By P S N Murthy and D Muralidhar

Public libraries are social institutions aimed at providing information to a knowledge society, public libraries are considered as “gateways to knowledge”. Today, public libraries are in a pathetic condition due to a shortage of funds, negligence, and Government apathy. There is an urgent need to revive our public libraries by adopting Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model for their continuity. The National Knowledge Commission as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals emphasizes the role of public libraries for the socio-economic development of a country. By using the latest Information & Communication technologies public libraries can support life-long learning and improve the literacy rate.

The Society for the Promotion of Public Libraries (SPPL) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization started in 2011 to revive public libraries by seeking funds from corporate firms and PSUs under their CSR mandate. The novel idea of utilizing CSR funds for setting up new public libraries or maintenance of existing libraries is really a boon. The Society for the Promotion of Public Libraries is recognized all over India for its activities, publications and seminars for improving the status of public libraries. It is felt that the AP Government should allocate a separate budget for public libraries similar to the education budget. The SPPL is always there to provide a forum or platform for librarians for working together in transforming public libraries into “knowledge gateways“.

The Society for the Promotion of Public Libraries (SPPL), Visakhapatnam is involved in reviving public libraries by creating awareness about the benefits of CSR among the library executives, policymakers, public sector units (PSU), and corporate firms. At the request of SPPL, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has included “Setting up of Public Libraries” also in the list of CSR activities under item (V) in Schedule-VII of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2013.

Philanthropy or charity is not new for India and there are many instances of public service facilities that are established by large private sector companies, but very few libraries are established. In contrast, Andrew Carnegie, an American businessman & Philanthropist had built 1,689 libraries in the US, 660 in Britain & Ireland, 125 in Canada & many in Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, the Caribbean, and Fiji. He is an all-time role model for CSR & Public Libraries in the world.

India CSR Network is another CSR news portal or a platform for companies to share their ideas, practices, and projects between firms and their stakeholders. It publishes a monthly magazine “CSR & Competitiveness”, which provides information and developments in business sustainability. They also organize conferences, annual summits and present awards to individuals and institutions for their social welfare activities. India CSR, under the leadership of Rusen Kumar established an award in the name of Dr. Velaga Venkatappiah for library professionals for their innovative library services. So far 3 Library professionals have received this prestigious award for their community service.

Why promote public libraries?

Public libraries play an important role in the educational, social, economic and cultural development of the local community. They also play a vital role in eradicating poverty and illiteracy among the poor and marginalized communities. The UNESCO manifesto also stresses the need for public libraries for lifelong learning, independent decision making & cultural development of individuals as well as groups in the society.

The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) standard specifies that for every 3,000 people there should be a public library. According to this, we need 4,41,390 Public Libraries for a population of 1.2 billion; but we have now only 54,856 libraries in existence. This is only 20% of the present need, and the remaining 80% population does not have a Public Library facility especially in rural areas.

The present public library system in our country is in a deplorable state due to a paucity of funds and a lack of support from the state governments. Public libraries are neglected, despite having independent library legislation, compared to other government-funded service departments. Many have become defunct since the last four decades without basic amenities like furniture, electricity, Internet and many are operating from rented buildings. Computerization and Internet facility is non-existent in many libraries, which is otherwise a basic necessity today. These libraries are understaffed since there is no recruitment of staff in place of retired employees.

In 1972, the Ministry of Culture, GOI established the Raja Ramamohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF) in Kolkata to spread library services in India in cooperation with the state governments, Union Territories and library organizations. RRRLF provides annual matching grants for the purchase of books, building construction and repairs and other Infrastructure facilities. Public libraries despite their inherent problems require new means of development such as Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for their sustainability.

Public libraries are “People’s Universities” hence they need support from the public as well as private sector for their existence and services. Corporate Social Responsibility facilitates and enables public libraries to stand on their own feet and help the country to become a Knowledge Society. The Society for the Promotion of Public Libraries is trying to incorporate public libraries into the gamut of CSR so that the Indian Industry can also contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation.

CSR Contributions in India

Almost all the leading corporate firms in India are engaged in CSR activities. The areas covered by these firms under CSR are education, healthcare, livelihood creation, skill development, and empowerment of weaker sections. Some of the companies that spend considerable amounts on CSR activities are the TATA Group, INFOSYS, WIPRO, Reliance Industries, ONGC, IOCL, HPCL, NTPC, ITC, TCS, RINL, BHEL, etc.

The department of public enterprises has prepared some guidelines for Central Public Sector Enterprises on how to implement CSR projects. The PSUs have to create a CSR budget through a board resolution as a specified percentage of their net profit of the previous year, which is given below:

3 – 5% net profit – if their profit is < 100 Crores.
2 – 3% net profit – if their profit is 100 – 500 Crores.
0.5 – 2% net profit – if their profit is > 500 Crores.

The Public Sector Undertakings engaged in CSR with 8% representation contribute 28 % of the total CSR expenditure. Out of these 113 PSUs have spent Rs. 3,224 Crores; 1104 Private Companies have spent Rs.7,709 Crores and 59 (Private) foreign companies have spent Rs. 459 Crores.

Initially, CSR was considered as charity but has now moved to Community development through various Public-Private Partnership projects. The CSR in Public Sector companies is on inclusive growth, sustainable development and capacity building to the socio-economic needs of the poor and marginalized sections of the Society.

There are several national and international agencies & NGOs in all major cities in India to implement CSR projects on behalf of corporate firms. Public Libraries can approach the PSUs for getting CSR grants for their development. CSR is a great opportunity for public libraries to improve their present status and promote literacy, education and knowledge for all sections of society. In this major task, SPPL plays a vital role in making Andhra Pradesh a role model in developing public libraries under the Zilla Granthalaya Samstha (ZGS), Visakhapatnam District, A.P in particular and India in general. The Society for the Promotion of Public Libraries is working continuously to fulfill the above goal while carrying out different activities to take forward the present library movement. It has laid the foundation for creating and developing a Knowledge Society through public libraries, a great task for the benefit of future generations.

In order to help the PSUs and corporate firms in setting up new public libraries, the Society for the Promotion of Public Libraries (SPPL) has prepared this Toolkit with all the necessary resources and instructions to set up public libraries. This Toolkit enables all the stakeholders to understand the process of setting up libraries including planning, implementation and running them. We request all the corporate firms and PSUs to utilize this guide to create and develop public libraries in A.P. and also in the entire country.

Let us not forget that public libraries are our social responsibility since they are the real agencies of change, which inform, educate people and make them empowered citizens.