Know your Customer: STAR Interview from IGNITE Issue 6 - Newsletter for librarians in South Asia

Dr P. Y. Rajendra Kumar  Director General,
National Library of India, Kolkata

“A ship is always safe at the shore but that is not what it is built for.”― Albert Einstein

 Dr Rajendra Kumar is a humanitarian with a very different outlook to life. He believes that to be successful, one needs to be like water – ever flowing – and adjusting to every shape.

A treasure of stories from his professional life of more than 40 years make listening to him a rich learning experience. Dr Kumar believes in the theory of karma and strongly postulates that one should enjoy their work, big or small. Starting as a young Librarian in National College, Bangalore to holding the current position of Director General of the largest public library in the country – the National Library, Kolkata – it has been a journey of many learnings, collaborations, disappointments, successes and achievements. The eldest of six siblings, Dr Rajendra Kumar learnt the importance of team spirit and humble leadership from his childhood.

A recipient of several prestigious awards, Dr Kumar came into the LIS profession by choice and is proud to be a part of the library profession that is undergoing a paradigm shift and constant transition. He dedicates his success to his family members and strongly believes that in all of our lives – personal and professional – a lot of who we are is derived from a combination of where we have come from and the place and people we now travel alongside.

Dr Kumar has never taken a single earned/commuted leave during his service of 33 years in the Department of Public Libraries and he enjoys his work believing that one should always strive to do good to others. He postulates that the advent of computer and internet facility library revolution has become a global phenomenon and such innovative technological development should be capitalized by library enthusiasts.

IGNITE spoke to Dr Rajendra Kumar to understand what qualifies successful working in the public libraries. Here’s an insight into our talk with him:

Q: Thank you so much, sir, for meeting us today. Please talk us through a particular challenge from your professional life that you remember fondly today as you look back.

Life is always built through and on challenges. A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. About 40 years ago, I was posted in Raichur as a District Library Officer. I landed in Raichur one morning only to find that there wasn’t even a building formalized for a library. Instead of waiting for things to happen, I not only located a probable venue for a building on the same day, I was successful in convincing my seniors to open a library there. From arranging for tables, chairs, books, and eventually opening a beautiful children’s section, the whole experience was a very gratifying one.

Q: How important are public libraries in reaching out to rural and marginalized sections of the society?

Public libraries have the potential to bridge the gap between the ‘information poor’ and ‘information rich’ by ensuring that people from all sections of the society have easy access to the knowledge they seek.

Actually, very important. Libraries should not limit their benefits to the few English knowing readers, but should see to it that their good work permeates through to the many, especially the rural population of the country. As a Chief Librarian, I am proud of having started the Rural Mobile Library with the support of Kodagu District Administration. These mobile libraries reached out to the farthest of rural areas and ensured that the love of reading was instilled in people of all age groups and generations.

We started 100 libraries for the nomadics while 200 libraries and 400 reading rooms were opened in slums of Bangalore city to reach out to the less privileged.

Q: How do public libraries in the country encourage advancement of vernacular languages? 

It should be the responsibility of every public library to promote vernacular languages and encourage local authors and poets.

In 2006, we made plans to digitize one lakh Kannada books to encourage vernacular language growth in the south. As a Director of Public Libraries in Karnataka, we also launched ‘Kannada Saraswathalokha’, a web directory of Kannada writers. We also developed ‘Suvarna Karnataka Antharjala Vahini’, a Kannada portal. The Bulk purchase of Kannada books through single window was introduced in order to encourage the Kannada writers and publishers.

We also converted some bestselling Kannada books into the braille format.

When Karnataka government conferred Dr G. S. Shivaradruppa, a renowned poet, with the ‘Rastrakavi’ award, all his nine books, (2,500 copies each) were reprinted and distributed to newly-opened gram panchayat libraries. A unique way honoring the “Rashtrakavi”.

Libraries should not limit their benefits to the few English knowing readers, but should see to it that their good work permeates through to the many, especially the rural population of the country.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the history of National Library, Kolkata. 

