Gnanalaya is a treasure trove of research papers and books. It contains more than 25,000 titles in English and 90,000 titles in Tamil. It has a large collection of rare first editions of Tamil books including Bharathi’s Swadeshi Geethangal, published in 1908, and Bharathidasan’s anthology of poems, published in 1930, and Veeramamunivar’ s Charthuragarathi, published in 1848.

This library was instrumental in reviving old and out of print rare books, resulting in more than 3000 books being reprinted.

The library owns one of the only two photocopies in the State of Thampiran Vanakkam, the very first book published in Tamil in 1578, and a hand-written 1867 Latin-Tamil dictionary, among others. As the founder Mr.Krishnamoorthy states “First editions are always special. Often, subsequent editions are shorn off the preface, forewords and valuable introductions that the author may have written. These provide a rare insight into the life and times of the author, the social and historical context which can enhance research.”

Treasured library content also includes early issues of revolutionary magazines like ‘Kudiarasu’, ‘ Viduthalai’ and Gandhi’s Harijan, back issues of the Reader’s Digest right from the first Indian edition and 1,500 Tamil literary magazines from 1920 to 2010. It provides a unique insight into Indian freedom movement literature. This library is the largest privately owned library in Tamil Nadu.