Ernakulam Public Library to reach out to schools through students’ forum

The functioning of the forum to be further expanded depending on how teachers and students respond to the initiative

The Ernakulam Public Library is gearing up to reach out to schools across the city in an attempt to open up before children a world of knowledge by inculcating in them a passion for reading.

The newly launched students’ forum of the library will be used as a platform for the purpose. A few sessions and a five-day camp have already been organised under the aegis of the forum.

At present, students from schools do visit the library though there is no regularity to it. For, it largely depends on the interest of teachers and management committees of the schools concerned.

“The forum is still in its nascent stage. We haven’t yet dispatched any official communications to schools. But we plan to do it very soon. The idea is not just to draw children towards books and usher them into reading but to introduce them to diverse topics about which they might have little knowledge. It may even help them in choosing their direction in the future,” said K.P. Ajith Kumar, secretary of the library.

For instance, not many children would be familiar with a topic like Oceanography, or children pursuing music would be unaware of the large volume of literature available on music. Such revelations may amuse them and, more importantly, open up a new world of knowledge before them, he added.

The functioning of the forum will be further expanded depending on how teachers and students respond to the initiative and how many of them get converted into readers and even members.

The library is also on the verge of launching not less than three forums targeting women, senior citizens, and poets in the next couple of months. The matter was discussed in the recently held annual general meeting.