Public libraries as a mean to reduce book piracy

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Image source- Hotcourses Abroad

Book piracy is one of the most important issues in the literary world now, along with plagiarism. Royalty from book sales isn't enough to pay the bills, even for the bestseller authors, and book piracy steals away their income even more. I have written about the issue of piracy in 2 of my earlier blog posts. To read those- 

By the way, I feel that book PDFs are at least honest about stealing the work, rather than physical pirated copies available in the market for purchase. If it is about piracy (which I do not support), it doesn't make sense to pay for a book to someone who pirates for a little less than the original. Why waste your money on a first or second copy then, if you will consume pirated copies of a book anyway? 

Coming back to the point: Like any crime, this cannot be totally eradicated either (unfortunately). But we can work to reduce the problem of book piracy in the form of book pdfs and pirated physical books sold in the market. Borrowing from friends/family, Kindle subscriptions, and saving money to buy original books were some of the ways I mentioned earlier to fight book piracy. 

Public libraries are one of the ways we can reduce the issue of book piracy. Efficient and functional libraries in cities, towns and villages can help in reducing piracy. Public libraries with a wide collection- of books across all genres, from classics to contemporary, syllabus to leisure books. As it's not possible to keep books in every language, can keep books in English, state and regional languages. 

Local governments can ensure to have an efficient and working library, with helpful staff (we all have faced problems with school/college librarians at least once). If it is not possible to keep the library services completely free, can have a minimal monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription fee. 

Having lived in a Thane suburb for most of my life, I still haven't come across any efficient public library in the city I live in. If there are at all any, the books are pretty much ancient, probably only in Marathi, and there is no contemporary fiction available. I buy loads of books with my saved money, but when I am doubtful about purchasing a book (If I do not like the book later, my money is wasted), borrowing from the library can help save my money at least. 

With public libraries available in every city and town, it can also help increase reading habits among people. With a variety in choice of books available, they can experiment and choose to read books of a genre they like (rather than having to read only those available which hardly interests anyone). 

I happen to come across information about a library being built from a dilapidated home in the village of Tera, Kutch. Samir Somaiya facilitated the conversion of a dilapidated home into a library in his village, named Somaiya Pustakalay, and with the success of one, continues to do so in other dilapidated houses. With the shortage of land in metropolitan cities, this technique of converting dilapidated infrastructure into libraries (with proper safety precautions) can help as well.  

Dilapidated house converted into a village library in village Tera, Kutch
Image source- Samir Somaiya/Somaiya Trust

In Indian cities, a basic self-sufficient and functional library would do just as well. As we all know, Pinterest-inspired aesthetic home libraries are a distant dream (though we all deserve one). Or the public libraries in western countries we see the photos of. 


Image Source- OnlineKhabar English

Image Source- Matthew Petroff (Hotcourses Abroad)

Image Source- Wikipedia


Ok fine, enough of the thirst trap and drooling over public libraries abroadđź‘€, Ritika. Getting back to my point, public libraries can be a great way to reduce book piracy when the readers (who may not be able to buy books) can have access to a wide variety of books and borrow them. 




Hello, I am Ritika Jakhotiya, the blogger behind Ritika Ruminates. I am an English graduate and currently pursuing an M.A. in English. I love reading and writing. Ritika Ruminates (formerly 'Blogging With Ritz') is my personal blog site, where I write about things close to my heart (and mind) and dish out my thoughts on topics that concern me or inspire my creativity. These topics include books, cinema, feminism, social themes/taboos, and travel. Before you leave, please hit the follow button and subscribe to get notified about new blog posts and share the post with others. I also create content (as a reader) on my Instagram @thisisritika_j, where I share book reviews, relatable memes and reels.

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