Mansehra Municipal Library 

Mansehra city is at the junction of two highways, N-35 (The Karakoram Highway) and N-15;
both roads are gateways to Gilgit-Baltistan
in the northern part of the country. A Sikh garrison town in early 19th century, Manshera’s
demographics changed rapidly after
Partition in 1947 when thousands of Sikh families migrated to India. They left behind
historical buildings and heritage sites in the
hands of Muslims who took over the places, including markets, houses, lands and places of
worship.
A gurdwara-turned-public library is a place of refuge from the hustle and
bustle of the city and an important historical site.
 A building which was built in 1937 as a gurdwara, and has now been converted into a public
library known as Mansehra Municipal Library.
On main Kashmir Road stands the three-storey building in the middle of small shops in Kashmir
market.
On the front of the building, the top floor is decorated with balconies covered with mini
trigonal arches. The first floor is covered with three wooden windows, while the ground floor
is covered with marbled-nets with four Khandas — the Sikh-faith symbol that consists of
three weapons and a circle. In the centre is the entrance, a wooden door, and on top of it is
written “Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha” in English, Urdu and in Punjabi in the Gurmukhi
script.
Locals from the town are reading newspapers while
some students are studying in one corner. The deep
silence inside is a sharp contrast to the hustle-bustle
of the market and traffic outside.
The library has a collection of over 10,000 books of
different genres, from philosophy to fiction and
literature, and subscribes to 14 different daily
newspapers. The library is open from 8:00 am to 8:00
pm, six days a week and is closed on Fridays. The
monthly membership fee is 20 rupees for the general
public and 10 rupees for students.