13 September 2007, Bombay
I love it! Librarywala.com will deliver books of your choosing from a list of over 8,000 titles ranging from Business & Management to Sports within 24 hours in Bombay. The Netflix model applied to books and Indianized – a deliverywala will show up at your door.
Books are relatively expensive in India (unless you count the pirated paperbacks full of typos and missing pages sold by the homeless in major street intersections). For example, we paid full price (Rs. 975 or US$ 24) for the latest Harry Potter (hardcover) at the local Crossword bookstore (the cheapest available in Bombay was in “town” for Rs. 675). Most of our young Mumbaiker friends did not buy the book because they would not think of spending that kind of money for anything (except electronic gadgets). Paperbacks range from Rs. 250 to Rs. 595 (US$ 6.25 to US$ 15). In comparison, I just bought a “better quality” carry-on size dufflebag for Rs. 250 and you can buy clothing as well as shoes for Rs. 100 to 200.
At Librarywala.com, for a Rs. 499 one-time registration fee, a Rs. 499 refundable security deposit, and a monthly fee of Rs. 199, you can borrow up to six books, two at a time (children can borrow up to 10 books, two at a time). For Rs. 299 a month, you can borrow 12 books, three at a time. Fun for the whole family!
Essere 
Very smart idea. Who started the site? I like it very much. I wonder if it will spread to other cities.
Hi Jean,
Six young folks who couldn’t afford to buy all the books they wanted to read started by pooling their money to buy a book that would then circulate among the group: Hiten Turakhia (29), Amit Gala (30), Hiten Dedhiya (27), Dhairyasheel Pawar (27), Shibanarayan Rath (27) and Kunal Gala (23). Now they have 8,700 books!
Absolutely admirable and amazing! Thanks for sharing the site with us.
Great concept … but how are they managing the rights for circulating the books for money? is their no IP / copyright issue with this concept ?
dear sir
i m from udaipur
i like ur concept very much and want to be ur part
if u accept my request
pls call me
@ 09829122167
i have frachaizee of airtel
Dear Vijay,
I am not one of the founders of Librarywala.com – I just happened to come across the site and thought other people should know about it, so I wrote about the concept. You may contact the people who are currently involved by going onto the site and selecting the Contact Us tab: http://www.librarywala.com/WEB/ContactUs.aspx
Good luck,
Yoo-Mi
I was watching the news about this in a news channel. I hope, it comes to Hyderabad also…….
i liked this concept and wanted to know how to order and how long it will take for the books to reach me at Ooty(T.N.)
Dear Vinit,
I can’t speak for the people currently operating LibraryWala.com, but I’m assuming that they do not deliver to Ooty. Perhaps the founders can help you set up a similar system there? Please contact them directly through the Contact Us section of the website.
All the best,
Yoo-Mi
Ur website is ossum its really gud……i enjoyed buying books here…….its gud easy and cheap and moreevr very fast thats a + point here……so do well keep going…bye
Great going bro!!!
Amazing…I happened to see the Ad today on the BEST buses and was excited to join the family…
Also a suggestion to the owner of this site….
to make it more popular I have an idea..do get me on my mail..:)
I can foresee that this can be a big HIT..and many people would wish to join it..
Excellent idea
and idea
kindly let me know how to pay by cash. my numberz 9833232042 and I stay at kandivili
I would like to enroll myself for the books together with my family. Please send the rules and regulations. Where to pay the fees?
Tried to log onto the website given , ie, (http://www.librarywala.com/WEB/ContactUs.aspx)but am not successful. are there any telephone nos i can use to get in touch with “librarywala”?
Dear Shilpa,
I did not have any problems with the link: http://librarywala.com/WEB/ContactUs.aspx
I am copying the information there for your reference:
Head Office: Mumbai
Contact Person: Mr. Hiten Turakhia
Dharya Information Pvt. Ltd,
Unit no B-120,
Antophill warehousing complex,
Vidyalankar College Road,
Wadala(E), Mumbai – 400 037
Phone:+91-22-24175646/47/48
Fax:+91-22-24147092
Branch Office: Banglore
Contact person: Mr. Bharat Pawar
Dharya Information Pvt. Ltd,
175, Seppings Road, 2nd floor,
Above Ambica Tvs Showroom, Bangalore- 560 001
Phone : +91-80- 41659450/51/52
Email us:support@librarywala.com
Good luck,
Yoo-Mi
How do I go about to become member of library? I want to borrow books online
Dear P.K. Nair,
I am not a representative of Librarywala.com. Please visit their website for more information. As you will see, they offer free delivery of books in two cities – Mumbai and Bangalore.
sir
I want 2 know about ur all collection of books,journals
etc related subject of Library & information Science.
sir
I would like to enroll myself for the books which is concern with Library Science. Please send the rules and regulations. Where to pay the fees?
Sir
I want to know about your special collection if any.
Dear Mukesh and Chandralekha,
Sorry for the delay in my response. As you can see from some of my responses to other comments such as yours, I am not in any way affiliated with Librarywala. Please check the website for the contact information for the Librarywala branch in your city (Mumbai or Bangalore) and contact them directly. I have posted the contact information in previous comments on this post as well.
we are an voluntary organisation working for women and children
since 1997 in ranga reddy district andhra pradesh,india.
hello, i am looking for a good library iwould like to know more abt. this one. i am interested in reading marathi books.
thanx
hello, i’m looking for good library with good English books. i’ld like to know more about this one.
i would like to read osho books. how can i read ? plase mail, ok.
Hi yoomilee,
A very beautiful blog post about Librarywala.com! I am just sad about not coming across this earlier and writing to you.
We have manifested post 2008 with more than 22,000 paper back books in 4 cities now including Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Mysore! I am proud and happy to share with you that our customers are crossing 10,000 together in these cities.
We have also lowered our prices and have also come up with a solo plan @ Rs 79/month for our members. This is for those people who are not too much into reading but in the beginning, would like to pick up the habit.
So, all in all, we are looking forward to your best wishes and also your suggestions and kind persuasion to continue and improve ourselves.
If you are in any of the cities we serve or are planning to shift in there, please feel free to contact me on +919769995016 and we shall be really happy to have you as our member.
Till then,
Keep reading & God bless.
Regards,
Hiten Turakhia
MD, Librarywala.com
This is the worst ever library I have come across. Please if anyone is thinking of joining it, don’t do so and save your money. These Librarywala people know nothing and will never ever be able to provide you a decent book that you had like to read. They will just loot you of your money and harass you by their replies on your queries. I haven’t received a single book I requested for in the 4-5 months of my membership.
Believe me its an utter waste of money and time.