CHAPTER 2

GROWTH AN D DEVELOPMENT O f
SPECIAL LIBRARIES WITH
SPECIAL REFERENCE T O A SSA M
 23

CHAPTER 2

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL

LIBRARIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO ASSAM

2.1 Existing growth and divisions:

Different types of libraries were established in

ancient and medieval age, but these were not properly

classified. Some workable divisions of such libraries were

made arbitrarily during those days,were limited in their

search for knowledge and different needs were served by a

library which were of multiple characters. It was possible

to help the limited users in those days. Libraries were

established by the royal patronage and access to the

library was restricted to the general people but

"revolutionary changes and transformation in the society

have ushered in new values,new modes and new concept of

life".* Vast expansions are taking places in all fields of

human knowledge and activities. Due to these expansions,

it is not possible to provide all the required needs of

the society by a single library. So different types of

libraries were to be established with different aim and

objectives for catering to the needs of different people.

This modern concept is a recent development dating bbjfik to

few centuries only .

l.Sharma, N Ns Role of public libraries in adult education

programme of Assam,G.U,1788,P-8
 24

Parry committee on 1ibraries<U.K) observed the

salient features and functions of different existing

libraries and came to conclusion that there are six types

2
of libraries. On the basis of these divisions, four types

of libraries are recognised all over the world which may

be enumerated as such

1. National library

2. Public library

3. Academic library and

4.Special library

National, Public and Academic libraries have been

developed since the last few centuries. Almost all

countries of the world to-day have set up national

libraries to reflect and preserve their cultural and

intellectual heritages. The national library of

India,Calcutta; the library of Congress(L .C .),

Washington;the British library of U.K.; the state Lenin

library, Moscow are some important national libraries.

Like the national libraries, public libraries are

also playing important roles to the present societies. The

United kingdom and the United States of America have the

pride of setting up modern public libraries in the 19th

centuries. In India, every state has set up public

2.Pandey, S K: Libraries and society, Newn Delhi Ess

E ss,1 9 B 7 , P -4 1
 25

libraries on the basis of the conception of liberal

education, education for all, political thought and ideas

of democracy as their main ideology. So far 10 states have

enacted library legislation in India.** Public libraries

are mainly concerned with information, self-education and

recreation. But public libraries can not cater to the need

of academic communities. Only academic libraries can cater

to the needs of these communities and so academic

libraries have been setup in the academic institutions

such as schools,col leges and universities.This system has

been evolved over the last 150 years. After independence,

India has given considerable thought and attention in the

planning and development of academic libraries at all

levels. On the other hand the development of industries,

business, researches, expanded function of government, and

other similar organisations need support of a library of

special nature, scope, collection, services, users etc.

developed on the special ground and purposes. This type of

library falls under the category of special libraries.

2.2 Need of special libraries

Any type of researches specially in science and

technology depends upon adequate and appropriate

3.Rout, R K : Library legislation in India the state of

the art report; Librarianship. a challenoina profession in

Assam. BLA.1995.PP45-48.
 26

informations derived from a specialised designed library.

Development of different organisations, expansion of

government departments, undertakings, industries,

projects, learned societies etc. need some information

support to establish their plan and programmes. The

libraries attached to these organisations or departments

can render such help most effectively. Moreover the

experts or specialists worked in the parent body need

specific information. To cater to their needs, the 1ibrary

should serve specialised services other than general.

Enormous printed documents demand library services to be

spec ialised.

To deal with the specific subjects the library

attached with these subjects is itself specialised one.

Nature of documents, special user groups, activities etc.

are some of the important factors which distinguish such a

library from general one.

2.3 Concept and definition

It is increasingly felt that a library of general

one cannot offer adequate information and appropriate

services for specific needs and their concept was the main

ideology of emerging this type of libraries in the 1st

decade of the 20th century in U.S.A.. A group of American

Librarians met on July 2,1904, at Hampshire to discuss

about the specialised libraries. They gave the name of

 27

4
"Special Library" to such libraries. Since then different

librarians and experts have defined, but a clear distinct

and generally accepted definition has not yet been found

5
universally accepted.

