Over 5,000 books make up the library at the local police station in Tirupur, a small town in Tamil Nadu state of India. PHOTO: BetterIndia

Can libraries be taken out of the four walls of an educational institution? Can it find a place in the midst of communities, accessible not only for children but for all who seek better understanding, greater learning? Like these 5,000 books that traveled from the US to a tiny police station in Tamil Nadu, India.

Sometime in 2014, an India-born philanthropist from the US visited India, visiting Coimbatore and Tirupur in Tamil Nadu. In a light conversation with the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Tirupur, he mentioned that he wished to donate books for a children’s library in the area. Picture books were meant for very small children, larger books for older children, children’s novels, novels for adults, reference books on various subjects, some textbooks and even encyclopedias — there were all kinds of books. The policemen immediately got down to sorting out the books in various categories. They numbered every one of the books and almost 2,000 of them were donated to the Rotary Club right away.

Once the books were sorted and numbered, the ACP began looking for a place to set up a library. Unable to find a suitable location, he rearranged the furniture in the large hall in his police station and put shelves filled with books right in the middle of the room.

“Having set up the place, we contacted the principals of the local schools and told them about the library that we have here,” says the ACP. “School children have to bring with them a letter of permission from the principal of the school and we then allow them to borrow books. A register is maintained with information about the child and the books that he/she has borrowed. The borrower is allowed to keep the book for a period of fifteen days,” he adds.

More here.