‘Free-thinking culture will end’: Why Kerala opposes a role for the Centre in public libraries

In August, the Managing Director of the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation, administered by the Union Culture Ministry, revealed that the Modi government is planning to bring the subject of “libraries” to the Concurrent list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

This would mean that both Parliament and state legislatures would be able to make laws to administer public libraries, with the central law taking precedence over the state law in case of a conflict.

Currently, the subject of libraries is placed in the State list of the Seventh Schedule, which means that only states are empowered to control how libraries in their territory are run.

The government’s proposal has been opposed by some southern states, most vociferously among them by Kerala. The move runs contrary to the spirit of federalism espoused in the Constitution, said library experts both within the state, and could undermine Kerala’s robust library culture.

Kerala’s library culture

In order to understand why Kerala is concerned about the potential intrusion into the administration of its public libraries, it is necessary to get a sense of the state’s distinctive library culture and governance framework.

Kerala, which has the largest number of public libraries in the country. The district of Kannur itself has over a thousand public libraries, which is more than most states...

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