John Cotton Dana, founder of the Special Library

Association (SLA) stated in 1910 that these special

collections of books, reports and other printed materials

are so varied in their characters and in the use made of

them that no definition will any longer satisfactorily

include them all. 6 SLA and its members have defined

special library since 1910 to 1976.

A.6.S. Josephson in 1912 wrote that "a special

library is a library that covers a single definite

subjects or a definite group of related subjects.

In 1925, Ridley a charter member of ASLIB

considered a special library to be " a collection of

information covering a specific field , which may be

administered by a special staff and for the service of 3

limited clientele".8 The proposal of 1943 was the

4.Pandey, op. cit, P.66

5.Kent, ed Encyelopedia of library and information scince,

vol-28,P389.

6. Ibid.

7.Ibid, P-390.

8.Ibid, P-391.
 28

conception of a special collection versus a special

library. According to this proposal, a special collection

is a collection of materials of certain form on a certain

subject of a certain period or gathered together for some

particular reason. They defined special collection to

distinguish it from the special library.

Echelman presented a suggestion synthesising

earlier definition in 1976 that a special library is the

mission of acquiring, organising and providing access to

information and knowledge to furthen the goals of its

parent body, assembling a physical collection limited to a

single subject or group of subjects and administered by a

librarian or specialist in the subject covered.

I.E Wright has defined the special library as a

library which is concerned almost exclusively with the

literature of a particular subject or a group of

9
subjects. A special library, according to

S.R.Ranganathan, is a specialist library.*^ He stressed on

clientele, but not collection. He was aware that simply

collection or discipline based definition might lead to

confusion.

In the glossary of library and information

sciences of ALA, 1983 it is defined that special library

9.Pandey, op. cit.,P.63

10.Ibid, P.64
is a library established, supported and administered by a

business firm, private corporation, association,

government agency or other special interest group or

agency to meet the information needs of its members or

staff in pursuing the goals of the organisation. Scope of

collections and services is limited to the subject

interest of the host or parent organisation.

K.G.B. Bakewell in Manual of library economy,

1977 has defined that a special library is one which

serves a particular group of people, such as the employees

of a firm of government department or the staff and

members of a professional or research organisation. Such a

library deals essentially in information.

From the above definitions, it is clear that the

term "Special" is used to denote this type of library.

Special means particular field of interest or individual

or distinct characteristic or not common, usual or

general.* * So the special library is a collection of

particular field of interest for limited users with

distinct characteristics. But collection is not treated in

all cases as a special factor of the special library.

Because the special collection of the academic library or

the public library or the national library does not make

that library as special library. They are used for

11.Hornby, A S ed; Oxfords advanced (learner's dictionary

of current English, ed3, 1974,P843.

 30

individual interest, but the special library is set up for

common purposes with definite scope of the parent body in

a particular subject or group of subjects. Special

libraries also assume different names like technical

1ibrary,business information centres, research information

12
services, department libraries etc.

2.4 Salient features and functions

From the above discussions, salient features can

be traced out to identify special libraries. These are

2.41 Location:

All the special libraries are attached with the

parent bodies. A special library is a small unit or branch

of the parent organisation.

2.42 Collection:

Special libraries exist primarily for references

which may be collected from some specific collections in

the field of interests.13 Collections are built up keeping

in view of the aim and objectives of the parent bodies.

The nature of collection therefore becomes dynamic and

grows up in anticipation of demand. 14 It collects

12.IGNOU,Different types of librarries and thier

functions,1989,P.66.

13.Mukherjee, A KsReference work and its tools,1971, P32

14.1GNOU.o p .c it ,p .67
 31

published as well as unpublished documents of the parent

body beyond the sources available from outside

organisations. Their requirements are specific information

contained in the documents while general library is

15
concerned with documents only. Collections of a general

library are used for individual requirements and

individual interest but that of special library is built

up for meeting the institutional needs. Particular types

of documents such as film, video cassette, manuscripts,

coins etc. are however served to identify the special

library. But types of libraries may be distinguished by

the two principal characteristics-the clientele served and

the nature of the collection, the former being the primary

determinant of the latter.*^

2 .4 3 C lie n te le :

Specialists, experts, staff, policy makers,

research scholars etc. of the parent organisation are the

potential users of the special libraries. The blind, the

children, the patient, the jail-inmates, etc. are the

special user groups. The special library is to carry out

the common goal of the organisation under clearly speltout

policy statement. Their requirements are information

15. Kumar, Krishan:Library organisation, New Delhi,Vikash,

1987, P.73.

