Universities' Central Library
{{Infobox library
| name = Universities' Central Library
| native_name = {{lang|my|တက္ကသိုလ်များဗဟိုစာကြည့်တိုက်}}
| native_name_lang = my
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| country = Myanmar
| type = Academic
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| established = {{Start date and age|1929}}
| architect = Kin Maung Lwin
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| location = University of Yangon, Kamayut Township, Yangon
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| coordinates = {{Coord|16|49|50|N|96|08|10|E|display=inline,title}}
| location_map = Myanmar
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| items_collected = {{hlist|Books|parabaiks|palm-leaf manuscripts}}
| collection_size = 600,000 books,
15,000 palm-leaf manuscripts,
4,000 parabaiks
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| parent_organization = Ministry of Education (Myanmar)
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| website = {{URL|https://www.uclmyanmar.org/}}
}}
The Universities' Central Library ({{Langx|my|တက္ကသိုလ်များဗဟိုစာကြည့်တိုက်}}; abbreviated UCL) is an academic library located on the University of Yangon campus in Yangon, Myanmar.{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=The Documentary heritage of Myanmar: selected case studies |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370600?posInSet=1&queryId=84896d88-79b6-4a07-92a4-82a6352fa98d |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=UNESCO}}{{Cite web |date=2019-10-10 |title=Reading Mandalay's Newspapers |url=https://buddhiststudies.utoronto.ca/2019/10/10/reading-mandalays-newspapers/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=University of Toronto |language=en-US}} UCL is Myanmar's biggest academic library and plays a pivotal role in collecting and preserving historical Burmese manuscripts.{{Cite web |date=2017-04-24 |title=How information access is changing the biggest academic library in Myanmar |url=https://www.research4life.org/blog/information-access-academic-library-myanmar/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=Research4Life |language=en-US}} UCL has the largest collection of traditional manuscripts in the country, including 15,000 palm-leaf manuscripts and 4,000 parabaiks. The library possesses 600,000 books.{{Cite web |title=Universities’ Central Library – Architectural Guide: Yangon |url=https://www.yangongui.de/universities-central-library/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |language=en-US}}
History
In 1929, the Rangoon University Library was established as a research and reference library.{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.uclmyanmar.org/about-us/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=Universities' Central Library |language=en-US}} During World War II, the library building and rare manuscript collections were destroyed, and the library re-opened in 1952.{{Cite book |last=Wiegand |first=Wayne A. |title=Encyclopedia of Library History |last2=Davis |first2=Donald G. Jr |date=2015-01-28 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-78757-8 |language=en}} In 1964, the library was renamed the Universities' Central Library. UCL began collecting parabaiks in 1964.
In 1973, a modern replacement building to house the library was designed by Kin Maung Lwin, slated for completion in early 1975. The 1974 U Thant funeral crisis at the university delayed construction, which was finally completed in 1980. In 1987, the Yangon University Library was established in UCL's old premises.
Prominent Burmese scholar, Thaw Kaung served as UCL's chief librarian from 1969 to 1997.{{Cite web |title=Dr. Thaw Kaung Collection |url=https://www.uclmyanmar.org/institutional-repository/u-thaw-kaung-collection/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=Universities' Central Library |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2018-07-31 |title=Profile {{!}} Librarian-Scholar Took the Road Less Traveled By |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/profile/librarian-scholar-took-road-less-traveled.html |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=The Irrawaddy |language=en-US}}
In 2016, it co-founded the Myanmar Academic Library Consortium to foster collaboration among academic libraries in the country.{{Cite web |title=The Myanmar Academic Library Consortium is born |url=https://www.eifl.net/news/myanmar-academic-library-consortium-born |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=EIFL}}
References
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External links
- {{URL|https://www.uclmyanmar.org/}}
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Category:Buildings and structures in Yangon
Category:Libraries established in 1929
Category:1929 establishments in British India
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