Public Library Movement in Kerala is older than of any other state in India and is unique in many respects. In the erstwhile Travancore, Cochin and Malabar which formed the constituent areas of the present Kerala State, Public Library Development occurred at different period.
There were several illustrious forerunners to the Grandhasala Sangham. In fact, the early beginning of public library movement goes back to the time of Swatithirunal, the visionary king of Travancore. The Thiruvananthapuram Public Library was established in 1829 the year in which Swatithirunal ascended the throne, seven years before the Calcutta National Library (1836).
On 14thSeptember 1945 under the initiative of Sri. P.N. Panikkar 47 representatives from libraries across Travancore met in a conference at Ambalappuzha. In this meeting an organization of libraries was formed under the banner Akhila Thiruvithankoor Granthasala Sangham This is taken as the official beginning of the Kerala Grandhasala Sangham.
In the princely state of Cochin library movement became popular with the advent of the nationalist movement even though the Ernakulam Public Library was started much earlier.
In British Malabar (Northern part of Kerala) library movement grew as an intimate part of nationalist movement and left and other progressive movements. However, it must be remembered that throughout Kerala the course of political and socio-religious reform movements inevitably impacted upon the development and growth of library movement
In 1949, with the merger of the two princely states of Travancore and Cochin the Travancore Grandhasala Sangham became the the Thiru- Cochi Grandhasala Sangham. With the formation of the linguistic state of Kerala in 1956 the three former political units were united. A common apex body covering the entire state became an imperative. In 1958 Kerala Grandhasala Sangham came into existence, with a governing body elected from among the library workers of the State.
In the meantime there were attempts from the part of the Government to undermine the democratic character of the Granthasala Sangham and consequent popular resistance against such attempts. Library activists throughout the state were in the forefront of such struggle .The popular democratic character of the library movement was restored with the passing of the Public Library Act of 1989. The Act ensured the participation of library workers in the running of libraries at all levels and protection of affiliated libraries. The Act succeeded in converting the Library Council into an independent people’s cultural statutory body. As per the Act, after elections at all levels, the first Library Council assumed office on 27th April 1994.
നിങ്ങളുടെ നിര്ദ്ദേശങ്ങളും, നിങ്ങള്ക്ക് ലഭിക്കുന്ന സേവനങ്ങളുടെ ന്യൂനതകളും ഞങ്ങള്ക്കെഴുതുക.
