Romain Rolland Library — Attraction in Puducherry

A part of Puducherry that is forever engraved in the halls of a beautiful structure, the Romain Rolland Library is a silent reminder of the struggle and beauty of this small union territory. A resource of knowledge, power-packed with a collection of some of the most beautiful literary works, you can enjoy some quiet time visiting this library.

#Trivia: It was earlier known as the Bibliothèque Publique and is one of the oldest libraries of India.

All about the Romain Rolland Library Established in 1827, this library has stood the test of time and freedom struggle, setting a mark on today's young generation. It is an elegant white building with contemporary architecture lined with the most prized books dating back several years. Nearly 177 years old, it comprises almost 335,000 books of all genres set against the timeless walls of the library.

It has an extensive collection of manuscripts, French and Portuguese books, Hindi and Tamil literature, and English literature. If you are a bibliophile, it boasts of a treasure trove of reading material that can take years to complete. However, with a detailed history, the library helps scores of individuals to research their subjects and spend some quiet time reading.

The library also has a good collection of over 8000 e-books, and several rare books get micro-filmed frequently to preserve them.

#Trivia: In the birth centenary of the notable French scholar, Romain Rolland, the library was renamed after him in 1966. He was a close compadré of Mahatma Gandhi.

Location of the library The library is close to Raj Niwas on Ananda Rangapillai Street or White Street. It is surrounded by different eating joints and gorgeous palm trees too.

After visiting the library, you can see a few places nearby, such as the Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi statue, old bandstand, Jawaharlal Nehru street, the Promenade beach,...

Unfortunately, when I had visited the library, the couple of sections on the first and second floor which were rare collection and microfilm section, english literature, etc were shut.

The ground floor has a public reading space which hosts newspapers and few other magazines, too. The reading space is available on all the floors.

The collection is also very good in terms of quantity and quality.

You can visit this place if you want to take a random interesting reading session of couple of hours in the middle of all the...

The library was renovated and reopened a few months back. Both the inside and the outside of the building is amazing! But the thing is, all they have changed is the building...In the new shelves, the books are at least a few decades old. It would've been better if they had bought new books. As a literature student, I find the library very inadequate. Hope they will provide more books.

But do pay a visit...The more the people come the more enthused they will...