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The Contributions of Public Libraries to Satisfy Intellectual Curiosity of Rural Inhabitants in West Bengal: An Indian Case Study

  • Shamim Aktar Munshi ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Mehtab Alam Ansari ORCID logo and Sayantoni Barsha ORCID logo
From the journal Libri

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the contributions of public libraries to the satisfaction of the intellectual needs of rural inhabitants in West Bengal, India. The study applied a quantitative survey method with the help of a well-structured questionnaire. Questionnaires were distributed among to the users (students, officers/professionals, self-employed individuals, businessmen, jobseekers, retired persons, and housewives) of 45 rural public libraries in five selected districts of West Bengal. The study found that the largest group of respondents belonged to the students and jobseekers categories, who visit the rural public libraries for seeking academic and job-related information. Many students from humble backgrounds were solely dependent on public libraries because they have procured some textbooks from middle school up to graduation level. Jobseekers were mostly consulting the Career Guidance Section of the library to prepare for various competitive exams. The study also revealed that public libraries have been trying to satisfy the intellectual and informational needs of the rural inhabitants by providing various services and facilities. Respondents have further reported that public libraries should adopt modern technologies and provide ICT-based library services as well. The outcome of this study would help to develop and upgrade the public library collection, services, and facilities in developing countries in a way that reflects patrons’ stated needs.


Corresponding author: Shamim Aktar Munshi, Central Library, Ananda Chandra College, Jalpaiguri 735101, West Bengal, India, E-mail:

Acknowledgement

The authors are very thankful to Dr. Mohd Yasir Arafat (Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh) for helping us in the application of statistical formulae. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions which led us to an improvement. Last, but most important of all, we also thank to the librarians of all 45 rural libraries in West Bengal for their support in the collection of necessary data.

Appendix I

1. Demographic information.

A.  Gender:

Male Female

B.  Age group:

Less than 15 15–20 21–25 26–30
31–40 41–50 More than 50

C.  Please mention your category among the following:

Students Officers/Professionals Self-employed Retired
Business Searching for job Housewife

D.  Please mention your qualification:

5th to 10th 11th to 12th Graduation
Masters Professional courses Others__________________

2. How frequently do you visit the public library?

Almost every day Once a week Once a month
As needed Rarely

3. For what purposes do you visit the public library? (multiple answers)

Newspapers and magazines reading To borrow and return books
Exam preparation Preparing for competitive exams
Seeking knowledge To spend leisure time
To attend library programs A quiet place to read
Any other purposes

4. Which of the following information do you often need (multiple answers)?

Job related information
Textbooks
Information related to the competitive examinations
Agricultural information
Health related information
Religious information
Political information
Travel information
Sports related information
Arts and literature
Historical information
Socio-cultural information
Entertainment
Panjika (fixing dates and times)
Research related information
Others

5. How do you retrieve the information resources from the library? (multiple answers)

Consult library card catalogue With the help of library staff
With the help of peers With the help of bibliographic details
Others________________________________

6. How would you rate the availability of library collection?

Library collection 1 2 3 4 5
Book collection
Subscribed newspapers
Subscribed magazines
Report collections
  1. Remark: 1 = Highly dissatisfied; 2 = Dissatisfied; 3 = Partially satisfied; 4 = Satisfied; 5 = Highly satisfied.

7. How would you rate the library services mentioned below?

Library Services 1 2 3 4 5
Book lending services
Reference services
Reading room services
Bibliographic services
Community information services
Referral services
Extension activities
  1. Remark: 1 = Highly dissatisfied; 2 = Dissatisfied; 3 = Partially satisfied; 4 = Satisfied; 5 = Highly satisfied.

8. Please rate your satisfaction level regarding the following aspects.

Library infrastructure 1 2 3 4 5
Location of the library
Library building
Cleanliness
Arrangement of books on the shelves
Seating arrangement
Library working hours
Library environment
Washroom and parking facilities
  1. Remark: 1 = Highly dissatisfied; 2 = Dissatisfied; 3 = Partially satisfied; 4 = Satisfied; 5 = Highly satisfied.

9. What types of socio-cultural activities do you expect from the public library?

– Organizing cultural program
– Organizing information literacy program
– Organizing book exhibition
– Celebrating important days
– Organizing seminar/workshops on different current issues
– Organizing women’s welfare and health development programs
– Creating a separate children and career guidance section
– Organizing awareness programs on different diseases
– Organizing career counselling programs

10. What are your suggestions for the development of the rural library services and facilities?

  1. ________________________________________________________

  2. ________________________________________________________

  3. ________________________________________________________

  4. ________________________________________________________

Appendix II

West Bengal population by age group (2011).

Age group Male Female Total
0–4 3,743,862 3,589,281 7,333,143
5–9 4,216,763 4,031,046 8,247,809
10–14 4,677,506 4,479,017 9,156,523
15–19 4,702,325 4,355,706 9,058,031
20–24 4,422,630 4,335,692 8,758,322
25–29 4,044,904 3,953,005 7,997,909
30–34 3,464,659 3,376,931 6,841,590
35–39 3,523,361 3,489,285 7,012,646
40–44 3,219,604 2,933,456 6,153,060
45–49 2,814,212 2,521,507 5,335,719
50–54 2,317,232 1,940,648 4,257,880
55–59 1,746,903 1,521,747 3,268,650
60–64 1,406,401 1,339,053 2,745,454
65–69 991,280 991,713 1,982,993
70–74 686,881 703,726 1,390,607
75–79 360,216 379,551 739,767
80–84 207,192 238,611 445,803
Age not stated 63,752 48,699 112,451
Total 46,809,027 44,467,088 91,276,115
  1. Source: Office of the Registrar General, West Bengal (2011).

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Published Online: 2022-06-28
Published in Print: 2022-09-27

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