16. Library trend, vol-1,No2,oct,1952,P169

 32

rather than documents.17 Limited number of users and

feeding of up-to-date informations are the common

attributes to all special libraries.

2.44 Staff:

Highly skilled and professionally qualified

staffs are the main pivot of the special libraries to

extract special services to the specialists in the modern

techniques.

2.45 Services:

The special library deals with information to

cater the needs of the organisation. The special library

should have the information services to keep the users

well informed and upto-date in the field of specialization

and related subjects. Information services are provided

through documentation, current awareness services,

retrospective searches, selective dissemination of

information, translation services, referral services and

state of art report beyond the traditional day- to- day

routine work. But each special library is unique in its

type and character. So it is to be organised on the basis

of information needs of the user community and the policy

is to be formulated accordingly.

Documentation includes collection, abstracting,

17.Harnod,L M sLibrarians' glossary,1971,P5

 33

indexing, documentation list and special material

classification. Current awareness services (CAS) is

provided through current contents, accession list and

selective dissemination of informat ion(SDI>. Ret rospect ive

search involves verification of facts or r e f erence,

literature search, bibliographic compilat ion and

translation services. Literature search in a spec i f ic

subject is termed as state of art report.

Introduction of automation to librari es is an

important application. Many special librar ies have

provided computer based SDI services but in Ind ia SDI

10
services are provided manually. Other an tic ipatory

services include annotated list, abstract bulle tin , news

summaries , digest etc. in the special libr ari e s .Thus

paramount importance in special libraries is spec ia 1

services rendered by reference services, CAS, an tic ipatory

services and retrieval services.

2.46 Interest of parent body:

Common interest is an important feature of

special libraries. It is setup to achieve the goal of the

parent organisation. Individual interest is not counted in

special libraries as bestowed in the public or other types

of libraries.

1B.IGN0U, op. cit.,P— 68

 34

2.5 Historical overview:

The above salient features are the distinguishing

factors to identify the special libraries.If so, then the

obligatory introduction of the special libraries is said

to have existed for almost as long as records have been

kept. 19 Collection of clay tablets at a temple in the

Babylonian town of Nippur(1st half of the 3rd millennium

B.C.), collection of Assyrian clay tablets found at Tell-

el—Amarua in Egypt(2nd millennium B.C.), Assurbanipal's

collection of clay tablets<668-627 B.C.) in Nineveh of

Assyria were some specialized libraries based on special

20
subject collection for special group of users. It is

believed that Assurbanipal's library was the first special

library. This collecting idea in later stage influenced

Greece, Alexandria,Rome and Pergamum for setting up

libraries. As a result, Aristotle’s library of Athens,

Ptolemy’s famous library of Alexandria and some temple

libraries in Greece had been grown up.

By 2700 B.C. some private and religious libraries

were said to have existed in sumeria. Among them, one was

at Tello with a collection of over 30,000 clay tablets.

Herodotus, Plato, Diodorus, Plutarch and others mentioned

these libraries in their writings. They were based on

special temple records and religious writings. Similarly

19. Encyclopedia of Britannica, vol-10, P. 856.

20. Kent, op.cit., P 387.

 35

the libraries of Herbrews consisted of religious roles and

tablets.

During the invasion of Persepolis(present Iran)

by Alexander, a good number of Avestan religious tablets

were destroyed. During that time, several special

libraries viz the medical library of the Gondi Bhahpour

University, manuscript library of Maragheh Observatory at

Azerbaijan etc. have been identified. Even in Asia, there

were some special libraries such as the library of

Buddhistic scriptures at the Haeinsa temple in the

republic of Korea, the library of the temple of Kandy, Sri

Lanka, the vat Sisakut Pagoda library near Vientiane, Laos

and some medieval oriental libraries in Persia and Bagdad.

