TS Central State Library, Chandigarh

Origin

Tarlok Singh Central State Library was established in the year 1955. The library was the Ist to be established in the city under the Ist five year plan and was named after Tarlok Singh, A member of Ist Planning Commission of India after independence. Initially it was covered under the "Promotion of Art and Culture" scheme of the Govt. of India but after the reorginasation of the state of Punjab it came under the control of Chandigarh Administration.

The library was started at a Govt. School in Sector 23 and was shifted to its present location after the completion of the current building. Since then it is offering its services to the residents of the city beautifull.

The library is winner of prestigious Best State Central library of the year 2002 by Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation. The library is well known for many of the exclusive services it has on offer and has two branches. The first one is at a school in Sector 27. It opens after school hours at 2:00 pm and continues till evening. Second one is in Manimajra. Apart from this the library also has a Movile Van Library that extends library lending services with selective titles to the farthest corners of the city. Another feather in its cap is the American Corner that it houses in collaboration with the American Library, Public Affairs Sectin and US Embassy, New Delhi.

Building

The library has a grand Four Storey building with green and wide lawns on all sides. The basement is shared with National Gallery of Portraits. The building has been divided into different sections as under,

The Ground Floor has the Conference Hall, Children Section, Server Room, Newspaper Section and Reception-cum-Information Desk.

The First Floor has the Librarian's Room, Administrative Office, Circulation Desk and Book Stacks.

The Second Floor accomodates the Reference Section, Technical Section, Periodical Section and American Corner.

The Third floor houses Technical Section and Book Display Section.

The Fourth Floor is being developed into a grand reading hall.

Location

Chandigarh is located at a distance of about 250 Kms fro national capital New Delhi.

The library is located in Sector 17. This sector is the clled the heart of the city. It is a commerical hub with many showrooms and offices located here. The central location called Sector 17 Plaza is paradize for shoppers. Also it is in the vicinity of Sector 17 Inter State Bus Terminal. On the other side are Rose Garden and many colleges.

Staff

• Mr B S Gujrati from 1955 to 1971.
• Mr Rajinder Chopra from 1971 to 1986.
• Ms Balram Kaur from 01-03-1986 to 31-10-1986.
• Mr Padma Vig from 01-11-1986 to 31-03-1988.
• Mr Nasib Chand from 01.04.1988 to 30.11.1991.
• Mr K C Ramola from 01.12.1991 to 31.05.2006.
• Mr Raghbir Singh from 01.06.2006 to 30.11.2007.
• Mr Suraj P. Nagpal from 01-12-2007 to present

Collection

The library has a rich collection of more than 2,23,800+ documents. This vast collection has been computerized using LybSys software. All kinds of books can be found here but the collection abounds in English literature.

The library subscribes to 40 newspapers and 150 magazines with different frequencies. Back files of selected newspapers (The Tribune, Indian Express, Times of India and Economic Times) are also maintained in the library for reference purpose.

The collection has been catalogued DDC wise and the library catalogue can be browsed at Web Opac.

The library also maintains a special collection of rare books, the list can be accessed here

The library also has Mobile Van that visits the distance corners of the city on predefined schedule to offer lending service. The schedule can be found here

Membership

The library has 37,284 registered members till March 2010 and the number is growing continously.

The library offers membership to all UT residents free of charge. However the members are required to deposit a security amount which is refundable at the time of withdrawl of the membership. The membership requires to be renewed every year, the renewal form can be obtained from the office. The security amount is as under,

* The security amount is one time refundable payment.

** Outsiders are the persons not residents of Chandigarh or UT, the jurisdiction of the library.

The library rules and circulation policy can be accessed here

Automation

The library is fully automated and well equipped with computers and other gazettes. The library is using LibSys software and the catalogue is available online at Web OPAC.

The library provides Xerox facility and Free Internet is also avilable for its members.

Working Days and Work Hours

The library opens for public from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm

The library is closed on Sundays, Gazetted holidays and the last Saturday of every month.

Contact

Tarlok Singh Central State Library,
Sector 17,
Chandigarh - 160017.
INDIA.
Phone: +91 172 2702565
Email: csl@chd.nic.in
Website: http://cslchd.nic.in