National library of India WELCOME

INTRODUCTION Under the dept: of culture ministry of tourism & culture govt: of India Designated to collect printed material produced in India Permanent depository of all document published in India Situated on the scenic 30 acre Belvedere estate in Kolkata Largest in India , with a collection in access of 2.2 million books Before independence, it was the official residence of Lt. Governor of Bengal

History Begin with the formation of Calcutta public library in 1836 Non-governmental institution and run on proprietary basis People contributing 300(US $ 5.10) in subscription became the proprietor Dwarakanath Tagore was the first proprietor Poor students and others were allowed free use of the library for specified period of time Lord Metcalfe, transferred 4,675 volumes from college of fort William to the Calcutta public Library

Donations were regularly made by individuals as well as by the Government Unique position as the first public library in this part of world

The imperial library Formed in 1891 by combining a number of secretariat libraries in Calcutta Use of library was restricted to the superior officers of the Govt:

Librarians John mac farlane , assistant librarian of the British Museum, London was the first Librarian of Imperial library Harinath De took over the charge J. A Chapman succeeded him Khan Bahadur M.A Asadulla- continued till 1947

CPL+ IMPERIAL LIBRARY In 1903, Lord Curzon of kedleston , The Governor General of India conceived the idea of Opening a library for the Use of public Decided to merge rich collection of both( Imperial and Calcutta Public Library) The new amalgamated Library called IMPERIAL LIBRARY Formally opened to public on 30 January 1903 at Metcalfe hall Kolkata

AIM The Gazette of London reported , ‘ It is intended that it should be a library of reference, a working place for students and a repository of material for the future historians of India, in which , so far as possible , every work written about India , at any time , can be seen and read’

Imperial library to National library After the independence, the Govt: of India changed the name of the imperial library as the NATIONAL LIBRARY Collection was shifted from the Esplanade to the present Belvedere Estate On 1 February 1953 the National library opened to the public, inaugurated by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad B. S KESHAVADAS Appointed as the first librarian of the National library

Evolution Calcutta public Library _1836 Imperial Library _1891 Imperial+ CPL _1903 National Library _1953

First website The first Website of the National Library www.nlindia.org Was launched on 22 January 2002 at 4.30 pm by H. E Sri viren J shah, the Governor of West Bengal

Visiting Located at the Belvedere Road in Alipore Calcutta Open during 9am -8pm on all working days and 9.30am – 6.00 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Govt: of India holidays National Library main reading room( Bhasha Bhavan) is strictly controlled Visitors need to have an approved Readers pass to reading hall

For that, they need to fill in application form( available on national library website) and get it attested by a Govt: Gazetted officer. The readers passes are issued only between 11.00-13.00 and 15.00- 16.00 Monday to Friday , excluding a string of National and State holidays

Library Statistics Over 24,65,352 Books Over 88,161 Maps Over 3,227 Manuscript Over45 Kilometres Shelf Space Over 814 Capacity of reading room Over 6,43,225 Book in Indian language Over 905 News papers 31.03.2009

Conclusion The National Library is the apex body of the Library system in India. It is the permanent repository of all document published in India . The Library has a collection of rare documents. National Library can enrich the collection of book as well as heritage of Nation, Because all the book about the Nation is preserve here. The National Library has a separate division for children also. The computer division was established in 1988 , as a part of modernisation. It started with a mini computer –HP 3000. MINISIS, a RDBMS software was installed for bibliographic control activities, These all ensures that Libraries are growing organism, as Fifth law of Library Science THANK YOU