By Meera Manu - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Published: 09th September 2013 12:00 AM
Last Updated: 08th September 2013 05:26 PM
It all started four months back. Five friends got together and discussed their ideas to start an online lending library — I am a Book Lover. The library, which distributes books in the city, garnered over 200 customers, including students and professionals. The library is run by Shijin SS, Arundas S (both charted accountancy students), Ambu Senan (company secretary student), Remya R (MBA student) and Reshma S Jayan (BTech student).
The founders pooled in their savings to fund this start-up. When the CA students began doing their articleship as part of the course, the stipend amount too was spent on the library. Meanwhile, a small room was taken on rent and books were stored there. With the help of a friend, they designed a beautiful user-friendly website for the online library. They collected books in Malayalam and English and prepared an initial list of books after conducting a survey in places near their homes. Now the number of books has gone up to almost 1,500.
Bibliophiles need to do just this: log on to www.iamabooklover.com, become a member, choose his/her favourite from the list of books and it will arrive at their door steps in hours. “For upgrading the library and book collection, there are well-wishers who donate books for us. We may also go and buy books as suggested by our readers and have entered into tie-ups with book publishers. We also buy books from online bookshops,” says Shijin.
The inspiration came from online lending libraries functioning in metro cities like Kochi and Chennai, and ‘Book-lovers’ too dream of making it big one day. I am a Book Lover has books ranging in a wide variety of subjects including literature, business, history, humour, sports and education.
Delivery is done from 4 pm to 7 pm when these ‘book-lovers’ get back from college.
— meera.manu@newindianexpress.com
