Heritage section of Connemara Library open to public

The old building is usually not open to the public, who can access the library’s large collection in the new building. But to give book lovers a sense of history of this national repository, the old Indo-Saracenic building’s nooks and corners, designed by H Irvin, the then consulting Architect to the Government of Madras, are open for a tome-lover to explore. 

Established in 1896, the Connemara Public Library is one of the four National Depository Libraries, which receives a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India. A repository of centuries-old publications, wherein lie some of the most respected works and collections in the country, it also serves as a depository library for the UN.

The new building, which was added to the library in 1973, has a vast collection of books, a much sought after text-book section, a periodicals hall, a reference room, a video room, an entire floor for books from the Indian languages, a Braille Library and an IAS study centre.