Martin Chautari's library is envisaged primarily as a reference library that will serve the needs of researchers, journalists, social activists, students and other professionals. Hence its collection development policy is influenced by the research topics that have been pursued at MC and those in which there is current interest amongst Nepali researchers at large (for instance, on state restructuring). Books and other reference materials that relate to Nepali history and society written from any social science perspective receive top priority.
As part of the specialized collection on the media, books and many other types of reference materials (for instance, theses, souvenirs, unpublished seminar papers and reports, etc.) needed for research also receive high priority in the library's holdings. In addition, books related to history, politics, education, democracy, social movements, gender, South Asia, etc. also receive priority. While some works of literary criticism and essays are also kept, it has been decided that given the space constraint, works of fiction will not be added to the library's holdings.
The library’s current holdings total more than 18,000 books, theses, reports and seminar papers, a little more than quarter of which is a special-collection related to the media. After the collection efforts made in 2010-11, the library also holds all the available issues of more than 200 Nepali academic journals. It also houses several magazines and newspapers and the hard copies of their back issues when available. Some online resources (for instance, JSTOR and Project Muse) can also be accessed for free. MC's library is part of a consortium of Nepali libraries working toward gaining further easy and affordable access to more online resources that are already available to users in western university libraries.
The library is open from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm for most of the year except for the three months of Mangsir, Pus and Magh (Mid-Nov–Mid-Feb) when it is open from 10:30am to 4:30pm. No membership is required and visitors can only use the books within MC premises against a valid ID card (in the Reading Centre). Photocopy and printing services at nominal costs are available.
Click here for Online Library Catalog
Click here for details of daily newspaper holdings
Click here for details of weekly newspaper holdings
Click here for details of magazines holdings (to be constructed)
Click here for details of holdings of Nepali academic journals (to be constructed)
review of library
काठमाडौँका पुस्तकालयहरु:पुस्तकभन्दा समस्या धेरै
हसना, वर्ष ३, अंक १२, असोज २०६४, पृ. ३
The Creation of Public Meaning during Nepal’s Democratic Transition’ is a collaborative research project between the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London and Martin Chautari (MC), Kathmandu. The project is jointly coordinated by Prof. Michael Hutt of SOAS and Dr Pratyoush Onta of MC and is being funded by the British Academy under its International Partnership Scheme for the period March 2010 to March 2013. Read more
Martin Chautari organizes discussions thrice a week.
The library is open to all from Sunday to Friday, 10:30 am to 5:00 pm except for a half-hour tea break between 2:00pm and 2:30pm when the circulation desk will be closed. Read more>>>