District Library, Dharamshala

Origin

Dharamshala is district headquarters of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. The place was also known as Bhagsunag, due to the presence of an ancient Shiva temple here that Gurkhas worshiped. The regions was ruled by the Katoch Dynasty of Kangra since earlisest times. They are considered to be the oldest serving royal family in the world. Britishers reached the region in 1850s and found the place ideal for their army cantonment. They turned it into an army base for their legendary 1st Gurkha Rifles. It was named Dharamshala due to the presence of a Dharamshala (meaning resting place for pilgrims to the local temple).

More than anything else Dharamshala is fomous as being the seat of Tibetan Government in exile, headed by the spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan settlement of Dharamshal began in 1959, when Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet and the Prime Minister of India allowed him and his followers to settle in McLeodGanj. In 1970, The Dalai Lama, opened the Library of Tibetan Works and Atchives, which houses over 80,000 manuscripts. It has converted the region into a great place of Tibetan learning.

District Library, Dharamshala was established on 19.07.1954.

Building

The library was started in a temporary building Bachat Bhawan in the Kotwali Bazaar area of the city. It was shifted to the present location in 2005. It is an old single storey traditional building that has been provided by the local administration temporarily as a new state of the art building is almost ready in the neighbourhood of this present building. The present building is quite small to hold the library collection and resources but the new building is spacius and modern in design. The library will be shifted shortly to the new building.

Location

Dharamshala is about 520 Kms from national capital New Delhi, 235 Kms from state capital Shimla and 252 Kms from Chandigarh. It has an average height above sea level of 1475 meters.

The library is situated in the Kaccheri Adda area of the town where many other Government offices such as the court, police and post etc. existi. The place is on Kangra road and is around 20-30 minutes walk from the main bus stand of the city..

Staff

Chronological list of librarians,

• Mr Amrik singh Dhillon from 19.07.1954 to 16.01.1959
• Mr F R Kaushal from 06.01.1959 to 01.12.1961
• Mr R K Goel from 12.01.1961 to 02.02.1966
• Mr Ved Prakash Aggarwal from 01.07.1966 to 03.09.1968
• Mr A P Tiwari from 12.02.1969 to 17.11.1977
• Mr M R Rajput from 18.11.1977 to 31.07.1999
• Ms Hema Mehta from 01.08.1999 to 31.07.2003
• Ms Kumud Bala Modgil from 03.08.2003 to 01.05.2006
• Mr Roop Lal Rana from 03.05.2006 to 11.11.2006
• Ms Sanchita from 21.06.2007 to 01.05.2010
• Ms Kanti Sood from 01.05.2010 to Present

^* temporary/part time position

Collection

The library has a collection of more than 60,000 books in English and Hindi.

The library subscribes 11 newspapers in 2 languages i.e. English, Hindi.

Note: The library maintains old newspaper archives for the last three years.

Membership

The library has 1039+ registered members till now.

The library offers membership for a period of 3 years and is renewable thereafter. There is no membership fee, but a refundable security needs to be paid at the time of Ist registration. This secutiry is carried forward during periodical renewals.

Membership Security (Refundable):

• Adults Rs 200
• Children (14 years or below) Rs 50

Automation

The library makes use of 3 computers with internet facility for office work but the library services are offered manually.

Working Hours

Apart from the gazetted holidays the library remains closed on every Tuesday and last Saturday of the month. The library timings vary according to the season.

• Summer (I^st April to 30^th September) 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Winter (I^st October to 31^st March) 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Contact

District Library,
Kachehri,
Opposite Panchayat Bhawan,
Dharamshala (HP)- 176215.
INDIA.