India to link 9000 libraries: PM

India will modernise and digitally link nearly 9,000 libraries across the country in a bid to provide readers access to books and information, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here today.

The ambitious plan under the National Mission for Libraries aims to cover 9,000 libraries in cities, towns and villages of the country the next three years.

"A young reader sitting in his village public library should be able to access books and information from across the world," Singh said at the Centenary Celebration of the Oxford University Press in India. He said the Mission will conduct a national census on libraries, work towards upgradation of infrastructure of reading resources, and seek to modernise and promote the networking of libraries across the country.

Noting that the Mission cannot succeed through government efforts alone, Singh said resources available in the community, private sector and non-governmental organisations will have to be roped in to meet these objectives. The Mission will focus on improvement of the public library system of the country particularly concentrating on the states where library development is lagging behind, Singh said.

"I take this opportunity to urge every state government and every municipality and panchayat to pay special attention to the setting up and maintenance of public libraries, including community, locality and village libraries," he said.

The Prime Minister said that affordable modern information technology can be deployed today to extend the resources of the libraries.