A little over a month ago, we set up an operations office in Jagatsukh (a village about 5 kms away from Manali, Himachal Pradesh). While the main objective of this set-up was to support our free community in Kaza, Spiti Valley, we decided to convert the hall of the new premises into a small free library for the local community.
We didn’t have any funds for the new set-up, so we used spare things from our Spiti library. This included books (sometimes we get multiple copies of books sent by different donors), old shelves, storage boxes and a carpet.
It is not easy to set up and operate a free community library, so we were prepared for the on-ground challenges. For instance, we do not have a dedicated resource person for managing the new space, so we are only able to keep the library open for a couple of hours everyday.
But what we were unprepared for was the support that we received from the local community. Every time we talk about our plans with the community people, the response is always a mixture of awe and appreciation. The library is not even officially open yet (the set-up is quite time consuming, especially with limited help), and we already have a dozen members. We read books and play carrom on Saturdays (the only game we have at this library so far). And we’ve been receiving queries from people of nearby villages who want to visit the library themselves or with their children.
It is going to be a while before the library is properly up and running, but we know it’s a baby step in the right direction. And we will continue reading books and play carrom on Saturdays.