop for books and not just tea,”
Murali Maash says. Like how any library functions, this one, christened Akshara, also maintained a
lending register and had a one-time membership fee of Rs 25 along with a monthly charge of Rs 2.
Interestingly, the library’s stash of books didn’t comprise of magazines or best-selling
novels. Instead, there were translated literary works like Silappathikaram, other classics, political
works and books authored by famous Malayalam writers including Vaikom Muhammad Basheer,
MT Vasudevan Nair, Kamala Das, M Mukundan, Lalithambika Antharjanam amongst others.
At present, Chinnathambi is in Adimali, owing to his wife’s ill health and could only spare some
time to talk to us. In the last few years, Murali Maash shares that Chinnathambi’s health has been
failing. This made the former step in. “Also, the maintenance of so many books was taking a toll
on Chinnathambi. In June 2017, we moved these to the school and set up a library here. We
retained the name Akshara,” he adds. Murali Maash also adds that the local community has played a
crucial role in maintaining the library and keeping it running all these years.
A library might not mean a lot for most of us living in cities and towns, but for people
living in the remote hamlet of Edamalakkudy, it is a privilege that is offering them a window into
worlds far away from their own, thanks to people like Chinnathambi and Murali Maash.
LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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The seeker of truth
After years of searching, the seeker was told to go to a cave, in which he would find a well. 'Ask
the well what is truth', he was advised, 'and the well will reveal it to you'. Having found the well,
the seeker asked that most fundamental question. And from the depths came the answer, 'Go to
the village crossroad: there you shall find what you are seeking'.
Full of hope and anticipation the man ran to the crossroad to find only three rather uninteresting
shops. One shop was selling pieces of metal, another sold wood, and thin wires were for sale in
the third. Nothing and no one there seemed to have much to do with the revelation of truth.
Disappointed, the seeker returned to the well to demand an explanation, but he was told only,
'You will understand in the future.' When the man protested, all he got in return were the echoes
of his own shouts. Indignant for having been made a fool of - or so he thought at the time - the
seeker continued his wanderings in search of truth. As years went by, the memory of his
experience at the well gradually faded until one night, while he was walking in the moonlight,
the sound of sitar music caught his attention. It was wonderful music and it was played with
great mastery and inspiration.
Profoundly moved, the truth seeker felt drawn towards the player. He looked at the fingers
dancing over the strings. He became aware of the sitar itself. And then suddenly he exploded in
a cry of joyous recognition: the sitar was made out of wires and pieces of metal and wood just
like those he had once seen in the three stores and had thought it to be without any particular
significance.
At last he understood the message of the well: we have already been given everything we need:
our task is to assemble and use it in the appropriate way. Nothing is meaningful so long as we
perceive only separate fragments. But as soon as the fragments come together into a synthesis,
a new entity emerges, whose nature we could not have foreseen by considering the fragments
alone.
HAPPY TIME IN LIBRARY
LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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Maharashtra Mitra Mandal’s library (Mcubed Library) Near Dmonte Park next to the Bandra Gymkhana
Bandra, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400002
Timings: 9:00 AM to 7.00 PM.
http://www.mcubedlibrary.com/
Mcubed library was set up as a people’s initiative in 1981 to provide a space for the community to come together, read and have access to a wide range of books, magazines, journals and more. Their main aim is to ‘nurture the cultural heritage of Maharashtra’ which it is by curating a variety of books from fiction, non-fiction, academic texts to biographies and more. They even have a great collection of Marathi literature, so if you’d like to brush up your Marathi. They have two sections, one for the kids and for the adults. Both equally colourful and well stocked, they also offer spacious and surprisingly sunny and really well done up reading rooms where we perched ourselves to read. The library has membership fee. The Reading Room can be availed as well for INR 200 per month, so that you can go and sit there as long as you want, isolated and in concentration. All of the books can be borrowed for two weeks, post which you need to either renew it or give it back.
LIBRARY XPRESS | Issue 53 – JUNE 2019
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Students Suggestions
Student’s name Suggestion Action taken
Aman Desai The candlestick course by Steve Niscon Received in library
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Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics Juhu Scheme, Vile Parle (W), Mumbai: 400056