Usha Mukunda has been an ardent advocate of open libraries for children for over 35 years. She has an Honours Degree in English Literature from Presidency College Calcutta and a Masters’ degree in Librarianship from Bangalore University. She co-founded the Centre for Learning (Bangalore) in 1990 and set up an open library there. As a Consultant for the Parag Initiative of Tata Trusts, she worked with several rural, government and community libraries across India. She was also a Consultant for the Department of Education, Tibetan Government in Exile and facilitated workshops and interactions for the Tibetan librarians in India and Nepal. She participated in the NCERT exercise to select good books and has been a member of a committee to bring out manuals to strengthen school libraries in the southern region. She was a member of the special committee for libraries and knowledge networking under the aegis of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission. In 2009, she was awarded a Karnataka State award for her service to school libraries. Usha is passionate about bringing about discernment of books in herself and in readers wherever they may abide.