India's 1975 Call to Make Libraries a People's Movement

In January 1975, India's Vice-President B.D. Jatti stood before the All-India Library Conference with a bold vision: turn libraries into a true people's movement. He believed that only by welcoming everyday citizens, not just professionals, could libraries serve their communities in meaningful ways.

The timing wasn't accidental. India was rapidly modernizing, and Jatti recognized that keeping knowledge current was becoming essential for people to thrive in their changing society.

His message struck at the heart of democracy itself: knowledge shouldn't be a privilege. He called for librarians dedicated to public service, equipped with proper training to help communities access the information they needed to succeed.

The conference revealed sobering realities. India was spending just five paise per person on public libraries, with only a third of literate citizens having access to these services. Rural areas bore the brunt, with only nine percent of villages having even basic library facilities.

Indian Library Association President D.R. Kalia highlighted a painful cycle: primary schools lacked libraries entirely, missing the crucial window to build reading habits. New readers were slipping back into illiteracy simply because they had nowhere to practice their skills. With book prices climbing, many Indians were being locked out of the knowledge economy.

The Ripple Effect

Kalia's solution was revolutionary for its time: completely free public library service financed by the state, treating books as shared resources rather than individual purchases. This wasn't about charity but about recognizing that an informed population benefits everyone.

The vision acknowledged something profound: India's rural population possessed cultural wisdom and traditional knowledge but needed access to information about the technological society taking shape around them. Libraries could bridge that gap, honoring existing knowledge while opening doors to new learning.

This 50-year-old call to action reminds us that democratizing access to information has always been central to building fair, thriving societies.