The Honourable Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Dr Mahendra Reddy today reminded everyone on the importance of libraries prior to the celebration of the Library Week this weekend. Library Week is celebrated annually on the first week of September and the theme for this year’s celebration is “Unlimited Possibilities at your Library”.
“Library is more than just books and banks of computers, libraries are still places where individuals gather to explore, interact and imagine. I am urging all students to actively involve themselves in reading so they can gain relevant knowledge to make informed decisions in the challenging world that we are facing today,” said Minister Reddy.
“The evolution of digital gadgets has revolutionised the focus of students nowadays but I wish to remind our students that libraries still play a vital role in the academic development of a child. Students should visit libraries often to read.”
“Reading will enable the students to gain additional knowledge. The more knowledge students acquire, the better equipped they become to tackle some of the social ills that has plagued our societies nowadays. Reading will also expand the vocabulary bank of students and will groom them to be articulate speakers with self confidence that can be an enormous boost to their self –esteem and analytical thinking skills."
“The Library Week theme itself portrays the many opportunities libraries can offer if it is properly utilised. I am urging everyone, young and old, to make good use of libraries in their schools and communities to ensure that we achieve government's vision of developing a knowledge based society.
“Library week is a great time to think about how our schools and public libraries can meet the goals of this information era. I am sending an invitation to the general public to join our Department of Library Services in the celebration that we will be conducting this Saturday in most of the urban centres around the country,” remarked the Minister.
The Library Week begins on the 5th of September and ends on the 12th of September.