Sufia Kamal National Public Library
Sufia Kamal National Public Library সুফিয়া কামাল জাতীয় গণগ্রন্থাগার | |
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23°44′11″N 90°23′41″E / 23.736444°N 90.394798°E | |
Location | 10 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Shahbag, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1000., Bangladesh |
Established | 1954 |
Branch of | Department of Public Libraries |
Branches | 64 |
Collection | |
Size | 119,750 (as of March 2007) |
Other information | |
Website | centralpubliclibrarydhaka |
The Sufia Kamal National Public Library (Bengali: সুফিয়া কামাল জাতীয় গণগ্রন্থাগার) of Bangladesh is the largest public library in Bangladesh and houses the central administration of the Department of Public Libraries, under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The library was previously named as "Central Public Library" between 2004 and 2010.[1] The library is located in Dhaka's Shahbag neighbourhood.
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.
History
The foundation stone for Dhaka Central Public Library was laid in 1954 with the Registrar of
The library has undergone a number of name changes. Previously it was named the Sufia Kamal National Public Library after the Bangladeshi writer
In February 2022, the government announced that the library building would be demolished to make way for a more modern facility. In the interim, library operations would be shifted to the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) at Kakrail for a minimum of three years.[6]
Collection
As of March 2007, the Library had 119,750 books in its collection, including old and rare books with historical value, 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 including 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 used to organise library materials.
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 26 July 2003 started 24 hours reader service, which ceased on 1 March 2004 since drug abusers were taking opportunity of those hours.[7] The district and branch libraries managed by the Department of 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.[7]
References
- ^ a b "Central Public Library renamed". The Daily Star. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Parker, J. Stephen (1979), Bangladesh public library survey final report, vol. 1, p. 49, Library Development Consultants, London
- ^ 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
- ^ Farhan, Kazi Ahmed; Ahmed, Amanat (19 November 2006). "Stretching the horizon of knowledge". Star Campus. The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
- ^ a b "The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 4 Num 288". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ "Central public library to be demolished for modernisation". The Financial Express. 4 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Round the clock reading facility at Central Public Library stopped". The Independent. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- source
- Rahman, Md Zillur (2012). "Library". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.