Bhat Imran
Srinagar, Dec 31 (KNO): The government Thursday said school libraries in Jammu and Kashmir must be made the hub of all the activities planned and executed in the schools.
The administration also directed the School Education department to procure books for school libraries to cater to the wide varieties of demands of students and teachers.
In a circular, a copy of which lies with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the government said It was fundamental to have a school library to equip students with lifelong learning skills and develop their creative thinking and imagination.
“School library has to serve as a learning resource centre created and maintained to serve and support the educational activities of the school which provides information, inculcates ideas, and develops knowledge that is so essential to function successfully in the current era of information and knowledge disseminating society,” it reads.
It was also mentioned that “It is fundamental to school libraries to equip students with lifelong learning skills and develop in them creative thinking and imagination. Thus, the school library must be made the hub of all the activities planned and executed in school.”
The government said that in order to cater to the wide varieties of demands of students and teachers it is impressed upon all to ensure that disseminate awareness among teachers, librarians and students to utilize an Integrated Library e-Granthalaya and keep database of all books, reference books, e-books, linked with OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) that will enable patrons to search books by author, title and subject by using keywords.
Stating the ratio for procurement of books for school libraries, the government said 50 percent of the books shall be reference books of eminent authors in different subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Math etc including dictionary of English, atlases, e-books.
20 percent of the books shall be of Central, UT Government publications from Publication Division, Information Department, NCERT, NBT and JKBOSE and 30 percent of books shall be for School Heads that includes books with local content viz rhymes, poetry, stories particularly needed for ECC and KG classes in mother tongue, local languages viz; Hindi, Urdu, Kashmir’, Dogri, Punjabi, Gogri , Pahari, Shena, Dardi as appropriate—(KNO)
