This 38 Year Old Iconic Private Library of Mangalore to Close Down in June: Click to Know

After delighting readers for nearly four decades, the iconic private circulating library on Light House Hill Road – Readers’ Delight – will close its shutters to book lovers this June.

The library was started by Gerald Fernandes, with family support, on March 28, 1985, later supported by his wife Wilma, an avid reader. Starting was not easy as we had to stock books. I, along with Victor Alvares, owner of Standard Library (which closed in 2019), scouted for books from wholesalers in Mumbai and Bengaluru,” said Gerald.

Fortune smiled on him, as from day one, as the library started getting good footfalls, perhaps it was his acumen of sensing the pulse of readers that helped. Such was the popularity that students from Manipal also were regulars at this library.

Though the onslaught of TV channels, VCRs, DVDs cut the reading crowd to some extent, smartphones saw the crowd halve in the last decade. But the last nail in the coffin was Covid, which made people totally stay at home and get glued to their smartphones for study and work. But when students started getting study material online and through PDFs, it was difficult for a business like this.