Over 7,000 books removed from District Central Libraries in Vellore, nearby districts

The library in Ranipet.

As many as 7,995 books published by the controversial Agalvilakku and Phoenix Publications were removed from the racks of District Central Library in Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, and Tiruvannamalai districts on Friday.

The action comes against the backdrop of allegations of fake and AI-generated books being procured from these publishers for public libraries including Periyar Arivulagam, a newly inaugurated public library in Coimbatore. “The identified books of the two publications were removed from the other books. The books, which are meant for distribution to branch libraries in the district for 2025-26, are stored in a separate room,” S. Valli, District Library Officer (Tiruvannamalai), told The Hindu.

Ranipet and Tirupattur have the highest number (2,401) of books each from these publications, followed by Tiruvannamalai (2,209 books), and Vellore (984 books). “Books on competitive examinations are a big attraction in District Central library as the facility has a large collection of books related to general knowledge,” said G. Satish, a reader.

Officials said District Central Library in these districts have books on subjects including history, politics, law, economics, philosophy, agriculture, computer and mathematics. Reference books, especially for examinations conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), UPSC, and other competitive exams are available.

As per norms, around 60,000 to 70,000 books are procured for each district library annually based on feedback provided by local librarians and readers. These books then distributed branch libraries in the district. As per estimates, Vellore and Tiruvannamalai have at least 120 branch libraries each whereas Ranipet and Tirupattur have around 50 branch libraries each.