Karnataka’s village libraries set for global makeover under German partnership

Bengaluru: A child walking into a village library in Karnataka could soon have access not only to books but also to world literature, cultural programmes, language learning methods and pathways to global careers.

Planning to transform about 6,000 ‘Arivu Kendras’ (village libraries) across rural Karnataka into modern knowledge centres with global learning resources, the state govt on Thursday collaborated with Germany’s Goethe-Institut Indien for a two-year programme, called Connecting Dots.Under the initiative, the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s cultural organisation, will invest ₹1.8 crore over the next two years to strengthen the Arivu Kendras.

It has already donated children’s storybooks worth ₹9 lakh to the village libraries. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was exchanged at Vikasa Soudha in Bengaluru in the presence of rural development and panchayat raj minister Eshwar Khandre, Goethe-Institut director Michel Einstein, Max Mueller Bhavan chief librarian Sheshagiri Kulkarni and senior govt officials.Khandre said the initiative aims to bridge the knowledge divide between rural and urban communities by building networks in education, art and culture.

“The idea behind the project is to bring together the strengths of various institutions and build a strong knowledge network so that students and rural communities have access to learning opportunities comparable to those available in urban areas,” he said.

Karnataka has 5,886 Arivu Kendras spread across its 5,928 gram panchayats. The collaboration will focus on enhancing the capacities of library supervisors, enabling them to transform village libraries into vibrant community learning centres rather than mere repositories of books.

The initiative will also promote cultural exchange by showcasing Karnataka’s rural art forms to audiences in Germany while introducing German literature, culture and artistic traditions to young people in villages across the state.Beyond enriching knowledge, the collaboration seeks to improve employment prospects for rural youth. With Germany facing a growing demand for skilled workers, the programme will facilitate German language training for skilled candidates from rural Karnataka, helping them access employment opportunities in Germany. Rural development department secretary D Randeep, commissioner Arundhati Chandrashekhar and other senior officials were also present at the event.