PANAJI
At a time when Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has plans to get back Goa-related documents from Portugal, old documents and books in the Central Library in Panaji are in danger of deterioration due lack of cooling facilities in the premises.
Rare books placed at the sixth floor of the Central Library are vulnerable to heat which radiates from tin rooftops and the malfunctioning AC system on the floor has only aggravated the problem.
There are books right from the 15th century in the Central Library and these old and rare books need to be stored at a uniform temperature.
"It is very important to maintain a certain uniform temperature for the books. This is being done everywhere in the world. The sixth floor which houses the rare books is without adequate protection. There was no independent AC for the floor. The AC was supposed to go from the 5th floor to the 6th floor,” said Maria Rodrigues, former librarian of the Central Library.
“The protection for these rare books is only a tin shade. The new library building was never designed with a centralised AC system,” Rodrigues added.
Added historian Sanjiv Sardessai: "This humidity can destroy the books. This is the place which requires maximum cooling.”
However, Director of Art and Culture Sagun Velip said the Central Library is fully air conditioned.
“However, air conditioners were installed almost 10 years ago and some ACs have become non-functional. Procedures to procure new condensers have been initiated and with this new system, the problem of cooling will be solved,” he added.
