Anna Centenary Library

Front elevated view of Library

Country India

Type Public Library

Established 15 September 2010

Location Kotturpuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Coordinates 13.0175°N 80.2391°E

Collection

Items collected Books, Journals, Magazines, Braille Books, Manuscripts

Size 1.2 million

Criteria for collection Books from leading publishers throughout the world

Other information

Staff 150

Website www.annacentenarylibrary.org
The Anna Centenary Library (ACL) is an established state library of
the Government of Tamil Nadu. It is located at Kotturpuram, Chennai. It is
built at a cost of ₹172 crores (₹1,720 million). It is named after a former
chief minister of Tamil Nadu, C. N. Annadurai. It was opened by the then
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi. The average number of
persons who visited the library between January and October 2011 is
around 26,500, compared to the monthly average of 20,000 in 2010.

Infrastructure[edit]
Built on 8 acres of land, the 9-floor library houses a total area of 333,140 sq. ft and has a capacity to
accommodate 1.2 million books. ACL has planned to adopt an integrated library management system that
includes automated issue and return of books, user smartcards, access controls, Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology and self-check counters. The library is designed to accommodate a total
of 1,250 persons.[2] An auditorium of 50,000 sq. ft. with a seating capacity of 1,280, and
an amphitheatre on the terrace that can accommodate more than 800 persons and two conference halls
with capacities of 151 and 30 persons respectively, are some of the facilities available. A dedicated
children's section, spread over 15,000 sq. ft. has a fun-filled theme-based reading area with multimedia
kits and storybooks. The library also boasts a high-tech section for the visually impaired, with talking
books and Braille displays. Parking space exists for about 420 cars and 1,030 two-wheelers. [3] A separate
power substation with a capacity of 32 kV has been built on the premises. CCTV cameras have been
installed in 493 locations in the building. A food court in the building is capable of serving 180 persons at
any given point in time. The library was designed by C. N. Raghavendran.
The entrance to the building showcases a 5 ft bronze statue of C.N. Annadurai. The library employs 200
staff, including 96 permanent and 40 contract employees, and has a collection of 550,000 books. It is
visited by about 2701 persons every day.
The library has a special section for Braille, children's books and manuscripts etc. The building is
designed in such a way that the reading area receives good daylight. The western end is flanked by the
service areas to prevent solar radiation. The seven-storey atrium allows in abundant natural light. [4]
In July 2010, the library building received the LEED NC Gold rating from IGBC becoming the first library
building in Asia to reach this. This project has achieved 43 LEED points, highest amongst any
government buildings in Tamil Nadu thus far. [5][6]

Sections[edit]

 Braille Section : Braille Section is located at Ground Floor, special care is taken to facilitate Braille readers in this section. This
section has 1500 printed Braille books, 145 e-books and 1080 Audio Books
 Own Book Reading Section : This section is located at the ground floor. It is a boon to the users who are searching for
spacious, cool and calm reading environment in the city. The readers’ have the liberty to carry their personal notebooks, textbooks,
learning materials and, laptops. It has comfortable furniture for readers. This section opens at 8.00am. Students are allowed inside
according to their token number. Tokens have to be gotten from security personnel much earlier than 8.00am because after token no
90 is allowed inside, the remaining token no's students have to wait till 9.00am for opening of another own book reading section on first
floor, which is not as comfortable as the section on the ground floor.
 Children’s Section : Children Section is located in the first floor ' B wing ' it spreads over 15,000 sq. ft. It has over 60,000 books
which cover all subject areas. This section has a very good collection of books ranges from Alphabets, Numerals to Children
Encyclopedias. Majority of books are in English and it has books in different Indian and foreign languages (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam,
Kannada and Hindi, German, French, Spanish and Italian). Over 2000 Multimedia CDs, DVDs in different categories and subjects are
available for the users. Any children who are at the age between 4 years and 14 years can access this section.
 Periodicals Section : Periodicals section is located in the ‘A’ Wing of first floor. Newspapers and Magazines and Journals are
kept in this section. All leading newspapers and magazines are available in this section for readers. Currently 37 leading dailies in
different languages are being subscribed. The library is subscribing over 500 Indian and Foreign Magazines in all categories to serve
user needs. There is an exclusive section for women readers which comprises magazines focused on women.
 Tamil Books Section : Second Floor of this library is dedicated to "Classical Language (Semmozhi)" Tamil. In this section we
have almost all the books published in Tamil available in print. Readers who are fond of reading Tamil books can see the huge
collections Tamil books from all leading publishers. Over 1, 00, 000 books in the form of Novels, Poems, Short Stories, Drama, Essays,
Humor, letters.
 English Book Section : This library has over 4.5 lakhs books in all subjects areas published by leading publishers across the
world. English Books occupy majority of the library space from third floor to seventh floor.
o Third Floor : General, Computer Science, Library & Information Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Ethics, Religion, Sociology,
Statistics, Political science.
o Fourth Floor : Economics, Law, Public Administration, Education, Languages & Linguistics, Literature, Folklore.
o Fifth Floor : General Science, Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Earth science & Geology, Fossils & prehistoric
life, Life science ( Biology), Plants ( Botany ), Animals ( Zoology), •Applied Science - Basic, Medicine & Health
o Sixth Floor : Engineering, Agriculture, Home & Family management, Veterinary Science, Management & Public Relation,
Accounting, Fine Arts, Architecture, Photography & Computer Arts, Music, Sports, Games & Entertainment.
o Seventh Floor : History, Geography, Travel, Biography, e-library, Government Oriental Manuscript Library.
o Eighth Floor : Administrative Office.

Events[edit]
 A literary event named "Ponmalai Pozhudhu" is organized every Saturday. Leading personalities
from various subjects deliver special talks on this event.
 A special orientation program for competitive exam aspirants is arranged at Anna Centenary Library
on Sundays. Bureaucrats and subject experts share their experience, interact and motivate the
aspirants.
 Children's section of the library organizes programmes like Art and Craft, Chess, Memory technique,
Music, Painting, Science Experiments, Story Telling etc. for children on every Sundays morning.