The New Town Library is now open for two more hours. The closing time of the public library housed in Nazrul Tirtha has been extended to 9pm instead of 7pm.
There has been another development during the opening time since the start of the month at the library, which currently has about 1,500 members. “A sizeable number of our members are students preparing for various competitive exams. There used to be a scramble when the gates would be opened at 11.30am. Members would actually run helter skelter down the corridor in a bid to make it in before others. The rush was to secure a seat. Now we have introduced a token system so they get to enter on a first-come first-served basis,” said an official.
“There used to be verbal spats as everyone tried to get into the elevator at once as soon as the main gate opened, causing an overload. Being late meant missing out a chair. Now the tokens given by security guards to those who reach before 11.25am have imposed some order as there is a queue,” said Shivkant Pandey, a member.
The reading rooms at the library at Nazrul Tirtha are ideal preparation venues for students appearing for competitive examinations who stay on the entire day. Sudeshna Banerjee
Struggle for a seat
Such is the demand for sitting space that people start arriving from 10.30am. By the time the gates open, there are about 100 waiting in queue. About three months back, the authorities added another room to the library on the second floor with about 35 seats to add to two rooms, one on the second floor and another on the third.
And realising the requirement of this segment of members, the room has been equipped with books of use in competitive exams. “We took the help of placement officers of several universities to draw up the purchase list,” the official said. So this room is the most popular now among these members who walk in when the library opens and stay almost all day.
“They usually carry their own books and sometimes laptop too. Basically they use the library as a space to study. We had tried restricting personal books into the library last year but there was such a strong reaction to the notice that we had to revoke the order,” said another official.
The work pods, called Happy Works, built by the authorities in each Action Area, are too costly for them at Rs 4999-plus per month or Rs 20 per hour, the students said. “Those are more suited for those who are working from home or start-ups without a dedicated space to hold a meeting in,” the official pointed out.
Here are some of them waiting at the gate 10 minutes before the opening time. Sudeshna Banerjee
In search of ambience
It is the silent ambience and being with others who are studying as well that strike a chord with them. “I stay in a 3BHK apartment close by, with each room having two boarders. While my roommate and I are both preparing for exams, the other four are working from home and holding noisy meetings,” said a member preparing for CA who did not want to be named. Hailing from Bihar, he is staying in Calcutta to complete his articleship. “My friends living near Rajabazar also go to nearby libraries to study. They pay Rs 200-250 per month. So this is way cheaper for me,” he smiles.
Pratim Mridha, a NEET aspirant who comes from Sulangori, Rajarhat, has been a library member for over two years. “Chairs were not a problem earlier but in recent times, the number of members has increased so much that I have to come early. Another problem is the chairs in the new room are quite fragile,” he said. Another member agreed. “On September 13, two chairs broke with people sitting in them. The authorities repair some but some others break by then. Till they are replaced, the number of chairs available to us reduces,” said another member, appearing for UPSC, adding that people were sometimes compelled to sit on the stairs in the new room that led to a mezzanine space.
None of these members have ever borrowed a book from the library. “But I like to pick up one to flip through when I take a break,” a member said.
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