Archive · 1 Dec 2025
Kids Build and Run Library in Chagaletti
In 2010, six schoolchildren in a small village near Bengaluru, India, started a library for kids, by kids.
They turned a room in a house into a place where children could read, play, and learn together.
The kids themselves take care of the library, picking books, organizing reading sessions, and even teaching classes.
During the pandemic, they made sure other children could still access books by lending them out and holding mobile reading sessions.
Now, over 250 children from nearby villages are members, and the library has almost 5,000 books.
It's a special place where kids learn, teach, and grow together.
Six schoolchildren founded a library in Chagaletti, near Bengaluru, in 2010.
The library, called Chagaletti Makkala Granthalaya, is run entirely by children.
During the pandemic, the kids organized mobile reading sessions and lent books to migrant families.
The library now has over 250 members and nearly 5,000 books.
It offers English, Kannada, and math classes taught by the children themselves.
- Who
- Six schoolchildren and over 250 current members
- What
- A children's library run by kids
- When
- Founded in August 2010, continues today
- Where
- Chagaletti, near Bengaluru, India
- Why
- To provide a place for children to read, play, and explore books together
- Location
- Chagaletti, near Bengaluru, India
- Founded
- August 2010
- Founders
- Six schoolchildren: Shalini, Meghana, Vedhashree, Vanishree, Manasa, and Karthik
- Membership Fee
- Rs 10 (one-time)
- Current Membership
- Over 250 children
- Book Collection
- Nearly 5,000 books
- Awards
- Best Community Library Award from the Hippocampus Reading Foundation
- Special Programs
- Mobile library service, English, Kannada, and math classes