Librarians have responsibility to lay foundation of future generation, says Amit Shah

Ahmedabad, Nov 1: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said books and libraries play a key role in the intellectual development of a person, and laying the foundation of a future generation is the responsibility of a librarian.

He also urged librarians to make efforts to inculcate the habit of reading among people and asked them to make a resolution of increasing the readership.

Shah, who is on a visit to his home state Gujarat on the occasion of Diwali, addressed librarians of both government as well as trust-run libraries functioning in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency that he represents, a release issued by his office said.

In his address, Shah stressed that it is everyone’s collective responsibility to ensure that the rich heritage of Gujarati literature and language does not disappear with time.

Shah said that instead of working in a mechanical manner, librarians should have an emotional connect with the readers and think of ways to popularise the culture of reading culture, especially among the children and youth.

He urged librarians to make a resolution to increase the number of readers in their respective libraries by 30 per cent in the Gujarati New Year beginning November 2.

Shah said books reflect both the present and the future of the society and the country.

“Books play a key role in the intellectual development of a person and libraries are crucial in shaping the future generation. Reading is important for the development of any society as well as a country,” he said.

The future of any nation can be predicted not by the number of students in schools but by the number of readers in libraries, he added.

According to him, education and reading have different objectives and should be kept separate.

It is very easy to become a successful person but only reading will make someone an intellectual person, he said.

On the occasion, Shah recalled his school days and informed the audience that a library in his hometown Mansa in Gandhinagar district played a very important role in shaping his personality.

He suggested that software should be developed to analyse the reading preferences of each reader and how librarians can keep the readers’ interest in books alive.

“The responsibility of a librarian is not just limited to doing a job, but it is about laying the foundation of the future generation. If this is not done with full commitment, then there is no difference between a librarian and a clerk,” Shah said.

“We need to put in great effort to keep the Gujarati language alive for another 500 years. Many languages and cultures have become extinct throughout the world. Let children study in English medium, but Gujarati language will automatically survive if we divert them towards reading Gujarati books,” Shah suggested.