While exploring the city of Kolkata a lot of you must have visited various historic structures, monuments, forts, museums and parks, right? But have you ever thought that a library can also be a sight of exploration in a city as well? Yes! Such is the charm of this city that the National Library Kolkata is one of the heritage buildings and a popular sightseeing location too. Even if it is a library the tourist and visitors find this location alluring for a visit. The area of the library is huge and spreads across a space that ideally looks like a garden. You can visit here and enjoy a day amidst the beauty of nature here and also witness the heritage structure.
Keep on reading this article as I will mention everything that you probably need to know about the National Library Kolkata. This article will be helpful for you if you are planning a trip to this location anytime soon. If you are in Kolkata make sure you are definitely making a trip to this library in Kolkata.
National Library Kolkata
Address: Belvedere Road, Block A, Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal
Timing: 9 am to 8 pm from Monday to Saturday and on Sunday the timing is from 9:30 am to 6 pm. The library remains closed on 15th August, 26th January and 2nd October.
Entry fee: There is no entry fee to enter the library reading room. Access to the reading room however requires a National Library Kolkata membership card for the reading room. Anyone above the age of 18 years can get free access to the reading room.
How to reach
By air
If you are travelling by air then the nearest airport to reach here would be the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata. From the airport the National Library is located at a distance of 23.6 km. It would take around an hour to reach the library from the airport. You can take a yellow taxi or hire a car from the airport to reach the library from the airport conveniently.
By train
If you are travelling by train then the nearest railway station would be the Sealdah railway station. From there the library is 7.5 km away and you can reach there in about 27 minutes. Another major railway station to reach the library is the Howrah railway station which is 8. 3 km away. From there you can reach the library in about half an hour. You can easily take a cab or hire a taxi to reach the National Library Kolkata from the stations.
By bus
The nearest bus stop to reach the National Library Kolkata is the Ekbalpur Bus Stop. Buses going towards Kothari Hospital will drop you till here. Or else you can take buses from Hazra as well to reach near the library. From the bus stop the library is located only at a 2 minutes distance.
By metro
The Netaji Bhawan Metro Station is the nearest metro station to reach the National Library. From the metro station the library is located at a distance of 2 km and you can reach there in about 10 minutes. You can either take a bus or auto rickshaw to reach the library from there.
Overview of National Library
The heritage structure of the National Library Kolkata is one of the many sightseeing spots that is very popular in Kolkata. In terms of the volume this is the largest library in the whole of the Indian Subcontinent. Along with that, this library is also the first library in Eastern India. Dating back to the British era the history of the construction of this library goes long back. Kolkata being one of the modern cities during the British era had enjoyed a lot of perks as well. One of them is obviously the formation of the heritage National Library Kolkata. Spreading across 30 acres this is a heritage structure and an architectural marvel as well.
The Department of Culture, the Ministry of Tourism and the Indian Government collectively maintains this library. And as a library the content here is rich as it houses the largest collection of books, periodicals, journals, newspapers in Indian and foreign languages, manuscripts etc. Other than the reading room the premise of the library is huge with well manicured gardens and lawns. There is a canteen inside the premises as well that serves breakfast, snacks, tea and coffee along with lunch and dinner on demand as well.
However there is National Library Kolkata horror story attached to the building as well. There had been stories of a faint structure of a man spotted here. Also there is apparently a closed chamber that was unnoticed in the 250 year old building. Surprisingly there were no doors or windows of this chamber to enter and see what was inside. However in spite of all the stories this is a popular spot for sightseeing for the structure as well as the history attached to it.
National Library Kolkata History
The construction of the library goes back to 1836 and at that time it was the Calcutta Public Library. In the beginning it was run by proprietors as a non government institution run on the basis of a self financed model. Prince Dwarkanath Tagore, grandfather of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore was one of the first proprietors of the library. The main purpose behind the opening of this library was to help underprivileged students with free usage of good collection of books. From some British Samaritans a good collection of books came in as a donation to run the library. Furthermore the then Governor General of British India, Lord Metcalfe transferred more than 4000 books from the library of the Fort William College.
The library also purchased a good number of foreign books especially from Britain. And around 1850 the library was equipped with a good collection including books from various regional Indian languages as well such as Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Pali etc.
Later around 1890 to 1891 various secretariat libraries in Calcutta combined together to become the Imperial Library. The library of East India Board, Library of Home Department, Library of East India College and library of Fort William all merged together. However, at that time the access to the library was only limited to the high ranked officials and the elite sections of the society. Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee who was the President of the Imperial Library Council in 1910 donated a huge number of 80, 000 books from his personal collection of books.
The Merging of the Libraries
With time however it was noticed that both the libraries were somehow under utilized in terms of access. Therefore the then Viceroy of British India, Lord Curzon came up with the idea of merging both the libraries. The main idea behind this was to provide accessibility to each person irrespective of their social rank or class. Also a bigger library would also mean a bigger and richer collection of books as well. Formally the library opened for the general public on 30th January 1903 at Metcalfe Hall. Earlier the Metcalfe Hall was the residence of the Governor Generals like Lord Cornwallis, Lord Wellington, Lord Warren Hastings etc.
Establishment of National Library
After the independence of India the name of the library became National Library. Also the entire collection of books was shifted from Metcalfe Hall to Belvedere Estate which is the current location of the library. On 1st of February, 1953, Abul Kalam Azad inaugurated the library and from that day the library was also opened for the general public.
At present the library is one of the greatest sources when it comes to books, journals and manuscripts. The National Library Kolkata is one of the richest libraries and for book lovers, students, and researchers this library is like the ultimate solution. Even today entry and access to the reading room here is absolutely free. Therefore the library is also standing up to its aim of providing easy access to people irrespective of their status and class. The service here is also top notch and the collection makes it even greater.
Collection at National Library
The National Library Kolkata is famous for its huge collection of books in the entire country. Also this library collects, preserves and broadcasts every printed material. There is a huge collection of periodicals, books and manuscripts of all major Indian regional languages like Marathai, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil etc. Along with that there is also a separate section for languages like Sanskrit and Pali. You will also find many rare Sanskrit and Pali manuscripts here as well.
The foreign language section also has different divisions like German, West Asian, East Asian, African etc. A huge collection of books and manuscripts belonging to these languages are available here. There are many rare books here also and some manuscripts dating back to the 1860s and beyond. The library also houses a major number of official documents as well from the British period to the present day. From the United Nations the National Library Kolkata receives free publication at a free of cost.
At present the library houses more than 270, 000 books. Along with that there are 3, 200 manuscripts, 86, 000 maps as well. The reading room of the library spreads across 45 km and can accommodate more than 550 people at the same time. However with the digital development, the library also has developed with technology. There are many digitized versions of rare books and documents of many CDs along with E records of printed matters as well.
National Library Kolkata membership
You will get two types of membership cards here. One is the temporary membership card that is for the tourists and visitors. This card is valid for one day. Also a visitor needs to carry an identity card to get the temporary card. Another one is the permanent membership card which will give access here. In this case also carrying identity cards is a must.
Wrapping Up!
So that was all about the National Library in Kolkata and you must take a trip there. While exploring the city and the varied sightseeing spots here, the name of the National Library is very important. This is one of the popular sightseeing spots in the city and you would know why it is so popular once you visit there. So let me know when you are planning a trip to this library in Kolkata. Also let me know if this article on the National Library is helpful for you in planning a successful trip to this location.
