ADITY KARKI National Library Day US President John F Kennedy once said: “If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas from wise men reading more good books in more public libraries”. With the Ministry of Education’s (MoE’s) ‘One School One Library’ slogan, we are all set to celebrate the sixth National Library Day (August 31) expecting to generate wise men from our libraries to build a strong nation. The first library of Nepal was a public library established by King Grivan Yuddha Bikram Shah on Bhadra 15, 1869 BS. After two hundred years, today we have 1,200 public libraries. Though library development in Nepal suffered a little during Maoist insurgency, the demand for libraries has grown exponentially after the formal end of the conflict in 2006. This growth largely owes to community initiatives and financial and technical support of NGOs and INGOs. Also, the government has in recent years looked to put the country on the right educational path through various library development programs. So far the MoE has managed to establish 3,159 public schools across the country. globalgiving.org The reciprocal relation between wise men and number of libraries seems absent in context of Nepal. Most of our libraries (except foreign mission libraries) suffer from limited budget. There is no formal recognition of libraries in the law and no funding through tax base. Likewise, the absence of trained librarians and appropriate information technology has contributed to poor library standards. Thus the large number of libraries in Nepal has not been translated into quality education. The UNESCO Community Library manifesto (1994) defines a public or community library as “the local gateway to knowledge, [which] provides a basic condition for lifelong learning, independent decision making and cultural development of the individual and social groups.” Community libraries can facilitate constructive socialization, if optimally and effectively utilized. Unfortunately, community libraries in Nepal suffer more than educational or private libraries. According to a 2003 UNDP survey, over 90 percent public libraries cannot support specific educational needs; the small collection of books and newspapers are insufficient to provide quality library services to the community. The need and demand for better libraries is far too big to be met by individual community initiatives alone. There has to be clear commitment from the government, supported by appropriate legislation. Though the MoE has passed the Library Directive 2069 to establish and manage community libraries, it doesn’t cover all important aspects of library development. It is silent on the most vital issue of financial sustainability which needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency by library promoters and communities seeking assistance to establish libraries. Policies to encourage best practices, support standardization of training and technology, promote cost saving through bulk purchase of equipment, serve the needs of pre-literate and offer means by which non-readers can also access information should be incorporated to assure both technical and financial sustainability. Without this, any work to date in library development is almost certain to founder. Likewise, the directive has ignored another important aspect of development of library sector: Coordination and collaboration with communities for establishing, promoting and regulating standard of libraries. There are many regional and community initiatives to establish libraries in different areas of Nepal, all working with the motto of library enhancement. Campaigns like ‘one district one library’ have been carried out by various non-governmental organizations and, time and again, we get to hear of book donation campaigns being carried out in some or the other part of the country. However, the sincerity of such initiatives is rarely questioned. There should be policies to supervise, support and supplement these initiatives in order to motivate genuine library activists. Quantity doesn’t guarantee quality so regulation and laws should also assure effective monitoring mechanisms. Article 35(20) of State Policies incorporated in Interim Constitution explains that the state shall pursue a special policy to mobilize youth human resources for development purpose. Youths from various communities are already involved in development of regional libraries. The government should come with new policies to provide them with further encouragement. To sum up, books are still rare and expensive resource in a least developed country like Nepal with only 67.9 percent literacy. To improve this situation, libraries need to be designed and marketed in all the sectors the government has envisioned. Nevertheless, mere instruction of establishing library is not enough. Only national-level planning and coordinated approach with local initiatives offering policies to assure technical and financial sustainability of libraries can enhance Nepal’s overall library sector. Cicero says, “To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.” To add a library to a nation must be adding life to the nation because it preserves her history and secures her future. The author is a student at Kathmandu School of Law and volunteer with the Dolpa Education Campaign