The building of Government Taluka Library, Valpoi, is in a dilapidated condition for the past many years as it was constructed during the Portuguese regime.
There was then a Portuguese school running in this building. After the liberation, in 1965, the Goa Government had started a Government primary school and later in 1976, the school was converted into a Government Taluka library, Valpoi.
Now this Valpoi library building is in a bad shape. For past several years, the building has not been maintained and the roof has developed leakages with the rain water seeping inside the library. Besides this, all the windows of building are broken and the ceiling fans are very old and need to be replaced.
Locals demand the Government builds a new library building for the Valpoi town.
The library was earlier under the Education Department and has now been handed over to the Department of Art and Culture.
At present the library has 2,376 members enrolled and is visited by over 100 people every day from Sattari. The library has several rare books. At present it holds around 25,000 books and 185 magazines which are on different subjects.
“I became a member of Valpoi library in 1976, when I was a student with a membership fee of only Rs 5. Now the fee has increased. A person by the name of Bablalkar from Hyderabad was its first librarian. The state building is in a bad condition and needs repairs,” says Babush Khan, a daily reader and one of its first members.
“The present building structure is very old and will collapse at any time. The reading room is very small in size, cupboards need to replace and latest new books should be available in the library,” says Mhalu Gawas, a member and a writer.
“And all local newspapers are not available for reading daily, some are missing,” says Mahadev Gaonkar, a daily reader.
