Reported by Anita Srinivasan
Senthil Lending Libraries, located in the Corporation Building opposite Billroth Hospitals in R. A. Puram, has been in business for 30 years. Its collection of books in English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu, exceeds 40,000, of which 30,000 are in English alone.
It has a clientele of 4,000 regular members, and even the latest bestsellers are available here. However, the age of the Internet has forced Chennai's first lending library to turn to the computer to keep up with the times.
The library first started using software for its activities 6 years ago, when it began keeping records of its collection, issues, and returns of books on the computer, says Shankar, the librarian for the past 20 years.
The library's voluminous collection ensures its large membership
Recently, the library started offering a doorstep delivery service to its customers between fixed times, within a 5 km radius of the outlet. They have also collaborated with other similar libraries to provide to customers a web-based service of reserving books online and having them home-delivered.
The service is available at nominal fees, although the fact that customers are unable to pay online seems to be a problem. The library also provides binding services to its members.
The website of the online service is http://www.easwarilibrary.com/ and Senthil Lending Libraries can be contacted at 42303408.
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