Queen Victoria’s oldest son, Albert Edward, visited Pune, India in 1872 during the British Era. At the time, he was the Prince of Wales. Albert Edward would later become King Edward VII, ruler of the United Kingdom.
To commemorate his visit, the British authorities decided to build a structure. Several options came up, such as a museum, a dispensary, or a clock tower. They decided on a public library to be built in the Cantonment area. This area was primarily developed by the British and is known as Pune Camp today.
The library, which was called the Albert Edward Institute Library, was started at a different location on a smaller scale in 1875. In 1881, the military establishment transferred the land to the institute trustees and the library was shifted to its current location. The current location was inaugurated in 1881 by Sir James Fergusson, who was then the governor of Bombay (now Mumbai).
In the early 1900s, the administration of the library was passed on to the Parsi residents of the area. The prominent trader Cowasjee Dinshaw Adenwalla’s son, Hormusjee Dinshaw Adenwalla, donated his book collection to this institute. In addition to that, funds were given to expand the premises and the Cowasjee Dinshaw Hall was added eventually.
Today, this place is called the Albert Edward Institute Library and Cowasjee Dinshaw Hall & Library. This heritage library holds a collection of around 20,000 books, some of which are quite rare.
