Central Public Library (Dhaka)

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Main entrance of the Public Library building
Main entrance of the Public Library building

Central Public Library (Bengali: কেন্দ্রীয় গণগ্রন্থাগার) of Bangladesh (in 1996 it was renamed as Begum Sufia Kamal National Public Library and this name was ceased in 2002, it became Cntral Public Library again) is the largest public library in Bangladesh. It also houses the Public Library Department which, with 68 public libraries including the Central Public Library in its jurisdiction, is managed by the Directorate of Public Libraries under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs

The auditorium (Shawkat Osman Auditorium) of the library is a major venue for cultural events in Dhaka, including the International Short and Independent Film Festival. It also houses the Library Training Institute funded and managed by the Library Association of Bangladesh (LAB). It also has a reprography service, in-house bindery and conservation section.

Contents

[edit] History

The foundation stone for Dhaka Central Public Library was laid in 1954 with the Registrar of Dhaka University as part-time Librarian[1]. Designated to be the center for the public library system in the then East Pakistan on the basis of the recommendations made by Australian Library consultant Mr. L C Key in 1955[2], it was opened to the public on March 22, 1958 with a stock of 10,040 books. In 1978 the library moved to its building near the Shahbag Intersection from its original building designed by pioneering Bangladeshi architect Mazharul Islam, which went on to house the Dhaka University Central Library.[3] The Department of the Public Libraries was established with Bangladesh Central Public Library as its headquarter in 1984. Between 1980-85 UNESCO provided nearly 9.9 million in Bangladeshi currency to develop the library.

[edit] Collection

As on March 2007, the Library has 1,19,750 books in collection, including old and rare books with historical values, along with a small valuable collection of 40 to 50 manuscripts titles for research and reference services. Books in the collection are mostly in Bengali and English, as well as other languages like Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and Persian. As a depository library, it deposits all Bangladeshi publications under the Copyright. The Library receives most of the Bangladeshi daily newspapers and periodicals. It also has a special collection of juvenile material and is providing separate reading facilities for children. The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system with minor modifications is being followed to organize library materials.

[edit] Library hours

The library remains open from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. on all days except Fridays and national holidays. On July 26, 2003 started 24 hours reader service, which ceased on March 1, 2004 since drug abusers were taking opportunity of those hours.[4] The district and branch libraries managed by the Department of the Public Libraries remain open from 11.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on all days except Fridays and government holidays. Lending facilities were introduced in 1994. As of 2004, the average number of readers was about 2,500 a day.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Parker, J. Stephen (1979), Bangladesh public library survey final report, vol. 1, p. 49, Library Development Consultants, London
  2. ^ Mannan, S.M.(1990), Library professional in Bangladesh: A study of their social background, The Dhaka University Studies, Part-A, 47(2), p. 114, Dhaka University, Dhaka
  3. ^ The Daily Star:Stretching the horizon of knowledge
  4. ^ a b The Independence: Round the clock reading facility at Central Public Library stopped

[edit] External links