Connemara Public Library, located at Egmore in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is one of the four National Depository libraries, which accept prints of all books, newspapers and publications, which are available in the whole of Indian subcontinent. Being accomplished in the year 1890, the Connemara Public Library is a storehouse of old publications of past centuries, which include some of the most esteemed works and precious annals of the country. Not only that, it also acclaims the status of being a reservoir library for the United Nations.
History of Connemara Public Library
The Connemara Public Library has a rich heritage behind it. The process of its inception started in the year 1861, when numerous books were found excess in all the libraries of Haileybury College. These books were then submitted to the Government of Madras, which in rotation were passed on to the Madras Museum. Earlier, Connemara Public Library was formed following the structure of the British Museum Library. Thus it was integrated with the Madras Museum till the year 1890. It was the same year when the necessity of `a free public library` was felt. This initiated the Governor of Madras and Lord Connemara, to put down the founding stone on 22nd March 1890.
Architecture of Connemara Public Library
The library occupies the main portion of a cultural complex that was formed in the premises of what was renowned as `The Pantheon`. Nowadays, the whole of the complex building, that bears the proofs of the architectural wonders, is reflecting the different phases of `Indo-Saracenic` growth, from `Gothic-Byzantine to Rajput, Mughal and Southern Hindu Deccani`.
Collections in Connemara Public Library
Among the precious collections of the library, The Bible (1608); The German Copy of `Anthony and Cleopatra`; Twelve volumes of Hourtus Indicus Malabaricus (1678-1703) by Rheed; The 1881 Census of India; A Voyage to Suratt in the years 1689 (1696) by Ovington (J) ;Flora Indica (1768) by Burmanni (Nicolai Laverrntii); An 1801 edition of Plutarch`s Lives; Beschi`s "Grammar of the High Dialect of the Tamil Language" (1882); The Hebrew and Chaldean Lexicon to the Old Testament need special mentioning .All the ancient volumes are carefully enclosed with chiffon clothes.
Innovations in Connemara Public Library
Recently, the concerned authorities have undertaken initiatives to keep up the pace of the advancement of the contemporary period. A new building was furnished and integrated to the library in the year 1973. Specialized sections like Textbook section, a periodicals hall, a reference room and a video room are incorporated to make the accessibility easier. An entire floor has been allotted to restore all the books written in regional languages of India. To facilitate specialized reading, a Braille Library and also an IAS study nub have been formed. For ensuring smooth accessibility, the library database has been wholly computerized.
Tourism in Connemara Public Library
For the book lovers, The Connemara Public Library is an ideal destination. It houses more than six lakh books. Every shelf of the library is thronged with some of the rare books ever found in India. It is only in the Connemara Public Library where people can get free accessibility to ten volumes of Encyclopaedia of Astronomy, Greek and Latin works, rare dispatches of Wellesley, A History of Oratory in Parliament dating back to the years of 1213-1913 and many other books.
