THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On a frantic search for more space to park books, the State Central Library is planning a three-storeyed building for housing its reference section. The new reference section will be a ‘heritage model’ structure, imitating the existing red-brick main building of the library. The total cost estimated is Rs 3.30 crore, of which Rs 1.95 crore has been allocated.The building will come up on the northern portion of the library campus. ‘’We face an acute shortage of space for keeping the books. New books are coming in. So, the building is essential,’’ state librarian P S Suprabha said.Recently, the State Central Library had taken in approximately 20,000 books donated by the British Library to the state when it closed shop. Those books were accommodated by shifting the technical section. But there is also a small hitch in the library’s plans for the new building. The Court had stayed construction on the library campus following a petition filed by the Library Samrakshana Samithi against a State Library Council move to construct a building on another portion of the campus.Now, the library administration has moved the government to get a waiver so that it can go ahead with the construction of the reference section, sources said. In fact, the court case was one reason the construction of the building got delayed.Established in 1829, the State Central Library - then Trivandrum Public Library, a name which is still popular - ranks among the oldest libraries in the country. The existing building was constructed in 1900.
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