Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji's Sarasvati Mahal is located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the oldest libraries in Asia. The Saraswati Library is situated within the campus of the Thanjavur Palace. Visitors can have a glimpse of preserved books and can sit and read in the library premises. The library is open to the public.

The Saraswathi Mahal library started as a Royal Library for the Nayak Kings of Thanjavur who ruled 1535 - 1675 AD. The Maratha rulers who captured Thanjavur in 1675 patronised local culture and developed the Royal Palace Library until 1855. Most notable among the Maratha Kings was Serfoji II (1798–1832), who was an eminent scholar in many branches of learning and the arts. In his early age Serfoji studied under the influence of German Reverent Schwartz, and learned many languages including English, French, Italian and Latin. He enthusiastically took special interest in the enrichment of the Library, employing many Pandits to collect, buy and copy a vast number of works from all renowned Centres of Sanskrit learning in Northern India and other far-flung areas. Since 1918 the Saraswathi Mahal Library has been a possession of the state of Tamil Nadu. The official name of the Library is in honour of the great royal Maratha patron.

The Library has on display a rare collection of Palm leaf manuscripts and paper written in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi English and a few other languages indigenous to India. The collection comprises well over 60,000 volumes. The library supports efforts to publish rare manuscripts from the collection, as well as ensuring all volumes are preserved on microfilm. The Library has computerized the Library activities.