A Book Treasure in Anandnagar
The 'P. P. Sadguru Shree Mamasaheb Deshpande Public Library' was founded and established on the auspicious day of 'Phalgun Vadya Navmi' on 11th March 1999.
P. P. Shree ShirishDada Kawade whose love for books is perhaps only surpassed by his affection for P. P. Shree Mama, donated his rare and valuable treasure trove of books to the library. It is because of this act of extraordinary generosity on his part, that these books are accessible to us all. That, such a rare collection of books from the personal collection of Shree Sadguru and Paramguru be available to us is but a gift of his selfless and unconditional love.
Shortly, on 1st April 2000 the library was accredited by the State Govt. of Maharashtra and granted a 'B'-level status.
progress of library
What started as just 25 subscribers has slowly ballooned to over 500 subscribers today. Numerous readers also take advantage of the free newspaper service.
The past few years has seen a marked increase in the number of titles made available and today the library boasts a proud collection of over 22,000 volumes; more than 50 periodicals and over 20 newspapers!!
The past few years has seen a marked increase in the number of titles made available and today the library boasts a proud collection of over 22,000 volumes; more than 50 periodicals and over 20 newspapers!!
Shreepad Seva Mandal is working tirelessly towards the expansion and overall up-gradation of the library. Along with the generous gift of books from P. P. Shree Dada, Dr. V. M. Bachal, Dr. P. V. Kulkarni, Shree Jayant Vasht, the Dr. V. D. Kulkarni Smruti Samitee, Vishwa Bharat Sanskrutik Kendra and many other book-lovers have wholeheartedly donated several hundred volumes to enrich the library's overall collection of books. The library also routinely buys newer publications. These include publications put forth by Geeta Press (Gorakhpur), The Ramkrishna Matth, The Kalpataru Research Academy, Shree Vamanraj Prakashan, to name a few. The library also intends to posses the entire works of Shree Pant Maharaj (Balekundri), Shree Raman Maharshi, Shree Gurudev Ranade, Shree Sant Gulabrao Maharaj, Yogi Aurobindo, etc. There is an equally rich collections of Stories, Novels along with classics from various languages. Thus a reader will find thousands of books on a variety of topics of his liking.
Salient features of the Library
1) The library is centrally located yet quiet, peaceful and clean. A certain pleasantness and freshness envelops the reader as soon as he enters it's premises.
2) Members are allowed to checkout a periodical with a book at any given time.
3) For the convenience of the far-away subscribers, the return date maybe extended over the phone.
4) As per the demand, up to 50 books are borrowed from various Govt. libraries.
5) Newspaper section: There is an independent section for newspaper reading.
6) Women's section: A special section for women containing books with a special appeal to the female reader, such as child-rearing, child-psychology, child-behavior, knitting/weaving, cooking, home-remedies, etc. in various languages along with several biographies and other saint-literature are available.
7) Children's Section: A series of children's classics like the Panchatantra, Aesop's fables, Ramayan, Mahabharat along with biographies of various saints are available for children. Books by Bharat-Bharati Prakashan, P. Kalavatidevi, Geeta Press and Ramkrishna Matth are also available. Popular classics like Tarzan, Harry Potter, Arabian Nights, Bokyaa Saatbande, Faster Fene also grace the library shelves. For special educational needs, the Encyclopedia Britannica, World Encyclopedia, various dictionaries etc are available. Moral stories, comics, magic stories etc. fill the children's section.
8) Teen Section: Short stories, novels, mysteries along with books on computers and various branches of Engineering are readily available.
9) Grown-up Section: Along with elegant world literature, popular volumes like Sampurna Chaturmaas, books on rituals, Purans, pilgrimages and other saint-literature spanning all religious and spiritual topics fill this section.
10) Reference Section: A rich reference section assists the researchers and students. An independent seating area is reserved for them.
Despite the availability of all kinds of literature the reader eventually gravitates towards the massive collection of spiritual literature in his quest for inner peace. Towards that there is a copious selection of saint-literature by Shree Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj, Shree Namdev Maharaj, Shree Tukaram Maharaj, Shree Eknath Maharaj, Shree Ramdas Swami, Shree Raman Maharshi, J.Krishnamurti, Shree Gulabrao Maharaj, Shree Gondawlekar Maharaj, Yogi Aurobindo, Osho Rajnish, Shree Gurudev Ranade, Guru Nanak, etc.