1. Introduction:
Act means preparing the format of law or
legislation. In the context of libraries, the Library Act means to give legal
provision for establishing a library system, its maintenance, services,
functions, right and management under any state or a national government.
Library legislation is capable of regulating various organs of public library
services. It is an instrument for the development of public libraries in a
planned manner to ensure establishment, development and maintenance of
libraries in a uniform pattern. It can help in promoting a sense of self
consciousness among the people who would feel it obligatory on their part to
use services offered by the library. Library tax / rates form the basis of
financial support for public libraries in the states having library
legislation. Library rate is levied by a local authority but the tax is levied
by state or central government.
2. History of Library Legislation: In 1848 library legislation started in USA. In the year 1850 the first library act was
passed in Great Britain. At present, most of the countries specify free
use of public library services.
In
ancient India, learning was the concern of the Brahmin and the common
man had to depend for his/her enlightenment on the spoken words of gurus.
General people were also accustomed to this oral tradition of learning and as a
result, in ancient India there was no tradition of public library
legislation. The
idea of an integrated library system was first introduced by S.R. Ranganathan
at the first “All Asia Educational Conference” held at Banaras in 1930. There
he presented a “Model Library Act” that forms the basis of the Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka library legislation and as a whole the subsequent
library legislation in India. In 1942 on the
request of Indian Library Association (ILA), Dr. S. R. Ranganathan drafted
another bill called ‘The Model Public Library Bill’. A Model Library Bill was also
drafted in 1963 by a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. D. M. Sen. Then in
1972 revision was made to the Model Library Act of 1930. Another model public
libraries bill was prepared by the library legislation subcommittee of the
Planning Commission in 1966.
3. Need for Library Legislation: Free communication is essential for the preservation of a
free society and creative culture. A public library expects its users only to
spend time and not money for the utilization of services. In that situation,
the question arises from where will the finance come? It has been experienced
that public library service can be effectively offered only through
legislation. Library Legislation is needed to:
a) Support Democratic Way of Life: Provision of public library service is a natural
corollary to the democratic way of life.
b) Support the
Public Library: A law helps in creating necessary conditions
under which public libraries can be established nationwide and to put it on a
sound and sure financial footing by way of levy of library tax. It is needed to
make the public library independent from subscription, donation or private gift
and to save the library from political influence.
c) Support the Laws
of Library Science: In order to achieve the second law it is desirable
that economy factor should not stand as a barrier. This will be possible
through library legislation, which will provide for finance of public libraries
at various levels to achieve free library services for all.
4. Components of Library Legislation: Dr. S. R. Ranganathan recognized the following components
of public library act.
a) Preliminaries: The description of all the terms used in the act and the brief title
of the act are under this component of library Act.
b) Top Management: It discusses the issues relating to the management of the libraries
that will fall under the jurisdiction of the Act, such as who will manage the
libraries. It is the second component for consideration.
c) Library Committee: To give suggestions to the library authority (top
management) and to the librarians, a committee is to be constituted. The
library Act should clearly mention who will be the members of such library
committees, what are their functions, rights, qualifications, responsibilities,
etc.
d) Finance: The library legislation has the provision of financial
support to the public libraries, but the provision to be made in library
legislation would depend upon the social, political and economic environment.
There are mainly two ways of making provision of finance to public libraries
through library legislation. They are
i) Annual budget allocation by the state out
of its total funds with capital grants from central government.
ii) Levying of library cess with a matching
grant from the state government.
The Act should mention clearly-
i) Rate of library cess / Local extra tax or
surcharge;
ii) Goods on which tax will be levied i.e.
vehicle, land, house, other properties, etc;
iii) The method of receiving the cess from
the public;
iv) Checking of received money through cess;
v) Other sources of finance;
vi) There should be a component in the
library Act itself to maintain all the records of accounts and audit from time
to time. The appointment of staff, categories of the staff, pay scale, service
condition and working period should also be mentioned in the Act.
vii) The laws, rules and by laws should be
mentioned in the Act.
In the
process of enacting the library legislation, the levying of library cess should
not be the pre condition. Otherwise, it will lose the support of the general
public or other members of the society.
