| Connemara Public Library | |
|---|---|
 Entrance of Connemara Public Library | |
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| Location | Egmore,Chennai, Tamil Nadu,India |
| Type | Public library |
| Established | 5 December 1890 (135 years ago) (1890-12-05) |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, academic journals, magazines,Braille books,manuscripts |
The Connemara Public Library atEgmore inChennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is one of the fourNational Depository Libraries which receive a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India. Established in 1890, and opened for public in 1896, the library is a repository of century-old publications, wherein lie some of the most respected works and collections in the history of the country. It also serves as a depository library for theUnited Nations.[1] It is located in the Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road, Egmore, which also houses theGovernment Museum and theNational Art Gallery.
The library's beginnings go back to 1860, when CaptainJesse Mitchell set up a small library as part of theMadras Museum inMadras, capital of theMadras Presidency in theBritish Indian Empire.[2] Hundreds of books had been found to be surplus in the libraries ofHaileybury College (where civil servants of theIndian Civil Service were trained inHertford Heath,Hertfordshire) and these were sent to the Madras Government, which in turn handed them over to the Madras Museum. Conceived on the lines of theBritish Museum Library, it was part of the Madras Museum until 1890, when the need for a free public library prompted the thenGovernor of Madras,Lord Connemara, to lay the foundation on 22 March 1890.[3] It opened in 1896 and was named after Lord Connemara (by then the formerGovernor), anAnglo-Irishnobleman. The library was indeed essentially free: A small deposit had to be paid but this was refundable. It became the state central library in 1948,[2] with the enactment ofMadras Public Libraries Act 1948, which was the first concerted effort in India to institutionalise, structure, otherwise co-ordinate and organise public library services. This is one of Asia's largest libraries.[4]
The library was part of a cultural complex that grew in the grounds of what was once called The Pantheon. The entire complex now boasts buildings that reflect architectural unity, even while demonstrating the various stages ofIndo-Saracenic development, fromGothic-neo-Byzantine to RajputMughal and Southern Hindu Deccani.[5]
The new building, which was added to the library in 1973, has a vast collection of books, a much sought-after textbook section, a periodicals hall, a reference room, a video room, an entire floor for books from theIndian languages, aBraille Library and anIAS study centre. Efforts are on to fully computerise the library database, which could ensure easy access to books. The library has a collection of over 600,000 books.[citation needed]
In 1981 the central government ordered that the library became one of the four national depository libraries.[6] The library, however, is not a registered member of theInternational Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).[7]
The library, along with theMadras museum, benefited greatly from the effects of theMadras Literary Society, the Oriental Manuscripts Library and the Records Office.[8] Under the provision of Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act 1954, every publisher in India has to compulsorily send a copy of each publication to the library. Apart from this a good number of publications and periodicals of UN and its specialized organs andAsian Development Bank were also received. Furthermore, several books were added every year by purchasing from the funds made available by the state government budget.[9] The collection includesrare books including a 1608Bible.[10][11]
| S.No. | Name | Portrait | From | To | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Edgar Thurston |  | 1896 | 1908 | |
| 02 | J. R. Henderson | 4 December 1908[12] | 1920 | ||
| 03 | F. H. Gravely | 1920 February | 1939 April | ||
| 04 | R. Janardhanam | 1939 April[13] | 1950 | First Indian and Trained Librarian | |
| 05 | K. Govinda Menon | 1950 | 1958 | ||
| 06 | K. Rajagopalan | 1958 | 1963 | ||
| 07 | V. Thillainayagam | 1963 | 31 July 1972 | FirstProfessional Librarian | |
| 08 | A. M. Sundararajan | 31 July 1972 | |||
| 09 | C. K. Sundarajan | ||||
| 10 | A. M. Sundararajan | ||||
| 11 | N. Avudaiappan | ||||
| 12 | P.A. Naresh | ||||
| 13 | Dr Dharma Rajendiran | 19 August 2013 | 2 February 2014 | ||
| 14 | T Munirathinam | 3 February 2014 | 30 June 2015 | ||
| 15 | Sa Suganya | 1 July 2015 | 1 November 2015 | ||
| 16 | P. Narayana Bhat | 2 November 2015 | 30 April 2016 | ||
| 17 | P. Meenakshisundaram | 1 May 2016 | 30 June 2018 | ||
| 18 | S. Rajani | 2 July 2018 | 30 June 2019 | ||
| 19 | M. Ganesha | 1 July 2019 | 1 February 2021 | ||
| 20 | K. Selvakumar | 2 February 2021 |
13°04′14″N80°15′24″E / 13.07056°N 80.25667°E /13.07056; 80.25667
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