50 years ago: Inadequate library services in Asia and Africa

1. At a Glance

• This is an archive item from The Hindu's "50 years ago" column. It reports a closing speech by Mr. Moses Musonda, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zambia, at a six-day standing conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African librarians in Lusaka. He called library and information services in Africa and other developing countries "appalling" [1].
• He named three linked weaknesses that are still relevant to UPSC: weak information systems, too few trained and qualified staff, and governments not recognising the importance of libraries and information services [1].
• It ties into current themes: the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 2022, UNESCO's Information for All Programme (IFAP), media and information literacy, and India's National Mission on Libraries (NML) [2][4][7].
• It is useful for GS-I (social issues), GS-II (education, human resource development, international bodies) and Essay (knowledge societies, the digital divide).

2. Why in the News

• 14 October 2026: The Hindu's Chennai print edition (Page 13) reprinted the October 1976 Lusaka report as its "50 years ago" item [1].
• The theme is current in India too. A Lok Sabha reply in March 2026 gave NML progress figures, the National Virtual Library of India (NVLI) Version 2.0 went live on 05.03.2026, and the 55th NML capacity-building programme began on 21 June 2026 [10][12].

3. Background & Evolution

• October 1976, Lusaka (Zambia): A six-day standing conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African librarians ended with Musonda's speech, which the article says was delivered "yesterday", i.e. 12 October [1].
• Causes he gave:
• Some governments had not recognised the importance of information systems.

• Personnel training had not been encouraging, because very few people understood or appreciated why information systems matter for development [1].

• Effect he gave: Libraries and information systems were poorly co-ordinated because there were too few trained staff [1].

• Global framework: The IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto was updated in 2022. UNESCO's IFAP endorsed it, and it was launched at the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC), Dublin, July 2022 [2].
• Indian trajectory:
• The Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF), Kolkata, gives public libraries matching and non-matching grants [11].
• President Pranab Mukherjee launched the NML to modernise and digitally link public libraries [7].
• The Ministry of Culture's scheme document gives 2012 as the establishment year [8].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
1976 speaker	Moses Musonda, Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Zambia [1]
1976 venue / forum	Lusaka; six-day standing conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African librarians [1]
Global charter	IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 2022; endorsed by UNESCO IFAP [2]
Launch of 2022 Manifesto	WLIC, Dublin, July 2022 [2]
Manifesto translations	18 languages in one UNESCO report, including Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil [3]; 36 by August 2025 [4]; 38 per a later IFAP report [5]
UNESCO's description of public libraries	A force for education, culture and information; an agent for peace and welfare [4]
India – implementing ministry	Ministry of Culture [7]
India – NML nodal agency	RRRLF, Kolkata [7]
Constitutional status (India)	Libraries are a State subject [9][10]
NML cost-sharing	Centre : State = 75:25; 90:10 for North-Eastern states [9][10]
NML Model Libraries sanctioned (March 2026)	28 State Central Libraries, 41 District Libraries, 5 libraries identified by the Ministry of Culture [10]
NML training (March 2026)	54 programmes; 2,465 library professionals trained [10]
Earlier sanction figure	41 proposals from 22 States/UTs; Rs 42.42 crore for model libraries [13]
RRRLF grant uses	Building construction and renovation, furniture and equipment, modernisation, procurement of books [11]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Social

• Libraries give people who cannot afford books or internet access a way to reach information, so weak library services make knowledge inequality worse [1][6].
• UNESCO counts public libraries among the agencies of education, culture and information. That links them to literacy, lifelong learning and inclusion [4].

Governance / Administrative

• Musonda's central diagnosis was lack of political recognition [1]. India faces a similar federal problem: libraries are a State subject, and the NML depends on states sharing 25% of costs (10% in the North-East) [9][10].
• A 2026 statement says that setting up a library does not fall under the NML. The scheme only upgrades existing libraries, which leaves gaps in coverage [10].

Human Resource / Capacity

• In 1976 the shortage of trained personnel was the main operational bottleneck [1]. India's response is NML capacity-building: 54 programmes by March 2026 and a 55th at YCMOU Nashik with about 70 participants from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa [10][12].

Technological

• The NVLI 2.0 portal, launched on 05.03.2026, uses a React frontend and a Drupal backend for speed and scalability [10].
• During COVID-19, UNESCO argued that digital libraries can keep academic activity going [14].

Geopolitical / International cooperation

• IFAP capacity-building aims to turn libraries in developing regions into knowledge access points [6].
• Recent IFAP activity includes a National IFAP Committee in Libya and a partnership with a Chinese university [5].

