Initially named Sri Veeresalingam library, since it was backed by the nationalist Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu, it was housed in Nalam Choultry in Innispeta with a very small collection.
Around the same time Addanki Satyanarayana established the Vasuraya Library.
Andhra Desa Grandhalaya Sangham secretary Pathuri Nageswara Rao suggested merger of the two libraries to get regional status.
Following the advice of the elite in the city, the two libraries were merged and named as Gowthami Grandhalayam and registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1920. Vavilala Gopala Krishnaiah and AB Nageswara Rao were successful in getting regional status to the library. In 1979, the government took over the library.[5] With the increase in collections the library moved to the Town Hall in Rajahmundry.
The library enjoyed the patronage of persons like Maharaja Vikram Deo Verma of Jeypore State, Raja Kanchumarthi Ramachandra Rao of Dharmavaram Estate, Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham, Bhamidipati Kameswara Rao, Kasinathuni Nageswara Rao, Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy and Pathuri Nagabhushanam. It had the reputation of quenching the literary thirst of people from foreign origin as well
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