With the growing dependence on smartphones and kindle, the feel of a paperback book seems so special. A true bibliophile would know the joy of reading a physical book rather than an e-book. The popularity of book reading is, however, going down. Did you know there is a World Book Day and Copyright Day initiated by the UN? The day is organised by the United Nations to promote ideas of reading, publishing and even copyright. While a lot of people prefer e-books, there are a select few who still go to libraries and enjoy reading their favourite, in a cosy corner. Libraries are like heaven for a true book lover and India has quiet some iconic ones.

On this World Book and Copyright Day, let us look at the most iconic libraries in the country which carry a lot of treasure within them!

The National Library of India, Kolkata

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The National Library of India in Kollkata is the largest public library in the country. It was established in the year 1836 and spreads over 30-acres of land. It has a collection of as good as 2.2 million books.

Sarasvati Mahal Library, Tamil Nadu

Located in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, it is one of the oldest libraries in the country. It was used as a private area by the Nayak kings during the 1535 - 1675 AD. The library is known for its rare collection of palm leaf manuscripts in various Indian languages.

State Central Library of Hyderabad

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Situated in Telangana, this library has a heritage status since 1998. It has huge halls and the architecture is very appealing to the visitors. It is one of the libraries which has Arabian, Persian, and Urdu manuscripts.

David Sassoon Library, Maharashtra

This is the oldest library in Mumbai is among the monuments protected by the government. The best part about this historic architecture is it has a garden at the back, where you can easily enjoy reading and forget that you are actually in the middle of the busiest city in the world!

Asiatic Society of Mumbai Library, Maharashtra

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The building of Asiatic Library is one of the attractions in the city of Mumbai, for its whitewashed structure. The library has a collection of not only books but also coins, manuscripts and periodicals. So history lovers and lovers of plain white arched architecture, Asiatic Library is a must visit.

Connemara Public Library, Tamil Nadu

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It is situated in Chennai and houses a lot of history books, biographies and autobiographies. This is the depository library for the United Nations and has a collections dating back to centuries ago. With over 77 lakhs of books, it functions in the most impeccable manner till date.

Seshadri Memorial Library, Karnataka

This library in Bangalore had won the Award for the best Central library of India in the year 1999-2000. The library is known for its exclusive collection in the Braille section. Architecture wise it is quite similar to Connemara library. On an average, this library has close to 400-500 visitors every day.

Allahabad Public Library, Uttar Pradesh

Situated in the Alfred Park of Allahabad, it is the largest library in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It was founded in the year 1864. It is known for having some Arabic manuscripts. It has about 125,000 books, 40 types of magazines and 28 newspapers.

Raza Library, Uttar Pradesh

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This is a government protected library which is as good as a palace. It houses 17,000 rare manuscripts, 5000 miniature paintings and also many hand-written manuscripts. The architecture of this palace-like library is as good as its collection.

Trivandrum Public Library, Kerala 

Also called the State Central Library, it is the first public library of the country, established in the year 1829. It was during the reign of King Swathi Thirunal of Travancore. It has a variety of collection especially with regards to Malayalam literary works. They also have a subscription to 215 foreign journals.

For a book lover or anyone in general who loves visiting libraries for the look and feel, you need to head to these. Other than the plethora of books that these buildings house, there is also some history attached to them. All of these libraries have a variety that will make you feel lost in the world of books and publications.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2018 11:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).