Goa State Central Library, situated in Panaji in the Indian state Goa, is the main library of the state. It also claims to be the first public library to be set up in the country. It was established in early 1830s and was renamed as Krishnadas Shama Central Library in the year 2012. Presently the library is governed by Government of Goa`s Directorate of Art and Culture. Goa State Central Library serves as a great heritage to the knowledge seekers of the state and provides them an enriching world of literature.

History of Goa State Central Library
Goa State Central Library was established on 15th September 1832 by Vice Roy Dom Manuel de Portugal e Castro in the Portuguese-ruled Goa with the name Publica Livraria of the Academia Militar de Goa (Military Training Institute). The name of the library was changed in the year 1836 to Bibliotheca Publica and was enriched with the collections of convents run by religious orders. In the same year, the library was shifted to the campus of Municipal activities. It was once again renamed as the Biblotheca Publica da Nova Goa in 1870. In the year 1897 the library was raised to the status of a National Library with the name Bibliotheca Nacional de Nova Goa following which it was again renamed as Bibliotheca National Vasco da Gama. Since September 1959 the administrative control of library came under the Services de Instruccao e Saude (Education and Health Services). In 1961 when the Portuguese rule ended in Goa the library was renamed as the Central Library.

Collections of Goa State Central Library
Goa State Central Library hosts a collection of over 180,000 books encompassing various languages such as English, Hindi, Portuguese, Konkani, Marathi and others. Apart from these, it also has a great collection of rare books, newspapers and official gazettes, all available in electronic format. It is also enlisted amongst the depository libraries of India under Press and Registration Books Act, 1867, and Delivery of Books Act, 1954, in which all the books published in the state must be deposited for national posterity. A plethora of references are also available in the library including encyclopaedias, travel guides, atlases, gazetteers, biographical dictionaries, who`s who directories and general as well as subject dictionaries. It is also immensely helpful for the students as it provides a good collection of books on competitive examinations.

Facilities of Goa State Central Library
Goa State Central Library houses a number of sections for the convenience of the users. It has a children`s section and a Braille section for visually impaired readers along with an internet section. Library management software called the LIBSYS system connects the library with all the government libraries of the state. It also provides reading, lending and reference facilities to the registered members. It is an excellent centre for research scholars from India as well as overseas especially on topics associated with Goa and Indo-Portuguese history. Events like National Book Week, Librarian`s Day and World Book Day are also organized here.