Malayalee Community Unveil New Book Collection

A thousand books have been added to the collection at Swindon’s Central Library which will benefit up to 120 families in the town.

The Malayalam book collection was officially unveiled today (26 June) at the Regent Circus library and it is hoped the book stock will encourage members of the Malayalee community to take advantage of the library service.

Roy Stephen, president of the Wiltshire Malayalee Association first approached the library service a year ago to ask if a collection of new, donated Malayalam books could be held the Central Library.

And, after obtaining £500 in grant funding plus a further £1,000 in donations from the Malayalee community, the books are now in stock and have been added to a wider collection that includes books in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Polish, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Punjabi.

“I am really pleased we have been able to put this book collection together and I must thank the library staff for all their help,” said Roy. “We are going to see how these books are being used and if members of our community are showing sufficient interest we will bring more books in.

“We want members of our community to use the books and to spend time in the library.”

Members of the Swindon Malayalee community attended the unveiling of the book collection and were joined by Jobe Michael, a church minister from India.

Malayalam is spoken in India, predominantly in the state of Kerala. It is one of the many languages of India and was designated a Classical Language in India in 2013.

Glenda O’Connor, Central Library manager, said: “We are delighted with this collection. It is very important that we develop links with all parts of the wider community and by having these books members of the Malayalee community now have the perfect chance to pop into the library and take advantage of some of our other services.”

For more information about Swindon Libraries and Information Service visit: www.swindon.gov.uk/libraries