Asia’s biggest library in memory of M. Karunanidhi to open in Madurai on July 15

Come July 15, and the ancient city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu which has several major landmarks, will boast Asia’s largest library spread over 2.7 acres. On that day, the State Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin will inaugurate the Kalaignar Centenary Library at New Natham Salai to commemorate the birth centenary of former CM M. Karunanidhi aka Kalaignar.

The library which has been built at a cost of Rs.114 crore will have 3.3 lakh books on varied genres, including historical books, international-standard science books, medical books and latest publications and journals on different subjects.

The construction of the library has been done keeping in mind international standards so that it can provide easy access to users, including youth, persons with disabilities, children and senior citizens.

The books for the library have been recommended by subject expert committees, and are available in Tamil and English. It will have an E-library that will have e-book versions of rare books, documents, palm leaf manuscripts and manuscripts. The e-books at the library will be available in Daisy mp3 and BRF formats.

For children, an auditorium has been built to host programmes and science development initiatives while for the visually impaired persons there is a studio which is equipped with audiobooks.

The library which has special sections including those for children, science and culture will be a learning centre on culture, art, science and technology.

A collection of rare books also will be housed in the library. Among these are the collection of periodical “Justice” published in 1918; more than 50 books published by leaders of Dravidian movement; and first edition of ‘Sathuragarathi’ (Tamil Dictionary) published in 1824.

The Kalaignar Centenary Library has been built as a mark of respect for Kalaignar, Tamil writers and the Tamil language.