I am a member of just books. The branch I go to (J.P.Nagar, Bangalore) was good when I joined. It had a reading room for the ’avid reader’ plan which is Rs.3500 and the library itself was spacious and the collection was good.
Now that they are opening new branches, the collection has dwindled and the reading room has vanished. They have closed half the library to make storage space and there are 4-5 kindergarten chairs replacing the couches (well, if there is no reading room, why bother about the couches then??). The air-conditioner that was working earlier is just s show piece now! It is hot inside and only the librarian has a nice fan right next to her! They keep the door open for ventilation!
The librarians only seem to know how to issue/return books! They just mumble something if you ask them questions. There is a doorman (who is not needed anymore as the door is always open!).
As a family we used to enjoy going there on sunday afternoons and read for some time and borrow books. But now, you just go, borrow books and walk out. It is not fun for the kids to go to justbooks anymore! I’d rather go to Crossword/Landmark, though I can’t borrow books!