At a time when there is an unprecedented spurt in e-books and e-book readers, it is quite natural to assume that the demand for hard copy books is diminishing in the cities of Bhārata!

However, that assumption could be entirely false, if we take into account the increasing popularity of a community library chain called Just Books CLC! If you have not heard about it already, here is a quick overview:

Just Books is a network of libraries that was started by Sunder Rajan in 2008 in Bangalore. In four years, Just Books has grown to encompass over 50 franchises across 10 cities in India. In the meantime, this community library is also being incubated by IIMB’s NSRCEL program. Yes, Just Books seems to be growing in leaps and bounds, but does that mean that this technology-infused, library, chain is really appealing to readers?

The fact that there are over 5000 Just Books members in Bangalore alone and 12,000 Google searches for Just Books every month, makes you inclined to believe that Just Books has a mass appeal!

So, what is it that makes Just Books so popular?

Just Books CLC is a new generation community library with an extensive collection of books and magazines. All its libraries (that are actually franchises) are networked. This networking is very beneficial to readers who can rent a book from store A and return it at store B without any hassles and at no extra cost! Also, if store A does not have a book that you want, they will source the book from other libraries! What more does an avid reader want?

I know of a friend, who is not an avid reader, but became a member of the Just Books store at Rajajinagar (Bangalore, India) just because of its ambience! This library had some of the best interiors, excellent book cataloging, and a clean and harmonious setting which most libraries in the city lack! It is just one of the many factors that attract customers to Just Books libraries!

In addition to ambience, the one thing that allures most children to these libraries is their cool RFID (radio frequency identification) kiosk. The kiosk’s friendly touch screen encourages kids to select, return, and rent books without the intervention of adults !

What’s more, this community library just does not want you to stop reading! As a result, they offer to deliver and pick books from home! This concept definitely cuts the travel time (which is quite painful in Indian cities!!), but gets you every book on time at your doorstep! Mind you, all books at Just Books are maintained with great care – it is impossible to find torn covers and missing pages amongst their 5,00,000 books!!

So, have you visited Just Books? Did you like the library? Just remember to share your experience with us!