CHENNAI: Anna Centenary Library was the brainchild of DMK patriarch and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.
The Asia’s biggest library was named after Karunanidhi’s political mentor CN Annadurai since Anna was a bookworm and his reading habit and fondness towards books were way ahead of his period.
Though Thuklaq’s former editor Cho Ramaswamy was straight opposite to the Dravidian principles, he was instrumental in safeguarding the library when former CM J Jayalalithaa tried to convert it into a hospital. After the demise of Jaya, it was evident that the library was not maintained properly. The scene changed when the DMK came to power in May 2021.
After swearing-in as the school education minister, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi made his first inspection at Anna Library. He even catapulted his friend and DMK’s youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin to register as a member of Anna Library.
Though Anna Library is almost good at infrastructure and quality, the sagacity of some readers who visit the library has seemingly brought down its quality.
When this reporter visited the library last week, a librarian and some readers in the third-floor – psychology, and computer science sections were high on their phones.
A few readers requested their fellow visitors to put down the latter’s mobiles in silent mode which was not accepted by the visitors. There should be some strict supervising mechanism to ensure the quality of the library and prevent fading out of its glory due to some irresponsible souls.
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