View source for Connemara Public Library

{{short description|Public library in Chennai, India}}
* {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox library
| library_name = Connemara Public Library
| name_en = 
| library_logo = 
| image = Connemara Public Library.jpg
| caption = Entrance of Connemara Public Library
| country = [[India]]
| type = [[Public library]]
| scope = 
| established = {{Start date and age|1890|12|5|df=y|p=y|br=y}}
| ref_legal_mandate = 
| location = [[Egmore]], [[Chennai]], Tamil Nadu
| coordinates = 
| branch_of = 
| num_branches = 
| items_collected = Books, academic journals, magazines, [[Braille]] books, [[manuscripts]]
| collection_size = 
| criteria = 
| num_employees = 
| references = 
}}

'''The Connemara Public Library''' at [[Egmore]] in [[Chennai]], Tamil Nadu, India, is one of the four [[National Depository Centre|National 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 the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/the-tale-of-two-libraries/article65255362.ece |title=The tale of two libraries |last=Ramakrishnan |first=T |date=24 March 2022 |website=The Hindu |access-date=6 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324114804/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/the-tale-of-two-libraries/article65255362.ece |archive-date=24 March 2022}}</ref> It is located in the Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road, Egmore, which also houses the [[Government Museum, Chennai|Government Museum]] and the [[National Art Gallery, Chennai|National Art Gallery]].

==History==

The library's beginnings go back to 1860, when Captain [[Jesse Mitchell]] set up a small library as part of the [[Madras Museum]] in [[Madras]], capital of the [[Madras Presidency]] in the [[British Indian Empire]].<ref name=Patel2001p80>{{cite book|last=Patel|first=Jashu|author2=Kumar, Krishan|title=Libraries and Librarianship in India|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Connecticut|year=2001|page=80|isbn=978-0-313-29423-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXVrsPSzeNAC}}</ref> Hundreds of books had been found to be surplus in the libraries of [[Haileybury College]] (where civil servants of the [[Indian Civil Service]] were trained in [[Hertford 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 the [[British Museum Library]], it was part of the Madras Museum until 1890, when the need for a free public library prompted the then [[Governors of Madras|Governor of Madras]], [[Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara|Lord Connemara]], to lay the foundation on 22 March 1890.<ref>{{cite web |title=This Chennai Library & Book Lover's Paradise Is One Of India's Best Kept Literary Gems |url=https://www.mensxp.com/culture/arts/38362-this-chennai-library-book-lover-rsquo-s-paradise-is-one-of-india-rsquo-s-best-kept-literary-gems.html |website=Mensxp |date=22 July 2017 |access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref> It opened in 1896 and was named after Lord Connemara (by then the former [[Governor of Madras|Governor]]), an [[Anglo-Irish]] [[nobleman]]. 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,<ref name=Patel2001p80/> with the enactment of [[Madras Public Libraries Act|Madras 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.<ref>{{cite web 
 | last = Bhattacharjee 
 | first = R. 
 | title = Public Library Services in India: Systems and Deficiencies 
 | work = Country Report: India—2002 
 | publisher = International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions 
 | year = 2002 
 | url = http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s8/annual/cr02-in.htm 
 | access-date = 1 July 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170330163551/https://archive.ifla.org/VII/s8/annual/cr02-in.htm 
 | archive-date = 30 March 2017 | url-status = dead 
 }}</ref>

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 of [[Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture|Indo-Saracenic]] development, from [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic]]-[[Neo-Byzantine architecture|neo-Byzantine]] to Rajput [[Mughal architecture|Mughal]] and Southern Hindu Deccani.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/heritage-building-at-connemara-library-undergoing-renovation/article29308940.ece|title=Heritage building at Connemara library undergoing renovation|last=Kanthimathi|first=L.|date=31 August 2019|work=The Hindu|access-date=1 September 2019|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

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 the [[languages of India|Indian languages]], a [[Braille]] Library and an [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] 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|date=June 2021}}

