A public library is an institution which maintains a large collection of books, newspapers and magazines for the use of general public. Thus, a library is a rich treasure house of knowledge. A little leisure spent in it, profits us more than a lot of time spent in the outside world. It has been rightly observed that an hour in a good library is worth an age outside.
Apart from newspapers and magazines that keep us acquainted with latest in the national and international arena, thereby enhancing our general interest, the books available in a public library are the source of intellectual light and spiritual education. A public library preserves the precious though gems, the imagination and the valuable counsels and the accumulated wisdom of all ages.
The value of books, maintained in a public library in feeding our intellectual powers and training the rationalist in man is invaluable. Man does not live alone by bread; he also lives to satisfy his intellectual hunger.
Books and magazines are as required for the well-being and healthy growth of mind as bread is for that of body. Most people fail in the business of life for want of proper study and understanding. They are fleeced and fooled on account of their ignorance of science, history, economics and other subjects. Library books and magazines on various subjects makes us partakers in a life larger, richer and more diverse than we ourselves can ever know through our individual knowledge and they do this not only because they open up to new fields of experience and new lines of thought and speculations, but also because they carry us beyond the pinched and meagre humanity of our everyday round of existence into contact with fresh, strong and magnetic personalities of all ages and all countries.
A good library is our best friend in solitude. When we are fed up with the hurry and worry of life, the path of the future lies through a thick forest and when we are utterly alone in darkness without a single ray of light, we find a rare source of inspiration and enlargement in the company of books.
The newspapers found in a library serve to formulate an enlightened public opinion. By presenting the pros and cons of the major issues of the day, they help keep public opinion in a healthy state of thoughtful ferment.
A good library serves not only intellectual delight, armament and ability but also plays a vital role in revolutionising the public opinion and reforming the moral tone of human society. In a public library we find an escape from the cares and worries of life, from the fever, the fret and the weariness of this world.
A public library plays a vital role in the nation building process by opening new vistas of knowledge and information for the rank and file. It gives everyone a chance to make a creative use of one’s leisure because an empty mind is like a devil’s workshop. A public library is thus like a teacher which provides valuable knowledge and information to everyone thereby paving the way for an all around progress of country by leaps and bounds.