In commemoration of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Department of Art & Culture conducted a ‘Workshop for Public Libraries’, sponsored by the Raja Rammohan Roy Library, Kolkata at the State Library, Kohima on 25th February 2022.

Advisor, Art & Culture and Tourism, H. Khehovi Yepthomi inaugurated the workshop as the special guest. He said libraries are the storehouse of knowledge and an important building block for the progress and development of society. He also mentioned that in this age of information technology, many may question the relevance and significance of libraries to which he pointed out that with the technological advancements and the shift from manual work to intellectual work, the importance of reading and books have become more significant today and simply completing schooling alone is no longer enough or adequate.

Yepthomi also highlighted that despite the high literacy rate in the state, our people have yet to cultivate a reading habit, and he felt that most Nagas, in general, do not like to read, but prefer to watch and learn rather than read and learn and suggested that we need to instill the culture of reading among the people.

The Advisor encouraged the people in rural areas to make the best use of the 641 rural libraries registered under the Department of Art & Culture, as such rural libraries can serve as a place for the community to come together to learn and grow. He encouraged the initiatives of the Street Library at Phek town and Community Library at Kigwema which is a step in the right direction.

Advisor, H. Khehovi Yepthomi also requested the Department to go the extra mile to reach out and connect with the rural schools in the districts and encourage them to come to the library so as to make it a place to study, explore and read for pleasure. He expressed hope that the workshop would boost the spirit to instill the habit of reading books as it plays a significant role in the life of every individual to achieve unification of mind, soul and be successful in life.

Director, Art and Culture, Adela Moa while highlighting a brief overview of the Workshop said that a library is a place where books, reading resources, and periodicals are kept, to give out information to the people and, thereby, become centre of knowledge. She informed that at present, there are 11 district libraries, one state library, one museum library functioning under the department apart from the rural libraries registered with the department, she extended appreciation to the Raja Rammohan Roy Liberty Foundation, Kolkata for sponsoring the workshop. 

The resources persons for the workshop were Deputy Librarian, SASRD, Medziphema, Nagaland University, Mhonbemo Ngullie; and Librarian, Baptist College, Angel Meru. The program was chaired by Deputy Director, Art & Culture, Rothline Imchen.

(Maongtemjen, IA)