Great cities have great libraries.
And they are usually located close to the urban core.
Not so for Myanmar’s National Library, in distant Yankin township.
But there’s good news on this front, according to a report on Friday in the Global New Light of Myanmar.
After requests in May from preservation group Yangon Heritage Trust and U Thaw Kaung, the chief librarian at Yangon University, to find a more suitable location, the government has agreed to place it smack dab in the downtown area, on 604/608 Merchant Street in Pabedan township.
The location, near the intersection with Sule Pagoda road, was the old headquarters for the Burma Oil Company.
“Excellent news,” wrote Yangon Heritage Trust chairman Thant Myint-U on Facebook in response to the decision. “This will be a great step forward for the rejuvenation of the old downtown. The library will also be far more accessible to the general public.”
According to New Light, the library, which dates back to the colonial era and has had several previous locations, including at City Hall and in Tamwe Township, has a collection of more than 170,000 books, nearly 450,000 newspapers and journals and magazines, and some 25,000 rare books, among other items.
The building, however, needs to be renovated, and it’s unclear how long that process will take.
Reader Interactions