Centenary celebrations of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Library gave visitors, especially school students, a rare opportunity to see up close the Legislative Assembly, museum and Library

More than 50,000 students from all over the State is estimated to have visited the Kerala Legislative Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram during the week-long centenary celebrations

“It was a rare opportunity, a chance to see up close the Kerala Legislature, its visitors’ gallery, the Assembly itself and the Museum there,” says Jessy Narayanan, secretary of Malayalam Pallikoodam in Thiruvananthapuram.

A hundred students of the Pallikoodam were among 50,000-plus school students who visited the Assembly premises that were thrown open to the public during the week-long centenary celebrations of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Library. The celebrations included the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival and a plethora of cultural programmes in the evening. Authors, readers and speakers thronged the festival attended by the likes of Srilankan Booker prize winner Shehan Karunatilak and Malayalam literrateur T Padmanabhan.

Jessy points out that even the premises of the Assembly are usually out of bounds for visitors without the necessary passes and permits. “However, during the week, those coming to see the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival were able to visit the Library, Museum, roam around the Assembly and take photographs too. I doubt if this has ever happened anywhere else in the country,” she adds.

The book exhibition and cultural programmes had people from all over the State making a beeline to see the premises that is usually seen on television.

The Kerala Legislature Library located in the Administrative Block of the complex was started with a collection of books owned by Diwans of erstwhile Travancore. Known as Legislative Library in 1921, it was renamed the Travancore Cochin Assembly Library in 1949 before it became known as the Kerala Legislature Library.

The Library has more than one lakh books, gazettes, newspapers and periodicals covering several decades and is a treasure trove of information on the State and its history. The three-storey building also has a collection of rare books on the State.

Situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, it was once the camp of the Travancore Army. Membership of the Library has now been opened to the public as well.