Vayanadinam (Day of Reading) - 19 Jun 2021
	Jun 19 ishe death anniversary of Sri. P N Panicker who is known as the Father of the Library Movement in Kerala. Panicker was born on 1 March 1909 in kuttanadu in the erstwhile Travancore state . The young Panicker showed a keen interest in reading newspaper and books. Not only did he read them , he also read the daily news to groups of illiterate of all age groups. Panicker led the formation of Thiruvithaamkoor Granthasala Sangham (	Travancore	 Library Association) in 1945 with 47 rural libraries. The slogan of the organization was 'Read and Grow'. Later on, with the formation of Kerala State in 1956, it became Kerala Granthasala Sangham (KGS). He traveled to the villages of Kerala proclaiming the value of reading. He succeeded in bringing some 6,000 libraries into this network. Grandhasala Sangham won the prestigious "Krupsakava Award" from UNESCO in 1975. Panicker was the General Secretary of Sangham for 32 years, until 1977, when it was taken over by the State Government. The activities of the Kerala Grandhasala Sanghom that he initiated triggered a popular cultural movement in Kerala which produced universal literacy in the state in the 1990s. He died on 19 June 1995, at the age of 86. Department of Posts honored Panicker by issuing a commemorative postage stamp on 21 June 2004. The Government of Kerala observes 19 June annually as Vayanadinam (Day of Reading). During the vayanadinam , with a month long series of activities were conducted at schools and public institutions to honour the contributions of P.N. Panicker to the cause of literacy, education and library movement.

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