5. Characteristics of Library Legislation: Some of the important characteristics of library
legislation are-
i) The library legislation must be simple and
general. It should also allow future modification or development.
ii) It must be free from political influence
or political changes.
iii) It must define the respective
responsibilities of the local, state and national government.
iv) It must make the library service
compulsory and free to one and all.
v) It should create conditions for libraries
to flourish.
vi) It must coordinate and control library
activities in full recognition of the people to have free access to the
information and knowledge.
vii) It must meet every interest of its
reader.
viii) Different tasks can be assigned to different
types of libraries based on specialization to ensure a better service to the
community with the least cost.
ix) It also must take into account the other
types of libraries.
6. Role of Different Bodies in the Process of
Enacting Library Legislation: The
following roles can be played by different bodies in the process of enacting
the library legislation in respective states.
a) Library Association: The local as well as the state and national level
library associations can lay down a strategy to get the public legislation
passed. They can utilize various media and platforms to propagate the idea of
library legislation. Members of the state assembly, especially the concerned
ministers should be approached and be presented a strong case for library legislation.
Indian Library Association must provide all the support and guidance needed for
the purpose.
b) Library Professionals: The library professionals should make the general
as well as the elite people aware about the significant role that can be played
by the library. They should first do so through their services in the
organization in which they are working and then through newspapers, radio,
television, etc.
c) Elite Groups: The elite have the responsibility of framing
policies, procedures etc. As the leader of the society they also have the
hidden responsibility to give the people the best they can. As such,
considering the role that can be played by the library they should take upon
themselves the responsibilities of awakening the general public about the
library services, facilities, etc.
d) Political Leader and General Public: Leaders,
who matter in decision making, be given special attention in enacting library
legislation. The general people should also give pressure to enact the library
legislation.
7. Present Status of Library Legislation
in India: The credit of enacting a library act
for the first time in India goes to the Kolhapur princely
state of the present Maharashtra in 1945. The act is presently non
functional. In India, twenty one states have so far enacted library
legislation and the rest are providing library services without legislation.
The list of the twenty one Acts is given below
Sl. No.
|
Library Act
|
Year
|
1)
|
Tamil Nadu (formerly Madras) Public
Libraries Act
|
1948
|
2)
|
Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad) Public Libraries
Act
|
1960*
|
3)
|
Karnataka (Mysore) Public Libraries Act
|
1965
|
4)
|
Maharashtra Public Libraries Act
|
1967
|
5)
|
West Bengal Public Libraries Act
|
1979
|
6)
|
Manipur Public Libraries Act
|
1988
|
7)
|
Haryana Public Libraries Act
|
1989
|
8)
|
Kerala Public Libraries Act
|
1989
|
9)
|
Mizoram Public Libraries Act
|
1993
|
10)
|
Goa Public Libraries Act
|
1993
|
11)
|
Gujarat Public Libraries Act
|
2001
|
12)
|
Orissa Public Libraries Act
|
2001
|
13)
|
Uttar Pradesh Public Libraries Act
|
2005
|
14)
|
Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal) Public Libraries
Act
|
2005
|
15)
|
Rajasthan Public Libraries Act
|
2006
|
16)
|
Bihar Public Libraries Act
|
2007
|
17)
|
Chattisgarh Public Libraries Act
|
2007
|
18)
|
Pondichery Public Libraries Act
|
2008
|
19)
|
Arunachal Pradesh Public Libraries Act
|
2009
|
20)
|
Telangana Public Libraries Act
|
1960*
|
21)
|
Lakshadwep Public Libraries Act
|
2014
|
8.
Conclusion: None of the countries in which library
legislation exists are able to provide entirely satisfactory and effective
library services. All of them have problem to some degree despite the fact that
there has been revision of laws in most countries. Again, there are many
countries without legislation but they are serving the general public in a
better way in comparison to the countries that have legislation. So, it is
needless to say that the Library Legislation does not ensure proper functioning
of the public libraries. It only ensures the provision of finance for the
public libraries. The service is entirely depends on the mindset of the people
who work there.
How to Cite this
Article?
APA Citation, 7th Ed.: Barman, B. (2020). A comprehensive book on Library and Information Science. New
Publications.
Chicago 16th Ed.: Barman, Badan. A Comprehensive Book on Library and Information Science. Guwahati:
New Publications, 2020.
MLA Citation 8th Ed: Barman, Badan. A Comprehensive Book on Library and Information Science. New
Publications, 2020.

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