National Library of India

The National Library is the successor to the Imperial Library, which in 1903 was combined with another library, the Calcutta Public Library and eventually became known as the National Library of India after independence.

Calcutta Public Library

In the 18th and earlier 19th century, Calcutta saw the formation of multiple libraries, however the libraries tended to be exclusive and limited entry to only a select few of the British elites and lacking in terms of library facilities. Later by the first few decades of the 19th century, there was a surge in the formation of libraries in India, especially in the larger cities such as Calcutta given the demand by the wider public, both Western educated locals and Europeans that required reading and knowledge spaces. Furthermore, the exclusive nature of libraries prior to the establishment of the Calcutta Public Library, which was limited to the British elite or colonial officers was thought to have contributed to the failure of these libraries in staying open for a longer period of time.

The Calcutta Public Library was opened on 21 March 1836, and its collection rapidly grew, and less than a decade later by 1843, it was said have 130,000 volumes. The establishment of the library marked a new start of modern libraries in India which was intended to support Western education for the of locals as well as add to the collection of knowledge. The library housed collections from older institutions such as the Fort William College, whereby Sir Charles Metcalfe, the Governor General of India of the time, had ordered 4,675 volumes to be moved from the library of the defunct Fort William College to the newly established Calcutta Public Library.

It was the first public library in India in that era to be established on a propriety basis through the joint efforts of the Western-educated locals, British colonial officers as well as other Englishmen who worked in various occupations. To share the attitude of many in wanting the establishment of a library, JH Stocqueler, editor of the Englishmen newspaper, released an address in August 1835 stating that the lack of a library for general reading and reference was a “considerable inconvenience sustained by almost all classes of the community in Calcutta”. At the end of that same month after a meeting among the prominent citizens of Calcutta, the plans to establish a public subscription library was confirmed and a press release was sent to the editors of newspapers that announced a list of the names of the library's benefactors which attracted more wealthier citizens to come forward and join. Amongst this group, prominent Indian leader, businessman and industrialist, Dwarkanath Tagore, became the first proprietor of Calcutta Public Library. The local press reported him to have paid 500 rupees. Proprietors were library members that governed the library and provided substantial amounts of money that would go into its operations. The library was decided to be open to all without distinguishing class or background and those who paid at least a total of 300 rupees whether in one payment or various installments were regarded as library proprietors. Aside from the proprietors and their higher fees, a different set of user subscription fees were split into three different classes; first class subscribers paid 20 rupees and 6 rupees for every month, second class subscribers paid 16 rupees and 4 rupees monthly, and third class subscribers paid 10 rupees and 2 rupees for every subsequent month.

The establishment of the library had a profound impact on the educated enlightened local population in the Bengal region and it further encouraged establishment of public libraries throughout the region in the second half of the 19th century. The British also viewed the development of public libraries as a means to spread their literary culture and ideals in the colonies. With more English novels and materials in circulation it was thought to encourage the local Indian populations to develop more similar “opinions, morals, taste and intellect”.

However, despite positive reception of the library in the early days of its opening, by the later part of the 19th century, the Calcutta Public Library was observed to be underutilised and forgotten, especially after the 1857 Indian Mutiny where the British gradually lost interest in being involved with the library. In the 1901, the library collection was acquired by the colonial government in India. The Imperial Act of 1902 promulgated by Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India, officially merged Calcutta Public Library with the Imperial Library, another library with also a rich and vast but underutilised collection.