Books are uniquely portable magic, says American science fiction writer Stephen King. And, students of Ranchi University will soon win a 24/7 ticket to that world.
The varsity, which boasts a large central library on its Morabadi campus, plans to keep it open round the clock from next month to allow students unlimited access along with free wi-fi.
Vice chancellor Ramesh Kumar Pandey, who inspected the library on Monday evening, said the key objective was to improve the academic atmosphere of the university.
"Around 1,000 students visit the library every day. If we can keep it open round the clock, boys and girls can spend more time studying references. It will be our Holi gift to students; the library will stay open 24/7 after the festival instead of the present 14 hours daily," Pandey said.
Apart from keeping the central library open for 24 hours, the varsity plans to stock up on latest books published in every subject. "We shall buy books worth Rs 1 crore and offer free wi-fi to students," the vice chancellor said, adding that seating arrangements were being revamped while a cafeteria on the library premises was also on the cards.
President of postgraduate students' union Tanuj Khatri, a commerce research scholar, welcomed the development. "A 24/7 library was a long-standing demand of students. It will benefit particularly those students who do part-time jobs during the day and like to study at night," he said.
Senate member Atal Pandey, who is pursuing his PhD in anthropology, however, didn't seem happy with the idea.
"Keeping the library open at night won't benefit many who live far away. Girls in particular will not be able to avail of the added facility because of commuting hassles. At a time when maintenance of law and order is a big challenge in Ranchi, this idea may create problems," he argued.
The Ranchi University library currently boasts more than 90,000 textbooks, 10,000 reference books and 350 PhD theses. It also has broadband Internet and remains open from 7am to 9pm.
Students, however, complain of no drinking water facility, power pangs, unclean washrooms and bad Internet connectivity.
"Everything will be fixed and the library will become an ideal place for students to study outside classrooms," promised vice chancellor Pandey.
