Goethals Indian Library and Research Society, Kolkata: an explorative study

Authors

  • Arnab Mahajan Kolkata Police Law Institute, West Bengal, India Author
  • Pubalika Bhattacharya Maitra Dept. of Library & Information Science, University of Calcutta, West Bengal, India Author

Keywords:

Goethals Indian Library and Research Society, St. Xavier's, Special Library, Historical Library, Paul Goethals, GILRS

Abstract

Goethals Indian Library and Research Society (GILRS) is an athenaeum of mainly 18th and 19th century books and periodicals. It was started by Paul Goethals, Jesuit Archbishop of Calcutta (1886-1901) and it was later donated to St. Xavier's College in 1908. The library currently contains more than thirty thousand volumes of books on a wide range of topics, such as voyages and travels, history, biographies, folklore, astronomy, flora and fauna, geology, language and literature, archaeology, education, religion, philosophy, law, medicine, government and administration in India and other Asian countries. A special feature of the Goethals Library at St. Xavier's College is the rarity of the collection and the diversity of the languages found. The library has preserved rare documents and archived documents for the research need of scholars. This historical library is carrying the essence of the past to disseminate the knowledge to everyone interested.

This paper tried to explore the services, general collections, rare and valuable collections, functions of Goethals Indian Library and Research Society, Kolkata. The study also revealed that how far the library was acquainted with to deal the present day library scenario. It was found that the library had a rich collection with restricted access. Though the collection had been developed mainly with the donated books but those were historical assets and this is why special preservation procedure was followed. Dedicated and special services had been provided by the staff members to the users, especially to research scholars.

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Published

22-11-2024

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Section

Articles

How to Cite

Mahajan, A. ., & Bhattacharya Maitra, P. (2024). Goethals Indian Library and Research Society, Kolkata: an explorative study. Brainwave: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 5(3), 809–815. https://www.brainwareuniversity.ac.in/brainwave-papers/index.php/bamj/article/view/4