During the middle ages, monastic libraries were

setup, when there were a strict obligation to preserve

manuscripts. The monastic libraries came to end in 1536-40

in England. A change took place during the reign of

Elezabeth and an attempt was made to enrich library

collections after the rennaissance and reformation

movement in Europe. Even Germany established many town

libraries due to humble efforts of Martin Luther. In

France, Italy, Southern Germany and Australia, where the

catholic faith remain unshaken, old libraries were

supplemented by the society of Jesus in the new form.

Moreover Parish libraries were established in England to

 36

help using the same by the clergy towards the end of the

16th centuries.

The 17th century is the beginning of new

initellectual with Galilio in Italy and Becon in England

and a critical history in trance. These intellectual

activities were needing specialized information which led

the traditional libraries towards the modern style to

advocate the work of scholars, societies, learned bodies,

organisation etc. The Bodleian library at the Oxford

University was the first functional research library

21
established in 1602. Gottfried Leibnitz, German

mathematician and philosopher who became the librarian at

Hanovar in 1676 first advocated the scholarly research

library. Gabriel Nande, the famous librarian of the 17th

century produced the first modern library conception in

his book "Advis Pour Dresser Une Bibliotheque 1627".

Knowledge expansion of the 17th and 18th century

evolved national, academic and public libraries but their

growth was haphazard, administration was weak, standard

of services were almost nonexistent, funds were inadequate

22
and there were lack of proper method for organisation.

So the libraries were reshaped by the middle of 19th

21. (looker jee, S K and Sengupta, B : Library organisation

and administration, ed 2, Calcutta, world press, 1977, P-

44.

22. Encyclopaedia of Britannica, vol-15, P. 860.

 37

century. Antonio Panizi, librarian of British Museum in

1B56-66 was the leading figure in this time. Moreever the

industrial revolution and the new nationalism had

comp 1etly changed the activities in the 19th century and

demand of libraries was reinforced to meet the scientific

and industrial research.

2.51 Scientific and industrial devlopments

The advent of sc ience and technology in the

western countri es brought radical changes in the

traditional human minds and its importance was

increasingly felt in the field of education in general and

research in particular. A good number of scientists and

social scientists were found keen in going deeper and

deeper in their respective field of studies.

The first organised attempt to harness the

scientific skill to human civilization was the discovery

of fire, the second organised attempt cultivation later

led to the invention of wheel. Sincethen, Egypt, China,

Rome, Greece and few human civilized groups gradually

moved towards the scientific development and the unified

concept of research became the integral part of economic

planning.24 The Greek civilization was spreading over the

different areas of Europe after defeating Constantine vi

23. Phul, R K : World civilisation, Ludhiana, Gagan, 1907,

P-22.
24. Encyclopaedia , op.cit, P 739.
 38

by the Muslim Sultan, Mohammad ii on 1453 and this led a

revolutionary changes in the field of science and

technology in Europe. This new age called Renaissance

produced many writers, scholars, poets, scientist and

social scientists and profounded new theories for the

improvement of the European society. Michael Angelo,

Raphel, Boccaccio, Dante, Copernicus, Kepler, Balileo, Sir

Issac Newton etc. were found to have produced remarkable

contribution in their respective fields and thereby

revolutionary changes were noticed in the age of

intellectual activities. Consequently industrial

devlopments were built up at the end of the 18th century

demanding for the establishment of more and more research

institutions. The Physicalische Technical Reichsanstalt

Laboratory in Germany(1870)? the Cambria Iron Company

Labroatory in US<1867); the US National Bureau of

Standards <19011; the National Physical Laboratory of

Engl and<1900) etc. were founded and thus research

25
activities were expanded day by day. These were

intensified for the competitive bidding among different

countries. Even some associations were actively engaged in

the industrial and scientific research and development in

the west. The British Glass Industry Research Association,

the British Science Association, the Americian Science

Association etc. may be cited as examples in this regards.

