District Central Library is expected to move back to its own premises on West Boulevard in the city soon as civil works for the new building have been completed.
The new building, with a total plinth area of about 3,200 square metres in two floors, has been constructed at an investment of about Rs.4.30 crore.
The library was functioning at this site till 2007, when Anna Jubilee Building built in the 1980s had to be demolished on grounds of public safety after it was declared a weak structure.
The building was demolished after a protracted legal battle as shopkeepers in the basement resisted any move to shift them out. The new building will not have any commercial space.
One of the oldest and biggest in the State, the library was shifted to a private building at Sethuraman Pillai Colony on the outskirts of the city.
Separate sections
The new library building would feature separate sections for reference, record rooms, magazine reading sections apart from the various sections to accommodate titles on different topics. An auditorium is also planned to be built.
On Saturday, N.R.Sivapathi, Minister for School Education, Law, Youth Welfare and Sports, inspected the building along with D.Sabitha, Secretary, School Education, Jayashree Muralidharan, Collector, and other officials.
However, he declined to give out a specific date for the opening of the building but said it would be soon.
