Gopabandhu Library Opens At Burla In Odisha’s Sambalpur

Sambalpur: Gopabandhu Library, set up by Bakul Foundation for Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC), was inaugurated by  chairman of Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) Asit Tripathy at Burla on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, Tripathy said the library was very different from what he expected, and he felt that such a library could help develop a love for books and reading among children and adults. He emphasised on the importance of reading habit which was important to develop at an early age.

He expressed his happiness that Bakul Foundation, which is known for its libraries in Bhubaneswar and other parts of the state, has now extended their expertise to western Odisha.

Commissioner of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) Vedbhusan and founder of Bakul Foundation Sujit Mahapatra were present.

The library has been set up at a large hall, built by SMC for the purpose, at Gopabandhu Chhak in Burla. Sambalpur collector Ananya Das had sought the help of Bakul Foundation to develop the library.

The library, which has creative library spaces and well-curated books, is a vibrant and creative space with attractive murals on the building exteriors and inside celebrating a love for reading.

Unlike most libraries, the bookshelves are open. Anyone who comes to the library can explore and take out a book from any of the shelves and read. There are very creative bookshelves as well. While one bookshelf has been designed to look like a tree, breaking the convention of a typical bookshelf, another shelf has been made out of an actual tree trunk that extends from the floor to the ceiling.

The library has over 10,000 books for people of all ages in English and Odia. The books have been mobilised from individuals. There will be a special book collection drive in Sambalpur for people to contribute their books to the library.

It has a special children’s section with more than 50 per cent of the books targeting children of various ages, from those learning the letters to young adults. The books have also been arranged according to different reading competencies of children.

There are also books of different genres such as picture books, comics, fantasy, detective fiction, adventure, horror, romance, science fiction for children and thrillers, classics, Indian fiction etc. The library has a good non-fiction section as well with books on facts and trivia, quizzing, science, activity, wildlife and environment and Encyclopaedias, informed Mahapatra.

It is, however, a library in process. Computers will be added and seating capacity will be increased slowly as per the requirement of the users. The library is free for all users and will be open from 11 AM to 7 PM initially. It will be closed on Mondays.

Bakul Foundation will also run the library and convert it into a vibrant community centre with active involvement of people of Sambalpur and Burla, he added.

Bakul Foundation, which was inspired by the Bakula Bana Bidyalaya of Gopabandhu, has been spearheading a library movement in Odisha. It has already set up more than 25 libraries across the state for children and the general public.