The Vidyapeeth Library - Explore Knowledge and Resources

Priyanshu Chaurasiya

7 months ago

The Vidyapeeth Library - Explore Knowledge and Resources

There’s something pretty special about supporting friends, right? Especially when it involves contributing to something as meaningful as a community library in a village. In today’s blog, I want to tell you about a recent project I worked on that let me do just that.

Welcome to my blog! I’m Priyanshu Chaurasiya, and I appreciate you stopping by. Today, I'm going to walk you through a project I recently completed—a simple, user-friendly website for a library. But this isn’t just any library; this one has been set up by my old school friend in his village. So let’s get into the story of how it all came about!

How This Project Started: A Friendly Chat Turned Project

It all started one evening when I was chatting with Uddeshya Raghuwanshi, one of my close friends from school. During our conversation, he casually mentioned he’s opening a library in his village, Mehnagar, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Right away, I could tell how passionate he was about the project. In a world where digital media dominates, his choice to bring a physical library to his community really struck a chord with me.

He mentioned he wanted a basic website where people could find out more about the library—the address, the hours, the facilities, all the essentials. He didn’t need anything over the top, just a simple layout to serve as an online pamphlet. I was excited to help, knowing it wouldn’t take much time on my end and would allow me to contribute to something truly meaningful.

The Purpose of This Library Website: More Than Just Information

The goal of this website is super simple. Think of it like a digital brochure that people can pull up anytime to get details on the library—when it’s open, what services are offered, the cost of membership, and so on. Unlike traditional pamphlets, this website can be shared online, accessed at any time, and keeps people connected with all the library info in one place.

The Design Approach: Simple and Minimalistic

Since there weren’t any strict design requests, I went with a clean and minimalist design—something simple, but inviting. Here’s how I structured the website to make it easy for users to find everything they need:

Hero Section: When you first land on the website, you’re greeted with a quote and a few buttons that help you jump to the main sections. The goal was to keep things friendly and easy to navigate right from the start.
About Section: This section briefly explains the purpose of the library, why it was founded, and what it hopes to bring to the community.
Facilities, Timing, and Pricing: Here, I’ve included the practical details. Visitors can check out what facilities the library offers (like Wi-Fi and reading rooms), find out when it’s open, and see the membership pricing.
FAQs Section: A few frequently asked questions make it easier for first-time visitors to understand what the library offers.
Footer with Contact and Location Info: At the bottom, there’s the library’s contact information, a button to reach out on WhatsApp, and a link to find the library on Google Maps. This section also has a simple map feature to help people locate the library with ease.

Each section flows naturally into the next, creating a user-friendly experience. And the minimalist design means it looks clean without overwhelming users with too much information.

Building the Website: Keeping It Simple with React

When it came to development, I stuck with what I know best: React. React is ideal for building responsive, single-page applications and made it easy to create a structured layout for this project. Here’s a closer look at some of the development decisions I made:

Framework: React allowed me to quickly build out each section as separate components, which made the codebase more organized and easy to tweak.
Hosting: For hosting, I went with Firebase. Firebase is fast and reliable, so the website loads quickly, even on limited internet connections, which is perfect for rural areas like Mehnagar.
Responsive Design: Given that many people in the village might access the site on mobile devices, I focused heavily on making sure it looks good on screens of all sizes.

The site is open-source, and if any developers out there want to check out the code or suggest changes, feel free to visit the GitHub repo: GitHub Repository. I’d love any feedback!

Challenges Faced Along the Way

Every project has its challenges, right? This one was no different. Here are a couple of things that require extra attention:

Making It Mobile-Friendly: Ensuring the layout was fully responsive took a little bit of trial and error. For example, I had to adjust button sizes and text so that everything looks just right on smaller screens.
Striking the Right Balance with Information: Since the site’s purpose is informational, I wanted to include enough detail without overwhelming visitors. I ended up creating several drafts before landing on a layout that was both detailed and easy to read.

Possible Future Additions

While the website is functional and meets all the initial requirements, I’d love to add a few more features down the line. Here’s what I have in mind:

Community Events: It would be nice to add a section to highlight community events or reading sessions hosted at the library.
Book Listings: As the library grows, I could add a catalog section to feature popular books, genres, or collections.
Feedback Form: A simple feedback form would let users share their thoughts on how the library (or even the website!) could improve.

Final Thoughts: A Small Effort with a Big Impact

That’s the story behind this library website project! Working on this was incredibly rewarding, knowing it would support a friend and bring something valuable to a community. Seeing the finished product and imagining people using it to find out more about their local library is a great feeling.

And hey, if you’re a developer or just someone with feedback, I’d love to hear your thoughts! The project’s open-source on GitHub, so feel free to explore the code, suggest changes, or make a pull request.

Check Out the Site and Let Me Know What You Think!

Thanks for following along with this project! Here’s the live site link if you’d like to check it out yourself:

And thank you once again for stopping by. Feel free to leave a comment or reach out if you have questions or just want to chat. Until next time—happy reading!

Comments

Have something to share?

Join the conversation by signing in below!