APPENDIX A (R) : REPORT ON THE WORK OF NATIONAL LIBRARY, CALCUTTA
Acquisitions This year is memorable in the history of the acquisition of this Library. The, Government of India issued during this period a circular to all State Governments (excepting Jammu and Kashmir) directing them to demand from all printers one extra copy of each book printed or lithographed in India to be delivered to this Library. Thus this Library will, hereafter, be a repository of a copy of every book printed in India.
Use of the Library In response to the public demand, the working hours of the Reading Rooms and the Lending Section were kept open on Sundays and certain other holidays with effect from the 16th of August. The Library will henceforth remain closed only for three days in a year (Republic Day, Mahatma. Gandhi's Birthday and Independence Day).
The Library continued to maintain the Reading Room at the Esplanade during the year.
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Administration and Finance The Governing Council was reconstituted during the year and the number of members of the Council was increased from nine to twelve. The increase in the membership of the Governing Council bringing in the Central Universities and allowing for the inclusion of such national interests as are thought necessary by the Government of India makes it broad based.
With effect from the first of July, the control of the Belvedere Estate was transferred to the Ministry of Works, Housing and Supply.
The security arrangements of the Library were taken over directly by the Library by appointing its own Chowkidars who replaced the old Police force that used to guard the various entrance gates of the Estate.
The Library accorded a reception to Dr. Luther H. Evans, the Director General of Unesco and his party on the 13th January. The reception was attended by the representatives of leading educational, scientific and cultural, institutions of the City. On that occassion a Book Exhibition was arranged. Also as a momento of their visit the, Librarian published a small pamphlet on `Early Printing in India.'
On the 12th November, the High Commissioner for the U.K. in India, His Excellency Sir Alexander Clutterbuck on behalf of' the British presented to the National Library, some modern British books on Surgery and Medicine worth about 1000(pound) when the leading medical practitioners and heads of medical institutions in the town were invited to a small function organised for the occasion.
The following Delegations also visited the Library:
1. Unesco Delegation.
2. Afghan Cultural Delegation.
3. Parliamentary Delegation from Ceylon.
Some of the Speakers of the various State Legislative Assemblies and Councils who came to Calcutta to attend the Speaker's Conference in January also visited the Library.
As in the past the Library offered facilities for holding the 16th Summer Training Course in Librarianship conducted by the Bengal Library Association.
The Library participated in the Library Exhibition held on
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the occasion of the tenth All-India Library Conference at the Osmania University, Hyderabad. Among the exhibits from the Library were some rare books, documents, periodicals and photographs of Library architecture and activities from many parts of the, world.
The Library participated in another Book Exhibition at Jullunder in February, 1954, where a Book Festival and Library Seminar were organised under the auspices of the Punjab Book Festival Committee. The Librarian inaugurated the Seminar. This occasion was taken advantage of to publicise the resources of this Library and the service it offers.
Besides the many short bibliographies prepared in the Bib- liography Section in response to requests from readers, the Library published a bibliography of selected books on Adult education on the occasion of the All-India Adult Education Conference held at Calcutta in December 1953. Similarly on the occasion of the Visit of Dr. Luther Evans, the Director General of Unesco, a brief note on Early Printing in India with a select bibliography was also published.