Harekrushna Mahtab State Library in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 27: The Harekrushna Mahtab State Library has failed to attract readers with varied tastes for want of a well-equipped library and a strong research section.

The reference and research section of the more-than-four-decade old institution has a collection of books on law, tribal history and sociology, besides biographies. However, most researchers find the section of the state’s premier public library outdated. “Science gets updated everyday but there is a dearth of latest scientific journals at the library. I’m compelled to subscribe to international online journals that are very expensive,” said Sandip Kumar Panda, a research scholar.

“It would have been helpful if the library had facilities to subscribe to such journals, download them and keep copies of the printouts for the reference of researchers,” he said.

The section does not even have a proper catalogue of the books and journals. The collection of old official documents and files in the depository section are gathering dust.

“Despite regular fund flow from Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation, the state library does not have well-maintained catalogues,” said former chief librarian of the Central Reference Library of the National Library, Abakash Jena, adding that computerised catalogues would have helped better maintenance.

Planned by Des Raj Kalia, the doyen of public library services in India, the library has two sections — the State Library and the Bhubaneswar Public Library. While the former is a reference and research library accessible only to research scholars, the public library is open to general readers.

The library gets 18 newspapers and 54 magazines in Oriya, English and Hindi, every month.

It is the career development section here that attracts most readers who are aspiring for competitive examinations.

However, visitors do not find the reading room facilities adequate.

“There are not enough quality magazines and journals in the career development section. Since the authorities at the library know it is the most visited section, they should keep more of these magazines. Also, there is only one reading room, which is not sufficient considering the huge number of visitors. More than 200 readers sit together in this reading room,” said Kavita, a regular, who is preparing for a bank examination.

Library officials said a proposal for computerisation had been submitted to the National Informatics Centre but it would take time. They said that with new books being added to the library every year, an annexe building was under construction.

“During 2009 and 2010, a total of 7,874 books were added to the library which now has 1,71,830 books in total. The construction of an annex building at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore is on. The building will have a reading room, stack area and a conference hall,” said Bijaya Nayak, director in-charge, State Library.

A number of donors have also shown interest to contribute books to the library. “Eminent author Sitakanta Mahapatra had donated nearly 1,000 books earlier. He is willing to donate more books now and we are planning a separate section in his name. Similarly, Omkar Nath Mohanty has expressed his desire to donate books authored by Gopinath Mohanty. We will be creating a separate section dedicated to him,” said state culture secretary Ashok Tripathy.