Covina Library sells off surplus books at Fill-A-Bag sale

Covina Public Library’s Fill-A-Bag book sale enables the library to unload the mass amount of donated books it receives each month. It also gives the public a chance to purchase many books at an affordable price.Courtesy photo

By Hillary Smith, The San Gabriel Valley Tribune

The owners of Barnes & Noble would probably have a coronary if customers filled a bag with books, laid $2 on the counter and walked out.

But Covina Public Library at 234 N. Second Ave. let residents to do just that. Their second Fill-A-Bag book sale, which ran Friday and Saturday, benefited the community twofold. Book owners were able to get rid of old books by donating to the library instead of throwing them out and people who can’t pay $20 for a small paperback were able to stock up.

The first sale at the library a few months ago was a great success, according to Library Services Supervisor Jennifer Blair.

“We ended up getting rid of probably 70 percent of the books we’d saved as surplus, which is great,” she said.

People could select up to 10 paperbacks for $2 and up to five hardcover books for $5. The sales give people access to novels of all genres when they can’t afford high-priced books at retail stores.

This accessibility is the reason Patti Couch has volunteered at the library for the past four years.

“The book sale is fantastic,” Couch said. “A lot of people can’t afford to pay that much and it’s a great deal. Most of the books are in really good shape.”

The volunteer noticed another service the sale days provide to residents.

“I think for some people, it’s a social place,” she said. “Maybe they don’t see other people during the day.”

The library in general gives many the chance to interact with, or just see, other people, she said. And for others, it’s just something to do.

“There are some people there every day of the week,” she said. “It’s a way of life. We have some lovely people. It’s great.”

The library doesn’t make much profit from the Fill-A-Bag event, but whatever is made goes back to free programs and services at the center.

“If we’re not able to add the donated books to our library, we’re able to raise funds for the library,” Blair said. “It’s a small fundraiser, but any little bit helps.”

Covina Library receives a mass of books each month.

“I would say we get almost 1,000 every month,” said Lance Farrar, who does general maintenance at the library. “We always have a good turnout when we have sales because they’re priced well. They’re good quality and it saves the library a lot of money.”

Blair said people still have an appreciation for physical books versus e-books or online books, despite the large amount of donated novels each month.

“Talking to a lot of people at the library, there’s a whole bunch of us who still only have the physical books and aren’t into the Kindle,” she said. “It’s something about having the book in your hand.”

Farrar notices the same thing with people he’s met at the library.

“People still like to hold something,” he said. “You have the written word in your hand.”

The library staff member enjoys mystery novels himself, but said the sales have almost everything.

“We have a whole collection of books, from children’s books all the way up to mystery and nonfiction; there’s something for everybody.”

For information on future library events, visit the library’s page on Covinaca.gov.

New state government rules on minority quota seats faze colleges in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Principals of minority colleges in the city are baffled by a new resolution issued by the state minority welfare department on June 18, laying fresh guidelines on filling vacant seats in the minority quota.


The guidelines in the government resolution (GR) contradict a circular issued by the University of Mumbai prior to this year's admissions.

As per the new GR, colleges are supposed to fill vacant minority quota seats with students from minority communities other than their own religious or linguistic community. However, most colleges have almost filled up their minority quota seats using the guidelines issued by the university.

Most of the top-rung colleges in the city are minority institutions, including Jai Hind, HR, St Xavier's, NM, KC and KPB Hinduja.

While the joint director in Mumbai region is yet to send the GR to colleges, a few principals who have downloaded it from the government's website believe that the new guidelines defy logic. "How would we know if a student from a particular minority section does not have the advantage of using the quota in some other college. It will be very random. Every student will belong to some or the other minority community. The implementation of this resolution will be chaotic," said a principal.

T A Shiware, chairman of the Association of Non-Government Colleges, said, "If seats are vacant, we usually admit students from the open category. There are several minority communities in the state. If we start admitting students from other communities, the process might get chaotic."

Manju Nichani, principal of KC College, said the GR has to be studied in detail. "After preliminary reading, the interpretation of the GR looks difficult for implementation," she said. Minority quota seats in most self-financed courses are almost full, and seats are vacant only in a few traditional courses, Nichani added.

N M College principal Sunil Mantri said, "Filling up seats in the Gujarati minority quota has never been a problem The GR has come very late when most of the minority quota admissions across colleges are already over. Also, I do not know if the GR holds any legal stand as the government cannot interfere in the admission process in minority institutes."

At HR College, too, the Sindhi minority quota seats are already taken, though a third list is yet to come out. Principal Indu Shahani said the minority quota seats never go vacant in the college. "In fact, the cut-offs, too, are very high in this quota," she added.

Minority quota seats in top-rung institutes are also sought-after as students believe they are less competitive. Even students with high scores opt for minority quota.

Krisha J, who scored 96.5% in HSC, applied for BCom (accounts and finance) in the minority quota at HR College to avoid competition in the open category admissions.

New University exams controller promises clean-up

The new exams controller of Mumbai University has promised to clean up the flaws in the system and make the examination process less cumbersome for students.


Dinesh Bhonde, who took charge of his new responsibility on Saturday, said that although much of the process was online there were still too many forms to be filled and submitted and this required to be changed.


Bhonde, who was exam controller of the Nagpur-based Yashwantrao Chavan Open University, pointed to question paper leaks and the delay in declaring results as two of the major issues that required to be resolved.


"Examinations is a project for me. It will take some time to learn how the system works in the university. It won't be possible to make changes all of a sudden. One would have to design the system by removing the lacunae and this could take about a year," the new exam controller said.


