The People’s Librarian!

Carlos Fernandes (54), curator of the State Central Library and recipient of this year’s Goa State Best Librarian award, has a very uncomplicated approach to work. ‘Work is worship’ and ‘service before self’ he says with a wide smile, as he speaks to the Herald in his large, impressive office on the third floor of the State Central Library in Patto, Panjim.

Interestingly, Carlos did not plan to be a librarian to begin with. “It just happened by accident,” he says. Carlos worked with several firms for about six years after his graduation. This is when one of his college professors suggested that he pursue a master’s programme in library sciences because of his methodical nature.

“Back in 1989, Goa University did not have a course in library sciences. I approached the Shivaji University in Kolhapur but they had just one seat reserved for Goans. However, JB Jadhav, deputy librarian at the University appealed successfully to the management to add a second seat for Goans. “This selfless act of Jadhav sir changed my life. I enjoyed the short, one-year course and got my first break at the Gomant Vidya Niketan library in Margao as a junior assistant librarian in 1989.”

Carlos has not looked back after that day. The last 27 years, have seen him scale one peak after another in an impressive career. Important stints at the Goa University and the Saraswati College of Management, Mapusa, made him confident enough to grab the Goa Public Services Commission’s post of librarian at the Goa College of Engineering in 1995. Earlier, as junior librarian at the Goa University, Carlos was tasked with the job of shifting 1.5 lakh books and 200 cupboards to a new location. He completed the mammoth task quite easily using the services of five buses. At the Saraswati College, he had to start a library from scratch, ditto with the Goa Engineering College, where an empty building stared him in the face.

Speaking fondly of his 11 years at the Goa Engineering College, Carlos says, “I spent three years to just set up a library. I spent a lot time in classifying the existing books, subject wise before purchasing new books. We had fewer students in the 90’s and were able to offer as many as 30 books per student as a book bank. The students loved me for this and even felicitated me,” Carlos says with evident satisfaction.

It is clear that Carlos is meticulous and hard working. In the mid-nineties, he suddenly realised that Konkani did not have an international, library science code. He immediately shot off a proposal to the Library of Congress, New York, the largest library in the world and the one which classifies all languages under its ‘Dewey decimel classification’(DDC) system. A six-year-long correspondence and follow-up later, the apex library granted a library code for Konkani. Quite clearly, a feather in Carlos’ cap.

Any wonder then, that the government looked at Carlos, when the time came to appoint a curator for the prestigious, state central library in 2005. This is how, a relatively young Carlos at 43 was given the honour of laying the foundation stone for the new, Patto building. Today the state central library is housed in a six-storey building spread over 12,000 square metres with 2.5 lakh printed books and a mind-boggling, 90 lakh electronic books, making it arguably, the largest library in India.

Carlos has no qualms in stating that he is a workaholic and has never taken medical leave in all his 27 years of service. “I am just a worker,” he says with a grin. “I work very hard at the library. Seeing me work, my team also works equally hard. It is a good system,” Carlos says simply. According to the ace librarian, working systems should be very simple. “People should be able to work with the least difficulty,” he says.

Being a librarian, the readers and members are Carlos’ first priority. Presently, he is studying Indian and Portuguese history very closely. “Our library is visited by a lot of history researchers from India and abroad. We need to guide them properly,” Carlos says. He is also very responsive. Recently, when one of the researchers suggested a book on Indian maritime history, it was procured instantly.

Carlos is also keeping up with the times. He trained with computers when he worked at the engineering college. He is of the firm opinion that all young librarians must exploit the benefits of technology to the hilt.

However, even Carlos knows how to rewind. On Sundays, he tends full-time to his little farm in Khandepar near Ponda. “I love fruit trees and nature and tend to each of the trees myself. It is extremely satisfying and keeps me physically fit,” says the affable librarian.