25. Ibid.
 39

Every nation after the world wars I and II has realised

the necessity of scientific and industrial research for

the economic growth and national security. These helped

in the emergence of special libraries for the specialist

users. Because the earlier libraries were unable to

satisfy the new demands needed specially for the applied

27
sciences. So the organisations set up libraries in a

specialised form. As a result the growth of special

libraries often keeps indistinguishable connection with

the ever growing and increasing commercial enterprises or

specialised professional bodies or learned societies or

institutions. This began to appear in the 1st decade of

the 20th century first in U.S.A. In the later decades,

rapid growth of industrial and other research activities

have produced enormous organisations/industries alongwith

the special libraries. It has become more effective since

the world wars I and II, but the special library is at

best ambiguous and is closely related to and often

indistinguishable from the newly developed information

centres. Though special libraries as well as information

centres have some common purposes, yet information centres

have been grown up in different dimension to cater to the

needs of a wider circle of users instead of serving a

single parent body.

26. Ibid, P 743.

27. Ibid, P 860.

 40

Some important special libraries are mention

below:
v r Jr ‘ \ IV' ”
2.52 In U.S.A. t 4 '0 a- '

NAME PLACE YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT

1.American philoso­ Philadelphi a 1743

phical society
1ibrary

2-Pennsylvania Pennsyalvania 1763

Hospital library
3.Law Association Philadelphi a 1808
1ibrary
4.Scientific New York 1875
society libraries

5.Academy of Chicago 1856

sciences

6.Crerar science New york 1895

1ibrary
7.Treasury Deptt Washington 1803
1ibrary

8.Law of War Deptt. Washington 1832

9.Deptt. of defence Washington 1960

1ibrary

10.Seattle first Columbia

national bank
1 ibrary

ll.Gilcrease museum Tulsa

1 ibrary

12.Amco Products Tulsa

co. library

13.The Newberry Chicago

1 ibrary

14.World book and Chicago 1800

1ibrary

The library’ of congress is a national public and

research library all rolled into one.

 41

\
2.53 In U.K n
NAME PLACE YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT

1.Royal society of London

medicine

2.Science library London 1883

3. Patent office 1855

4.Victoria and London 1883

Albert Museum
1ibrary

5. The Geological
Museum library

l.DSIR London 1916

7.Zoological society London 1883

1ibrary

0.British council
1ibrary

9.Academy of sciences

2.54 In USSR(Now Common Wealth of Independent States, CIS)

The great October socialist revolution had

completly changed the cultural life of the people of

USSR. The centralised planning of scientific and technical

libraries in USSR took shape just after this revolution.

There are so far more than 55,000 special libraries in

USSR.28

2.55 Indian scene:

The special library system became active soon

after independence, though it appeared in the first decade

28. Mookerji, op.cit., P. 138.

 42

of the 20th centuries./the British setup the special

libraries in the wfe-s-tern style alongwith their different

departments or organisations. But the existence of some

important libraries such as the library of Nalanda,

Taxila, Vikramsila, Rajagriha, Odantapur, Tampralipta etc.

i
tells us that there were libraries before this modern

trend of special libraries in India. All these libraries

possessed mostly manuscripts like the monastic collections

of the ancient Europe. Buddha Vihara or temples also

collected and preserved such materials.

During the Mughal administration, royal

1ibraries/archives were established, but entry to these

libraries were restricted to the general people.

Collection, preservation, transcription and translation of

interested subjects were the main function of these

libraries. This process was continued till the advent of

the British in India. The administrative setup of the

Britsh in India has begun since the Regulating Act of

1773. The East India Company which had carved out the vast

British India initially created three departments- the

Public Department, the Secret Department and the Revenue

29
Department in 1774. Gradually they were expanded,

increased in numbers and dealt with different subjects.

29. Deo, Inder and Biswas, S C : Government libraries in

India s Handbook of libraries, archives and information

centres in India. Vol - !_*. 1983. P. 13Q.

 43

This led the British India to setup the special libraries

alongwith different departments or organisations in the

Western design. No doubt, rich collections in specific

field of certain departments influenced the setting up of

special libraries. Survey of India(1767), Geological

Survey of India(1850), Archaeological survey of

India(1861), Botanical Survey of India <1890), Zoological

Survey of India <1916) and Anthropological Survey of India

(1945) are some libraries which are developed in India.

Other successful libraries were developed in the Deptt. of

legal affairs (1860), Central Secretariat (1891), National

archives of India (1891), Ministry of defence (1900),

Ministry of labour and employment (1915). This trend of

special libraries becomes more prolific after independence

due to the expansion of research activities in different

fields of specialisation. These different fields include

i. History, sociology, culture and museology

ii. Economics

iii. Public administration

iv. Science and technology

v. Communication and transport

vi. Building and architecture

vii. Legislation, law etc.

