ENCOURAGING THE READING OF PHYSICAL BOOKS

Almost all educational institutions (which include in their ambit schools, colleges and training centres) have an in-house library. As adverse to a public or private library catering to the general public, the libraries of educational institutions are comparatively smaller in size and have books specific to the ideology, mindset and genre of that institution. For example, in the I.I.T. at Kharagpur, rest assured you will not find books on gardening or cooking! Indeed, in educational institutions, a library is seen as imperative, essential and a sine qua non because it contains books and publications, which foster a deep inbuilt desire in students to do extra reading and research on the topics discussed in class. Apart from satiating pedagogical perceptions and perspectives for academic prowess, a library in an educational institution also meets the need of letting students enter the marvelous, awesome world of fantasy, mystery and adventure. A library in an educational institution is a God-send not only to the students, but also to the teachers and lecturers, who can augment their classes, with inputs from both the factual subject books and fiction books (should they be English Literature teachers). It has been found that the teachers who frequent libraries to do extra reading of reference books on their subject have been more effective in classroom deliverance. However, of late it has been noticed that there is comparatively less number of students who frequent the library. A survey conducted recently testified to the fact that students of today would prefer buying birthday gifts, like chocolates, toys and jewellery, over buying physical books. Moreover, the few diligent prodders who are still book lovers, are, unfortunately, many a time doing it with jaundiced reasons, like judging the physical book by criteria like the cover design, the size of the book or its sensation quotient. Fewer and fewer students are using parameters or benchmarks, like didactic lessons to be imbibed, beautiful style of writing, or deriving worthy messages through books.

Who is the culprit?
It is a trifle disappointing that fewer students are frequenting libraries, due to the lure of digital tech gadgetry, which they may find more alluring. With this digital online invasion, many of the modern students are giving library books the short shrift and go by while they flaunt their online tutors, their Google-aided PCs and their notching of smart phones for quick updates.

So, unlike the scenario of 20-30 years ago when digital gizmos were not in vogue, the students of today are no longer making beelines to libraries. Indeed, students should discern before it is too late the alleged harms of “short cut” methods of imbibing knowledge. Students no longer have to spend hours in a library or go the extra mile to gain knowledge as instead of browsing through umpteen encyclopaedias in a library, it is easier to browse the world wide web internet, which provides thousands of pages of information at the click of a mouse!

Although one cannot dismiss, belittle or discourage usage of the internet and Google, especially for research projects, it is nevertheless imperative that students do not lose the touch and lure of reading hard copy books altogether. True, most libraries now have incorporated a digital library wing and kindles to their physical libraries for the reading of mainly fictional books. However, old-timers still aver that reading physical books with their beautifully printed chapters interspersed with graphic illustrations should still be a “person’s very best friend”. This writer, who has worked in a school library for many years, is very keen that physical looks do not lose their appeal altogether.

The following suggestions and innovations may help.

First, the physical books in an educational school library should be arranged and sorted out in an attractive and aesthetic way.
The books borrowed most often (in both the fiction and non-fiction categories) can be singled out and their front and back covers can be photocopied and put up on the library notice book along with a well-written summary, which does not divulge the climax. Information can be given about the author, the publisher, and the critic’s assessment of the book. In the school library where I work, we photocopied the covers and added a well written summary of the book “Wings of Fire” by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the day after he expired on 27th July 2015.

Secondly, to encourage the reading of physical books, schools can consider starting a Book Reading Club, where the Reading Club members are divided into groups.
Each group is responsible for reading one particular classic, like `Alice in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll, `Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens, etc. Each group will for that month focus on one book, with each club member handling one specific aspect or component of the book. For example, one person can be in charge of the storyline, another can be in charge of the main characters, etc. The club members can meet once a week, and at the end of the month, there can be an event to showcase what each group has done for the benefit of the other groups. This could include acting out the book (like a play), conducting an in depth quiz, arranging a summary writing competition, etc. When the book reading club was set up in the school where I work, the staff, particularly the English teachers, were euphoric that the students had developed a keen, unalloyed, deep and incisive interest in reading, making it a viable educational adjunct. This is rightly so, since reading of physical books is such an immense boon and has such far-reaching benefits that it is too humungous to ignore.

By Heera Nawaz (The author works at Cambridge School (K.R. Puram) Library and is a Teacher Co-ordinator for the Times of India NIE (Newspaper in Education) Programme, Bengaluru)

Do you agree with the author's suggestions?