Tamil Nadu invests in libraries, reimaging them as knowledge and innovation hubs

Chennai: At a time when technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping learning worldwide, the Tamil Nadu government is reimagining libraries as centres of knowledge, innovation, and collaboration by investing hundreds of crores in large facilities in key urban centres.

These modern libraries are not merely repositories of books but provide access to lakhs of e-books and digital collections, besides serving as knowledge hubs offering quiet and calm spaces for students to prepare for competitive exams, incubation centres for startups, co-working facilities, and spaces for academic events.

Over Rs 800 crore is being spent to build modern libraries and science centres in Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Salem, Tirunelveli, and Cuddalore, covering a total area of about six lakh square feet. Besides, the government is also investing Rs 50 crore in establishing Central Libraries with modern facilities in eight districts such as Tenkasi, Ranipet, Tiruppathur, Kallakurichi, Kanchipuram, Mayiladuthurai, Erode, and Thoothukudi with modern facilities.

The government is tailoring each facility to local needs. For instance, the Thanthai Periyar Library and Science Centre in Coimbatore includes an incubation and science centre reflecting its entrepreneurial ecosystem, while the library in Tiruchirapalli, named after K Kamaraj, features an AI research lab and robotics hub.

The library to be built in Cuddalore will have a co-working space providing an affordable and professional environment for those working from home – the government is also building co-working spaces for professionals in about 20 locations in Chennai after a facility in Chief Minister M K Stalin’s constituency, Kolathur, became an instant success.

“We are reimagining libraries as vibrant hubs of learning,” B Chandra Mohan, Principal Secretary (School Education), told DH. “Beyond lakhs of physical books, these spaces now provide access to premium e-books, online journals, and digital libraries. Each library has dedicated reading zones, sections for competitive exam preparation, and facilities for book launches, literary events, and lectures. Many students currently pay Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 a month at private study centres for such amenities. Here, we offer far better facilities, completely free of cost,” he added.

With clean, comfortable, and technology-enabled spaces, coworking areas, and large auditoriums that can seat up to 1,000 people, these libraries are being reimagined as modern centres of knowledge, creativity, and collaboration, the bureaucrat said.

Every library has an exclusive competitive exam section that helps students prepare and access online content, making these facilities unique. These libraries offer vast collections of more than a lakh physical books each and millions of e-books.

The decision to invest in libraries came after the success of the Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai – conceived by the DMK dispensation after it assumed office in May 2021 and thrown open in 2023 – which attracts nearly 3,000 visitors a day. This library was modelled on the lines of the Anna Centenary Library in Chennai built in 2011.

The results are already there to see. Over two dozen students who used the library in Madurai to study have cleared exams conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Services Commission (TNPSC).

A researcher, who is a regular at the Anna Centenary Library, welcomed more libraries in the state saying such facilities offer right environment for students and aspirants for government jobs. “It is a welcome step that huge libraries are being planned in tier-II and tier-III cities which will be immensely beneficial to students there and those from rural areas adjoining the cities,” she told DH.