Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister, expressed his love for books by saying, “Do not place garlands on my body after my death; spread books on my lap.”
That is the specialty of books. Libraries are as proud as books are in the world. They continue to function as a repository of knowledge and a treasure of knowledge. Libraries are powerhouses that connect past and present and create the future.
The number of libraries in the world is 26 lakh
The number of libraries in Asia is 19 lakh
The number of libraries in India is 15 lakh
A look at such libraries…
The world’s first library
* Founded: B.C. 7th century
* Founded by the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal in the Nineveh region of the Middle East (present-day Iraq).
* Contains about 30,000 inscriptions and inscriptions in ancient Middle Eastern scripts.
* The articles of scholars of that time were also featured.
Libraries of Civilizations
As civilizations emerged and developed in different parts of the world, so did libraries.
Library of Alexandria, Egypt
*Greece,
There were about 7,00,000 documents from Persia (present-day Iran), Egypt and India.
Caliph al-Agam Library
* Location: Cordova, Spain
* Founded: 10th century
* More than 4,00,000 books
World’s Greatest Libraries
British Library, London
* Established: 1973
* Number of Books, Magazines, Newspapers etc.: 17 Crore to 20 Crore
Library of Congress, Washington, USA
* Established: 1800
* The Library of Congress is the National Library of the United States
* Number including books: 17 crores
Shanghai Library, China
* Founded: 1847
* Number including books: 5.6 crores
Major, oldest libraries of India
Thiruvananthapuram Library, Kerala
* Founded: 1829
* Founder: King Swati Thirunal
Saraswati Mahal Library, Thanjavur
* Established: Period of Nayaka kings
Rare manuscripts written in various languages of the country are preserved here.
Connemara Library, Chennai
* Established: 1896
* One of the national libraries. A copy of all books, magazines and newspapers published in the country is preserved here.
National Library of India, Kolkata
* Founded: 1836
* Number of books: 26.41 lakhs
* Dedication to Country: February 1, 1953
* One of the national libraries.
Delhi Public Library
* Established: 1951
* Number of books: 18 lakhs.
* Various language books are available including Hindi, English, Urdu, Punjabi.
* One of the national libraries.
Seshatri Memorial Library, Bangalore
* Established: 1915
* Number of books: 3 lakhs
* Award: Raja Rammohan Roy Library Trust Award (1999-2000)