Historical

• The problem had been framed as a South–South development deficit as early as 1976, the same era as the New International Information Order debates. Its persistence 50 years on shows that information infrastructure is a long-run development investment [1].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• August 2025: At the 89th WLIC, UNESCO highlighted the role of libraries in media and information literacy. It said the Manifesto was available in 36 languages [4].
• 2025: The IFAP Bureau met to advance cooperation on inclusive digital futures. It reported Manifesto translations in 38 languages [5].
• 05.03.2026: NVLI Version 2.0 launched [10].
• March 2026 (Lok Sabha reply): NML had sanctioned 28 State Central Libraries, 41 District Libraries and 5 libraries identified by the Ministry of Culture. 2,465 professionals had been trained in 54 programmes [10].
• 21 June 2026: The 55th NML capacity-building programme began at YCMOU, Nashik [12].
• 14 October 2026: The Hindu reprinted the 1976 Lusaka report [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• In October 1976, a conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African librarians was held in Lusaka, Zambia [1].
• Moses Musonda was Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zambia [1].
• The IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto was last updated in 2022 [2].
• The 2022 Manifesto was launched at WLIC, Dublin (July 2022) [2].
• The 2022 Manifesto was endorsed by UNESCO's Information for All Programme (IFAP) [2].
• The National Mission on Libraries was launched by President Pranab Mukherjee [7].
• NML's nodal agency is the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation, Kolkata, not the National Library [7].
• NML is a Ministry of Culture initiative, not a Ministry of Education one [7].
• Libraries are a State subject in India [9][10].
• NML cost-sharing is 75:25, or 90:10 for North-Eastern states [9][10].
• NVLI Version 2.0 was launched on 5 March 2026 [10].
• As of March 2026, 2,465 library professionals had been trained in 54 NML programmes [10].
• RRRLF gives public libraries both matching and non-matching assistance [11].

8. Why the Mission Reaches Only Two Libraries in Each State

• The NML helps only the top of the library system
• Under its Model Library part, the NML funds just 1 State Central Library and 1 District Library in each State/UT [10].
• When it was designed, it was meant to cover 35 State Central Libraries, 35 District Libraries and 6 Ministry of Culture libraries, with a 12th Plan outlay of Rs 400 crore for the whole scheme [16].

• Village, block and town libraries are the ones closest to poor readers. They get nothing from this part of the scheme. The scheme also does not pay to set up a new library [10].

• States were slow to take the money

• By 2018, only 41 proposals from 22 States/UTs had been sanctioned, worth Rs 42.42 crore [13]. That is small next to the Rs 400 crore planned for the whole scheme [16].

• By March 2026, more than ten years after launch, 28 State Central Libraries had been sanctioned [10]. The plan was for about 35 [16].

• Why this matters: Musonda's 1976 complaint was about libraries that were spread thin and badly linked to each other [1]. Upgrading one showpiece library per district can leave this problem where it was for most readers.

9. Why the Money Still Depends on Whether a State Cares

• Libraries are a State subject, but many states have no library law
• Libraries are on the State List of the Seventh Schedule, the list of subjects only states can make laws on [10][17].
• Tamil Nadu (then Madras) passed its Public Libraries Act in 1948. Under it, Connemara Public Library became the State Central Library in 1950 [18].
• Even so, by July 2025 only 19 States/UTs had passed a library law [17].

• Without a law, a state has no fixed duty to fund, staff or run public libraries. Libraries then compete for money every year.

• NML funding also starts with the state

• The state must recommend the libraries, carry out the work, and send certified claims before the Centre releases money [19].
• The state must also pay 25% of the cost (10% in the North-East) [9].
• So a state that does not value libraries asks for less and gets less. This is the same "governments do not recognise the importance" problem that Musonda named in 1976 [1], now playing out inside Indian federalism.

10. Do We Still Need Library Buildings When People Have Phones?

• The strongest argument against: Most people can now reach information on a smartphone. NVLI 2.0 already puts library content online [10]. Spending on buildings and books may look like an old answer to a new problem.
• What is right about it: Digital access really does help. UNESCO showed that digital libraries kept academic work going during COVID-19 [14]. That is why NVLI is worth building.
• Why it is not enough
• An online portal is useful only to people who have a device, data and the skill to search well.
• UNESCO's IFAP issue brief (2025) says libraries help turn connectivity (simply having internet) into meaningful use, because they reach people where they are [21].

• UNESCO also sees libraries as centres of media and information literacy, meaning the skill to judge whether information is true or false [4]. A phone does not teach this. Trained library staff can.

• Verdict: Digital and physical libraries work together. Neither one replaces the other.

11. What Other Countries Did That India Can Learn From

• South Sudan: digital libraries that need no internet
• UNESCO set up digital libraries using RACHEL devices. These hold content offline and work without steady internet or electricity [20].
• The University of Juba said this would help close the gap caused by costly books [20].

• Lesson for India: NVLI is an online portal [10]. Offline copies for areas with weak network would take it to readers it cannot reach today.

• Sierra Leone: a statutory library board

• A UNESCO-funded seminar at Ibadan helped lead to the creation of the Sierra Leone Library Board [22].
• Lesson: A body created by law gives libraries a permanent owner. This is the same thing a state Public Libraries Act does in India [18].