Indian science and technology was eloquently

articulated in the scientific policy resolution of 1958

under the leadership of Jawaharal Nehru and five laws of

 44

library science of S.R. Ranganathan changed the very

concept of library science in India.^ This inspired the

councils of different disciplines for reorganisation of

research activities for better development. Thus councils

of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 1942,

council of Agriculture Research (formerly known as

Imperial Council of Agricultural Research established in

1929), Indian Council of Medical Research in 1911 and

Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)

established in 1969 came forward generating institutional

activities as their constituents.^1 INSDOC (1952), NASSDOC

(1970), Data Archives (1973), NISSAT (1977), NIC (19B8)

etc. are the coming up of documentation and information

centres/institutations through which the councils acquire

their needs in the specialised form.

Thus the eighties have witnessed the national

information system in environment, Ocean Science,

biotechnology, electronics etc. under the government fund

and heavy electrical, steel, drug, fertilisers etc. as

government undertakings. Meanwhile Computer application in

library and information centres was started since 1988 and

this has led to more sophisticated infrastructure for

information services in the country. 32

30. India; Department of Science and Technology : Report

on science and technology, 1988-89, New Delhi, P-1.

31. Agarwal, B P ed : Unesco and Social Sciences, 1988, P.

157.

32. India, op.cit, P. 172.

 45

Some special libraries developed in India are

enumerated in the table 1.

Table 1
Some special libraries developed in India
------------- f— ------------ —
SI .No L ibrari es Place Col lection
1 Bhaba atomic res­
earch centre T rombay
2 Bharat heavy elec­ Hyderabad 5,00,000 microforms
tricals

3 Central building Roorkee

research institute

4 Central leather re­ Madras

search institute

5 Central food tech­

nological research Mysore
institute

6 Central machine Bangalore 13,640 standards

tool institute 23,605 Trade catalo­
gues
7 Central road resea­ New Delhi
rch institute

8 Indian Agricultural New Delhi 3,00,000 books

research institute 5.000 periodicals
40.000 reports
25.000 pamphlets
9 I.D.L Chemicals Hyderabad
10 Indian Institute New Delhi
of Public Administ
ration

11 Indian Institute Bangalore

of Science

12 Indian Standard New Delhi 5,00,000 books

Institution 570 periodicals
13 Indian Statistical Calcutta 1,50,000 books
L ibrary 2,400 periodicals
 46

14 Indian Institute New Delhi

of Technology Madras,Bombay
Kanpur,Kharag
pur, Guwahati 5000 books
15 National aeronautic Bangalore 700 periodicals
-al laboratory 70.000 reports
60.000 microforms
47 Technical films
16 National chemical Poone
1aboratory

17 National medical New Delhi over 200,000 books

1ibrary

18 National police Hyderabad 10,000

academy Shi 1 long

19 Physical research Ahmedabad

1aboratory

20 National science New Delhi 1,05,000 books

1ibrary 4,815 periodicals
21 Nehru memorial muse New Delhi 94,164 books
-urn and library 650 periodicals
500 private papers
800 oral history
22 Raja Ram Mohan Roy Calcutta
1ibrary

23 Tata institute of Bombay

fundamental reserch

Sources (i)Library organisation by Krishan Kumar, 1988

(ii)Handbook of libraries, archives and information

centres in India, vol-1, 1984-85

<i ii)Directory of libraries by K.R. Gupta, New

Delhi, Atlantic Publishers, 1989

Thus special libraries have been established in

India in national, state and regional levels, but

 47

systematic networking system among such libraries is yet

to be developed in India.

2.56 Special libraries and their growth in Assam.

The libraries which were setup in ancient and

medieval period were grown up in unorganised way though

they possessed very rich collection of manuscripts, royal

reports, letters etc. This process is still prevalent in

Namgharas, Satras and some other sacred institutions of

Assam, but in lesser numbers. So the British paved the

structure of the special libraries in Assam in the 2nd

decade of the 20th century on the basis of western model.