Before his nearly three-year stint with the open university, Bhonde was with the state board for technical education for seven years and spent six years as exam controller with an autonomous polytechnic.


"Mumbai University students submit examination forms online. But why should they have to submit separate forms for examinations," he asked. Bhonde explained that his experience in handling exams for 30 lakh students of the open university would help him to improve things for Mumbai University students.


This may require the digitization of all student records, from admission to convocation.


"It is good that the university has started delivering question papers to colleges online. But, similarly, the process from appointment of the paper setter to generation of the question paper should also be secured to prevent leaks," Bhonde said. "My job is to make the system easy."

Mumbai girl gets Cambridge's Manmohan Singh scholarship

Mumbai, City student Ritu Muralidharan has been awarded this year's University of Cambridge's "Manmohan Singh Undergraduate Scholarship", a statement said here Tuesday.

Muralidharan, a student of Dhirubhai Ambani International School here, will study Economics at Christ's College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.

The scholarship, funded by Cambridge Assessment which conducts the Cambridge International Examinations (CIS), will provide full funding for her three-year long undergraduate study at the University of Cambridge.

"I cannot wait to begin my three years at Cambridge and make the most of all the endless opportunities lying ahead of me. There is no better place where I can translate my passion for economics into a force capable of nurturing meaningful social change in India," a thrilled Muralidharan said regarding the award.

Admitting that she never actually hoped to get the prestigious scholarship, Muralidharan termed it as an "amazing honour" and thanked her school, family and friends for their support.

CIS South Asia regional director William Bickerdike said that at Cambridge, the qualifications are designed to help learners like Muralidharan not only to enter the university, but also empower them to continue -- at the university and in life and employment beyond.

As many as 338 schools in India offer Cambridge programmes and qualifications, including Cambridge IGCSE (the world's most popular international qualification for 14 to 16 years olds) and Cambridge International AS and A Levels for Indian students.

Source:IANS

Kaivalyadhama to set up yoga centres at SNDT and Kalina campus of Mumbai University

Report by India Education bureau, Mumbai: India’s one of the oldest and one of  the most renowned yoga institute Kaivalyadhama of Lonavla will celebrate World Yoga Day tomorrow at its Mumbai campus at Marine Drive. As part of the celebrations, at 8 am in the morning, 250 young students of yoga carrying colourful posters and banners will march from Kalvalyadhama’s Marine Drive Campus to the sea front to create awareness about the holistic science of Yoga.

According to Mr Subodh Tiwari, Joint Director of Kaivalyadhama and convener of the World Yoga Day celebrations, the institute is on a mission to unite today’s youth with the benefits of yoga, who are drifting more towards materialistic pleasures and resulting agonies. This is for the first time that World Yoga Day is being celebrated in the country, he said.

World Yoga Day celebrations on June 21 at Kaivalyadhama will be inaugurated by Shri J.S Saharia, Chief Secretary, Maharashtra State. The other dignitaries who will grace the occasion and speak to the audience will include Dr Rajan Welukar, Vice-Chancellor, University Of Mumbai, Dr Bhushan Upadyay, Joint Commissioner, Police (Traffic), film star Neha Dhupia, national swimming champion Virdhawal Vikram Khade and Dr D.R. Karthikeyan, former CBI Director.

On its mission to spiritually empower the youth, the University of Mumbai has tied up with Kaivalyadhama to initiate Yoga at its Kalina campus. The institute has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SNDT University to promote Yoga courses and practice . Kaivalyadhama is assisting Mumbai Traffic Police with yoga training to help its staff reduce stress. It is also working with juvenile homes of the country to reduce the stress levels of their inmates and radiate upon the right way of living life.

Kaivalyadhama has helped The National Council of Education Research & Training (NCERT) for formulating modules of yoga for schools across India. It is also partnering with various State Departments of Higher & Technical Education and universities to spread yogic education in schools, colleges and professional institutes across the country.

In his congratulatory message, Shri JS Saharia, Chief Secretary, Maharashtra State, said, “Today the world is becoming more agonistic. Problems, which could be solved by simple means, are getting more complicated. The core reason is the ever-rising ego, which needs to be understood. Practice of yoga and meditation helps on in achieving that inner connectedness, which will help in finding effortless solution to problems. I congratulate Kaivalyadhama in its efforts to take yoga among the youth of the country, which is the most significant requirement at the moment .”

For the celebrations, Rajan Welukar,  Vice-Chancellor, University Of Mumbai, said, “A  University is the gateway to the professional life of an individual. Application of yoga at the University level helps an individual stay self-less and stress-free and at the same time motivated. It enhances the productivity of an individual and thus increasing the productivity of the nation. I thank Kaivalyadhama for their assistance in setting up a yoga campus at Kalina. I urge other universities also to inculcate yoga as an integrated part of their campus life”

Dr Bhushan Upadyay, Joint Commissioner, Police (Traffic), said, “The life of a traffic policeman is one of the most stressful. If every staff of Mumbai Police, practice yoga, pranayama and meditation, he will be more healthy and stress-free and will be able to make a better social contribution than what he is able to make today. We would like institutes like Kaivalyadhama to train all our staff so that they could deliver their best contribution to the society.”    

Fim Star Neha Dhupia in her message said, “I find yoga and meditation a lot rejuvenating and I make it a point to practice yoga daily for an hour. I have been practicing the ashtanga form of yoga which is healing me to tone my muscles, calm myself and obtain inner strength. The youth should integrate yoga into their everyday lives. This will help them staying unaffected in this highly competitive world .”

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