Nehru Memorial Museum and Library or NMML is a library-cum-museum located in New Delhi whose goal is to conserve and remodel the historical sources of the Indian freedom struggle for independence from British Raj. Present inside the grounds of the Teen Murti complex, this library was set up in the year 1964, under the Ministry of Culture following the demise of Jawaharlal Nehru, the oldest prime minister of the nation. A major part of the writings and archives of Mahatma Gandhi are existent in this famous library. Apart from this, the library also boasts of the private papers of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Sarojini Naidu, Charan Singh, C. Rajagopalachari, Jayaprakash Narayan and B.C. Roy. Since March 2010, the library also possesses a digital section which is filled with 29, 807 photographs, 8, 67, 000 pages of manuscripts and 5, 00, 000 pages of other important documents. `Nehru Anthology`, `Man of Destiny` by Ruskin Bond, `Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru` and some others are amongst the well-known publications contained in the library.
Innumerable scholars and Indian historians have received cooperation from this institute in its fellowship programme. The Nehru Memorial Fellowship has been able to assist some of the most reputed historians like Ramachandra Guha and also O.P. Kejriwal, the Chief Information Commissioner. The library is believed to be a treasure house particularly in the sphere of Social Sciences and it also possesses newspapers, journals, books, PhD dissertations, etc.
History of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
Developed on 1st April, 1966, the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library was set up in the western and eastern department of the large building. Its founder was Bal Ram Nanda who also delivered his services as a curator for the museum and library for the following 17 years and he has been granted the Padma Vibhushan in the year 2003. The then President V.V. Giri had officially inaugurated the library building in January 1974. With the considerable enhancement in the quantity of its official documents, another library building had been erected whose construction came to an end in the year 1989. During 1990, The Centre for Contemporary Studies had been established inside the building Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library witnesses the celebration of its Foundation Day as well as an Annual Lecture which is held on 1st April every year and this lecture is termed as the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Foundation Day Lecture. The Nehru Planetarium also belongs to the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. It is said that this library is home to several documents portraying the personal relationship between Lord Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library has been administering the Nehru Planetarium from Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund since 2005.
Nehru Memorial Digital Library
Archives of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, historical records, manuscripts, etc. were all made digital and they were made available online soon after their digitalisation project with the aide of the HCL Info-systems which commenced in the year 2010.