Young readers prefer bookstores to libraries

Living in a city which is on the go 24x7, Mumbaikars rarely get the time to cultivate any hobby, leave alone any outdoor hobby. In the midst of congested train compartments, noisy traffic jams and sweltering heat, one can only manage to squeeze in a simple yet quite interesting reading habit.

Over a decade the city's reading culture has experienced a lot of change. While there was a time when ardent fans walked to local reading centres to read Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind, today you see a few sitting in quite corners of branded bookstores. "No one reads anymore. We had 700 members out of which 100 were active, but now that number has started decreasing," said Debbie Lasrado who runs the Garden Book Centre library at Chembur. After housing regional to international bestsellers for over 37 years, Lasrado's library is heading for a complete shut down.

Bharat Patel who has been running Bandra's Prince Book Library for past 12 years agrees with Lasrado. "The city's library culture is dying. To help increase number of members we don't even charge membership fees, one can just walk in and borrow a book for a minimum deposit of Rs 50 to 200." This library too faces a bleak future as Patel says the landlord has some other plans for us.

Sangeeta Ghatge, in-charge of David Sasoon Library which has over 40,000 books to offer, feels that the role of libraries in the city is changing. "Libraries don't usually cater to regular or popular culture readers. Currently we have 3500 members, mostly students who want to borrow old books for reference, she says.

Despite all this most Mumbaikars do manage to keep their hobby going, albeit not at the library. Just as what you read differs from person to person, so do the place of reading. A regular train traveller Riccha Sharma finds it irresistible to buy a copy of her favourite magazines from the boys who sell pirated books in trains. "They cost me not more than 80 to 100 bucks, so I don't mind it at all.

Venita D'souza a working professional from Dahisar still continues to buy her books from Churchgate's roadside booksellers. "You can get a copy of any book by any author there. Once in a while when I need the tranquillity I still do visit the library," she says.

"I rarely get the time to visit a library. Instead I prefer bookstores which package reading as an experience. Moreover there is no membership fee or no entry fee; you can spend as many hours as you want there without even buying the book you pick," says Mayuree Rao who often visits bookstores like Crossword, Oxford and Landmark.

Parents however, are keen to keep the hobby intact by introducing their wards to books right from toddler-hood. Roshni Alvares mother of a five year old says, "I made my son go through picture book at less than a year old. Not as a compulsion, but just kept the books in front of him and he would go through pages. Then at two and half years, I began to read him Disney Adventure series where he would turn each page after I read it and also started mumbling the names of stories and their authors."

Inspite of parents like Alvares striving to keep reading an integral part of their children's lives the practice of visiting libraries is slowing disappearing. "I don't feel comfortable taking my son to the local libraries. No doubt there are numerous books there, but the atmosphere is not at all hygienic for a child. But we do make 2-3 trips to Crossword which is close to our house," she says.