Kartik Kumar
Pakur
For Sanjay Kachhap, a government employee posted as Marketing Secretary in Jharkhand’s Agriculture Department, a library is not merely a room filled with books but a centre for learning, digital access, career guidance and community leadership. Over the past 18 years, his personal initiative has grown into a grassroots movement, with more than 50 community libraries now functioning across 12 districts of Jharkhand.
Known as Jharkhand’s “Library Man”, Kachhap began the initiative on October 2, 2008, by setting up a neighbourhood library at Pulhatu in Ward No. 1 of Chaibasa, his ancestral place. With support from friends and local residents, the model expanded across the state, with around 40 libraries established in the Kolhan region.
The libraries serve school and college students as well as youth preparing for competitive examinations. The “Each One – Teach One” practice encourages senior students to guide younger learners, turning the libraries into spaces for knowledge-sharing and leadership development.
In 2015, Kachhap converted his Alto car into a mobile library, travelling to remote villages with books and promoting reading habits. His new car is now also being used for the same purpose.
Community participation remains central to the initiative. Teachers, officials, students, social workers, businesspeople and villagers have donated books, furniture and digital equipment. Tata Steel Foundation has provided computers and printers, while district administrations have helped renovate community buildings for use as libraries.
The libraries are connected through a WhatsApp network, “Digital Library Group Jharkhand”, which helps mobilise resources and share information. Former library users who have secured jobs are also returning to contribute books, guidance and time, with some helping establish new libraries.
On August 11, Kachhap presented Jharkhand’s community-library model at a national workshop and exhibition on digital transformation in Rajasthan. The initiative was appreciated for its focus on community participation, youth leadership and digital learning.
Kachhap says the campaign’s success lies in collective ownership. “An individual’s initiative becomes a sustainable movement only when society makes it its own campaign,” he says.
His vision goes beyond examination success—to connect rural and tribal youth with education, technology, culture and leadership while inspiring them to create libraries of their own.
