In the month of August we celebrate The National Librarian Day. In Goa we have libraries set up in schools and panchayats. The sad thing about these very important institutions is that employees are not regularised and in many cases the librarian is not appointed by the panchayats. The Dept of Art and Culture which has a scheme for every local body should make an audit of all such libraries and recommend to the Director of the Panchayat to appoint librarians and attendants so that the scheme can be availed without any burden on the Panchayat funds. What is the use of having a library room allocated but no qualified librarian to organise and encourage the public of the village to attend functions to inculcate the reading habits which have now been ignored by the new generation but the senior citizens of the villages can make use of it. The government should also see that regular certificate courses for librarians are conducted as there is plenty of scope for those unemployed to get jobs. Hoping the Minister of Art and culture and Panchayat Minister will look into the matter and initiate an audit first.
