HERALD CORRESPONDENT
PORVORIM, SEPT 3- Athaide Municipal Library situated in the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) will complete 125 years of its existence in November.
It may be recalled that when Goa was under the Portuguese regime, Dr Joaquim B Azavedo constituted a committee under which Athaide library was established on November 12, 1883.
Fr Francis Athaide had devoted his life in imparting education to thousands of youth in Bardez and in his memory a library was named as Athaide Bibliotheca (Athaide Library).
On April 9, 1897, the library was handed over to Camra de Bardez. After the liberation, Municipality Act came into force in 1968 and the library was taken over by MMC.
Speaking to Herald, Librarian Dyaneshwar Parsekar said that Athaide Library is the oldest Library in Mapusa, which subscribes 24 newspapers and 56 magazines, national and international covering politics, social science, health, information technology, entertainment, cookery, automobiles, economics and sports.
“Library serves about 5,700 members with a membership fee of Rs 10 for students and Rs 25 for adults. We have done the digitalization of old documents such as Government gazettes,” said Mr Parsekar.
On November 14, 2007, the children’s corner was opened in the library with the assistance of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation, Kolkata, where educational CDs and computers have been kept for the children.
“Library has also set up separate reference section for the benefit of students of schools, colleges, universities and other readers who are doing research work and preparing projects,” he added.
Library is automated with e-granthalaya, a digital agenda for library automation and networking form National Informatics Centre.
MMC has earmarked Rs 1,15,000 for purchase of books, newspapers and magazines for 2008-09.
“Existing space is not sufficient for the library. Since library is completing 125 years on November 12, we will get Rs 1,50,000 from the Central Government for the purchase of computers, books and organize competitions,” said MMC Chairperson Sneha Bhobe.
“However, library does not receive any grant from the State Government,” she added.
Mohan Tendulkar, a library member, said that since 1980 he has been coming to the library regularly.
“This is a unique library where all types of books and journals are available and with the setting up of the children’s corner, this library has fulfilled the demands of children,” he added.
Books in Goa: promises and perils of publishing
Tags: book trade, bookshops, Goa, publishing, viewpoints
By Frederick Noronha
Selma Carvalho spent part of her Goa holiday trying to finish a book dealing with stories of Goan migration. The UK-based mother of a three-year-old believes her work has inputs that could help Goans better understand their own complex reality.
Carvalho is one of a growing trend of writers bringing Goa-centric work to the fore. An increasing number of books on Goa is getting into print, here and elsewhere. Goa, the size of an average Indian district, has an amazing set of numbers on its side. Outside of the metros, it is probably the most intensely published region nationwide, given its size.
Fernandes, a soft-spoken man with a reputation for his quiet efficiency, sits at the helm of the oldest public library in South Asia. The Central Library was set up as the Publica Livraria in 1832, but has been overtaken by the metros across India. Formerly with the Goa Engineering College, Fernandes believes that good writers can help sell books in a world where a market exists and technology has made things simple — you can layout a book on your desktop computer at home.
The trickle is turning into a flood. Old-timers remember the situation in the 1980s, when there would be just a handful of Goa-related books visible at exhibitions and sales. Today, there are literally dozens, if not a few hundred books on Goa in print. That is, if you know where to find them.
Miramar-based Menezes, who can be often found in the mornings working hard at writing from his office near Panjim’s municipal garden, sees Goa as a “potentially large and lucrative market”. He points to the tourist purchases of local books. Besides, “Goa is on top of the national food-chain in terms of interest and visibility.”
GoaWriters meeting underway. Photo: from left, Rahul Shrivastav, Willy Goes, Victor Rangel-Ribeiro, Jose Lourence and Vivek Menezes. More GoaWriters below, from left, Xavier Cota, Cecil Pinto, Alito Sequeira, Damodar Mouzo, Jose Lourenco and Augusto Pinto. Women members are absent from photos for some reason!
Menezes argues: “You have all the ingredients in place for huge growth; but we’re told that Goa is too small and cannot sustain! We have a huge captive audience. In the last two to three years, due to the presence of (top national writers like) Amitav Ghosh (who have homes in Goa), the writing community is also getting built up.” (more…)