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The OCHS library is named after Harish I K Patel (1955 – 2016), the son of I K Patel, who was one of our first supporters and a very active member of our Board of Governors. Harish I K Patel passed away on 3 March 2016, and in memory of him, the board unanimously voted to name the library after him.
The establishment of our new reading room began in 2016 and was made possible by Mr Bharat Bhundia. The new reading room is named after our long time friends and supporters, Gopal and Elizabeth Krishna, and is thus called the Gopal and Elizabeth Krishna Reading Room.
The OCHS Library currently holds approximately 25,000 titles, mostly in the fields of Hindu intellectual history (with an emphasis on Vedanta, Nyaya, and Mimamsa), Puranas, Sanskrit poetry, and comparative theology. Every year the library receives donations both from private persons and foundations. The cataloguing of the OCHS Library collection — a considerable task, with the many large collections the Library has received in recent years – is made possible thanks to the help from volunteers.
We have two reading rooms at the Centre which are open for all members of the library. Opening times are between 9 AM and 5 PM Monday to Friday. If you wish to become a member of the library please contact our Librarian, Dr Rembert Lutjeharms or our secretary at secretary@ochs.org.uk.
The library catalogue can be found here.
The archives can be found here.
There are different ways you can contribute to the OCHS library. You can donate a book. This can be a donation towards a specific book on our wish list or an unspecified book which will then be selected by our librarian. You can also make a larger donation towards the library which will give you a named shelf in the OCHS main library room. Finally, you can donate a book or a book collection that you no longer need or have room for. If you wish to do this please get in contact us at secretary@ochs.org.uk.
In January 2011 Prof. J. A. F. Roodbergen, Professor Emeritus of the University of Amsterdam, donated his entire private library to the OCHS. The library holds approximately 10,000 books, mainly in Sanskrit, English, German, French, Dutch, and Spanish, on topics including Sanskrit grammar and comparative linguistics, Hindu theology and philosophy, Sanskrit and Prakrit poetry and poetics, Central Asian cultures and languages, as well as comparative studies of Eastern and Western logic, poetics, and philosophy.
While most of the works in his library directly concern Hindu Studies, it also contains smaller but equally good collections on the other religions that have shaped the religious landscape of South Asia: Buddhism and Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity.
The library contains many rare volumes Prof. Roodbergen collected while working at the Deccan College in Pune. This collection is currently being catalogued, and integrated into the existing OCHS collection.
Prof. Kathleen O’Connell donated the library of her late husband, Prof. Joseph O’Connell, which consists mostly of rare Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava texts and books on Bengali culture more broadly.
With the help of Prema Goet, in February 2017 we acquired the extensive library of the late Prof. Tuvia Gelblum, which his family kindly donated to us. Prof. Gelblum’s collection is impressively broad, but is particularly strong in works on Indian philosophy (which was the focus of most of his own research).
Prof. Kapila Vatsyayana donated her library, mostly of works on Indian art, aesthetics, and archaeology, of which the first boxes have arrived in the mail.
We have received the library of the late Arvind Oza, donated by his family, which too focusses on art and aesthetics.
We have received a library of works on interfaith dialogue and comparative religion from Brian Pearce.
We have received a collection of books mostly on Vaiṣṇava thought that belonged to the late Professor M. Narasimhachary, donated by his wife, Dr Narasimhachary.
We have received a large collection of books, mostly on Bengali history and literature, from the library of the late Dr Bishu P. Choudhury, donated by his wife Anuradha Choudhury.
We have received the library of the late Professor Friedhelm Hardy, with a great focus on southern Hindu traditions, Vaiṣṇava bhakti literature, and Sanskrit and Prakrit poetry, donated by his wife Aruna Hardy.
The Library has received a substantial collection consisting mainly of Dvaita Vedanta works from Kiyokazu Okita.
The Library has received numerous donations, notably a sizeable library and archive collection from the estate of Rev. Murray Rodgers.
The Library was bequeathed the library of Tamal Krishna Goswami, a substantial contribution to our Fellows library at the Centre. We are most indebted to his Estate for their thoughtfulness.
Guy Beck, Jessica Frazier, Prema Goet, Shrivatsa Goswami, Martin Gurvich, John Stratton Hawley, Nanditha Krishna, V. V. Ranade, A.V. Srinivasan, Tony K. Stewart, the Tamil Heritage Centre, Kapila Vatsyayana, Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen, Diwakar Acharya, John and Mary Brockington, Måns Broo, Rembert Lutjeharms, Amita Nathwani, Ravindra Rao, G. C. Tripathi, Yadunandana Swami, Kenneth Valpey, Hari Vaudrey, the Bodleian Library, the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies Library, Kisor Kumar Chakrabarti, Anuradha Dooney, Shaunaka Rishi Das, Krishna Dutta, Dilip Kumar Mohanta, Purnima Toolsidass, Martin Baybrooke, Gavin Flood, Sanjukta Gupta-Gombrich, Peter Heehs, June McDaniel, Ionut Moise, Datin Nesamalar Nadarajah, Stephen Peter Thompson, Alka Tyagi, Archana Venkatesan, Madhu Khanna, Abantee Harun, Nandini Bhattacharyya-Panda, Poonam Kakkar, Sajan Poovayya, Nick Sutton, Ram Buxani, Pushpa Satyasheil, Raj and Ramila Chauhan, Marie Ann Ostlund, Gopal Gupta, Sefton Davies, Gopal Patel, David Soud, Pradeep Kumar, David Millington, Nandita Satsangee, Arjun Vekaria, Yoshitsugu Sawai, Swami Pranava Sudhan Jnana Tapaswi, Jaya Row, Diana Stevenson, Peggy Morgan, Gudrun Buhnemann, Prabhudas Pattni, Lucian Wong, Ashok Aklujkar, Madubhai Madvani, Mandakranta Bose, Ithamar Theodor, T. N. Ganeshan, Peter Flugel, Nilima Chitgopekar, Makarand Paranjape, Gateen Patel, Sarva Sahni, Sandy and Jael Bharat, Yashvant Lodhia, Elizabeth De Michelis, Jonathan Edelmann, Peter Clarke, Raj Mohan Gupta, Krishnakant and Indira Mehta, Sandy Bharat, , Ramesh Chauhan of Bisleri Water, Chris Wood, Prof. Shashiprabha Kumar, Meru Ostlund, Lal Krishna, Anna-pya Sjödin, O.P.Gupta, Dr Sangeetha Menon, Willy Pfändtner, The Study Society, Swaminarayan Hindu Mission, Satyaraja Dasa (Steven Rosen), Shirley du Boulay, Lisa Hamling, Dr Elizabeth Asa Hole, Amar Parekh, Neeta Prakashan, Dr and Mrs Rajagopalan, Dr Himanshu Prabha Ray, Prof. T. S. Rukmani, Dr Frederico Squarcini, Pavel Tomanec, Martin Gansten, Dr Kimmo Ketola, Prof. Joseph O’Connell, Dr and Mrs. Rajagopalan, Priya Viswanath, and Dr Charles S. J. White, and Mrs. Jane Metman.
Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
13 – 15 Magdalen Street, Oxford OX1 3AE.
UK Tel: 01865 304300
Regd Charity No. 1074458