23.79 lakh register for free digital library service

The success of the government-run digital library initiative, launched in Karnataka final yr in February — weeks earlier than the nationwide lockdown was imposed — has come as a shock even to the authorities.

In one yr, over 23.79 lakh folks signed up for providers in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a better take a look at the info reveals {that a} majority of subscribers to the free service didn’t obtain a single e-book or video.

According to information supplied by the Department of Public Libraries, round 10.9 lakh e-books and 5.49 lakh movies have been accessed thus far.

Of the 23.79 lakh who registered underneath the Karnataka Digital Public Libraries (KDPL) initiative, the bulk — 4.11 lakh folks — had been from Dakshina Kannada district.

On the opposite hand, the variety of registrations from Bengaluru Urban district was a lot decrease with 2.37 lakh customers. The most variety of folks had been from the North zone (77,160), whereas the East zone had the least with 7,956 registrations.

Across Karnataka, the least variety of customers had been from Kodagu district with just one,773 folks signing up for KDPL.

Launched in February

The digital library was launched on February 26, 2020, and fewer than a month later the nationwide lockdown was enforced owing to COVID-19.

On why a big chunk of customers haven’t accessed any of the digital assets, Satish Kumar S. Hosamani, Director of the Department of Public Libraries, stated greater than 10 lakh customers had registered in January and February this yr. “As they are newly registered, they are yet to access our e-books or videos,” he stated.

Kannada author Baragur Ramachandrappa stated there was a have to unfold extra consciousness on such libraries.

However, Kuntady Nithesh, co-founder of the web site ‘Ruthumana’, says: “We have to ensure that the books are in the right format as the interface is important. Unless the user interface is good, people will not make reading e-books a habit.”