{
  "id": 20164058,
  "title": "Jalgaon: Book Street Draws Over 10,000 Readers, Challenges Notion Of Declining Reading Habits",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/jalgaon-book-street-draws-over-10-000-readers-challenges-notion-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-15T10:37:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-book-street-draws-over-10000-readers-challenges-notion-of-declining-reading-habits"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Jalgaon, a novel event called 'Book Street' was organized by the Vallabhdas Valji Library in collaboration with Pai Friends Library from Dombivali to encourage reading. The library, marking its 150th anniversary, displayed one lakh books across 75 squares on a red carpet at Kavyaratnavali Chowk. Nashik-based Amey Ghaisas, head of Pai Friends Library, explained that the idea was inspired by a German practice where people sit on streets to read. Books were offered free of cost, with a collection spanning literary works, children's books, poetry anthologies, and titles in multiple languages. The initiative, which started in Dombivali, Thane, and Pune, reached Jalgaon for the first time. Despite being on a Sunday, the event saw a massive turnout of over 10,000 readers who queued as early as 4:30 am. The square was closed to traffic from 5 am to 4 pm. Nashik's Hemant Nehete and homemaker Shital Tayade praised the diverse book selection, while Tayade wished she had arrived earlier as some books had already sold out. Dr Shubhada Kulkarni, secretary of Vallidas Vachanalaya, highlighted the importance of quality books in personality development, affirming that the city's residents showed great enthusiasm for the high-quality offerings.",
  "summary": "Jalgaon : A unique initiative called ‘Book Street’, organised by the Vallabhdas Valji Library in Jalgaon and Pai Friends Library from Dombivali to promote a culture of reading, was held in Jalgaon for the first time. Residents responded with such enthusiasm, queuing as early as 4.30 am, that they effectively dispelled the notion that the culture of reading is in decline. The Vallabhdas Valji…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}