World Book Day celebrated in Srinagar: Libraries Deptt organise exhibitions, awareness progs to promote book reading

Srinagar : A series of events were organised by the Department of Libraries & Research in its Public Libraries Saturday to commemorate the World Book Day-2022.
April 23 has been declared the World Book and Copyright Day by UNESCO as it marks the day in 1616 when both playwright/poet William Shakespeare and novelist Miguel de Cervantes died. On World Book day various events are organised across the globe to recognise the scope of books – a link between the past and the future, a bridge between generations and across cultures.
“Indeed, books are vital vehicles to access, transmit and promote education, science, culture and information worldwide,” said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, in her message on the occasion of World Book Day-2022.
As a part of the World Book Day celebrations, each year a World Book Capital is selected based on a city’s commitment to promote freedom of expression through books. For 2022, the book capital is Guadalajara, Mexico, chosen for its plan to use books to foster social change and build a more peaceful culture.
To mark the World Book Day-2022 celebrations in J&K, the main event of the day was organised by the Department of Libraries & Research at SPS Central Library Srinagar. It was a day-long exhibition of historic Manuscripts, Rare Books and Miniature Paintings jointly organized by the SPS Library and Oriental Research Library at SPS Library Complex here.
The main attractions of the exhibition included the oldest manuscripts like Qarabai-Din, SadhPandLuqman and ShahnamaFirdous. Some of the rare books including Rajtarangani by Kalhanna,Tareekh-e-Rasheedi, Gazetteer of India and Kashur – a history of Kashmir were also displayed at the exhibition. The Oriental Research Library (ORL) Srinagar established in 1904, is a repository of around 6000 centuries old rare manuscripts in 17 languages encompassing varied fields.
Various programmes were also organised by the District, Tehsil and Block Libraries to mark the day and create awareness about books and cultivate reading habits and promote the enjoyment of books and reading.
The Department presently has a network of around 72 public libraries in Kashmir division spread from Karnah to Qazigund. These libraries have a rich repository of around 13 lakh books including 5000 rare books and 6000 manuscripts in different languages. The number of registered members in the Public Libraries is around 1 Lakh and the annual footfall of users is around 2.80 lakh.
Besides newspapers, magazines, journals and general books, the Department has, of late, made available the latest reference books and study material in all the Public Libraries for various Competitive Examinations including IAS, JKAS, NEET, JEE, CAT, CLAT, GMAT, SSB etc.
The Director Libraries & Research, J&K, Mr Mohammad Rafi in his World Book Day message urged the readers to visit the nearest Public Library in their respective area to benefit from these treasure of resources available there. He said a special drive has been launched recently to enlist as many members for the public Libraries.