MARGAO
Even as the High Court set a time frame for the State Central Library to fix air conditioning issues plaguing the library, the Margao Municipal may face a similar question “ when will the civic body procure the cupboards to stack and protect the hundreds of priceless books in Portuguese housed in the Municipal library?
Over a year have passed since experts from the Goa University had inspected the Portuguese books in the Margao Municipal library upon request made by then Margao Municipal Chief officer, Ajit Panchwadkar in the year 2020, but the glass cupboards to house the books are yet to make their presence felt in the library till date.
Consider this. In August 2022, the Margao Municipal Council had given its nod to a proposal to procure 15 glass cupboards to stack the 1500-odd Portuguese books in order to protect these priceless books from destruction due to exposure to moisture. Though the condition of the Portuguese books, including legal books, novels etc was found not that bad, the proposal to stack the books in glass cupboards was apparently to protect the books from moisture and from getting damaged in the future.
Sadly, since August 2022 till date, the 15 glass cupboards are yet to arrive, with sources in the know attributing the delay to administrative red tape. It was only recently that incumbent Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar had issued the order to procure the 15 cupboards through a government agency at an estimated cost of around Rs 2.60 lakh.
The moot question, however, remains unanswered --- how come there was a delay on the part of the Margao Municipal Council if the experts from the Goa University had called for urgent measures to protect the Portuguese books from decay by stacking them in glass cupboards. Or, is it that the civic body showed no alacrity to procure the glass cupboards considering that the condition of the books was not that bad and they faced a future threat.
A visit to the Margao Municipal library on Thursday revealed that the library is well maintained by the librarian and other staffers. The Portuguese books are all stacked in a rack inside a room.
Officials pointed out that the experts, who inspected the books had called for measures to protect the books from damage in the future. “Right now, the books are in good condition. But they are exposed to moisture, and the condition of the books will deteriorate if they are not stacked and preserved in glass cupboards”, informed an official.
