Building The People's Library: India's Free Library Movement
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF Aug 4, 2025
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Building The People's Library: India's Free Library Movement
Speaker: Purnima Rao and Shivam Singh
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A man is lost in the woods and comes to a monastery. They invite him in and ask him to have dinner with them. The dinner is fish and chips and it’s the best he’s ever eaten. He asks to meet the chef. The chef comes out and he stands up to shake his hand and asks if he’s the fish fryer. He says no, I’m the chip monk.
Inspiration
Our program today is from the Free Libraries Network, an Indian effort to help more people get access to books. As a preview, enjoy this video from FLN describing their hopes.
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PROGRAM: Building The People's Library: India's Free Library Movement
SPEAKER: Purnima Rao and Shivam Singh
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
Public libraries are an essential institution in the educational, cultural and literary life of its people. By definition, public libraries democratize knowledge and learning by welcoming all, without prejudice. However in India, caste, class and gender are powerful barriers that have kept a majority of the people outside the doors of the library. The public library system, which should have democratized knowledge, has become a means by which it is gatekept. However, across India, a group of grassroots individuals are working against tremendous odds to create libraries for the people which are free, anti-caste, and inclusive of all. This collective is proving that reading is not dead, physical books and reading spaces are urgently needed, and that if there is a threat to reading, it is lack of libraries, not interest in the community. Today's presentation will tell the story of this grassroots library movement, its history, and the exciting way ahead.
Purnima Rao is a library activist from India and the first director of Free Libraries Network. After spending 15 years making documentary films, in 2015, she became involved with a group of educator activists that built free public libraries for marginalized and historically excluded communities in India. This was a radical grassroots initiative in a country where caste, class, and gender prevent millions of Indians from accessing books, reading programs, and finding opportunities for lifelong learning. In 2020, the pandemic brought much of the country's education system to its knees, and nowhere was this more apparent than in India's poorest and most disenfranchised communities. Purnima was then tasked by a group of librarians to develop and drive a pan-India collective that would shed light on the vital role that informal, grassroots, community-led libraries play across the country.
Shivam Singh, aka Kranti Ke, has been a member of the community library project since 2014 and has handled various roles along his journey. Shivam is also a rapper and a part of a duo rap band called 10TAKK, which means "knock." He has written songs for the community, and loves the chance to serve in this way. Shivam is a BTech student and likes working on cool projects with the help of AI.
Members and guests, please welcome Purnima Rao and Shivam Singh!
To learn more, go to:
Official Website: https://www.fln.org.in
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freelibrariesnetworkfln3274
Press: https://www.ptinews.com/story/national/no-sharp-shushes-or-finger-on-the-lips-community-libraries-reimagine-reading-spaces/2476372
OpEd by Purnima Rao: https://idronline.org/article/advocacy-government/can-free-public-libraries-catalyse-communities/
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UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
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