What you see – You feel an old world charm as soon as you enter the premises of The Indian Institute of World Culture on Shri BP Wadia Road, Bangalore.  Established during pre-independence period in August 1945, this library houses a Magazine section, a Reference library, a Science library, a reading room and a children's library in a separate building.

What you get – The Indian Institute of World Culture is a popular public library in the city and is a hub for reading and recreational activities. It houses a collection of books for people of all ages. It offers a whole world of knowledge in literature, arts, science and culture at reasonable costs. You can sit there and read or borrow one book and two magazines at a time for 15 days.

With a collection of over 45,000 books this library is known for old books (English and Kannada), particularly literature. A lot of academic books also promise apt guidance to aspiring students.  There is a good collection of subject books here which can prove to be a great help. And to top it all is its Rs. 380 annual membership charge which promises so much for less.

A separate building houses the children’s library, with about 10,000 books. Besides course books for students up to Class 12, there are myriad number of comics, fiction books by Jeffrey Archer, General knowledge books, Ruskin Bond collection, story books and the like. Art classes and Bhajan classes are a specialty of this section as well that promise to enthuse a mix of creativity and culture in the younger generation. Summer programs like puppetry, quiz, clay modeling, story telling and theater are also held for children.

The library has been conducting interactive programs in which eminent personalities like historian Arnold Toynbee, diplomat Ralph Bunche and philosophers, scholars and scientists including a number of Nobel Laureates have earlier taken part. Such scholarly meets continue to be a regularity here.

Our verdict – MetroMela liked the membership charges at The Indian Institute of World Culture. With a Life Membership fee of Rs. 1,200, the library is an apt place for book lovers. The range of books is suitable for people with a range of tastes – those who are hard core literature readers to the fiction freaks. The Magazine section that receives over 300 periodicals from across the world is a must look and the Reference library with multi-volume encyclopedias and reference works is quite helpful for research studies. Ample parking space is available.

Anytime between – 8.30 AM - 7.30 PM (Closed on Mondays)