Mr. Harpreet Kapila: A Civil Services Aspirant

Mr. Harpreet Kapila is a Civil Services Aspirant and has done Masters in English Literature from Panjab University, Chandigarh and presently, working as Administrative Assistant in Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh.

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Mr. Harpreet Kapila: My first encounter with the library was during school times. Having a library period in school always gives me the leisure to go through new magazines and books. The fragrance of new books has always been an attractive affair for me.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Mr. Harpreet Kapila: Library has been a part of my daily routine for last 7 years. It has changed my life altogether providing me with new habits of reading, writing, and note-making. Reading has turned me into a better human and helped in enhancing the skills, etiquettes and public dealing. As I am preparing for civil services, the environment of the library always inspires me by giving reality checks about competition and helps in being more determined and focused on improving oneself daily basis.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Mr. Harpreet Kapila: Library is a very important asset in my profession. Being a bureaucrat one is always in dire need of new ideas and innovative techniques for better development of society. Therefore, there is no better place for youth, other than a library for having interaction with intellectuals and experienced teachers who can show you the better pathway.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Mr. Harpreet Kapila: In the present time, e-resources are easily available, handy with enormous information available, that one should use accordingly as per his/her needs. However, I prefer to read print resources to e-resources. I always wanted to have a good collection of books and love nothing more than browsing in a bookshop or a library.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Mr. Harpreet Kapila:

With regard to my expectations from the library, the library must organize events like book fairs at a regular interval, interactive programs to spread awareness about why children should visit the library along with enhancing the programs like “Human Library” where one can interact with the person like a book, in the process one pours or gains knowledge.

Ms. Surbhi Arora: An Edupreneur

Ms. Surbhi Arora is an edupreneur with master's in Chemistry, English, and Education. She has more than 11-year experience in the field of training and counselling. At present, she is working at the capacity of a Program Director in the US Curriculum and common core standards with 98^th percentile. She is a Master Trainer and facilitator in the field of Teacher Training, Parenting and Career Education. 

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Ms. Surbhi Arora: My first encounter with the library was in school. However, the one, which actually made me fall for books, was a government library I visited during my summer vacation. Piles of old newspapers fascinated me and highly tempted with the rustic covers and peculiar essence these books carried. Indeed, I was heels over my head to the extent these books were piled in racks.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Ms. Surbhi Arora: My love for books began with the library. This relation was so deep, that I made my own personal library at home with a collection of 1700 books.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Ms. Surbhi Arora: I am an Eduprenuer for me books are all I have; any day I would treasure a good book over anything else.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Ms. Surbhi Arora: At present profile, I travel a lot and am working on eLearning platforms. This change in profile demands something which is light to carry and approachable, when and where required. I am more dependent on my Kindle and eBooks now, then the hard copy. I even have scanned and saved a few pages from my personal favourite collection of books, in case of non-availability of an online edition.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Ms. Surbhi Arora: For me, a library must be updated with the latest available collection of books. It should have an e-catalogue and e-access if possible.

Mr. Gautam Raval: A Marketing and Sales Professional

Mr. Gautam Raval is Post Graduate in the stream of Marketing and Sales, I have been working with organizations Like Naukri.com, Seed Infotech and currently with e-Galactic as a Business Development Manager, based out of Pune. 

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell something about your first encounter with the library.

Mr. Gautam Raval: My very first experience of the library in my academics was when I entered class 5th at my school. Students had to visit Library for an hour that too twice or thrice a week, to read Novels/Storybooks and Books on Science Innovations. This habit of reading books improved in me when I had a discussion with my friends on topics that we read. Our thought process used to progress. However initially I never liked the Library because there use to be so much Silence, no Cross talk was allowed and to keep mum for an hour was also a big task as well.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Mr. Gautam Raval: Library is a place, which has created a major impact on my life. This place has very well made a difference after me entering in my higher studies where there was least disturbance of any kind (as we are in the era of the Internet which has seamless connectivity to entertainment), so Library has provided me a peaceful environment, which has ultimately helped me in concentrating and gaining more DETERMINATION throughout my academics.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Mr. Gautam Raval: As its said and which is very much true that the Talented Person makes his/her own way !! As my profession deals with Sales and Marketing, I need information about changes in technology and new products, businesses and industries. This information is needed to keep myself update and for benefiting the customer and ease their difficulties. One should have complete knowledge of his business domain to provide the right set of information at the right time. For all these sorts of information, we have to rely on the resources provided by the library.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources?

Mr. Gautam Raval: Old is gold !! but still prefer doing with e-resources as the access to the documents becomes more feasible and efficient for future references.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Mr. Gautam Raval: With regard to my profession, the Library must enhance its presence on the digital platforms for working professionals to stay connected with books and reading. 

