Vadodara: If you find it difficult to find a book in the central library, one of the oldest and largest libraries in the state, don’t worry too much.
You also don’t need help from a computer or you for a long search.
All you have to do is walk to Vijay Rao and name the book.
The 56-year-old child, in seconds, will point towards the shelf and tell where the book is stored.
“I also remember if the book sought by the reader is available or run out of stock.
People ask me how I remember the names of so many books and exact location in the library.
I think my desire to work apart from the experience earned for years Maybe he has honed my memory, “Rao said, who was assigned to clean the books and arrange it neatly on the shelf every day.
No wonder the readers were impressed with Rao because the central library was home to nearly three lakh books.
And when Rao revealed that he was only 12 passes, many visitors did not trust him.
“I am very poor in academics.
I pursued graduation but failed in the test.
So, I stopped and started doing a strange job before I was placed in this library about 12 years ago,” Rao, Tarsali resident, recalled.
Interestingly, when he studied, Rao never read a single book but now he is an encyclopedia running from various English books, Hindi and Gujarati.
“I remember books with their titles, the author’s name, photo cover page and even rack number.
Computerization came a few years ago but I have developed the habit of remembering the books that I still maintain,” Rao, who lovingly called the computer Walk with his colleagues, he added.
“I have never been interested in reading during my school years and I never thought I would live and breathe among books.
I have now developed a reading habit and my favorite books are spiritual,” Rao told Toi.
The Central Librarian Library, J K Chaudhary said, “Rao has an extraordinary memory.
He remembers the location for almost every book stored in our library and greatly helped our readers and employees.”
Meet librarians who know the bookshelf like the back of his hand
