Library’s architectural design should represent the local surroundings, their history or any significance of the place”, said Ayub Khan, Head of Library and Information Services (Strategy), Warwickshire County Council who was the chief speaker of the event.
The British Council organised a focus group discussion named 'Creative use of Library Space' on 8 December 2016 at the Dhaka University campus office. Ayub Khan, Head of Library and Information Services (Strategy), Warwickshire County Council was the chief speaker of the event. Jim Scarth, Deputy Director, British Council, Bangladesh, Eline Jaktevik, Researcher, The Research Base, Muhammad Hamidur Rahman (Tushar), Assistant Director, Department of Public Libraries, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Md. Nazim Uddin, Senior Manager, Library and Information Services, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDRB), also joined the discussion.
Sarwat Masuda Reza, Library Manager, British Council, Bangladesh welcomed the guests and shared her view about mixing up technology with traditional book reading concept. She talked about music room or corner concept and gave the floor to Didarul Chowdhury, Project Director, Libraries Unlimited. He then focused on how Libraries Unlimited will be beneficial to the community at the district level. He explained how the community will receive greater access to libraries and how these libraries will act as a hub or platform for different ministries and departments to share their information to the general mass.
Ayub Khan shared his experience with different libraries of the UK including the histories, their operations, how they evolved, their specialisation and usability and the variety of offered services. “Library’s architectural design should represent the local surroundings, their history or any significance of the place”, he added. He talked about the mobile library and the application of QR code to download an entire book into their PC, tab or phones. Finally, Ayub Khan gave some incredible ideas of libraries offering unconventional services like books on prescription.
Dr Syed Robiul Bashar, Director, Information Resource Centre, Embassy of the United States of America, Dhaka also shared that their library in the Embassy is facilitating ‘3 Makers Lab corner’ throughout Bangladesh where users can learn and use new technologies and equipment that they may otherwise not have access to. “Bangladesh Shishu Academy has initiated to design the central library into three categories - Under five, Story Telling Corner and Young and Adult Corner for the ease of the users,” added Razina Akhter, Head of Library, Bangladesh Shishu Academy.
The discussion ended with an interactive question and answer session where participants from IUB, South East University, ICDDRB, Public Library and the University of Dhaka asked quite a variety of questions and also made some notable suggestions to improve the library services of Bangladesh and for the sustainability of the Libraries Unlimited project.