Mobile libraries :The narrowing radius of mobile libraries

Many library owners attribute the fall in patronage to the rise of the television and internet — Photo: M. Srinath

While mobile libraries that deliver magazines promise convenience, those who run them say patronage has gradually been on the decline

T.S. Jayakumar has set out each morning on his two-wheeler for many years now, taking a collection of all the magazines one could possibly find on the stands to doorsteps.

Earlier, he had many subscribers and only a bicycle to reach them. Today, he carries the books on his two-wheeler but there are fewer homes to cover. While mobile libraries that deliver magazines home promise convenience, those who run them say patronage has gradually been on the decline or, in some cases, hit a plateau.

Jayakumar, who runs New Vignesh Library, attributes the fall in popularity to the commonly-cited television and the Internet. Jayakumar, who delivers Tamil, English and Hindi magazines, among others, says that with the cost of magazines going up, they need a sufficient number of members to make the business sustainable.

“We have around 250 members now. We can do well if there are 400,” he says. He travels to neighbourhoods such as T. Nagar, West Mambalam, Adyar and Besant Nagar, but had to give up visiting Kilpauk Garden Road, Anna Nagar and Parry’s due to declining patronage. Another facet, he says, is the long travel in the heat every day. “After a particular age, it gets difficult.”

Like Jayakumar, S. Balasubramanian, who runs Sri Varthini Magazine Lending Library, says though business is good, it is not as promising as it once was. “Earlier, at least 10 new members would join each month. Today, getting three to four members is considered good,” he says.

With security guards manning several apartment complexes and gated communities, canvassing has also become a challenge.

But few like Ashok Kumar, from Arul Magazine Circulating Library, insist that it is not time yet to shut shop. He asserts that the convenience and cost-effectiveness still keep demand for mobile magazine libraries alive. “I leave around 8 a.m. and return only at 6 p.m. Members will spend much more if they were to buy the magazines. They also do not have to worry about storage of old ones,” he says.

Ashok, his brother, Arul and two friends set off in the morning after collecting the day’s books from Luz Corner, and reach out to neighbourhoods stretching from K.K. Nagar to Neelankarai.

Mr. Ashok says that they stock and supply the latest issues of magazines ranging from National Geographic to the Economist to Kalki.

 “People will not give up reading, like how they would not let go of newspapers,” he says.

H October 15, 2014 03:32 IST