How 6 Kids Built a Library That’s Now Changing 250 Young Lives

There is something lovely about walking into a room where children run the show. In Chagaletti near Bengaluru, that feeling greets you the moment you see a group of young readers settling on mats, whispering over their favourite books, and welcoming newcomers with easy confidence. This is their library. They built it, they run it, and they guard it with pride.

How it began: A library by kids, for kids

The story started in August 2010, in a small village called Chagaletti about 23 km from Bengaluru. Six schoolchildren — Shalini, Meghana, Vedhashree, Vanishree, Manasa, and Karthik — decided they wanted a place where other children could read, play, and explore books together. With support from child-rights activists, a room in Nagasimha Rao’s ancestral home was turned into Chagaletti Makkala Granthalaya, the Chagaletti Children’s Library.

What set it apart from the beginning was its leadership. The same children who borrowed the books also catalogued them, handled lending, and maintained the space. Their effort even won them the Best Community Library Award from the Hippocampus Reading Foundation within the first eight months.

Inside the library: What keeps it going

From day one, Chagaletti Library has been truly run by children, for children. The young librarians don’t just pick the books; they organise reading sessions, host neighbourhood clubs, and create a space where kids feel excited to explore stories. 

When the pandemic hit, they stepped up in remarkable ways: organising mobile reading sessions, lending books to children in migrant-worker families, and keeping learning alive for those who could no longer reach the library. 

This outreach brought a new wave of children into the space. Many came from migrant families living in temporary settlements near Chagaletti. Over time, 18 children from these families became core members who found both learning and friendship at the library.

Today, over 18 migrant children have become core members. And it’s more than just borrowing books: the library now doubles as a learning space where kids themselves run English, Kannada, and math classes and even teach the basics of spoken English, making the library a place of friendship, confidence, and growth.

Where young leaders keep the pages turning

Fifteen years later, the library continues to be run by children, many of whom were once students here and now guide the next set of young librarians from afar. The membership has grown to over 250 children from Chagaletti and 11 nearby villages. Anyone can join with a one-time fee of Rs 10.

The library now has nearly 5,000 books, including novels, encyclopaedias, and colourful illustrated stories. Its mobile library service carries books to nearby village schools, extending its reach even further.

Its influence has travelled well beyond Chagaletti. Several child-led libraries across Karnataka have drawn inspiration from this model, and NGOs from India and abroad have reached out to learn how to replicate it.

A future shaped by stories and young leaders

The Chagaletti Children’s Library is a reminder that learning grows deeper when children are given real responsibility. Here, they do far more than borrow books. They organise, they teach, they manage, and they look out for one another.

In a world where adults usually make every decision, this library offers a gentle but powerful example of what trust can create. For parents, teachers, and anyone who believes in the power of reading, Chagaletti shows that a library can become something larger than shelves and books. It can become a home shaped by stories, care, and confident young leaders.

Sources:

‘Kids play by the book’: by Saumyangi Yadav for Bangalore Mirror Bureau, Published on 20 February 2023.

‘How a library run by kids came to the rescue of children of migrant workers during the pandemic’:  by Maitreyi Boruah for Scroll.in, Published on 14 February 2021.

‘Town of bookworms: A library of kids, by kids, for kids’: by Deepika Burli, The Times Of India, Published on 16 June 2016.

‘For Children, By Children’: by Nandini Chandrashekhar for The New Indian Express, Published on 4 January 2016.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com