Those who visited Durga Angan on its foundation stone unveiling day at the year-end might have noticed on the way a signage announcing a book club on the ground floor of the Zero Shop.

A free public reading library has finally opened on the premise at the New Town bus stand rotary in Action Area I. It will stock pre-owned books.

“This is a place for spending leisure hours. We are not charging any membership fee. Readers will simply have to register themselves with some personal details when they walk in,” an official said.

The decision to open the book club had been reported in The Telegraph Salt Lake on January 3, 2025. According to sources, the delay in opening the book club happened due to procedural reasons.

A collection drive had started from last winter’s New Town Book Fair where the NKDA stall accepted old books. “We had received 60-70 books at the 2024-25 fair,” the official said.

Old books are still being accepted as long as they are not text books. “We will keep circulating the stock from time to time as our catalogue grows,” he added. Books will not be lent out.

The book club follows the principle of recycle and reuse which is the foundational mandate of Zero Shop too. A panel on the history of recycling dons a wall in an adjoining room.

The current stock includes non-fiction books on Sri Ramakrishna and Encyclopaedia Britannica to fiction by the likes of Ruskin Bond and Jeffrey Archer. A smattering of Enid Blyton and Feluda fiction is also there, alongside an Anandamela Puja number. Some books on high school science subjects have also been kept.

The book club will be open from 12noon to 8pm from Tuesday to Sunday.

A coffee machine will be installed soon for readers to take a sip while browsing the racks.

saltlake@abp.in