Ambassador of India, Shri Ranjit Rae, inaugurated e-Granthalaya - a library automation software at Nepal Bharat Library today. E-Granthalaya provides Web interface to publish the library catalog over Internet as well as Intranet. Now anybody can search a desired book and its availability at the Nepal Bharat Library by typing url nblibrary.ddns.net . This weblink will also be available on the Indian Embassy website.

After the launching of e-Granthalaya, Ambassador Rae shared, “We are extremely pleased to launch this e-Granthalaya and we hope that maximum of our readers can now avail this opportunity to search for their desired books online and accordingly procure it from the library. We hope to keep receiving feedbacks and suggestions from our readers so that we can work better to upgrade the standard of our library, which has been a popular research and knowledge centre for many scholars and readers of Nepal over five decades now.”

The present Nepal-Bharat Library, usually called the Indian Library (IL), was earlier known as Nepal-Bharat Sanskritik Kendra. It was founded in 1951 by the Embassy of India (EOI) Kathmandu. It is regarded as the first foreign library in Nepal. Its objective is to enhance and strengthen cultural relations and information exchange between India and Nepal. It has been one of the biggest and extensively used centers of study and research in Kathmandu. During six decades of existence in the heart of the valley, it has been beneficial to the Nepalese people and scholars from all walks of life.

In1970 the library shifted from Basantapur to its present location in RNAC building. The NBL was the busiest library not only in Kathmandu but in whole Nepal. In 1983, there were approximately 46,000 books. Presently, there are almost 65000 books in accession and 1320 active members and around 350 users every day. Normally the library timings are Sunday-Thursday from 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM.

The NBL is still very popular among the users in the capital. Many users are attracted to it because of publicity works contributing to the culture of learning. The NBL houses substantial collections on Indian history, culture, society, literature, philosophy, auto-biography, geography, politics, economy, science and technology, medicine, engineering, mass communication, entertainment, games and sports, cinema, international relations, diplomacy and so on.

"The NBL presents general books, textbook materials as well as non-book materials to several institutions/libraries/organisations in Nepal. The eligible recipients are generally those institutions that are located in remote, rural areas," said a press release issued by Indian Embassy.

The NBL organizes various literary, cultural and social programmes such as Conversations, Poemandu, Cinemandu and Voices every month The NBL is spread over 3,474 sq ft and is a Wi-Fi zone.