Virasat-e-Khalsa Library, Anandpur Sahib

Origin

Virasat-e-Khalsa is a museum of Sikhism at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India. The concept was initiated in 1999 to celebrate the 300th year of foundation of Sikhism by the Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 on the day of Vaisakhi at Anandpur Sahib. To materilize the concept a foundation was created called, Anandpur Sahib Foundation (ASF) which supervised the construction of the state-of-the-art museum by world renowned architect Moshe Safdie. The library is part of the museum.

The library started its services in February, 2016.

Building

The library has a State of the Art, specially designed building with equally appeasing interiors and furniture.

Location

The library is part of the Virasat-e-Khalsa complex, opposite to the historical Gurdwara Qila Anandgarh Sahib. It is the Ist attraction when entring the premises.

Staff

The library has regular positions of one Librarian and one Assistant Librarian. Additional staff for house-keeping and other purposes is provided from time to time as the need arises.

Collection

The library started around a year back but its collection is rapidly growning. It has more than 1500+ documents. Many of the rare and valuable manuscripts has also been digitized and are available at http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/mainpage.jsp.

The library subscribes to 7 newspapers.

The main attaraction of the library is its audio library. The library has a considerable collection of shabd (Sikh regilious songs/recitations) recordings that visitors can listen to using the PCs provided for the purpose.

Membership

Presently regular membership is limited to the foundation staff only. They become defacto members on joining their service. But public can enjoy the audio library and access other resources during their visits to the complex.

Information Technology

The library is fully equipped with IT infrastructure demanded of a modern library. It has 20 dedicated inter-connected terminals for the library users, providing free access to its audio-visual material.

Working Hours

The library operates from 10am to 6pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Monday is a holiday at Virasat-e-Khalsa. Apart from that the library remians closed in the last week of January and July when the Virasat-e-Khalsa complex closes for periodical maintenance. The library also remains closed on Gazetted holidays.

Contact

Virasat-e-Khalsa Library,
Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex,
Sri Dasmesh Academy Road,
Opposite Qila Anandgarh Sahib,
Anandpur Sahib (Pb.) - 140118.
Phone: +91 1887 232 592 (255)
Website: https://virasat-e-khalsa.net/index.php