: Insufficient funds, unavailability of certified workers, and mismanagement of assets have mounted the percentages towards public libraries throughout the state, which as soon as was teeming with college students and teachers, with most sections essentially remaining locked.

Of the 14 district libraries throughout the state — in Nabha (house to the Patiala district library), Mansa, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Faridkot, and Bathinda — 10 shouldn’t have a librarian .

Musafir Memorial Central State Library, which was inaugurated in 1956, additionally doesn’t have a single librarian to cater to its 21,532 registered members with all seven posts of librarian mendacity vacant. The state library, which is likely one of the 15 public libraries in Punjab, has 21 vacancies towards 27 sanctioned posts.

As per the division of upper training, an assistant librarian and restorer work on the library at current. However, staffers say that the restorer has already taken untimely retirement.

A member of the state library, on situation of anonymity, mentioned, “There are not enough staff to run the library seamlessly. I have only been able to go to the reading room as all other sections remain locked!”

Prabhjot Kaur, a librarian at Comrade Sohan Singh Josh District Library in Amritsar, has been given further cost because the chief librarian of the state library. The twin cost means she typically travels 230 km to discharge her duties and has additionally rented an residence in Patiala. “I’m the one librarian on the state library. However, I can not presumably take care of every part by myself. After all, it’s a big library. We work time beyond regulation six days per week to make up for it.”

However, despite the lean resources, efforts are being made to revive the library through meditation camps and motivational lectures. Both libraries in Patiala and Amritsar have dedicated social media pages, run by Kaur.

At times, district language officers are assigned additional duties in district libraries where librarians are not available. However, members grouse that they have not been trained for the job. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur district library in Sangrur has six sanctioned posts, all of which are lying vacant.

The district libraries in the state have 52,372 members and 77 sanctioned posts, of which just 26 are occupied, while 51 are vacant. Officials say that it was last in 1998 that the government recruited librarians. After their retirement, most posts are lying vacant.

Professor Jagtar Singh, director, Collaboration and Partnerships, Indian Association of Teachers of Library and Information Science, while raising concerns about the public library system, said, “The public library system does not exist in Punjab beyond district headquarters. If there are any other libraries, it is thanks to the personal efforts of the people of Punjab and NRIs. Despite the appeals of the PLA, the Punjab Public Library and Information Services Bill 2011 has not been enacted. Perhaps, the government lacks the political will. It is a pity that the PLA, which founded the India Library Association, is not being taken seriously by the government.”

On the chronic staff crunch, department of higher education principal secretary Jaspreet Talwar said, “The government had started the recruitment process, but it was stayed by the high court. It is under litigation at present. In the meantime, we are pursuing other options such as offering apprenticeships to students pursuing masters and bachelors in library sciences.”

Asked why only 14 districts have libraries, Talwar said, “All districts will quickly have public libraries.”

Another officer from the division, who didn’t want to be named, confirmed that areas had been being scouted to arrange libraries in several districts.