A Tale from the Stacks of Stagnation
The Librarian Who Never Truly Libraried
This summer I had the dubious pleasure of visiting a remote school as part of an outreach program to foster a STEM and digital literacy among students. My experience is similar to watch an uncle’s overzealous dancing at a wedding after three glasses of Baileys.
An institute which hosts more than 500 students annually , a reading space is appreciated. The children were a delight — bright-eyed, curious, and, frankly, more knowledgeable about library systems than the individual tasked with managing theirs. One particularly astute Year 6 pupil whispered, “You should meet our librarian… he doesn’t really do much.” Another added, “He’s always on WhatsApp or watching reels, and we still have to sign our names in a dusty old paper to borrow a book.” A third chimed in, “We reckon the library ghost is more active than the place.” The loud voice, giggles of the librarian echoed in their ears and they realized that library is not Libraried. Its being bullied by getting ignored by the person assigned, not nurtured. A lack of passion for books, lack of empathy towards books, involvement towards secondary activities, lack of vision of the management , or maybe NPA of the institute.
I felt utterly disheartned, I watched everything intrigued. And mildly horrified. Naturally, I had to investigate. What I encountered was not merely a librarian but a living caricature of what happens when someone occupies a role for more than a decade without ever truly fulfilling it.
Allow me to set the scene.
📚 The Library
The library resembled a time capsule from 1960s. Cramped spaces, undue interior, few colorful racks, no climbing trolley. Shelves sagged under the weight of untouched encyclopedias, highly unissued books , unreaden, mingled nonchalantly with “New Arrivals” signs probably not cataloged and the air carried a distinct whiff of musty apathy, tinged with the faint memory of a forgotten dust storm.
There was no digital catalogue. Not even an OPAC (for the uninitiated). I half-expected to find a parchment scroll serving as the database. When I enquired about digitization, he blinked languidly and said, “Oh, we’re planning to do that in upcoming years.” A student later confided that “upcoming year” has been his stock response since long.
🧾 Book Borrowing System
Prepare yourself. Book loans are managed via a single handwritten card/register system. A card/register. With a pen. The sort of system one might encounter in an Agatha Christie novel or a Dickensian workhouse. The books are catalogued, but maybe before 21st century. Maybe it was a plan, never executed. When I asked about barcodes or even a simple Excel spreadsheet, I was told, “We are working in progress , maybe they tried Excel, but it kept crashing. Probably a virus.” We live in an age where eight-graders can code in Python, yet this librarian’s greatest technological feat is accidentally activating phone’s torch and not knowing how to turn it off. Made me wonder, how !
👩🏫 The Librarian Himself
Now, the pièce de résistance. He introduced himself with an air of weary grandeur: “I’ve been managing this library for lot of bloating years.” I nearly applauded — until I realised that “managing” meant “sitting in the library and attempting to make an impact.”
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A few highlights of half-hearted library:
- part-time resources for Library Management .
- NO recommend books section but lots of talk on promotion of entrepreneurship/side hustle, an artisanal company that once attempted to blend something like “Smells like Shakespeare!” one claimed. It reeked more of mildew and sandalwood regret.
- No passion for reading. When I mentioned Asimov the librarian assumed it was a luxury brand.
- When students seek help, he waves vaguely towards a pile and says, “It’s probably in there somewhere hidden.”
- Vague planning and vision, mostly fun at workplaces.
📱 A Day in the Life
Based on close observation (and intelligence from the students), the daily routine is as follows: checks WhatsApp statuses of everyone, shares on Instagram, Scrolls through reels. Cracks jokes, gossip, Repeats. Occasionally tells a child to “put the book back where you found it,” despite having no clue where that might be, Disappears, leaving behind a cold cup of tea and with the support staff handling forty-seven library cards.
🏆 Legacy
After decades presiding over this literary mausoleum, i encountered a horrific library superdue with just facny outer achievements, colors:
- partial progress towards digital transformation and a promise.
- future barcode scanner implemtnation and later will be used to stir tea.
- stick motivational poster proclaiming “Reading is Fun, Stay Quite!” now adorned with old stuff.
- An Excel file titled Books Masterlist Final FINAL FINAL Do Not Delete real v5.xls — which, predictably, is entirely empty.
- Probably uploading the old catalogue with a junk software built by noob and stressing it
- lack of digital tools for library management like LMS suite and training/experience
Final Reflections
The irony is excruciating. In an era when libraries are fighting to remain relevant, this one has been reduced to a glorified break room with books. The students yearn for more. They crave access, inspiration, structure, and even a touch of technology. Instead, they get social media scrolling , chitchats and planning stuffs irrelevant to library.
