The State Central Library, Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library, Kolkata Metropolitan Library, District Libraries, Town/Sub Division and Rural/Area/Primary Unit Libraries renders Reading room service. The first three Libraries mentioned above provide most well organized Reading room services. The State Central Library has two big reading rooms one for reading English books and another for reading Bengali books. For Children Section, Reference Section, Career Guidance Section, Newspaper Section, Periodical Section, Braille Section spacious reading rooms are there. Everyday, about 400 readers attend these reading rooms.

Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library, a Public Library known for its unique collection of twentieth century Bengali literature has general reading rooms, reading rooms for researchers and the above-mentioned reading rooms like State Central Library.

Kolkata Metropolitan Library and all other District Libraries render reading room services like Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library except the Braille reading room services. People irrespective of caste, creed, sex, educational attainment etc. can attend the reading rooms and they are provided with personal services as per their requirements

The Town/Sub Division and Rural/Area/Primary Unit Libraries also render reading room services for the general readers and career seekers.

All categories of Libraries including The State Central Library render lending Service to the readers. Lending service is provided to the adult readers by depositing certain amount of money as caution money. In case of government Libraries, the amount is Rs.200 for books of Rs. upto 200 and Rs. 500 for books from the amount of Rs. 201 to Rs. 500. No book of worth above Rs. 500 is not at present lent out. In Government Sponsored and other Libraries this amount vary from Library to Library. No caution money is taken from Children members in Government and Government Sponsored Libraries. Books of all subjects and all authors excluding Reference Books, Books for Career Guidance, Books which are marked as “not to be lent out” are issueable.

The State Central Library, Kolkata Metropolitan Library, Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library, all other Government and government Sponsored District Libraries has separate Children Section. No fee is being charged from children members. Children upto the age of 16 can become a member. A few Town /Subdivision Libraries also have separate Children Section. It is compulsory for every Library to utilise 10% of the total Book Grant by purchasing Children Books.

The State Central Library, Kolkata Metropolitan Library, Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library, Government District Libraries and Government Sponsored District Libraries, Town/Sub Division and Rural/Area/Primary Unit libraries have separate Reference Sections. Short range and long range Reference Services are rendered from these sections. Among the services there are Bibliographical services, Personalised Services to the readers etc. Town/ Subdivisional Libraries also render Reference Services though in most of the cases they have no separate Reference Section.

From the financial year 1999-2000 the State Government has mobilized career Guidance service in a new form in State Central Library, Kolkata Metropolitan Library, Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library and in all of the Government and Government Sponsored District Libraries. From 2000-2001 financial Year Career Guidance Service has been extended upto the level of Town/ Subdivisional Libraries. Government has also provided fund for establishment of career guidance services to some of the Rural/Primary Unit Libraries on the basis of their overall performance. Students, jobseekers, people from different walks of life who are in search of different careers can have their desirable books/document in these sections. Career counselling is also being held in the career guidance sections of State Central Library, Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library and in most of the District Libraries.

State Central Library has a separate section for visually impaired persons. It is run with the help of a voluntary organization. There is reading facility of blind students, ordinary blind readers in this section. Braille Books and audio help is being provided. Government has Plan to extend this service to all of the District Libraries including Uttarpara Joykrishna Public Library and Kolkata Metropolitan Library.

The State Government has a scheme to open at least one Community Library Cum Information Centre(CLIC) in a Gram Panchayat that does not have a Public Library. The purpose of this scheme is to expand Library Services to these uncovered Gram Panchayat areas. The CLICs are to provide, along with the books, relevant and useful information to the people in the Gram Panchayat areas.

To start with, one centre in each Panchyat Samity total 341 in number has been set up. A Managing Committee consisting of representatives from the Gram Panchayat, local community teachers and readers shall look after the day to day functioning of the Centre. The Gram Panchayat is providing suitable accommodation for housing the Centre, which remains open for at least 03 hours a day on 5 days a week including Saturday and Sunday. The community will decide the working hours according to the convenience of the users. The centre is being run by a part time Community Library Organiser (CLO) who is appointed on contractual basis by the Managing Committee. The CLO receives a monthly remuneration of Rs. 800. He should not be an employee of Government or Government Sponsored System and renewal of his service depends on his performance in the centre.

The State Government through the concerned Zilla Parishad provides to each centre one time non-recurring grant of Rs. 9000 for purchase of books and furniture, recurring grant of Rs. 6400 for the purchase of newspapers, periodicals and other reading materials and recurring grant of Rs. 9600 for payment of honorarium to the CLO. Managing Committee of the Centre may also collect subscriptions from its members and receive grants and donations from the State Government/Local bodies.

With the traditional functions of the Libraries these centres will provide additional services such as dissemination of current information on vital issue, dissemination of occupational information, information on locally available resources for decentralized palling and information related to functioning of local body for ccountability and transparency.

Considering the backwardness of the area these CLICs will also be linked with the literacy campaigns and Nodal Continuing Education centres in the districts where continuing education programmes have been taken up.