National Library Kolkata

Location: Belvedere Estate.

Time to Visit: 9 A.M. - 8 P.M. on working days and 9.30 P.M. - 6 P.M. on Saturdays, Sundays and other holidays.

Preferred Timings: 9 A.M.- 12 P.M.

Admission Fee: Nil.

How to Reach: Local buses, mini buses and metered taxis are readily available from various parts of the city.v Photography / Video charges: Strictly prohibited.

Nearest Railway Station: Howrah.

Nearest Metro Station: Esplanade

Nearest Functional Metro Station: Esplanade

Nearest International Airport: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport.

Time required for sightseeing: About One and a half hours.

The National Library located at the picturesque Belvedere Estate in Kolkata is India's biggest public library with a collection of 22,70,954 books and a huge collection of manuscripts, periodicals and newspapers that cater to the demands of Kolkata's intellectuals.

Historically, the National Library happens to be the first public library of Eastern India. Kolkata being the capital capital of British East India Company, it was a place of intense intellectual and scholarly activities and naturally, during the initial years of the British colonial rule, Kolkata had a public library which was run primarily through donations. Apart from the public library, there were a few British Secretariat Libraries and a library at Fort William which served as the military headquarters of the British East India Company.

Since none of these libraries functioned professionally, Lord Curzon conceptualized an idea wherein the Calcutta Public Library and the Secretariat Libraries of British East India Company were to amalgamated and henceforth a new professionally run library by the name of "Imperial Library" was to be set up.

Lord Curzon being an astute administrator, appointed John McFarlane who was then serving as the Asst. Librarian of the British Museum in London as the first Librarian of the Imperial Library in Kolkata. After India attained independence, the Government of India re-christened the Imperial Library as the National Library.

Today the National Library has carved a niche for itself and has lived up to the expectations of India's educated masses, providing quality library services that is comparable to the best in the world.

The library has exclusive divisions of Indian and Foreign language books and publications. In the Indian language division, there is a rich collection of books, periodicals and manuscripts of all the major Indian languages like Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu etc. The Sanskrit language division has rare Pali and Prakrit manuscripts.

As far as the Foreign language division is concerned, there are separate sections like East Asian Division, German Division, Roman Division, Slavonic Division, West Asia and African Division, all of which have exhaustive collection of books and manuscripts.

A visit to the National Library is incomplete without a visit to the Rare Books Section, which has books dating back to the pre 1860 era. The Rare Books Section also has monographs, manuscripts and microfilms.

The National Library being an institution which was patronized by the British East India Company, has one of the richest collection of Indian official documents from the early days of the British Colonial rule to the present day and is a must visit site for Indologists who are passionate about all things Indian.

The National Library is considered as a repository library by the United Nations and its agencies. Thus, all UN publications are received by the National Library free of cost. Apart from UN publications, the library also receives books and periodicals from the government of USA and all Commonwealth countries.

As far as newspapers and periodicals are concerned, all major Indian newspapers are received by the National Library. For historians, the library has one of the richest collection of newspapers and periodicals dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries.

The National Library not only stocks books and manuscripts, but also plays a pivotal role in preserving printed matters for tomorrow's generation. Apart from the old fashioned physical and chemical preservation, the library has embraced digitization as well and has already archived rare books and documents on CD's.

A great way to experience the intellectual aura of the National Library is by spending some time at the well-organized Reading Rooms, which are located at all the four edifices. Of course, you need to be a member in order to be eligible to enter the Reading rooms. But, in case you are not a member, there is still a way out. You can avail the Daily Membership Card, which is available at the Help Desk.

If you happen to be a research scholar, a trip to the National Library will be a very rewarding experience. Upon request, the library can provide you with a select list of reading materials and even prepare bibliographies.

Nearby Tourist Attractions

Alipur Zoological Garden.