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12 Apr 2024

Why Desert Schools Need Libraries, Not Just Tablets

Fifteen rooms, 11,000 books and a travelling van — what a year of reading in the Thar taught us about quiet infrastructure.

Why Desert Schools Need Libraries, Not Just Tablets cover

In 2023 we counted not tablets distributed but pages turned: 68,000 visits across 15 village libraries, most by children who still herd goats before school. The most borrowed book was not a textbook but Ek Bhai, Do Behanein — a picture story read aloud under a khejri tree.

The van that parks under the same tree

Our travelling van follows a fortnightly route, parking for three hours in dhanis that do not yet have a library. Children remember the tree, not the date. When the van first arrived in Kavo, no child entered for 40 minutes. By the third visit, they were reserving titles.

Tablets need charging. Books need a mat.

The cost of a library: ₹18,000 to set up, ₹6,000 per month to run. One 80G receipt can fund a library for a month. The report, with village-wise logs and oral history recordings, is available in Filings.

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