Mx. Dhananjay Chauhan: A Reformer and Human Rights Activist

Mx. Dhananjay Chauhan is the first transgender student of the Department of Human Rights and Duties at Panjab University, Chandigarh and presently pursuing Ph.D. Dhananjay has been working hard to alleviate the plight of transgenders and is also a founder of NGO Saksham Trust. He is Vice President of Friends forever Rainbow, General Secretary of Mangalmukhi Transgender Welfare society, Senior President of Samasya Samadhan Team Chandigarh. International Equality Officer. NISAU (United Kingdom), Member of South Asia Human Rights Association (Norway), and Chief Organizer of LGBT Pride.  

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell something about your first encounter with the library.

Mx. Dhananjay Chauhan: My first encounter with the library was when I was 14 years old. Those were my school days.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Mx. Dhananjay Chauhan: Library changed my life and helped me to understand myself and gender identity.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Mx. Dhananjay Chauhan: I love reading. When I see books, something happens in my mind and my heartbeat increases. Library and books have played a great role in my life to make me change from Mr to Mx.

Mr. Rajan Batheja: A Freelancer

Mr. Rajan Batheja works as a freelancer in the field of films, music, and theatre production

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Mr. Rajan Batheja: Until I finished twelfth, having studied from the local village school, I had no exposure to the library. The first library I ever visited was the State Library of Panchkula. I had come to this city for a course in one of its government institutes.

So far as I remember, my first encounter with the library was a coincidence. In leisure hours, I used to walk across the sectors to explore the city as much as I could. I noticed a board with a 'library' written on it. It was a new thing for me to explore. I went inside the building without a second thought. When I entered the library hall, I saw thousands of books placed on shelves in proper order. The tables and chairs were empty. There was none except the librarian and her assistant who told me about membership terms of the library. Membership was required only to take books home for reading. For reading in the library hall, there's no membership required. I was allowed to visit and read in the library whenever I wanted. I started having look at the titles of the books kept on shelves. That very activity excited me so much that I kept reading the book titles for long two hours. The more I saw them, the more I wanted to see more titles and the more curious I became because of facing the fact that there were millions of new things to know about. And there were now those books to satisfy my curiosity.

Since that day, libraries have become my second home. Wherever I go, the very first thing I want to explore is the libraries that the city has.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Mr. Rajan Batheja: Library to me is no less than a temple. Whenever I feel down, lonely, sad, empty, stressed, I go to the nearby library, sit and read silently without any disturbance or hindrance. This very activity is like mediation which always helped me and is still helping. Ignorance starts fading away when you gain knowledge; when you apply that knowledge in your life, the former completely fades away and your life starts changing. This is one of my preferred ways to deal with any problem I face in life.

You can also gain the same knowledge by reading books at your home, but libraries have a special aura which moves you in some way or the other. I find books peeking out of their shelves to talk to me.

Moreover, I have also realized that the very process of reading by sitting amidst thousands of books purifies the mind. All negative thoughts go away.

Ms. Kirandeep Bhangu: A Clinical and Counseling Psychologist

Ms. Kirandeep Bhangu is a clinical and counseling psychologist, with 15 years of experience. She is known for her compassion, care, and personal touch. She deals with problems such as behavior issues, anger, stress, and anxiety, Counseling for drug and alcohol abuse, OCD. She also deals with family issues like parenting issues and doubts, premarital counseling. She has done M.A. Psychology (Clinical), M.Ed (Education Technology), M.A English, M.A Economics and B.Ed.

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Ms. Kirandeep Bhangu: The first time I ever entered a library was in the 2nd grade at Sophia, Meerut. All I liked was the pictures in the books. My interest in reading and the fun I had reading did not happen till, grade 7 St. Marys, Pune. That is when I started reading 2-3 books a week.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Ms. Kirandeep Bhangu: It is still doing its job of changing my life. Books have become an integral part of my life.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Ms. Kirandeep Bhangu: Library is important for everyone not just my line of work. Itz an ocean and a mountain in short a galaxy full of knowledge.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Ms. Kirandeep Bhangu: E resources are easier and can be accessed at any point of time anywhere. Yet they are not as fun and awesome as the print resources. I rather prefer the smell of those old books and the serene environment of the old-fashioned library.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Ms. Kirandeep Bhangu: My expectations from a library are that it continues to help me evolve in all spheres of life.

Mr. Vinit Mehra: A Management Professional

Mr. Vinit Mehra is a management professional with more than ten years of experience in Partnerships & Alliances, Education Management, Publishing & Distribution. Currently working for a leading Indian Start-up MNC.

