The department of culture and the Special Protection Group (SPG) had wanted National Library closed to readers and outsiders for security reasons on January 12, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the Confederation of Indian Industry?s Partnership Summit 2005 on the library premises.

Apparently, the coordinating body handling Singh?s visit had wanted the library authorities to declare a holiday on January 12 in view of the Prime Minister?s visit.

Senior library officials said on Thursday that they had told the body that a day?s closure would affect the interests of the readers and might also invite debate on the issue.

Library director Sudhendu Mandal said on Thursday that there had been instances of the library closing for several hours to ?assist and cooperate? with the SPG during visits by Prime Ministers.

?Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the newly-built Bhasha Bhavan on April 7, 1989. The authorities had kept the library closed for the day. It was also kept closed for an entire day in 1961, during the visit of the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,? Mandal said.

?The library was also out of bounds for the general public for eight hours on February 2, 1989, when the French Prime Minister paid a visit,? Mandal added.

?On October 8, it was closed for three hours when Union culture minister Jaipal Reddy and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee dropped in at a book release,? a senior library official said on Thursday.

?Keeping the library closed for a day is not unprecedented,? said Mandal.

?But we did not follow our predecessors? examples. We withdrew our regular services for just four hours on Wednesday, and for that, we apologised to our readers. After all, one cannot ignore an issue as serious as the Prime Minister?s security. A number of foreign dignitaries, a host of other VIPs like the governor, chief minister and Union ministers were also present on our premises on the day,? he added.

Sources said senior officials from the department of culture in Delhi had contacted the library authorities on Wednesday evening to confirm if the function passed off without any hitch.

?They wanted to know whether there was any problem during the function and we told them that everything was in order,? the official said.