Class 10 visit to the Hardayal Municipal Public Library.

Paradise will be the kind like Library. It smells like home."

On Wednesday, 25th April 2017, 39 students of class X along with their teacher, Dr. Shikha Sharma and School Librarian, Ms. Tarannum Athar, visited the Municipal Public Library, as a part of the Literary Week. The Hardayal Library is one of the oldest libraries of Delhi, around 160 years old. It was earlier known by the name, Hardinge Library named after Lord Hardinge. It was later named Delhi Public Library and in 1970 it was renamed the Hardayal Municipal Public Library.

We were greeted by Ms. Anita, librarian there for 36 years! She guided us to view books from the century past! The library possesses a rare collection of historical books including the Quran Majid, the Charak Sanhita, etc., written over a hundred years ago and preserved in the library for reference work. Presently, the collection holds around 1.80 lakh titles.

Ms. Anita led us to the reading area where researchers and students were doing research work. After that she showed us processes used for effectively maintaining the invaluable collection books, especially against rodents and bookworms with the help of spices. A binding and lamination section were also available in the library. also there. Some rare books were being laminated in the Library in our presence. It was an eye opening tour for us!

We proceeded upstairs to the audio-visual room where we were shown a video of the history of the library. We saw how Lord Hardinge, Lala Hardayal and Gandhiji had been an integral part of this facility.

The hospitality and the warmth extended exhibited by the staff was reflective of the principles it seemed to stand for. the real Indian culture.

It was indeed a memorable experience and we carried back a precious recollection to share with our friends at School.

Vanshita Sethi (X B).