'At first I was surprised to hear that my son Surjeet wanted to join the library. Later I found that even his friends had joined - so it was a group activity too,' Pal said.

While most of community libraries are funded by residents there are some that began on individual initiative like the Buty Public Library in Sector B-11, Vasant Kunj, that is scientist Vimla Buty's baby.

Started in 2004, the library has 4,500 books in English and Hindi as well as magazines and journals.

Buty told IANS: 'In the absence of any public library in Vasant Kunj, the need for establishing one was eminent. Even though the library is mostly for the elderly of Vasant Kunj, we welcome everyone.'

W.M. Bali, a retired government official who is a regular visitor, said: 'I like the library very much - it has all kinds of books ranging from religious, fiction and non-fiction. The library also subscribes to my favourite magazines.'

In addition to residential communities, even vernacular community libraries have gained popularity in the capital.

'The libraries run by the different Kali Baris (temples) and Bengali associations provide Bangla books and literature,' said Shiuli Mukherjee, 35.

She added: 'As a parent I fear that regional literature and our traditions are getting lost, that is why I encourage my children to come to the library.'

Another library that caters to vernacular tastes is the Vanita Samaj Library for Marathi books that houses around 45,000 books.

The number of members of the Theerar Satyamurthy Memorial Library Tamil Sangam, which has 18,000 Tamil books, and the Karnataka Sangam Library, with a whopping 60,000 books, have also risen in the past decade.

Shameemunnisa, the librarian at the Tamil Sangam library, said: 'The condition of the library has improved and the number of members has now increased to at least 3,226.'

Membership fees at the regional libraries is nominal - enrolment costs Rs.500 while annual fee is Rs.100.