Reference Library

The Library from time immemorial has been considered as the ‘social institution’. It has an immense role in the society and regarded as the ‘gateway of knowledge’ for the people, irrespective of age, gender and profession. Library and society are both interlinked and interdependent. A library can be referred as a well acknowledged place of knowledge and plays a vital role in shaping our society. It transmits and disseminates the accumulated knowledge through books and other materials.

The Library of Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair is one of such important section in the Anthropological Survey of India, which contains various conventional documents like books, journals, manuscripts, unpublished reports and archival printing materials. Altogether, 6440 numbers of books are present on various subjects. Main thrust areas of information is on Island specific which contains – (a) historical information of these islands, (b) early Colonial reports and accounts, (c) description of the tribes of these islands, (d) ecology and environmental information of these islands, (e) tourism information etc. Other than that many books are available on the subject of encyclopaedic information on tribes, castes, religion & ethics, human race; linguistic information; historical and geographical information; fine arts; census information etc. A good numbers of Hindi books are also available on the society and culture of various tribes and castes of India. There are many old reputed international Anthropological journals, like, Current Anthropologist, Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute (MAN), Journal of American Anthropologist, Human Ecology are available in this library along with various national journals. Other materials like Atlas of SC & ST of India; Tribal Maps are also available for the scholars, academicians and researchers.

This Library is the only repository of old memoirs/reports on these islands, which was written by many Colonial Administrators posted in this emerald archipelagoes. Presence of all these valuable books, memoirs, reports, old journals always attract both national and international scholars, academicians and researchers to a great extent.