Strategic Role in Community Empowerment : A District Library Initiative
Keywords:
Crowd-funding, Gender discrimination, Nadia District Library, Public library, Self-employment, Self-help-group, Women empowermentAbstract
The purpose of the present study is to investigate different measures adopted by the Nadia District Library for community empowerment toward self-reliance. A combination of content analysis of the annual reports for the period 2015 through 2020 of Nadia District Library and the survey method was applied to gather relevant information along the construct prepared for the study. The Library catalyzes the implementation of self-employment schemes of the Government with the required information support through its special collection meant for the Self-help-group. The library’s active participation in the movement against gender discrimination, and the library’s role in motivating the children's group were also documented to show how the library strives to develop understanding among the children about our cultural heritage while engaging in the storytelling session. Overall the study gives a broad overview, of how the Nadia District Library harnesses its resources and services to empower the community towards self-reliance. The study is the first of its kind in West Bengal narrating the role of a public library in contributing to the government effort for community empowerment.
Downloads
References
Akhter, Y., Deb, P. & Biswas, J. (2021). Role of Public Libraries with special reference to Women Empowerment through Kanyashree Prakalpa in West Bengal of India. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 6099, available at : https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=11436&context=libphilprac (accessed 4 July 2022).
Burke, S. K. (2009). Perceptions of public library accessibility for people with disabilities. The Reference Librarian, 50(1), 43-54.
Chan, V.H.Y., Chiu, D.K. & Ho, K.K. (2022). Mediating effects on the relationship between perceived service quality and public library app loyalty during the COVID-19 era. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 67, 102960, available at : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.102960 (accessed 2 February 2023).
Feuerstein-Simon, R., Lowenstein, M., Dupuis, R., Dolan, A., Marti, X. L., Harvey, A. & Cannuscio, C.C. (2022). Substance use and overdose in public libraries: Results from a five-state survey in the US. Journal of Community Health, 47(2), 344-350.
Friedenthal, M. (2021). How COVID affected our Python class at the Worcester Public Library. Information Technology and Libraries, 40(4), available at : https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ital/article/view/14041/10709 (accessed 25 June 2022).
IFLA (2018). IFLA/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto:2018, available at : https://www.ifla.org/g/public-libraries/ifla-unesco-public-library-manifesto/ (accessed 11 August 2022).
Kaeding, J. (2014). Increasing access to public libraries for children with special needs and their families. The Australian Library Journal, 63(4), 320-324.
Kandhasamy, K. & Bhatt, R.K. (2021). A study of public libraries in India: post-independence period. Library Philosophy and Practice, (e-journal), 5091, available at : https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/5091 (accessed 5 June 2022).
Munshi, S.A. & Ansari, M.A. (2021). Collections and services of public libraries in West Bengal, India: An evaluative study against the backdrop of the IFLA guidelines. IFLA Journal, 47(2), 250-262.
Nguyen, M. & Le, K. (2022). Maternal education and son preference. International Journal of Educational Development, 89, 102552, available at : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102552 (accessed 12 November 2022).
Otolo, U.P. (2022). Information service delivery and utilisation in selected public libraries in rural Niger Delta communities in Nigeria, International Information & Library Review, available at : https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2022.2046435 (accessed 30 December 2022).
Patil, R.R. & Kumbar, B.D. (2020). Use of public library services by differently abled persons: A pilot study of City Central Library, Dharwad. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 3886, available at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/3886 (accessed 23 October 2021).
Rayini, J. (2017). Library and information services to the visually impaired persons.. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal),1510, available at : http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1510 (accessed 20 June 2021).
Sawant, S. (2018). Crowd funding in libraries: by the people and for the people. Library Hi Tech News, 35(10), 12-14, available at : https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-03-2018-0017 (accessed 25 November 2021).
Singha, B.R. & Chaudhuri, S.K. (2021). The information needs of homeless people: a study on the role of public libraries in Kolkata. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 4960, available at : https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/4960 (accessed 5 August 2022).
Wang, Y. & Zhang, Y. (2022).As good as a boy but still a girl: Gender equity within the context of China’s One-Child policy. SAGE Open,12(1), available at : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/21582440221082097 (3 January 2023).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Indian Library Association
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
