The government has chosen C.R. Narayana Rao Architects and Consultants as the architectural consultant. The construction is expected to be completed in one-and-a-half years, he said.

The Government issued an order in September 2007 to build a State library with modern facilities. The Revenue Department transferred eight acres to the School Education Department. Several designs and proposals came in for the government’s perusal before the architectural consultant was finalised.

The Local Library Authority and the government will plough funds in the ratio of 80:20. The architectural consultant has estimated that the project will require Rs.120 crore, excluding the cost of furniture and fittings, the architect fee and books.

Mr. Thennarasu said the library would have eight floors and a plinth area of 3,33,140 square feet. The ground floor, spanning nearly 35,000 square feet, will house a lobby, reception, the Braille and talking book section, two conference halls, the administrative wing’s office, a cyber café, the deposit counter and the security room.

“The first floor will have the reference area, children’s section, newspapers and periodicals section and a reading hall,” he said. The second floor will be dedicated to Tamil books, with a spacious reading area, while the third floor will have English books and a reading area. The fourth, fifth and sixth floors would largely have books in other Indian languages, back issues of journals and periodicals and government documents. The seventh will house the audio-video section, besides rare books, and the eighth floor will include the photo and digital libraries.

“In addition to the conference halls and the auditorium, the building will have an amphitheatre on the terrace. This space will be totally novel and fascinating,” he said. Food courts and scholars hostels are among the other attractions proposed.

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