Libraries are the backbone of the education system; however, librarians feel that the important component is not getting its due importance in the state.
While the government has been focusing on strengthening the infrastructure and developing e-libraries, the absence of experienced and qualified senior librarians has been a concern for the Haryana Library Association.
The association’s office-bearers believe that the libraries are a vital component and not just a space where thousands of books are stored.
Dr Rupesh Gaur, president of the Haryana Library Association, said every college and school must have a fully functional and vibrant library staffed by professionally trained librarians. The educational institutions purchase books worth lakhs of rupees, but due to the lack of proper maintenance and qualified staff, the students are not getting the benefits from these libraries. There is an immediate need for recruitment of librarians and implementation of UGC norms in Haryana. The continued neglect of librarian posts across government colleges, universities, public libraries, engineering colleges, polytechnics, and school libraries in Haryana has been a matter of concern.
“There has been no direct recruitment for the post of College Librarian at government colleges since 1972. This means that for more than five decades, no open recruitment has been held for senior librarians at government colleges despite the continuous expansion of higher educational institutions in the state,” he said.
The association has submitted memorandums repeatedly to the MLAs, state education ministers, Education Department officials and the Chief Ministers over the years, and the association was given assurance that the demands would be considered but nothing happened.
The association president claimed that the file regarding the amendment of eligibility qualifications for librarian posts had been under consideration since 2014. Recommendations of the committees haven’t been implemented.
The library cadre posts such as Assistant Librarian, College Librarian, Senior Librarian, Deputy Librarian, and University Librarian are governed by the UGC (minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in universities and colleges and other measures for the maintenance of standards in higher education) Regulations, 2018. Under these regulations, the library professionals are recognised as academic staff and enjoy parity with the teaching faculty in terms of qualifications, pay scales, and academic status.
However, Haryana continues to follow outdated recruitment rules framed nearly five decades ago. The mandatory UGC-prescribed qualifications, including NET and PhD requirements for academic library positions, are not being implemented at government colleges. Ironically, the same UGC norms are being followed at government-aided colleges of Haryana, creating a discriminatory situation for recruitment to librarian posts at government colleges, Dr Gaur stated. He further said out of 184 sanctioned posts of Senior Librarian/College Librarian at government colleges, only five posts are filled currently.
Consequently, thousands of students are deprived of modern library services, information resources, research support and academic guidance that are essential for quality higher education. The association further highlighted that nearly all district libraries, including the State Central Library, are functioning without qualified Senior Librarians. Haryana currently has 20 District Libraries, one State Central Library, and six Sub-Divisional Libraries under the Department of Higher Education.
As per the association president nearly 20 University Librarians and equivalent senior library positions at various universities of Haryana are vacant. The association welcomed the Haryana Government’s initiative to establish 350 modern Atal Libraries in the state. However, the association cautioned that infrastructure alone could not ensure the success of such an ambitious project.
Dr Ajay Kumar Arora, general secretary of the association, said, “The UGC rules are not being followed properly in the state. The association also expressed concern over the incomplete implementation of the Haryana Public Libraries Act, 1989, despite the legislation having been enacted nearly four decades ago. The public and academic libraries should be managed separately. The state should establish a dedicated Directorate of public libraries and ensure the effective implementation of the Act to strengthen library services throughout Haryana.”
“The prolonged delay in recruitment has severely affected employment opportunities for highly qualified library professionals. Thousands of NET-qualified, PhD-holding, and professionally trained lbrary and information science graduates remain unemployed despite the existence of hundreds of vacant posts. Meanwhile, back door entries are given and promotions are given in violation of the UGC violations,” he said.
Gaur said “There is a famous quote by author Neil Gaiman that ‘Google can bring you back one lakh answers, librarian can bring you back the right one’. Only issuing books and making entries in the registers to keep the record is not what a librarian is supposed to do. The qualified librarians do the classification, cataloging, gather the latest databases for research purposes and also collect online materials to provide the students with a complete range of authentic information. Though the government has filled some posts at the junior level, but those are insufficient. It requires technical expertise to handle a library.”
“The government should notify the revised service rules in accordance with the UGC regulations, fill all vacant library cadre posts through transparent recruitment, strengthen public library services, and fully implement the Haryana Public Libraries Act, 1989. We appeal to the government to take positive action in the larger interest of the students, researchers, educational institutions and unemployed library professionals across Haryana,” he said.
