Total 22,51,546 readers have enrolled in various libraries in district including city with 15,20,726 books made available

Mysore/Mysuru: The lure of uncontrolled use of cellphone, watching films on Over The Top (OTT) platform and other new age mediums of entertainment has snatched the joy of reading the book, argue some. But still there are ardent book readers especially at the digital libraries of Department of Public Libraries in the city, who have made Mysuru second in digital library in the State.

The Cultural Capital Mysuru stands second after Silicon City Bengaluru in the State for having highest readers at digital libraries.

Like foreign countries, the libraries in India too have got a hi-tech look, with the Government incorporating the technology. Earlier, we had to either take the book on lending from circulating libraries or buy home to keep the habit of reading. Now, electronic gadgets like computer, mobile phone or laptop are suffice to flip lakhs of books in a digital format. The readers can even select books of their choice to satiate their quest for knowledge.

In all, 10,63,044 books are available in digital format, which come in handy for those preparing for competitive exams to take references from them. In Mysuru district alone, 22,51,546 readers have enrolled for the digital library, who will be provided with password to access the facility from the comfort of their home. Those devoid of any such privilege at home, visit the libraries — City Central Library at People’s Park, Nazarbad, Kuvempunagar, J.P. Nagar and Ramakrishnanagar, to use digital library.

The digital library facility is also available at Taluk Central Libraries too, with total 15,20,726 books available in the district.

Among State-level in the country, Karnataka tops in digital library with 3.5 crore readers enrolling their names for the facility. With most of the people possessing smart phones, they can access digital library at the tap of the screen, whose numbers are increasing with every passing day, opined Deputy Director of Public Libraries B. Manjunath.