National Library of India
22.5332488.333436Koordinaten: 22 ° 32 '0 "N, 88 ° 20' 0" E The Indian National Library ( Bengali: ভারতের জাতীয় গ্রন্থাগার ) in Calcutta is the largest library in India.
It is under the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Government of India. The library was created in order to collect sämtliches in India produced printed materials, disseminate and preserve it. It is located in the scenic and 120,000 m² Belvedere Estate in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).
The Public Library of Calcutta
The history of the National Library began with the founding of the " Public Library of Calcutta " in 1836. She was one of the government independent institution and was conducted on a proprietary basis. Who donated Rs 300, became the owner. Dwarkanath Tagore was among the first donors. At the time, Rs 300 a huge sum, so the free use of the library was temporarily such as student permitted.
The then Governor General Lord Metcalfe presented over 4,675 books from the library of the Fort William College at the Public Library of Calcutta. These and some other donations formed the core of the new library. Through donations from individuals and the government, Indian and foreign, especially British, books were purchased.
The Public Library of Calcutta was the first free library in this part of the world. Even in the 19th century Europe was such a well organized and efficiently run library a special feature. Through these efforts, the current National Library is in possession of some extremely rare books and journals.
The Imperial Library
The " Imperial Library " was created in 1891 through the merger of several sekretärieller libraries in Calcutta, including the library of the Interior, the East India College, of Fort William and the library of the East India Board in London. However, the use of the library senior officials of the government was reserved.
Merger of the libraries
1903 Lord Curzon of Kedleston outlined, the Governor-General of India, the idea of a public library. He noted that both libraries ( the Public Library and the Imperial Library ) were underutilized, and decided to merge the libraries.
The new library took the name " Imperial Library " and was on 30 January 1903 in the Metcalf Hall, Kolkata opened to the public. The India -Gazette reported: " The library was created to provide a reference, a workplace for students and a repository of material for historians of future generations, in which, as far as possible, each authored over India work at any time, to access and is cost. "
Declaration of the Imperial Library as a national library
After gaining independence, the Indian government changed the name of " Imperial Library " in " National Library ", and the entire stock moved from the Esplanade to the present site, the Belvedere Estate. On 1 February 1953, the Indian National Library started its work.