In 1981 the central government ordered that the library became one of the four national depository libraries.<ref>{{cite book |title=Librarianship and library science in India: an outline of historical perspectives |series=Concepts in communication informatics & librarianship |volume=60 |first=Mohamed |last=Taher |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |location=New Delhi |year=1994 |page=97 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRLXDBX5KzkC |isbn=978-81-7022-524-9}}</ref> The library, however, is not a registered member of the [[International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions]] (IFLA).<ref>{{cite journal
 | last = Ramanathan 
 | first = M. 
 | title = A user's view of Connemara Library 
 | journal = Madras Musings 
 | volume = XX 
 | issue = 3 
 | date = 16–31 May 2010 
 | url = http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2020%20No%203/a-users-view-of-connemara-library.html
 | access-date = 1 July 2012}}</ref>

==Collections==
The library, along with the [[Government Museum, Chennai|Madras museum]], benefited greatly from the effects of the [[Madras Literary Society]], the Oriental Manuscripts Library and the Records Office.<ref name="MM_MuseumLibraryAndTheatre">{{cite journal
 | title = Museum, Library and Theatre 
 | journal = Madras Musings 
 | volume = XX 
 | issue = 3 
 | date = 16–31 May 2010 
 | url = http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2020%20No%203/museum-library-and-theatre.html
 | access-date = 1 July 2012}}</ref> 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 and [[Asian Development Bank]] were also received. Furthermore, several books were added every year by purchasing from the funds made available by the state government budget.<ref name="UChicago_Connemara">{{cite web
 | title = Connemara (State Central) Public Library (Chennai, India)
 | publisher = University of Chicago 
 | year = 2009 
 | url = https://coral.uchicago.edu:8443/display/lasa/Connemara+%28State+Central%29+Public+Library+%28Chennai,+India%29
 | access-date = 28 June 2012}}</ref> The collection includes [[Book collecting|rare books]] including a 1608 [[Bible]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/this-world-book-day-walk-the-alleys-of-centuries-old-connemara-public-library/article23645555.ece|title=Chennai's 'old Connemara library' opens doors on World Book Day|last=Upadhye|first=Aishwarya|date=23 April 2018|work=The Hindu|access-date=1 September 2019|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/connemara-library-displays-pages-from-past/articleshow/69033530.cms|title=Connemara library displays pages from past|date=25 April 2019|website=The Times of India|access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref>

==Librarians==

[[File:Connemara public library.jpg|thumb|Connemara Public Library, {{Circa|1914}}]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!S.No.!!Name!! Portrait !!From!!To!!Remarks
|-
|01||[[Edgar Thurston]]||[[File:E_Thurston.jpg|146x146px|alt]]|| 1896 ||1908 ||
|-
|02||[[John Robertson Henderson|J. R. Henderson]]||  ||4 December 1908<ref>Order no,162, 4 December 1908; Fort St. George Gazette No.50, 15 December 1908, page 1</ref>||1920||
|-
|03||[[F. H. Gravely]]|| ||1920 February||1939 April||
|-
|04|| R. Janardhanam||  ||1939 April<ref>Fort St. George Gazette, dated 11 April 1939, page 393</ref>||1950|| First Indian and Trained Librarian
|-
|05|| K. Govinda Menon||  ||1950|| 1958||
|-
|06|| K. Rajagopalan ||  || 1958||1963
|-
|07|| V. Thillainayagam|| ||1963||31 July 1972||First [[Librarian|Professional 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||  ||
|}

== Gallery ==

<gallery mode="packed" widths="600" heights="120">
File:CONNEMARA PUBLIC LIBRARY 03.jpg
File:CONNEMARA PUBLIC LIBRARY 01.jpg
File:CONNEMARA PUBLIC LIBRARY 02.jpg
File:CONNEMARA PUBLIC LIBRARY 04.jpg
File:Connemara Public Library, Chennai-8.jpg
File:Connemara Title.JPG
File:List_of_Librarians_Connemara_Public_Library_Chennai.jpg
File:Connemara_Library_Chennai.jpg
File:Connemara_Public_Library_Chennai.jpg
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|India|Education}}
* [[Government Museum, Chennai]]
* [[Anna Centenary Library]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.connemarapubliclibrarychennai.com Connemara Public Library]

{{coord|13|04|14|N|80|15|24|E|type:landmark|display=title}}
{{Education in Tamil Nadu}}
{{Chennai Topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Public libraries in India]]
[[Category:Libraries in Chennai]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Chennai]]
[[Category:Deposit libraries]]
[[Category:Library buildings completed in 1896]]
[[Category:Libraries established in 1896]]