Finding books in a library can sometimes be very frustrating when you have plenty to choose from. But technology has made things easier. And this is what two students of Motithang Higher Secondary School have done for their library.
They launched the system to the loud applause of their fellow students. Today is the school’s symposium.
These class twelve teenagers are the brains behind the e-library system, commerce student, Tshering Tobgay and science student, Pravakar Chhetri. They have been friends since the sixth standard. It took them around seven months to work on the system.
The system is available through the school’s website. Students can search for a book using their library ID and, if the book is available, reserve it online. Once a reservation is made, the system generates a reservation ID, which the user must show when collecting the book.
“My friend and I were looking for some books, and we wanted to know whether they were available in our school library. That’s when we realised that we didn’t have any platform where we could look up the books. Many other institutions have similar platforms, but our school didn’t have one. So, that’s how we came up with the idea,” said Pravakar Chhetri, a student at Motithang Higher Secondary School.
The interesting part of the journey is that the two students did it entirely on their own. Using JavaScript, a programming language they learn at school, they turned classroom lessons into a practical solution.
“I was interested in coding and programming at a very young age. When lockdown happened in 2020, I got enough time to learn. I went to YouTube, and I asked my cousins who are abroad to buy me courses. That’s how I learned the basics, and that’s how I developed my journey in coding,”added Pravakar Chhetri.
“So, the main problem that we faced was the internet. We had to go to our friend’s house, or we had to come to school and stay late just so we could work on our website,” said Tshering Tobgay, a student at Motithang Higher Secondary School.
Their hard work has finally paid off.
“Before, we used to have a form-based system. Every class had library periods, and each student would receive a form to fill out. Later, we switched to Excel, but because there were so many students using it, the system would become slow. The system they’ve developed is directly linked to Google Sheets, so as long as there is an internet connection, it works much faster and more efficiently,” said Sherab Wangchuk, a librarian at Motithang Higher Secondary School.
This is a perfect example of putting classroom learning into practice.
For these two young prodigies, it is just the beginning. As Bhutan moves towards a more technology-driven society, with young minds like Pravakar and Tshering leading the way, the country’s digital ambitions can become a reality.
Sherub Dadron Palzom
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
