Dimapur, May 4 (EMN): Dimapur has a public library now. The nascent library is located at the Industrial Estate, Firing junction in Dimapur. The library came into existence out of an aspiration by a group of people who had in them a love for books and reading.
The seed that sprouted into a library was sown by a man who had expressed a wish to his young daughter to see a public library set up in Dimapur where he and his pensioner friends could sit and read.
The daughter, Susan Lotha, endeavoured to make her father’s desire come true. It came to pass for her when she met another enthusiast, Imtisunep Longchar, back in August 2017. The two formed a team comprising individuals who shared the same objective to make the library ‘available with all the modern facilities and make everyone happy.’
Addressing the gathering during the inauguration of the library, Lotha said that the team had now built a foundation ‘with a future prospect so that young people of the future would not require to build but to share in the journey of growth.’
Lampha Konyak, a registering officer of the Agriculture department inaugurated the library. He remarked that there was no ‘nothing like reading a book.’
“No other sources can compromise with books,” he said. Konyak urged the group to create sections in the library for the young, the elderly, and for students.
Merepeni Ngully, a resource person at the programme, recalled a time when a public library was inaugurated in 2007 at Dimapur Government College’s premise in Dimapur. However, she said that the library came to a premature end as it was set up ‘without a proper blueprint.’ After permission from the deputy commissioner of Dimapur in 2009, the books there were then shifted to the college’s library, she recalled.
Ngully expressed hope that the new group would do the needful and fulfil the objective of a proper reading station that would encourage people to read. She said, “This is a paradigm shift. This library will alter our society from shopaholic into ‘bookaholic.’”
According to the library’s committee, they sought assistance from people the country. They acknowledged that many had stepped forward with cash and in kind. They informed that the library is made up of books donated by individuals. The committee has also invited people to donate. “We accept all the books that come to us,” a member of the committee said.
The public library has Imtisunep Longchar as its president, and Susan Lotha as its general secretary.
Susan Lotha told the Eastern Mirror that the library would be open every day except on Sunday. In summer, the library would be open from 10 am to 5 pm and in winter from 10 am to 4:30 pm.
