Universities' Central Library UCL Myanmar

History and Founding

The Universities' Central Library (UCL) traces its origins to 1929, when the University of Rangoon Library was established as a research and reference institution on the Rangoon University campus (founded December 1920). Serving the University College and Judson College, it quickly built a reputation as one of Southeast Asia's leading academic libraries specialising in Myanmar history and culture. In 1964, following administrative reorganisation under the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, the library was redesignated the Universities' Central Library. A new building was constructed between 1973 and 1980 adjacent to the original pre-Second World War structure, significantly expanding the library's capacity.

Collections and Holdings

UCL holds the largest collection of books in Myanmar's higher-education system, comprising approximately 600,000 volumes. The Myanmar Books Section preserves a nationally unique heritage collection, including around 15,000 palm-leaf manuscripts (pay-sa) and 4,000 parabaik (handmade paper manuscripts). These materials cover Buddhism, history, literature, astronomy, astrology, indigenous medicine, jurisprudence, customary law, and the languages of ethnic groups such as Mon, Shan, Kachin, and Kayin. Retrospective Myanmar-language publications dating to 1872 are held here.

The English Books Section holds rare volumes on Myanmar from the early nineteenth century, books on ASEAN countries, and works in French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Indic languages including Pali. The Periodicals Section contains approximately 1,500 titles of English and Myanmar periodicals, including many bound volumes of newspapers and magazines — some dating back to the nineteenth century — making it the best collection of old and rare periodicals in the country.

The Reprographic Section, established in 1973, holds microfilms of colonial documents received from the India Office Library and Records (London) and microfilms of rare Myanmar novels and Pyazats (dramas) from the British Library. Under a cooperative project with Cornell University Library, approximately 2,000 manuscripts on Myanmar customary law, history, traditional medicine, and literature have been microfilmed.

Digital Resources and Union Catalogues

UCL initiated the Union Catalog of Myanmar Academic Libraries (UCMAL), a combined catalogue of more than 312,000 book titles and 54,000 thesis titles from 26 major university libraries in Myanmar. The library's own e-catalogue provides online access to more than 82,500 books, 30,000 theses, and 13,000 palm-leaf records. Through the MERAL Portal and the eLibrary Myanmar project, users may cross-search over 15,000 full-text journals and 140,000 e-books.

Access

UCL is oriented toward research and teaching, serving faculty members, undergraduate and postgraduate students from universities, colleges, and institutes of higher learning across Myanmar, as well as government departments, research scholars, writers, and public-service personnel.