Kolkata Metropolitan Library, Kolkata

Origin

Kolkata (renamed from Calcutta in 2001) is the capital of the Indian State of West Bengal. Nicknamed as "City of Joy", it is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River and is approximately 80 kilometers from border with Bangladesh. It is considered as the "Cultural Capital" of India due to magnificent cultural institutions that flourish here. It is also famous as "Food Capital" of India because of the abundance of sea/river food and variety of fruits and vegetables available throughout the year. Six Nobel Laureates have been associated with the city.

There are contradicting theories regarding the name of the city and its founding father. However, in 2003 the Calcutta High Court ruled in a public petition that the city has no founding father. The most plausible derivation of the name 'Kolkata' is believed to be from 'Kolikata' (a fishing village), the Bengali name of one of the three villages that predated the advent of British; the other two villages being Sutanuti (a riverside weavers' village) and Govindapur.

Though the region is supposed to be inhabited since ancient times its recorded history began in 1690, with the advent of the English East India Company. English started with Fort William as a trading post and eventually grew their power and influence over the whole of India. It was their capital till 1911, when they shifted to Delhi due to the vast expansion of their territories towards North and growing nationalism and hostility against the British among the local population after the partition of Bengal in 1905 along religious lines. Though the city witnessed many upheavals and turmoil its cultural identity and magnificent institutions survived.

The library is was established in 1980.

Building

The library has its own, specifically designed 5 storey building.

Ground floor has the reception and the parking area.

First floor has the children section, newspaper section, administrative office and Librarian's room.

Second floor has the reading room and Netaji Subhas Oen University study corner.

Third floor has the Bengali reading room and women's corner.

Fourth floor has the career guidance section, information centre, reference section, hindi reading room, processing section.

Location

The library is located on the densely populated Ballygunge Park Road, near Passport Office.

Staff

The library has a total of 14 regular positions in different capacities. The staff is inter-transferable with other Government Libraries under Directorate of Library Services only.

Collection

The library houses a massive collection of books in Bengali, English and Hindi language, mainly. The collections have been classified using DDC21 scheme and library catalogue and services are automated using Koha, integrated library management system.

The library has a special collection of books on Kolkata and also a collection of special issues of journals.

Membership

For becoming a member, a membership form needs to be filled and deposited along with two recent photographs, an ID proof with local address in Kolkata and refundable security of Rs. 500.

Each registered member is entitled to borrow 2 books for 15 days. After the expiry of the due date a fine at the rate of Rs. 1/day is levied to the defaulters.

Information Technology

The library is fully automated with Koha, an Open Source Integrated Library Management System. It has cyber corner with 20 dedicated computers with internet connectivity for public use. Xerox facility is also available at discounted rate of 75 paisa/page for a minimum 4 page.

Also the library users/visitors are provided free internet/Wi-Fi and Kindle readers to access full text, digital resources.

Working Hours

The library remains closed on gazetted holidays, Sunday, second and fourth Saturdays of the month. The library timings are 12 noon to 7 pm.

Contact

Kolkata Metropolitan Library,
2, Ballygunge Park Road,
Near Passport Office,
Kolkata (WB)-700019.
INDIA.
+91 33 2287 2004
Email: statecentrallibrarywb@gmail.com
Website: https://www.wbpublibnet.gov.in/node/608