According to the 2011 census, the per capita investment in public library development in India is less than 50 paise (0.00567 Euros). There is approximately one rural library for every 11,500 people and one urban library for every 80,000 people. The vast majority of these libraries have not been updated, and their numbers are rapidly dwindling. 
As a consequence, the Haadibadi community library was set up in 2019. It aspires to provide a highly cognitive learning environment for children from disadvantaged communities, allowing them to eventually participate in and influence the development in the city. This place has become more essential in the present pandemic times when the learning gap has been exacerbated by a lack of access to technology.  In this context, the library acts as a catalyst in empowering the community and holds significant symbolic value for the marginalized.
 Over three thousand volumes are housed in the library, which is frequented by more than eighty-five children from the neighbourhood. It is more than just a place to borrow books. Experts from various fields visit and conduct workshops for children. 
The library is currently set up in the old residence of one of the community members. However, space is a huge constrain. The building is weak and the roofs leak, making the everyday operation of the library extremely difficult. There is a huge need to reconstruct this space to address the needs of the growing number of children.

The process of rebuilding the library provides a tremendous opportunity for community engagement in the design and construction phases using participatory design approaches. The primary users, the children, are involved in the design process through a series of "claystorming" workshops. Casurina poles, which are commonly employed in the construction of scaffolding in the region, will be used for the primary structure of the library. This necessitates unskilled labour, which the community can provide. They will feel empowered and have a sense of ownership over the place as a result of the process, which will also strengthen their identity.
Haadibadi community library has more than one hundred members so far. It has reached out to more than five hundred students through partnerships with schools. In response to the growing number of users, the new design encapsulates spaces for more possibilities. In the long run, it will act as a hub for vast learning opportunities within the neighbourhood, serving more than a hundred.

The structure is simple to construct, and all of the materials can be obtained locally. It also has a high reuse value. This library will function as a self-built prototype that may be adopted in many locations throughout the city, particularly within marginalised communities. 

A group of friends from diverse disciplines, including education, theatre, art, social service, and corporate, who were members of the Hashmi theatre forum, developed the Haadibadi community library. 
Five people make up the core team. Ravikiran Rajendran is a co-founder of the library. He is a theatre practitioner and actor by profession. Geetha M is an educationist specialising in language pedagogy and children's literature. She is in charge of creating the content for the library's initiatives. Bhushan is a manager at Inmobi, who oversees Haadibadi's engagement in the corporate sector and other initiatives.
Vijayashanthi and Vijetha Kumar work as assistant professors and are part of the core team. Along with Divya who is a facilitator at the library who also manages promotions and the website.

Tejaswini Krishna, an architect, is leading the design process through participatory methods and community engagement. The children have been greatly involved in the design process and construction labourers from the community will be involved in the building phase.

Haadibadi library website
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