some pictures of SIKH reference LIBRARY in golden temple
Sikh Reference Library
Old newspapers
Files of newspapers
library lobby
The concept of Sikh Reference library came into existence in 1947, however the idea took many years to materialize. The concept was put forth by Princess Bamba, the daughter of Dalip Singh Sukerchakia. She was the last member of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's family. The idea was carried forward by Dr Ganda Singh from local Khalsa College. He with the help of Sikh History Research Board was instrumental in giving the reference library its present shape. Initially it was started at Khalsa College but later it was shifted to its present location at the Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex.
Sikh Reference Library
Old newspapers
Files of newspapers
library lobby
Before its destruction, the library contained rare books and manuscripts on Sikh
religion, history, and culture. It also contained handwritten manuscripts of the Guru Granth
Sahib and Hukmnamas containing signatures of Sikh Gurus.
The library also held
documents related to the Indian Independence Movement.Prior to its destruction by Indian
troops, the library hosted a vast collection of an estimated 20,000 literary works,
including 11,107 books (another estimate puts the number of books having been 12,613), 2,500
manuscripts, 20–25 handwritten edicts (hukamnama) signed and issued by the Sikh Gurus,
newspaper archives, historical letters, documents/files. It also contained handwritten
manuscripts (bir) of the Guru Granth Sahib, the primary and central Sikh scripture. The
library also held documents related to the Indian Independence Movement. Most of the
literature was written in the Punjabi-language and related to Sikhism, but there were also
Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Sindhi, Persian, Arabic, Tibetan, English, and French works
touching upon various topics.
Collection
The library is not a regular lending library but a reference centre. So, only reference
resources are maintained in this library. However a collection of 22,000+ books is also
available in the library that act as reference sources for the visitors.
The library has newspaper archives since 1927 onwards for The Tribune, a popular english
daily. The newspapers have been filed into bound volumes to preserve it for a long time and
the arrangement is datewise. Similar, archives for many other newspapers are also available
including those published in Punjabi. A part of the collection was damaged during operation
blue star.
The library has more than 500 Sri Guru Granth Sahib manuscripts and around 55 Dasam Granth
manuscripts. Apart from this the library also treasures 1500+ manuscripts which are not
directly related to Sri Guru Granth Sahib but were consulted by Sikh Gurus when they were
compiling Sri Guru Granth Sahib. These manuscripts contain vanis (verses) by Hindu and
Muslim saints. They too are of great historical importance.
A e-catalogues for library books is available for easy location using Library Manager
software. The manuscripts collection has been digitized into electronic format.
harmandir sahib sarovar