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Connemara Public Library

Coordinates: 13°04′14″N 80°15′24″E / 13.07056°N 80.25667°E / 13.07056; 80.25667
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Connemara Public Library
Entrance of Connemara Public Library
Map
LocationEgmore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
TypePublic library
Established5 December 1896
(127 years ago) (1896-12-05)
Collection
Items collectedBooks, academic journals, magazines, Braille books, manuscripts

The Connemara Public Library at Egmore in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is one of the four National Depository Libraries which receive a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India. Established in 1896, the library is a repository of century-old publications, wherein lie some of the most respected works and collections in the history of the country. It also serves as a depository library for the United Nations.[1] It is located in the Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road, Egmore, which also houses the Government Museum and the National Art Gallery.

History

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The library's beginnings go back to 1860, when Captain Jesse Mitchell set up a small library as part of the Madras Museum[2] in Madras, capital of the Madras Presidency in the British Indian Empire. Hundreds of books had been found to be surplus in the libraries of Haileybury College (where civil servants of the Indian Civil Service were trained in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire) and these were sent to the Madras Government, which in turn handed them over to the Madras Museum. Conceived on the lines of the British Museum Library, it was part of the Madras Museum until 1890, when the need for a free public library prompted the then Governor of Madras, Lord Connemara, to lay the foundation on 22 March 1890.[3] It opened in 1896 and was named after Lord Connemara (by then the former Governor), an Anglo-Irish nobleman. The library was indeed essentially free: A small deposit had to be paid but this was refundable. It became the state central library in 1948,[2] with the enactment of Madras Public Libraries Act 1948, which was the first concerted effort in India to institutionalise, structure, otherwise, co-ordinate and organise public library services. This is one of Asia's largest libraries.[4]

The library was as part of a cultural complex that grew in the grounds of what was once called The Pantheon. The entire complex now boasts buildings that reflect architectural unity, even while demonstrating the various stages of Indo-Saracenic development, from Gothic-neo-Byzantine to Rajput Mughal and Southern Hindu Deccani.[5]

The new building, which was added to the library in 1973, has a vast collection of books, a much sought-after textbook section, a periodicals hall, a reference room, a video room, an entire floor for books from the Indian languages, a Braille Library and an IAS study centre. Efforts are on to fully computerise the library database, which could ensure easy access to books. The library has a collection of over 600,000 books.[citation needed]

In 1981 the central government ordered that the library became one of the four national depository libraries.[6] The library, however, is not a registered member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).[7]

Collections

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The library, along with the Madras museum, benefited greatly from the effects of the Madras Literary Society, the Oriental Manuscripts Library and the Records Office.[8] Under the provision of Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act 1954, every publisher in India has to compulsorily send a copy of each publication to the library. Apart from this a good number of publications and periodicals of UN and its specialized organs and Asian Development Bank were also received. Furthermore, several books were added every year by purchasing from the funds made available by the state government budget.[9] The collection includes rare books including a 1608 Bible.[10][11]

Librarians

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Connemara Public Library, c. 1914
S.No. Name Portrait From To Remarks
01 Edgar Thurston alt 1896 1908
02 J. R. Henderson 4 December 1908[12] 1920
03 F. H. Gravely 1920 February 1939 April
04 R. Janardhanam 1939 April[13] 1950 First Indian and Trained Librarian
05 K. Govinda Menon 1950 1958
06 K. Rajagopalan 1958 1963
07 V. Thillainayagam 1963 31 July 1972 First Professional Librarian
08 A. M. Sundararajan 31 July 1972
09 C. K. Sundarajan
10 A. M. Sundararajan
11 N. Avudaiappan
12 P.A. Naresh
13 Dr Dharma Rajendiran 19 August 2013 02 February 2014
14 T Munirathinam 03 February 2014 30 June 2015
15 Sa Suganya 01 July 2015 01 November 2015
16 P. Narayana Bhat 02 November 2015 30 April 2016
17 P. Meenakshisundaram 01 May 2016 30 June 2018
18 S. Rajani 02 July 2018 30 June 2019
19 M. Ganesha 01 July 2019 01 February 2021
20 K. Selvakumar 02 February 2021
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ramakrishnan, T (24 March 2022). "The tale of two libraries". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b Patel, Jashu; Kumar, Krishan (2001). Libraries and Librarianship in India. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-313-29423-5.
  3. ^ "This Chennai Library & Book Lover's Paradise Is One Of India's Best Kept Literary Gems". Mensxp. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  4. ^ Bhattacharjee, R. (2002). "Public Library Services in India: Systems and Deficiencies". Country Report: India—2002. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  5. ^ Kanthimathi, L. (31 August 2019). "Heritage building at Connemara library undergoing renovation". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  6. ^ Taher, Mohamed (1994). Librarianship and library science in India: an outline of historical perspectives. Concepts in communication informatics & librarianship. Vol. 60. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 97. ISBN 978-81-7022-524-9.
  7. ^ Ramanathan, M. (16–31 May 2010). "A user's view of Connemara Library". Madras Musings. XX (3). Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Museum, Library and Theatre". Madras Musings. XX (3). 16–31 May 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Connemara (State Central) Public Library (Chennai, India)". University of Chicago. 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  10. ^ Upadhye, Aishwarya (23 April 2018). "Chennai's 'old Connemara library' opens doors on World Book Day". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Connemara library displays pages from past". The Times of India. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  12. ^ Order no,162, 4 December 1908; Fort St. George Gazette No.50, 15 December 1908, page 1
  13. ^ Fort St. George Gazette, dated 11 April 1939, page 393
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13°04′14″N 80°15′24″E / 13.07056°N 80.25667°E / 13.07056; 80.25667

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