Samvad is our smallest budget and largest pride: 15 rooms painted by children, 11,000 books, zero entry fee, no silence rule. A travelling van covers 22 dhanis that do not yet have a library, parking under a khejri tree for three hours while children choose, read and return.
Librarians are local youth paid a stipend, trained in storytelling and repair — they can mend a torn page invisibly. In 2023-24 we logged 68,000 visits and 2,400 public story sessions.
How a desert library works
- Children choose the books — adults do not prescribe
- Evening readings for elders — oral history recorded and digitised
- Mobile van — fixed fortnightly route