The Bernard Free Library was established on 21 February 1883 when the Commissioner of Lower Myanmar, Sir Charles Edward Bernard

Charles Edward Bernard

Sir Charles Edward Bernard KCSI was Chief Commissioner of Lower Burma from 2 July 1880 to 2 March 1883 and Chief Commissioner of Burma from 25 September 1886 to 12 March 1887....

 opened a library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, with his collection of books, in the centre of Rangoon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

 (presently No 1 State High School, Latha Township). This library was the first free public library in Myanmar. During the Second World War, the Library was damaged but many books and almost all manuscripts were saved. In 1952, the Library was transferred to the Myanmar Government. It moved to the Jubilee Hall on the Shwedagon Pagoda Road and was reopened as the National Library of Myanmar

National Library of Myanmar

The National Library of Myanmar, located in Yankin township, Yangon, is the national library of Myanmar. Established in 1952, the National Library, along with Yangon University Library, is one of only two research libraries in Yangon...

under the Ministry of Culture. The library is the legal depository of Myanmar, under the Printers and Publishers Registration Act 1962.

External links

• National Library of Myanmar http://www.myanmar.com/Ministry/culture/text/P002.htm