Knowra National Library of India National Library of India India’s largest library, located in Kolkata, preserves and provides access to a major collection of books, periodicals, manuscripts, and other materials.
Legal Deposit : A law requiring publishers to supply copies of publications to designated libraries or repositories. India’s legal-deposit rules help the library acquire publications issued within the country.
Reference service : Library assistance that helps people locate, evaluate, and use information sources. Reference support connects users with material across the library’s extensive holdings.
John Macfarlane : A Scottish librarian who became the first librarian of the Imperial Library in Calcutta. Macfarlane helped shape the administration of the institution from which the National Library emerged.
Cultural heritage : Practices, objects, and knowledge inherited from the past and valued by a community. Preserving publications and manuscripts makes the library a custodian of documentary heritage.
National bibliography : A systematic record of publications produced in a country, usually organized for identification and discovery. The library’s bibliographic work helps document Indian publishing beyond its physical holdings.
Rare book : A book valued for scarcity, age, condition, historical importance, or distinctive production. Rare books form part of the historical material preserved in the library’s collections.
Kolkata : The capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, formerly known as Calcutta. The National Library’s location links its history and operations to the city’s intellectual life.
Preservation (library and archival science) : The policies and practices that protect library and archival materials from damage and loss. Long-term access depends on caring for aging, fragile, and diverse materials.
Library catalog : An organized record of a library’s holdings, with details that support identification and retrieval. Catalogues make the library’s varied collections discoverable by title, author, subject, and format.
Manuscript : A document written by hand or produced before mechanical printing became the usual method. Manuscripts preserve textual and historical evidence not always available in printed editions.
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