Long hours in college/office, traffic... it’s no easy task for someone with a hectic schedule to frequent a library these days. Buying books at their full price is not easy on the pocket either. But now there is yet another option, which is to get the books you want delivered at your doorstep. After you are done with reading them, they will be collected to be returned, again from your home. The service, named The Reader’s Web, has been launched by three enterprising youngsters from the city - Casey Nestor Fernandez, Romana Correya and Mellwyn Joseph. ‘Reader’s Web,’ is probably the first of its kind in the state, though the concept exists in metropolitan cities. The trio, all ardent book lovers, decided to take up the initiative to promote reading, or the joy of reading as one of the ventures of the company they floated - 26X7. Becoming a member at The Reader’s Web is easy. All you need to do is fill out the form through the website. Memberships are charged at Rs 1500 and Rs 2000 for a year with which you can avail four and six books in a month respectively - two and three at a time. Pick and choose the books from the catalogue on the website and they will be delivered at your home or office. There are no extra charges for each delivery or for the transport. While returning the books, you can pick up the next set of books. “Our intention is to help those who don’t have much time at their hands, but ideally, the books need to be returned within a three-month period,” says Romana. As of now, The Reader’s Web plans to make deliveries to those staying within a 15 km radius of their office at Kacherippady but those outside these limits can also become members. The books in the catalogue range from self-help and fiction to children’s books, classics and romance. Each will be accompanied by a small description. Members can request for a book which is not in the catalogue and Reader’s Web will try to procure it.“As of now, we are in the stage of experimenting the concept, let’s see how it works out,” says Romana. The trio, who were friends, were working in different organisations before they joined hands to start their company. Casey was working with Johnson & Johnson in Delhi, Romana was the ex president of the charity organisation AIESEC, while Mellwyn is still holding on to his job at JLL, Mumbai. Their families were a bit apprehensive about their leaving their jobs but gave the green signal when they realised that this was their dream job, they say. The Readers’ Web is the first initiative of 26x7. The company has other projects too in the pipeline. Talks are on with principals of CBSE schools to encourage students to read more. Other projects include sponsoring textbooks, tuition fees and uniforms to students from schools which does not have government aid. 26X7 is talking to publishers and bookvendors for procuring the books to be provided to the children before the academic year begins. A ‘green,’ though slightly ambitious plan of theirs is to tie up with environment-friendly NGOs and plant saplings for every book that they add to the library and for every delivery made. Check out their website at www.TheReadersWeb.com or call 080890 22387.
Comments
0 comment