List of libraries in India PDF For All Competitive Exam

A library is a collection of sources of information and similar resources, made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material, and maybe a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both. For all those reading addicts, here is the List of libraries in India PDF that have amazing collections:

List of libraries in India

Name	City/Town	State	Year of establishment
Gowtami Grandhalayam	Rajahmundry	Andhra Pradesh	1898
Visakhapatnam Public Library	Vishakhapatnam	Andhra Pradesh	1996
Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library	Patna	Bihar	1891
Sinha Library	Patna	Bihar	1924
Delhi Public Library	Delhi	Delhi	1951
Nehru Memorial Museum & Library	Delhi	Delhi	1966
Chowgule College Library	Margao	Goa
Dr Francisco Luis Gomes District Library	Margao	Goa
Goa State Central Library	Panaji	Goa	1832
Goa University Library	Taleigão	Goa	1985
Andrews Library	Surat	Gujarat	1850
Kavi Narmad Central Library	Surat	Gujarat	1991
Mysore University Library	Mysuru	Karnataka	1918
State Central Library	Thiruvananthapuram	Kerala	1829
Ernakulam Public Library	Kochi	Kerala	1870
Asiatic Society of Mumbai	Mumbai	Maharashtra	1804
Central Library, IIT Bombay	Mumbai	Maharashtra	1958
David Sassoon Library	Mumbai	Maharashtra
Harekrushna Mahtab State Library	Bhubaneswar	Odisha	1959
Romain Rolland Library	Pondicherry	Puducherry	1827
Prakrit Bharati Academy	Jaipur	Rajasthan	1977
University of Rajasthan Library	Jaipur	Rajasthan	1949
Adyar Library	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	1886
Anna Centenary Library	Chennai	Tamil Nadu
Connemara Public Library	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	1890
Roja Muthiah Research Library	Chennai	Tamil Nadu	1994
Mahakavi Bharathi Memorial Library	Erode	Tamil Nadu
Daniel Poor Memorial Library	Madurai	Tamil Nadu	1915
Saraswathi Mahal Library	Tanjore	Tamil Nadu
British Library	Hyderabad	Telangana	1979
State Central Library	Hyderabad	Telangana	1891
Sri Krishna Devaraya Andhra Bhasha Nilayam	Hyderabad	Telangana	1901
City Central Library	Hyderabad	Telangana	1960
Allahabad Public Library	Allahabad	Uttar Pradesh	1864
Maulana Azad Library	Aligarh	Uttar Pradesh	1877
Raza Library	Rampur	Uttar Pradesh
Sayaji Rao Gaekwad Library	Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	1917
National Library of India	Kolkata	West Bengal	1836
North Bengal State Library	Cooch Behar	West Bengal	1882

List of Largest Libraries in the World

British Library in the United Kingdom is the world’s largest library in terms of its catalogue size i.e. the number of books, periodicals, etc it manages.

The table given below highlights the World largest libraries based on their catalogue size. It includes libraries that store 15 million or more items.

Largest Libraries in the World
Name & Country	Location	Catalogue size
British Library, United Kingdom	London and Boston Spa	170–200 million
Library of Congress, United States	Washington D.C.	170 million+
Library and Archives, Canada	Ottawa	54 million
Shanghai Library, China	Shanghai	50 million
Russian State Library, Russia	Moscow	47.2 million
Royal Danish Library, Denmark	Copenhagen and Aarhus	42.5 million
National Diet Library, Japan	Tokyo and Kyoto	41.9 million
Bibliothèque Nationale de France	Paris	40 million
National Library of China	Beijing	37.7 million
National Library of Russia	Saint Petersburg	36.5 million
German National Library, Germany	Leipzig and Frankfurt	36.1 million
Biblioteca Nacional de España, Spain	Madrid	33.1 million
Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia	Saint Petersburg	26.5 million
Berlin State Library, Germany	Berlin	23.4 million
Boston Public Library, United States	Boston, Massachusetts	22.4 million
New York State Library, United States	Albany, New York	20 million
Harvard Library, United States	Cambridge, Massachusetts	18.9 million
National Library of Sweden	Stockholm	18 million
Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine	Kiev	15.5 million
Yale Library, United States	New Haven, Connecticut	15.2 million
National Library of Iran	Tehran	15 million

Largest Libraries in the Ancient World

Libraries were highly revered as the storehouse of knowledge, ideas and creativity. Some libraries represented the cultural power of their respective empires and as such their knowledge stored in them were jealously guarded. We will present some of the well known libraries of the ancient world.

1. Great Library of Alexandria

The Great Library of Alexandria is one of the most important libraries in classical antiquity. Over the centuries it had gained almost mythical status as a universal library where all the scholars of the ancient time would visit to share and gain knowledge. The library, located within the Royal Palace of Alexandria was built around 295 BCE by Ptolemy I

Alexandria is a port city in Northern Egypt founded by the legendary conqueror Alexander the Great. The library of Alexandria hosted a series of shrines, lecture areas, a zoo and living quarters. The great works of philosophers such as Homer, Plato and Socrates were stored in its great hall. It eventually became the storehouse of knowledge that housed rare works which were the only copies.

The Great Library of Alexandria was completely destroyed during the Roman intervention in the Egyptian civil war in 48 BC. The destruction ensured that many precious works of knowledge were lost forever.

2. The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal

The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal is named after the King of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Ashurbanipal. He was the last great king of the empire which comprised modern day Iraq, Jordan, Syria and parts of Iran. King Ashurbanipal was a passionate collector of texts and tablets which today gave details of day-to-day life in the ancient world.

At least 30,000 cuneiform tablets and fragments were recovered from the ruine and are now housed in the British Museum. They were discovered in 1849 and are now considered crucial to the modern study of the ancient Near East.

3. Imperial Library of Constantinople.

The Imperial Library of Constantinople in itself is a mystery as very little is known about it. Regardless, what is known is that the Roman Emperor Constantius II in 357 CE undertook measures to preserve many Judaeo-Christian scriptures that were deteriorating as they were written on papyrus scrolls.

In addition he also preserved many scripts that were written by ancient Romans and Greeks. The majority of Greek classics that are known today come from the Imperial Library of Constantinople. Over the years the library would be subject to many fires that would destroy many volumes. In the year 473 CE alone, about 120,000 volumes were burnt.

The final blow would come in 1204 when the Crusader army sacked Constantinople burning many parts of the city, although modern historians do assess that no record of the library existed then and some manuscripts may have survived into the Ottoman Empire era.

4. University of Taxila

The University of Taxila is one of the oldest universities in the world, believed to have begun somewhere between the 5th and the 2nd centuries BC. It was a centre of learning and knowledge, and due to its location – at a pivotal junction between South and Central Asia along the Grand Trunk Road – students from many parts of the ancient world came to study at it.

The university is mentioned in several ancient languages such as Greek and Chinese. The Taxila University was at its zenith during the Mauryan Empire and continued to be after the decline of the empire until the invasion of the Alchon Huns under Toramana in the 6th century AD led to its destruction.

Today it is a protected archaeological site, closely managed so that this piece of cultural heritage can continue to be studied.

5. The Celsus Library

Located in Ephesus (modern day Turkey) the Celsus Library was built in 110 CE by Gaius Julius Aquila. It stored 12,000 scrolls and also served as a mausoleum for Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus. The architecture of this still-standing library is quite incredible and a typical example of the style prevalent in the period under Emperor Hadrian (76-138 CE). Statues and items excavated from the Celsus Library are now on display in the Museum of Istanbul.

List of Libraries in India PDF Useful For Competitive Exams

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