An estimated 40,000 books in diverse languages—English, Marathi, Hindi, Konkani and Sanskrit—besides newspapers and periodicals, are homed in this library. Newspapers and periodicals are also available at the library, which has sections for children, Goa, records, a conference and lecture room, cafetaria, braille section and multi-purpose hall. Internet browsing is available too, and the library is kept open on Saturdays and Sundays. As of December 2011, the library claimed a membership of 2300. The library has two buses to transport students, and a mobile library.
History
The District Library located at Navelim, Salcete, Goa—just outside the South Goa headquarters city of Margao—is named after the intellectual and former Parliamentarian from Navelim, Dr. Francisco Luis Gomes, who was born on May 31, 1829. Dr. Francisco Luis Gomes came to be known as a great Goan Parliamentarian, a linguist, thinker, master of several European and Indian languages, medical doctor, writer, orator, economist, campaigner for rights and social worker. The foundation stone for the District Library was laid on February 5, 2007.
Objectives
The Dr. Francisco Luis Gomes District Library started with the objective of providing a free public library and information service to the people of South Goa. The library also acts as community centre for informal education. It serves the needs of all members of community without any distinction of class, creed, occupation, race, sex and specially those of neo-literates and children.
Stacks and Sections
The Stacks Section is on the ground floor. It spreads over. It has over 15,000 books which cover all subject areas. This section has a collection of books in four languages viz. English, Hindi, Marathi and Konkani. Books are issued for a maximum period of one month.
Periodicals Section
The Periodicals section is located on the first floor. Newspapers, magazines and journals are kept in this section. All leading newspapers and magazine are available in this section for readers. At present the library subscribes to 21 leading dailies in different languages and 174 magazines in all categories to serve user needs.
Braille Section
The Braille section is on first floor adjacent to Periodical Section. Special care is taken to facilitate visually handicapped readers in this section. This section has 14 Braille books, sculptures, Braille equipments and appliances, biological charts and geographical maps.
Own Book Reading Section
The Own Books Section is on the first floor adjacent to the periodical section. Readers and users are being permitted to carry their personal study books, laptops and notebooks. Students are known to take the maximum benefit of this section.
Computer Section
This section is located on the second floor of the library, adjacent to Reference Section. The library users can browse the internet. They can also download the information or take printouts.
Goa Section
The Goa Section is on the fourth floor of the library. It has over 3864 collection of rare books among which the Goa section includes 2253 books and the law section includes 1611 books. This section has a good collection of books specifically on Goan history. This section provides reference services, photocopying of documents and information services. It also includes physical and political maps on Indian States.
Children's Section
The children’s section is on the third floor and consists of 5000 books and 274 CD/DVD materials, in addition to toys and games. This section comprises Reference Section, Audio-Visual Section, Toys and Games Section, Children’s Periodical Section and Children-Computer Section. Members can borrow books and magazines for a period of one month, after availing of membership.
Other facilities
The regional office of Indian Council for Cultural Relations in Goa is also located at this venue. This was launched here in late November 2010. Conference hall: The conference hall has facilities for conducting workshops/ conference/seminars/ meetings or presentations. It is fitted with high quality LCD projector with LCD screen for any kind of visual presentation. It can accommodate up to 30 people at a time. Lecture Hall: The lecture hall has an elegant structure with aesthetically designed and fully air-conditioned with the seating capacity of 90 people at a time. It has excellent acoustic features, LCD projector and audio system Multipurpose Hall: The Multipurpose Hall is well designed and fully air-conditioned with the sitting capacity of 100 people. Various programs are conducted to inculcate reading habit among the children.
