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NBF to launch book clubs for villagers, prisoners

It is a common complaint that the culture of book reading is on the wane and it is not a surprise that books are not read much in villages. Going against the trend, National Book Foundation (NBF) has plans to establish book clubs in villages in remote areas of the country.

Managing Director NBF Mazhar-ul-Islam told APP these `Village Book Clubs’ would not take many resources as these will be set up in the house of a schoolteacher or a prominent member of the village community, who already have some collection of books.

These clubs will have books of renowned literary figures and the idea is to revive the lost habit of reading. National Book Foundation is known for its efforts to recreate a link between books and readers. If children start reading books early then this habit lasts for life.

Mazhar-ul-Islam says that one of their projects is to set up children book clubs and these too will be in remote regions. Eminent authors will be invited to deliver lectures at these clubs. Surely, these events will become memorable for children helping them believe that reading books is fun and tells them a lot about the world that they live in.

The foundation wants to target another segment of population and that is people in jails. Book corners will soon be seen in jails, the MD NBF says. But the thing to be seen will be whether people who get into the world of crime will be ready to take up a book and read and learn some marvels of wisdom and insight.

Other sites where the foundation wants to keep books are airports and railway stations where travellers can pick a thriller, a fiction or an autobiography to have a placid journey.

Mazhar says parents should read books. And if it is done before the children it is far better as kids want to copy what their elders do.

NBF has its own magazine and an important section in it is of reviews of books of subjects like health, science, philosophy and literature.

These reviews will go along with a set of surveys to be conducted by the foundation. The surveys will provide information about the reading choices and favourite books of people.

Seminars and workshops to be arranged by the foundation are also on the cards.

All these steps may seem small but the lines on which the NBF officials are thinking, it may become sort of a quiet reformation with far reaching undercurrents.

The News: Mondya ,25 May  .2009
 

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