Cantonment Public Library
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| Cantonment Public Library | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 33°35′47″N 73°02′46″E / 33.59628°N 73.04611°E | |
| Location | Mall Road, Rawalpindi Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistan |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1891 |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books |
| Size | 50,000 |
| Access and use | |
| Population served | 2,098,231 |
| Members | 1500 |
Cantonment Public Library (Urdu: کنٹونمنٹ پبلک لائبریری), formerly known as Lansdowne Trust Library, is a public library in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It was established in 1891 and has a collection of around 50,000 books and 1500 members.
In 1891, two brothers, Sardar Kirpal Singh Rai Bahadar and Sardar Sujan Singh Rai Bahadar, established a trust known as The Lansdowne Trust in the Rawalpindi Cantonment. The trust laid the foundation of the Odeon Cinema, Shah Baloot Park, and a library. The library was originally given the name Lansdowne Trust Library in honor of the viceroy Lord Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne. In the beginning, it was located at a place on the Kashmir road, but later in 1980, was shifted to its current place on the Mall. The library started with a collection of 5,000 books. In 1983, the president Zia-ul-Haq provided Rs1.8 million for the renovation of the library building.[1][2][3][4]
In 2022, a controversy was raised when the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board converted the main hall of the library into a computer office and erased the 124-year-old library's name from the building without any prior approval from the Lansdowne Trust.[5][6]
