One of the prominent oriental libraries in India, Adyar Library and Research Centre at
Adyar,
Chennai, was set up in 1886 by Colonel Olcott. It primarily engages in research and publication in the areas of eastern civilization, philosophy and religion.
The library comprises an array of over 250,000 printed books and around 20,000 palm-leaf manuscripts from India, Sri Lanka, China and other places. Among the printed books are rare indological publications in several languages and books on different religions, philosophies and cultures. A collection of rare works in Latin and other western languages and important research journals are also available.
