Chandigarh, Feb. 26 -- At sharp 7 am on Wednesday, Aditya Kashyap was already outside the Divisional Library (South) in Sector 34. The 20 year old NEET aspirant from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, currently enrolled at a coaching institute, just a walking distance away from the library, said his shared PG accommodation doesn't offer the space he requires to focus. "There's always someone talking, cooking, or on the phone. I can't focus there," he said, clutching his backpack, waiting for the gates of the library to open at 8 am. But Kashyap isn't the only one in this marathon of getting a space in the library. By early morning, a long queue of students, or sometimes, only their bags line-up outside thelibrary. What was once a public reading space at the library, established on August 14, 1995, has now turned into a competitive exam war room for the students. Sector 34, a dense hub of coaching centres for NEET, UPSC, SSC and other competitive examinations, feeds directly into the library's swelling numbers. In 2024, the library recorded 3,287 special (outstation) members out of 5,159 total memberships. In 2025, that figure shot up to 11,512, pushing total memberships to 13,257. The 1.75 lakh book collection inside the library is divided across sections - with a few reserved for readers consulting library material, and the others allowing students to bring their own books. It is the latter that remains packed through most of the day. Seats, however, come with unwritten rules. "I only sit in my corner on the second floor," says Arjun Ahluwalia, 21, who admits to occasionally leaving his bag behind to secure the spot. Interestingly, notices pasted outside reading rooms attempt to regulate this culture: "Do not hog seats between 11.15-11.30 am, 1.00-1.30 pm and 3.30-3.45 pm." The rest of the time, students say, seat saving is an unspoken survival tactic. Those who lose out can often be seen studying on benches outside the building or in lobby corners. Library incharge Parveen Kumar attributes the surge partly to affordability. "Private libraries have increased their charges, while we offer free memberships. Naturally, students prefer coming here," he says, adding that infrastructure has been expanded during his tenure. But many students say demand continues to outpace capacity. Nikita Thobaltu, 19, a second year NEET aspirant, says timing determines everything. "If I don't reach by 7 am, I won't get a seat. There's a long line every morning. The seating capacity isn't enough." With around 40 staff members managing the space, officials acknowledge that aspirants now occupy most reading areas during peak exam season, transforming the public library into a state run study hall. Established in 1955, the TS Central State Library in Sector 17 remains the city's oldest public reading institution - but its relevance today extends beyond bookshelves. While new memberships have seen a slight decline - from 1,490 in 2023 and 1,497 in 2024 to 1,364 in 2025 - the library's spaces tell a more layered story. Fewer formal sign ups, perhaps, but no shortage of presence. The library incharge, Neelam Bansal, who has been associated with the library for nearly three decades, said the shift reflects changing patterns rather than fading interest. "It has grown from being just a book repository into a community space," she said. "People don't only come to read. They come to sit together, to attend events, to feel connected." Unlike Sector 34's exam centric urgency, Sector 17 functions as an intergenerational commons. Senior citizens gather over newspapers, children work on school projects, and the library frequently collaborates with cultural organisations to host literary discussions and knowledge based programmes....