Chandannagar — a town with deep colonial and cultural roots — hosts a constellation of libraries that have historically mediated knowledge, memory, and everyday cultural practices. This paper analyses the evolving social roles of Chandannagar’s libraries with special reference to Akshar Bandhu Granthaghar (est. 2025). Using archival study, field observation, and semi-structured interviews with library users and staff across seven representative institutions (Akshar Bandhu Granthaghar; Chandannagar Pustakagar; Institute de Chandannagore; Chandannagar College Library; Chandannagar Museum Library; Gondalpara Sammelan Town Library; and selected parish/town libraries), we examine how mission, physical presentation (including cover-based selection), oral practices (storytelling, recitation), memory work, and nature-based reading activities contribute to inclusive reading cultures. Findings identify (1) a shift from elitist/academic library functions to community-embedded, democratic reading practices; (2) Akshar Bandhu’s explicit mission to facilitate book-familiarity among marginal groups through cover-driven selection and oral dialogic methods; and (3) hybrid practices that blend archival memory with living oral traditions. The study argues that community-centred libraries like Akshar Bandhu serve as models for democratizing reading and proposes policy and programming recommendations for sustaining such inclusive library ecosystems. The manuscript is prepared to meet international journal standards in Library & Information Science / Cultural Studies.