History

At the turn of the 19th  century a new landmark was added to Chennai, the capital of the Madras Presidency. The historic date was 22nd March 1890 when Lord Connemara the then Governor of  Madras State laid the foundation stone for the present Connemara Pubic Library to fulfill the long felt need for a standard library. Another red letter day was 5 December 1896 when the library named after Lord Connemara was formally opened. Since then, a century has passed and the library  had become a part of history as much as a part of our lives continuously functioning till date.

Buildings

A truely world class library with teak shelves and standard glass windows with a very tall ceiling reflecting colonial ambience was the idea of the H.Irvin the consulting architect of Madras Presidency. This large hall was set in a semi circle sandstone building constructed in Indo- sorcenic style that never seems to have aged even now.

Continuously growing, the library  had significant additions the most important being a grand three storied building in 50000 sq.ft built at a cost of Rs.50 lakhs in 1974. As a part of the centenary celebrations an additional three storeyed building with a floor space of 21,235 sq.ft opened on 24th  June 1999.      

           

 The interior of the Connemara Library with  decorations and stained glass windows 

Another view of the Connemara library richly embellished interior. 

   

Highlights

1890  Foundation stone laid
1896  Inauguration
1929  First full fledged Librarian appointed
1930  Lending Service, Open Access & Home Delivery Services Introduced
1950 Declared as State-Central Library Under the Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Act,1948
1954 Declared as National Depository Center Under the 
Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries Act 1954)
1955  United Nations Depository Center
1963  Publication of Tamil Nadu State Bibliography of Childrens  Literature 
1964  Publication of Tamil Nadu State Bibliography of Tamil Books
1965 UNESCO Information Centre
1966  Institute of Library Science Inaugurated
1968 Merger of Childrens Bibliography and State Bibliography
1974 Three Storeyed New Building Added
1981  Reference Section & Text Book Section Opened
1985  XEROX Facilities Introduced
1989  Educational Video Service Introduced 
1991 1. Computer Unit Installed
2. Donation of Rs.1.Lakh from Sri Nalli Kuppusamy Chetty
1992 Asian Development Bank Information Centre
1994  1. Civil services Study Circle Opened
2. Donation of Rs.1 Lakh from Indian Bank
3. Donation of Rs.2 Lakhs from Tamil Nadu Text Book
    Corporation      
1995  Braille & Talking Books Section Opened
1996 CENTENARY CELEBRATION OF THE LIBRARY 
1997 Donation Rs. 5 Lakhs from  Sri.M.A.M.Ramasamy Leading Industrialist and Pro-Chancellor of Annamalai University
1998  1. Computers Added as a Part of Computerization of Library 
    Activities
2. Commemorative Stamp on Connemara Public Library 
    Released
1999 1. Three-Storeyed Centenary Building Added
2. CD ROM Services Introduced
3. Internet services Introduced
2000  Microfilm Unit Opened
2002 Upgraded version of computers ordered for the library 
2003 1. 2 new Xerox Machines installed
2. Library Automation Inaugurated
2003  Member Bar Code  Introduced
2003 Online Public Access Catlogue(OPAC) Installed
2004 Permanent Book Fair Inaugurated
2005 Selected as the BEST STATE CENTRAL LIBRARY in India
2005 Internet Browsing centre Opened
2005 Book Bar Code Introduced
2005 Separate CD Rom Section Opened
2006 Vacuum Fumigation Chamber is Installed

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