Ernakulam Public Library: How Kerala's Oldest Library Still Works
Founded in 1870, Ernakulam Public Library on Convent Road holds about 150,000 books. Here is its history and how to join.
Ernakulam Public Library on Convent Road has been open since 1870, which makes it the oldest public library in Kerala, a state that did not exist under that name until 1956. It holds about 150,000 books across seven languages, and you do not need a membership card to walk in and read a newspaper.
- Who started Ernakulam Public Library, and when?
- What is inside the building on Convent Road?
- How do you become a member?
- What can you do there without joining?
Who Started Ernakulam Public Library, and When?
The idea came from Thottakattu Sankunni Menon, Diwan of the Cochin kingdom, who put it to King Rama Varma XIV. A meeting to set it up was held on 8 October 1869 at the building that is now part of Maharaja's College, and the library formally began in 1870 with A F Sealy, then principal of Maharaja's College, as its first president. That makes it older than the modern state of Kerala itself, which was formed by merging Travancore, Cochin and Malabar in 1956.
What Is Inside the Building on Convent Road?
The library outgrew its original home more than once. The current building's foundation stone was laid under Chief Minister C Achutha Menon and the building was inaugurated on 3 March 1974. A second floor was added in 1977 under Cardinal Joseph Parecattil, and a third floor with an auditorium followed in June 1987. The result is a collection of roughly 150,000 books in English, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Sanskrit, Konkani and French, arranged on open shelves that anyone can browse.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1869 to 1870 | Founding meeting and first year of operation |
| 1974 | Current Convent Road building inaugurated |
| 1977 | Second floor added |
| 1987 | Third floor and auditorium completed |
How Do You Become a Member?
The library publishes a membership form on its own website, and the process runs through the front desk on Convent Road rather than an online portal. Fees and the exact documents required are best confirmed directly, either by calling the library (0484 235 1894 or 0484 235 5491) or asking at the counter, rather than relying on a number that may be out of date online. Members get lending rights on the general collection, and the roughly 10,000 people already registered give a sense of how much use it still gets in a city where a widening water metro network and packed college timetables compete for the same afternoon.
What Can You Do There Without Joining?
Membership is not required to sit in the general reading room and go through the day's newspapers, which is still a genuine draw for retirees and students preparing for competitive exams. Specific sections worth knowing about:
- A children's section built to get younger readers into the habit early
- A students' corner for project work and exam preparation
- A members' room with current magazines and major newspapers
- A reference section that sees heavy use from students preparing for bank and PSC exams
The open-access shelving means you can walk the stacks yourself instead of asking a librarian to fetch a title, which is not something every library in the state still offers at this scale. If the reference section does not have what a project needs, Kochi's bookshops and stationery stores are the usual next stop, and for a wider sense of how students in the city structure their week around places like this, see Haila Kochi's guide to student life in Kochi. The one real gap is online: there is no catalogue to search from home before you go, so the first trip is still a walk-in, not a click.
Written By
Haila Kochi Editorial Team
Part of the Haila Kochi editorial team, covering the food, business, lifestyle, and people that make Kochi what it is.
