This 12-year-old student from Kochi runs a library that does not charge membership or late fees
A student of TD High School in Kochi, Kerala, Yashoda D Shenoy started a free library in her home and has over 3,500 books in English, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Sanskrit, and Konkani.
Imagine a library that doesn’t charge you for exceeding the extra time you keep the book with you. You don’t have to pay membership fees at this library either. Every book lover’s dream, right?
For the people of Kochi, it’s indeed a dream come true. Yashoda Shenoy, a Class VII student of TD High School runs a free library from her own home where you can find over 3,500 books in English, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Sanskrit, and Konkani.
Yashoda Shenoy in her library (Image: Arun Angela).
In an interview with Edex Live, Yashoda said,
“My brother used to be a member of a library. I used to go there occasionally. One day, I saw my father pay the people who run the library. I was curious. I thought this was very wrong. After all, letting somebody read is a service. I wanted everyone to read, regardless of their financial background."
Yashoda does not charge any membership fee, but she does request that the books be returned on time.
It wasn’t easy for Yashoda to start a library and she looked to her father for help. Dinesh Shenoy put up a post on Facebook appealing to book lovers to contribute to his daughter’s free library. Soon, help came from her family, who sent her books worth Rs 10,000.
Later, Yashoda also started collecting books from scrap dealers.
“It is sad to find new books barely used, thrown away so irresponsibly. Once, I found two book sets gifted by former MP K V Thomas to students who secured top marks in Class X and XII students. Though it is sad that even brilliant students are throwing away books, I am comforted by the fact that I get to save them”, Yashoda told The New Indian Express.
When Yashoda needed space to set up her library, her father who is an artist converted a part of his gallery for her use. A family friend helped in building the racks for the books.
The library now has around 110 members, and Yashoda also requests if each of them could donate books from their personal collection, whenever possible.
Recently, Yashoda also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking support for her library.
She said, “I am now waiting for his response. I hope he will send me books.”
(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)