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Mr. Vinit Mehra: During my school days there use to be a library period, in which I use to enjoy reading newspapers, sports magazines, guinness world record or some GK books. I wasn’t a avid reader until campus placements started during my MBA in 2008-9. When I first visited my college library, I had no clue where to start from & what needs to be the pedagogy. But, in couple of days with help of the library assistant all was on track.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Vinit Mehra: Library brought a positive change in life, which is Discipline. It became a daily routine until the time placements were not over to visit library daily. It is like meditation, with no external disturbances.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Mr Vinit Mehra: Its important gaining knowledge how old corporate leaders built their businesses, what was the logic behind strategies etc. Access to journals with case studies is available at libraries.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Mr Vinit Mehra: I prefer e-resources today, because of fast-paced life. It also is environment friendly as paper is saved and more convenient to read from.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Mr Vinit Mehra: A library in the first place be easily approachable, affordable and accessible 24x7. It should have all the latest resources, especially which is paid for an individual so that it attracts more & more people to the library. To bring back reading habits, libraries should design an incentive scheme (not cash related, may be rewards points program).

Dr. Harmandeep Kaur: A Punjabi Language Expert

Dr. Harmandeep Kaur is working as Assistant professor of Punjabi in Department of Evening studies (MDRC), Punjab University Chandigarh. She is M.A. in Punjabi and has done her Ph.D. (NET-JRF Cleared). She has Teaching Experience of 8 years.

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Dr. Harmandeep Kaur: My first encounter with the library was at Panjab University A. C. Joshi library is a very big library with lakhs of books. When I entered the library the first time, I was happily surprised by the size of the building as well as the collection of books.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Dr. Harmandeep Kaur:  I was a student of literature and now I am a teacher of literature. You can have your specialization but literature has no boundaries of language. Library provided me a platform to read literature across languages (eg. Punjabi, Hindi, English).

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Dr. Harmandeep Kaur:  For a good teacher of literature, first you should be a die-hard reader. Reading nourishes and nurtures your understanding. I think literature makes you understand other human beings better.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Dr. Harmandeep Kaur:  I prefer print resources because I think a book is also a living entity- resource does not have that feel. When you are reading a book, it feels that you are talking to another person.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Dr. Harmandeep Kaur: A library should have a good collection and a good reading environment because these are the two basics of a library. Moreover, it should have print resources as well as e-resources.

Mr. Raj Beniwal: An Ex-Naval Officer

Raj Beniwal is an engineer by profession and has served in the Indian navy for 20 years. Presently he is working as Head, Engineering Department at Batra Hospital & Medical Research Centre, New Delhi

Interview:

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Mr. Raj Beniwal: Though I was always interested in books, however, the first encounter with the library was in my school, way back in 1983. I was in 9^th class. I borrowed my first book and another and another. Soon it became a habit that I loved and proud of.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Mr. Raj Beniwal: Library opened a completely new world  to me which was different from the school books and what most people know about. It was one place where I can be with my own self. The quiet in the confines of a good library is still the best place for me and I miss it so much.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Mr. Raj Beniwal: Engineering is half-read in classes and another half in the library or its books. Lately, the internet has taken over the role of immediate reference and engineers now refer more on the net than a real book. Libraries are fast shifting from hard form to soft resources.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Mr. Raj Beniwal: If it is profession related or urgent in nature, then it has to be e-resource in most cases for the ease of searching required material. Not everyone has access to a library but online material is everywhere. On a personal note, nothing can come close to that feeling of holding a real book in your hand and the smell of it.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Mr. Raj Beniwal: Libraries have come a long way and a long way still to go. The world is changing and new age people are drifting away from the hobby of reading. Parents need to encourage their children to read books beyond their school syllabus. E-books, audiobooks, and videos must be made available in libraries.

Mr Shreyas Lele: A Lawyer

Mr. Shreyas Lele is a qualified lawyer (Advocate) licensed to practice in India. He is presently pursuing a Masters in Law (LL.M.) degree in International Business Law from King's College London. Prior to this, he has interned and worked in a variety of chambers and firms in Pune and Mumbai.

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Mr. Shreyas Lele: I wasn’t a keen reader until I entered law school in 2014. When I first visited my college library, I was intimidated by its size and the number of books that it housed. However, with time, I got comfortable and the library became my home too.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Mr. Shreyas Lele: The vast collection of books allowed me to understand the same thing from different perspectives. Even sitting in one place, reading and gaining knowledge could be juicy and enjoyable.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Mr. Shreyas Lele: For lawyers, it’s all about interpretation and understanding. The library enabled me to read case law, expert commentary, debates on any legal topic that I wanted to research.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Mr. Shreyas Lele: I prefer e-material. Not only does it save paper, but you can also find words, jump paragraphs and navigate your reading much more conveniently than with a book.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Mr. Shreyas Lele: A good library should contain books from various authors on the same subject, it should contain material that presents it in different ways: theory vs. practice, words vs. numbers/graphs, etc. Most importantly, it should be open 24x7, you never know when an idea will strike you and make you want to explore it!