The National Library, Kolkata is an institution in itself. Lord Curzon started a library in Kolkata for public use. He merged the Calcutta Public Library with the Imperial Library and opened it to the public on 30 January 1903. The aims and objectives of the Imperial Library were well defined in a notification in the Gazette of India: ‘It is intended that it should be a library of reference, a working place for students and a repository of material for the future historians of India, in which, so far as possible, every work written about India, at any time, can be seen and read.’ After the independence, the Government of India changed the name of the Imperial Library as the National Library, and the collection was shifted from The Esplanade to the present Belvedere Estate. On 1 February 1953, the National Library was opened to the public.

So, as of 30 January 2015, the National Library completed 178 glorious years.

Q: Do you think that comics and movies play an important role in reaching out to people, especially the rural population?

Definitely, yes. Comics and films can be a powerful educational tool, especially for children with deprived backgrounds. So it is important to place these at the heart of every library and make them an integral part of the young people’s learning experiences.

Throughout my professional career, I have worked in taking movies and comics through Rural Mobile Libraries joining hands with local bodies and governmental departments. This has led to an increase in the readership of our libraries while also connecting the rural audience to the concept of libraries. Films have the power to make an emotional connection with people and that experience can be effectively used through education.

Q: Have you also been inspired by Dr S. R. Ranganathan in your professional life?


Well yes! Dr Ranganathan passed away a month after I joined the LIS profession but I have always been deeply influenced by his teachings. What I am today is, to a large extent, because of his teachings. I apply his five laws to the administrative running of my libraries as well as every other aspect of my professional life. For the first time in the country, 12 August the birthday of Dr S. R. Ranganathan, father of library movement in India, was declared as the ‘Librarians’ Day’ by the Govt. of Karnataka when I was a Director of the Department of Public Libraries.

Q: We hear that 2,500 gram panchayat libraries were opened in one year during your Directorship in Karnataka. Please tell us more about it.

Karnataka is the only state in the country which has libraries at all the gram panchayats. After the implementation of Panchayat Raj Act, 3,251 grama panchayat libraries were opened in the last 18 years. During my tenure, we ensured that 2,500 gram panchayat libraries were opened in one year, leading to complete coverage of the entire Karnataka region.

Q: How is constant innovation important for a library to prosper? Do you think a library can become a self-sustaining model?

The mind is a golden hand. Constant innovation is required in every phase of life to prosper. As a Director, the collection of library cess was raised from nine crores (2003-04) to 24 crores (2007-08). This definitely led to more sustainability for the libraries to use those funds.

Decentralizing and decomplicating things is very important for streamlining processes and getting more people involved in contributing to the innovative upturn of a library. There are various innovative schemes that we launched.

Off the top of my head, I can think of the introduction of bulk purchase of books (300) under the Single Window System that we introduced along with an increase in the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation financial assistance with the government matching the grant from 100 lakhs to 600 lakhs. In 1991 in Mandya, Karnataka, we planned and constructed the library complex by raising funds from the public. Many shops spaces were opened on the ground floor of the library which even today generate funds for the library leading to more sustainability.

Q: Sir, what is your vision for transforming the public libraries in the future?

There is a lot of work to be done to take the current vision of the public libraries forward.

One important aspect that must be addressed moving forward is that all the
states in the country must have public libraries legislation. 

Currently only 19 states have the legislation while 17 states are yet to adopt it. Further, there must be uniformity among the Public Libraries Legislation, which will lead to better collaboration.

I would also like to see an electronic forum and network of public libraries created. I know of many LIS forums where librarians exchange ideas and regularly share information. However, there is no such email forum existent for public libraries. No one gets to know what is happening in the neighboring state and I think it will be a wonderful idea for all the public library LIS professionals to connect to each other, sharing information and contributing ideas.

Your message for the young librarians of today?

Work hard with all sincerity and success will come to you.