Kathmandu, June 25

The second National Community and Public Library Conference has been scheduled for June 29 and 30 this year and preparations for which is going on in full swing.

The event which will review the existing problems plaguing the public libraries is going to be organised by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in association with Read Nepal and Shanti Volunteering Association, a Japanese non-governmental organisation.

In a press conference organised recently by the Ministry, Under-Secretary Yadav Chandra Niraula spoke of the need to increase the use and expand the services of the libraries that, he said, would render services to people from all walks of life, including caste, creed, religion and gender.

Similarly, the two-day event will also discuss development of libraries, expansion and effectiveness of such public reading spaces.

The first community library was established in Solukhumbu district in 1991. Library service, however, was officially launched in Nepali in the month of Bhadra 15 in 1869 BS.

There are around 500 public libraries across the country while libraries in public offices remain to be recorded and categorized.