12. What Each Actor Should Do Next

• States without a library law should pass one
• Only 19 States/UTs have a library law [17].

• The Tamil Nadu Act of 1948 shows how a law gives a State Central Library a clear legal role [18]. Other states can copy this model.

• Ministry of Culture and RRRLF should reach below the district level

• The NML funds only one State Central Library and one District Library per state [10].
• RRRLF already gives matching grants (the Centre pays only if the state also pays) and non-matching grants (the Centre pays alone). These cover buildings, furniture, equipment and books [11].

• Directing more of these grants to village and block libraries would help readers the Model Library scheme does not reach.

• NVLI should offer offline content

• The Ministry of Culture could load NVLI material onto offline devices for low-connectivity areas, as UNESCO did in South Sudan [20].

• Train staff for every library, not just the model ones

• Musonda saw the shortage of trained staff as the main cause of weak, poorly linked libraries [1].
• NML has trained 2,465 professionals in 54 programmes [10]. The training should be tied to the media and information literacy role that UNESCO sets for libraries [4].

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: Only 19 States/UTs have passed a public library law (July 2025) [17]; 2,465 library professionals trained in 54 NML programmes by March 2026 [10]; NML 12th Plan outlay of Rs 400 crore [16].
• Report/Committee: UNESCO IFAP Issue Brief, Empowering Libraries for an Inclusive Digital Future (2025) [21]; IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 2022 [2].
• Law/Case: Libraries are on the State List of the Seventh Schedule [10]; Tamil Nadu (Madras) Public Libraries Act, 1948 [18]; Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954 (a central law) [23].
• Comparison: South Sudan: UNESCO's offline RACHEL digital libraries work without steady internet or power [20]. Sierra Leone: a statutory Library Board, set up with UNESCO support [22].
• Scheme: National Mission on Libraries (Model Libraries, capacity building, NVLI) [10]; RRRLF matching and non-matching grants [11].

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-I: Social issues; the role of knowledge access in social empowerment.
• GS-II: Issues relating to the development and management of education and human resources; government schemes (NML); Centre–State relations (a State-list subject); important international institutions (UNESCO, IFAP).
• GS-III: The digital divide and e-governance (NVLI).
• Essay: Knowledge societies; "Information is the currency of democracy."
• Question stems: 1. Fifty years after concerns were raised about 'appalling' library services in developing countries, public libraries in India remain under-resourced. Critically examine the role of the National Mission on Libraries in addressing this gap. (15 marks) 2. Libraries are a State subject, yet central schemes drive their modernisation. Discuss the federal challenges in building a public library system in India. (10 marks) 3. How can public libraries contribute to media and information literacy and to bridging the digital divide? Illustrate with reference to the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 2022. (15 marks)

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• National Virtual Library of India (NVLI): the digital arm of NML [10].
• Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation: the nodal body and its grant schemes [11].
• UNESCO Information for All Programme (IFAP): the global body for information access policy [2][5].
• Media and Information Literacy (MIL): UNESCO's current framing of the role of libraries [4].
• State Public Library Acts: these exist because libraries are a State subject [9].
• Five Laws of Library Science (S.R. Ranganathan): an Indian intellectual contribution that is often tested.
• National Digital Library of India / digital public infrastructure for education: a parallel digital access effort.
• Literacy and adult education (e.g. New India Literacy Programme): libraries support national literacy efforts [15].

16. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Digital divide (Geography): Weak library and information access in developing regions widens the gap between information-rich and information-poor people and countries.
• State List (Polity): Libraries are a State subject, so central schemes like the National Mission on Libraries depend on state cooperation.
• Centre-state relations (Polity): The Centre funds library modernisation through 75:25 cost-sharing, raising federal questions over who controls and pays for a State subject.
• Human resource (Economy): The 1976 speech blamed too few trained staff; capacity-building of library professionals is a human resource issue.
• Digital public infrastructure (Polity): The National Virtual Library of India is a shared digital platform that widens access to knowledge as a public good.
• Infrastructure (Economy): Libraries and information systems are social infrastructure; the note treats them as a long-run development investment.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Ministry: NML belongs to the Ministry of Culture, not the Ministry of Education [7].
• Nodal agency: NML's nodal agency is RRRLF, Kolkata. Do not confuse it with the National Library of India, which is also in Kolkata [7].
• NML year: PIB reports the presidential launch by Pranab Mukherjee (2014), while a Ministry of Culture document says 2012 [7][8]. Prefer the launch event if asked "launched by whom".
• NML scope: NML upgrades existing libraries. Setting up new libraries is outside its purview [10].
• Manifesto language count: Figures differ across UNESCO reports (18, 36 or 38) depending on date [3][4][5]. Prelims will probably test the 2022 update and IFAP endorsement, not the count.
• The 1976 event: It was an African regional librarians' conference in Lusaka, not a UNESCO General Conference, and the speaker was from the University of Zambia [1].