One for the books!

Worli-resident Vineeta Kanoria is gladthat she has a fortune to share: her books. Old classics, school books andnovels read by her children, when they were teenagers–a fortune she refuses togive away to scrap dealers. In her hunt to find "a suitable owner" for herprized possessions, she stumbled upon India's First Crowd Sourced Library,which lends voracious readers the perfect excuse to get rid of that teeteringtower of dusty books and encourage the reading culture.

In October last year, Pushpendra Pandyajoined the thinning ranks of independent booksellers when he launched India'sFirst Crowd Sourced Library—which veritably lives up to its name to spread thelove of the printed word. It is his attempt to encourage people, who arewarming up to e-books, to pick up a book and read it. Pandya, who works at anadvertising agency, spends his weekends collecting books from people andupdating the library, which has a collection of over 3000 books and is spreadacross several cities, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Hyderabad.Pandya says excitedly, "Next week, a very philanthropic gentleman from SouthMumbai will be donating four to five cartons of books to the library. I amreally looking forward to this collection of books, as it will add great valueto India's First Crowd Sourced Library."

March is clearly the month ofspring-cleaning, going by the number of people who are eager to donate to keeptheir burgeoning personal library in check. Marine Lines-resident PranavTonsekar says, "It is an uncharted territory and that is what is so thrillingabout it." He is glad to see someone taking the trouble to collect old booksand put them to good use. "When I called Pushpendra for the first time, I did notknow what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the ease with which heoperates." Post his first contribution of books, Tonsekar is confident that hewill continue to donate as he appreciates the concept of a crowd-sourcedlibrary. "The first time I contributed, I handed around three bags of books.These books were very precious to me as I had read some of those as a kid anddid not want to sell them as scrap."

It is a relief to Kanoriato know that her books will not be sold as junk. "Every book costs money and Idid not want to sell them for peanuts. At least with this library, the book canbe handed down to interested readers," she says. Kanoria wishes that everybookstore in SoBo follows Pandya's model and places a box or a shelf in theirstore, where people can walk in and donate their old books. "This way, everybook-owner will find a suitable home for their books," she adds.