Meanwhile the British administration in Assam has

created departments among which the P.W.D. came first in

1860. Creation of Local Board (1880) was another

contribution of the British in their administration.

Gradually they introduced the western education in Assam.

In this respect the Christian Missionaries took the

leading part in the spreading of western education in

Assam. The American Baptist-Missionary established at

least 14 schools at Sibsagar in 1844 and created a

revolutinary age of "Arunoday" by publishing a weekly

paper in Assamese the first of its kind. In the beginning

of the 20th century, the establishment of the cotton

college (1901), the Earl Law College and the Barie White

Medical school were the significant venture in the line.

 40

The students educated from these institutions felt the

need of libraries. So the "Assam Student Association"
established in 1916 eameforward to set up some rural
libraries in the 2nd and 3rd decades of the 20th century
which later on evolved the public libraries during 1950-
60’s. Alongwith the growth of educational institutions in
different parts of the province the academic libraries
which are parts of these institutions had to be
established on the recommendation of Radha Krishnan
education commission (1948) and Kothari commission (1966).
The needs were not confined to these libraries but
emphasised on special libraries due to the growth of tea
industries, new land revenue policies, cultural
preservation, administrative policies and other diverse
fields of research activities. Consequently the Tocklai
research centre (1911), the Assam research society (1912),
the Assamsurvey and settlement training centre (1913),
the Assam legislative council (1926), the Department of
historical and antiqnarian studies in Assam (1928) had set
up libraries to cater to the needs of the users.33 The
demands became more effective after the world wars I and
II.

33. Medhi, Mina : Directory on special/research libraries

and documentation centres in NER, Guwahati, IIE, 1987.
 49

2.561 Effects of wars I and II

The world wars I and II had disturbed the

“* 4
commercial policies in Assam. Yet the war accelerated

the process of the industrial development backed by the

scientific and technological researches specially in the

tea-industries, oil and natural gas commission, transport

communications and military activities with administrative

units. Though the growth and development of the special

libraries were very slow during this period, yet this

process helped the organisations to set up more special

libraries after independence.

2.562 After independence

With the development of different institutions,

organisations, departments, learned bodies/associat ions

etc. the special libraries in Assam have occupied an

important position in the dissemination of knowledge and

information. Just after independence, the establishment of

Guwahati University (1948), the Guwahati high court

(1948), the All India Radio (1948), the Engineering

College at Guwahati, the Medical College at Dibrugarh etc.

had increased the necessity of these libraries in their

relevant fields. Gradually the necessity were expanded to

other fields with the plan and programme of 1952.

Consequently Small Industries Service institute (1959),

Ramie research station (1960), Regional research/

34. Assam Government : Political history of Assam (1826-

1919), Vol-1, 1977, P-224.

 50

laboratory (1961), Assam Productivity Council U962),

Assam industrial development corporation Ltd. (1965),

Defence research laboratory (1965), Oil and Natural Gas

Commission (1968) and Forensic science laboratory (1969)

set up libraries before the beginning of the seventh

decade of the present century. This growth has impacts on

different research institutes, revenue boards, financial

corporations, ASIDC, NISIET (NOWIIE), Associated

industries, Lalit Kala Academy, geology, archives etc.

till the last decade of the present century. Moreover the

introduction of library science to the Guwahati University

in 1966 is the main agency to realise the position and

need based demand.

An exhaustive list of the existing special

libraries in Assam is shown in the appendix 1. The decadal

growth of the special libraries is shown in the table 2.

 51

Table-2

Decadal growth of the special libraries in Assam

SL .NO YEAR APPROXIMATLY

NO.OF LIBRARIES CUMULATIVE TOTAL

1 1910-20 2 2

2 1921-30 4 6

3 1931-40 NR 6

4 1941-50 10 16

5 1951-60 15 31

6 1961-70 20 51

7 1971-80 30 81

8 1981-90 35 116

9 1991-95 14 130

Sources survey data

y*
y
N.B. NR = No record.

^ \s'
> vr
r
 DECADAL GROWTH OF SPECIAL UBRARIE8 IN A88AM

{BASED ON TABLE 2)

1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995

YEAR WISE

FROM OWN SURVEY

ZS