Dr Sharda Kaushik: An English Language Expert

Sharda Kaushik is Professor and Head, Centre of Management and Humanities, Punjab Engineering College, formerly, Director, Regional Institute of English (RIE), Chandigarh, which deals in teacher education. At the RIE, she worked on various projects with the governments of Punjab, Haryana, HP, and J&K, with NCERT, UGC, EFLU, Hyderabad, British Council, New Delhi, RELO, US Embassy, New Delhi and Ministry of Education, Afghanistan among others.   

She studied for PGDTE from English & Foreign Language University, Hyderabad. As a British Council Scholar she did MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Reading University, UK, and as a Fulbright Fellow, she did MS in Media Communications from Syracuse University, USA. She is a Ph.D. in English from Panjab University, Chandigarh.

She has been writing for newspapers regularly; for instance, she ran the column ‘Mind your Language’ in The Tribune for a year and has also sent short news features to CNN World Report. Besides the news features she has also made documentaries, one each for Door Darshan and Punjab Police.

Sharda Kaushik has published more than a dozen books with Macmillan, Orient Blackswan, Viva and Penguin among a few others. She co-authored the book titled Love in Four Languages with Lt Sardar Khushwant Singh. Apart from that, all her books are prescribed studies in universities, colleges and schools. She has extensively presented papers on Applied Linguistics at international and national conferences and published a few in leading journals in India and abroad.

Interview

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library.

Dr. Sharda Kaushik: The first encounter I had with the library goes back to my class 6th days in School, as till class 5 books were issued on our names and brought to us in the classrooms. I discovered two fascinating worlds; one of the encyclopedia for children my age then and the other of stories from Enid Blyton’s series of Five Findouters. A hill station girl with her knowledge confined essentially to local places, I was amazed to read about stalactites and stalagmites, rainforests, the pyramids, great inventions, all of them visually illustrated,  as also the adventures of crime detection and investigations by the five characters of Blyton’s mystery tales. I took the library to be an amazing co-parent/ co-teacher!

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life?

Dr. Sharda Kaushik: The love for reading inculcated by the Sophia School library then has gradually seen me professionally become a scholar, a  professor, a researcher and a writer with rewards in the form of social and professional recognition, sponsored domestic and international travel, connections with an international community sharing common academic interests. At the personal level, my introduction to the Sophia School library and the subsequent desire to engage with books it has gifted me with has given me lifelong companions in the form of books. While some of those I read deserted me long ago, and I  abandoned many others, a few continue to live with me, even within me. Aldo, I always have a reliable friend in the form of one book or the other. And the best part is that the new ones keep extending my understanding of the world while lending warmth to my existence.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession?

Dr. Sharda Kaushik: The library is the core element, service, facility, call it what you may, for people in my profession. As knowledge and information is what we deal in, it is centripetal to our existence. We gain knowledge from it, we reorganise it, distribute it and advance it. 

No library means, no updates, no expansion. 

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Dr. Sharda Kaushik: It’s difficult to answer in a single word here. While I prefer books to be read at my own sweet convenience, I browse the e-resources a great deal for their easy and affordable availability, their vastness and their updates. So I need each of the two and am appreciative of the content more than the medium.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library?

Dr. Sharda Kaushik: A library should be constantly upgrading itself. It should be easily accessible. It should be democratic in its duties and responsibilities, and not have an elitist bias at all. It should be affordable (many international journals are far too expensive), so there should be plenty for the readers. We as individuals and the government or the private sectors can never be considered to be over-investing in it; so far-reaching are it’s benefits. I have visited state libraries in the US who ask no questions on when you will return the books and whether you will. They assume if you are not reading them someone else is. I may not agree fully with the logic, but I appreciate the idea behind it.

Mr Sudhir Bharadia: An Equity Trader

Mr. Sudhir Bharadia is an engineer by professional qualification and presently he is Director at Equitree Capital Advisors Limited, Pune, Maharashtra, India. He has rich experience in the financial peripherals, which includes bringing of IPO & also interactions with VC Funds & PE Funds.

Interview:

Dr. Preeti Sharda: Please tell me something about your first encounter with the library. 

Mr. Sudhir Bharadia: 1st impactful visit to the library was during my 1st yr engineering program.

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library has made a change in your life? 

Mr. Sudhir Bharadia: I was able to scan thru various international magazines along with domestic magazines and the same go for international authors books related to the program

Dr. Preeti Sharda: How the library is important for people belonging to your profession? 

Mr. Sudhir Bharadia: It is most important since it can brief you of what is happening in the world – on the subject that you want. 

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What do you prefer more e-resources or print resources? 

Mr. Sudhir Bharadia: e-resources seems more suitable than print

Dr. Preeti Sharda: What are your expectations from a library? 

Mr. Sudhir Bharadia: Keep on increasing the platter of reading materials.