Mangaluru: Reading books is going to be a pleasant experience at the District Central Library in the city. With the completion of an up-gradation and renovation works, the library is sporting a new look.

In addition to this the reading house kick-started a ‘National Library Week’ on Friday, November 14 that will culminate on November 20. “The program is aimed to attract more number of people,” Mayor Mahabala Marla told the press during a meet.

The library has a reference section, a reading section, newspapers/periodicals section, a browsing section with six computers availed at a high-speed internet connection and a separate section for children with a small play area, Mangalore Central Library deputy director Raghavendra KV informed.

The browsing service is paid and may be charged at Rs 10 per hour, he added

The central library, which was inaugurated on January 15, 1969, has 23,500 members. It has a collection of over 80,000 books, 80 percent of which are Kannada. The members have to pay Rs. 50 rupees for a card, Rs. 75 for two cards and Rs 100 for three cards and can borrow books for a fortnight without fine.

“We have spent Rs 11 lakhs on the false ceiling of the first floor and Rs 18.75 lakhs on the ground floor. We got about Rs 1 crore from the corporation with which we use to manage 20 libraries including the central library,” Raghavendra said.

The library will buy a brand new vehicle costing Rs 25 lakh to initiate a mobile library. Currently, the mobile library is scheduled to operate five days a week from Tuesday to Saturday and covers Jeppu, Padil, Boloor, Urva Market, Konchady, Kunjathbail, Bondel and other places as well. It stops for an hour at designated spots, Raghavendra added.