It was established with the name of Calcutta Public Library, and its first proprietor being Dwarkanath Tagore. When education was not uniformly accessible (not that it is now), and students couldn’t access books, this library emerged as an assistant in giving free usage to the underprivileged students. Later, it went on to merge with the Imperial Library and laid the foundation of as the name suggests and that stands still even today.

There are a variety of collections on the bookshelves of the National Library. You would find books written in diverse regional languages. People from various regions come to check the collections and even the number of members of the Library extends beyond a thousand. There are even collections of books written in foreign languages.

Periodicals, Journals, Manuscripts, Monographs, Memoirs, Autobiographies, books concerning natural science, social science, linguistics, literature, and many more estimating to a total of 2270000 books, are found here. There are 3200 manuscripts which along with the monographs are incorporated within the ‘rare books’ section. Besides, there are 86000 maps and various preserved pictures of the past.

The size of the library is so vast that it can accommodate more than 500 people at a time. It is often called a Repository library and receives publications from all around the world. This apex institution of the country is 176years old. Students pursuing their education from the institutions of the city acknowledge the importance of the National Library in their academic life and future, and subsequently draw history along the bookshelves of the National Library— today, and for the future.