Started in 2010, the Francisco Luis Gomes District Library, situated in Navelim, is a major attraction for school and college students and more. Named after the great Goan intellectual, Dr Francisco Luis Gomes, who was a physician, writer, historian, economist, political scientist and MP in the Portuguese Parliament and also a polygot. He was highly proficient in the use of several languages including Konkani, Portuguese and French, and additionally possessed a good understanding of English, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Marathi.
The foundation stone for the library was laid in February 2007 and the library was inaugurated on November 21, 2010.
This library was started with the objective of providing free public library and information services to the people of South Goa. Also acting as a community centre for informal education, this library serves the needs of all members of the community without any distinction based on caste, creed, occupation, race, gender and especially those of neo-literates.
Many of the visitors are students, who excelled in their respective examinations, such as GPSC, NET, SET, banking, CA and other competitive exams and hold prestigious positions today. So, this is certainly a library worth visiting!
FACILITES & MEMBERSHIP
With a total of nine sections in this library – Reference Section, Circulation Section, Periodical Section, Own Books Reading Section, Children’s Section, Braille Section, Internet Section, Goa Section, Civil Service Study Section – it boasts of about 10,600 members and gets about 300 visitors a day on an average.
The Reference Section has books, encyclopedias, handbooks and other useful reference sources on a wide range of subjects from History, Computer Science, Social Science, Languages, General Science, Arts, Crochet, Literature, Geography and more.
The Circulation Section has a collection of books in four languages – English, Konkani, Hindi and Marathi.
The Periodicals Section has newspapers, magazines and academic journals, some of which are Femina, Woman’s Era, India today, Filmfare, Competitive Success, Business India, Business today, Journal of Ayurveda, Journal of Pharmacy, Vauraddeancho Ixtt amongst others.
The Own Books Reading Section, situated on the first floor, permits readers and users to carry their personal study books, laptops and notebooks. Students absolutely love this section!
The Children’s Section comprises reference books, audio-visuals, toys and games, children’s periodicals and children’s computer section.
The Braille Section facilitates visually impaired readers. With about 128 Braille books, sculptures, Braille equipments and appliances, biological charts and geographical maps, this section is a boon to the visually impaired.
The users of the Internet Section can browse the internet, can download the information and take printouts.
The Goa Section has a good collection of books. specifically on Goan history, whereas the Civil Service Study Section provides assistance to the those pursuing the civil services and other competitive examinations.
There is no Rare Books section in this library. Librarian Grade I district library in-charge Raksha Khobrekar says, “We have about 83,193 books, 150 magazines and 12 local newspapers. We also started a self-study room for students in February. The library is open to the public; non-members, too, can come and read newspapers or books. They can take books home only if they are members. We plan to start a canteen facility soon.”
The membership fee for the first card is Rs 200 and allows the reader to take a book and magazine home for leisurely reading. However, if the reader is interested in more books, he/she can apply for a second card at Rs 250, which will allows him/her a total of two books and two magazines. Books or magazines are issued for a maximum period of one month. The best thing about this library is that it is open on all days, including Saturdays and Sundays, except public holidays.
TIMINGS (WEEKDAYS): Mondays to Fridays (9 am to 6.30 pm)
TIMINGS (WEEKENDS): Saturdays & Sundays (9.30 am to 5.45 pm)
