The Amir-ud-daula Public Library ( hi, अमीर-उद-दौला पब्लिक लाइब्रेरी, ur, امر-اد-دلا پبلک لائبریری), is a public
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...
in
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
.
History
The library has a long history in different locations in Lucknow. In 1868 it was part of the
State Museum Lucknow
State Museum, Lucknow is a prominent museum located in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, India. The museum is currently located in the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Gardens, Banarasi Bagh, Lucknow. The museum was established in 1863 from t ...
, known then as the Provincial Museum, and open to student readers in 1887. In 1907 the collection moved to the upper storey of the Lal Baradari, a building constructed by Nawab Saadat Ali Khan (1798-1814). In 1910 it shifted to the Chota
Chattar Manzil
The Chattar Manzil ( ur, , hi, छतर मंज़िल), or Umbrella Palace is a building in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh which served as a palace for the rulers of Awadh and their wives.
Coordinates:26°85′N 80°93′E
Construction and ...
and opened as the Public Library, Lucknow. In 1926 the library moved again, this time to a building constructed for the purpose. The foundation stone was laid by Sir
Harcourt Butler
Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler (1 August 1869 – 2 March 1938) was an officer of the Indian Civil Service who was the leading British official in Burma for much of his career, serving as Lieutenant-Governor (1915–17 and 1922–23) and later Gov ...
in 1921. The library was gifted to the Government of the
United Provinces by the
Taluqdar
Taluqdars or Talukdar (Hindustani: Devanagari: ; Perso-Arabic: , ; from ''taluq'' "estate/attachment" + '' dar'' "owner"), were aristocrats who formed the ruling class during the Delhi Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate, Mughal Empire and British ...
s of
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...
and named after
Mohammad Amir Hasan Khan, one of whose titles was Amir-ud-daula. In 1947, the Taluqdar’s Association transferred some land in front of the Library for the construction of a park
Collection of books
The collection includes about 2 lakh books in languages that include Hindi, English, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Bengali, and Sanskrit.
References
{{Authority control
Education in Lucknow
Public libraries in India
Buildings and structures in Lucknow
1868 establishments in India
Libraries in Uttar Pradesh