With the aim of curbing crime and drug abuse, especially among children, and inculcating reading habit among them, the Coimbatore City Police has decided to set up mini libraries.

These Street Libraries will be set up in areas which are heavily populated to encourage children and youngsters to develop the habit of reading during their free time. The GRG Trust of Coimbatore is assisting the police in setting up 50 such libraries. The Trust this week has handed over to the cops 30 shelves, each containing 200 books.

The initiative was launched by the City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan along with Nandini Rangaswamy who is the Chairperson and Founder of GRG Institutions.

There will be a mix of books available in these libraries. There will be comics, general knowledge books, story books and books of motivational stories – all appropriate for children. The in-charge of these libraries will be the station house officer from the local police station. The day-to-day operation will be looked after by a local volunteer. A membership card will be issued to the children to avail of the services of the library.

Talking on the occasion, the Commissioner said that reading helps in building character, enables acquisition of knowledge and guides people to achieve their goals. The libraries he said will benefit children from the lower income groups allowing them access to books and spending their free time in a productive way.

Rangaswamy observed that access to such libraries will ensure that the children do not spend too much time on electronic gadgets. Further, she said reading is the best way to improve one’s language and vocabulary.

The City Police in August this year had opened one mini library in Ammankulam on a trial basis.