In the 1920s, the Dutch East Indies government built Gedung Sate in Bandung. The building served as the office for the Department Verkeer en Waterstaat (Department of Public Works and Water Management). Originally, it was part of the government office complex known as Gouvernements Bedrijven.

Inside the building, constructed between 1920 and 1924, the government created a dedicated space for a library. This library, known as De Centrale Bibliotheek, was situated in the southern wing, facing the city, and was distinguished by its tall, arched windows.

According to D. M. G. Koch in Mooi Bandung magazine, the library housed 250,000 books[1], sourced from the railway company, postal, telegraph, and telephone services, as well as the mining department. It became the largest scientific library in the Dutch East Indies. For general collections, it was the second largest after the library of the Bataviaasch Genootschap[2].

One of its most important works was a book on the fauna of Ambon by Georg Eberhard Rumphius, titled Amboinsche Rariteitkamer (The Cabinet of Curiosities of Ambon), containing illustrations of plants and marine animals found along Ambon’s coasts. The library also held Thomas Stamford Raffles’ book on Javanese history, The History of Java.

To make book searches easier, the Gedung Sate library used the Dewey Decimal Classification system. This system streamlined cataloging and reduced placement errors. The library was open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and until noon on Saturdays. Thanks to its vast and complete collection, the Dutch referred to it as a treasure.

Image Source:
KITLV
Mooi Bandoeng Magazine, Volume 2, August 1934.

References:
[1] Koch, DMG. 1934. De Centrale Bibliotheek van het Departement van Verkeer en Waterstaat. Majalah Mooi Bandoeng, Jaargang 2, Agustus 1934. Bandung: A. C. Nix &Co. hal. 22.

[2] Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen (BG) berdiri tahun 1778. Lembaga ini merupakan lembaga independen yang didirikan untuk tujuan memajukan penetitian dalam bidang seni dan ilmu pengetahuan khususnya dalam bidang-bidang ilmu biologi, fisika, arkeologi, kesusastraan, etnologi dan sejarah, Berta menerbitkan hash penelitian. Gedung yang dimiliki oleh lembaga ini sekarang dipakai menjadi Museum nasional. (Sumber: https://www.museumnasional.or.id/tentang-kami)