The Ministry of Home and Religious Affairs established a religious and philosophical research centre under the name of World Buddhist Centre on May 11, 1955 with the aim of preserving Myanmar culture that is based on the Teachings of the Buddha (Buddha Dhamma), promoting and propagating the Buddha's Teachings on a world-wide scale as well as making the teachings accessible to the rest of the world.
At the above-mentioned World Buddhist Centre a Pitaka Library was opened to the public on May 11, 1961 with a collection of Buddhist writings, paintings, photographs and sculptural works.
This magnificent Pitaka Library is situated on the north of Maha Pasana Cave (the Great Stone Cave) on the Sirimangala Hill, Kaba Aye, Yangon. It is a library that came into existence as one of the accessories of the Sixth Buddhist Council (Synod), and as such it has separate rooms dedicated to four Therava‚da Buddhist Countries, namely, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos.
The Pitaka Library is a building complex that contains a Research Library which is an important facility for research in Buddhism and Buddhist cultural and literary traditions; a museum which houses a wide range of photographs, sculptures and statues of Buddhist interest; and a separate section known as Palm-leaf Manuscripts Section which preserves and puts on display a collection of authenticated ancient Buddhist palm-leaf and parchment manuscripts.
The Research Library and Palm-leaf Manuscripts Section were integrated into the Department for the Promotion and Propagation of the Sa‚sana‚ which was instituted on May 9, 1991.
To a people a library is a treasure-trove of information as well as a research centre. That is why it calls for constant efforts at collecting and storing facts and figures, keeping them in safe custody and disseminating them. A library is an eye-opener and a reliable source of information for all knowledge-seekers.
There are broadly two kinds of libraries: library for the general public and library exclusively for research. The library under the Department for the Promotion and Propagation of the Sa‚sana‚ is a research library with its focus on the Teachings of the Buddha.
It has the following objectives:
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to collect and keep in safe custody those publications that deal with Myanma culture and traditions based on the Teachings of the Buddha (Buddha Dhamma);
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to help local and foreign researchers in the field of Buddhist literature and Myanmar literature in all aspects;
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to facilitate the study or research by univeristy students and teachers, scholars and bhikkhus of monasteries and universities including the State Pariyatti Sasana University and International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University;
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to serve as a source of information for the purpose of perpetuating promoting and propagating the Buddhist Sa‚sana‚.
With these aims in view, the Research Library is offering help to all those at home and abroad who are gathering information about the religious and cultural life of Myanmar.
The Research Library acquires and keeps mainly the Pitakas and Buddhist religious treatises, and other religious and cultural books, and these are bought or received as donations from inside the country and abroad.
In the library are kept CD-ROMs on the Pali Texts and Myanmar Translations of the same.
Books, periodicals and publications collected in the library are properly registered. Accessioning, cataloguing and classification are carried out according to the usual domestic and international practice. Dewey Decimal Classification System and Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules are followed, and proper numerals are affixed to the books and shelves.
Since it is a Research Libray, visitors are not allowed to borrow books here. But researchers and scholars have access to this library to their satisfaction. Ordinary users and seekers of facts can use the Library during the office hours.
Rare ancient manuscripts are also kept in this Library for the benefit of the users both internal and external. Especially, foreigners interested in Therava‚da Buddhism can have great benefit out of the resources of the Library.
Myanmar being the foremost Therava‚da Buddhist country among those of the same faith, this Library is helping foreign researchers and scholars quite considerably.
The Staff of this library are doing what they can to help legitimate users by loaning out books and publications, and obtaining or them relevant facts and dats, supporting notes and references.
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