The Ultimate Guide to National Library.

National Library:  

       The national library has a national responsibility. It stands as the apex institution for library services in a country and is founded by National government. Its mission is to preserve the cultural heritage of a nation.

The British Library in London, the Library of Congress in Washington,D.C. , the Australian National Library, the Bibliotheque  National Library in Paris, Russian State Library (Formally called the Lenin Library) in Moscow are among the most famous and most important national libraries in the world.

Definitions of National Library:

According to UNESCO'S definition,"National library of a country is the one responsible for collecting and conserving that country's book production for the benefit of future generation."

According to the ALA glossary of library and information science,a national library is "a library designated as such by the appropriate national body and funded by the national government. Its functions may include the comprehensive collection of the publication output of the nation (frequently as a copyright depository library), the compilation and maintenance of a national bibliography, the comprehensive collection and organization of publications on an international scale for the scholarly community, the production of the bibliographic tools, the coordination of a library network, the provision of library services to the national government or some of its agencies and other responsibilities delineated by the national government".

Objectives of National Library:

Some of the objectives of national libraries are :

• The preservation and promotion of the national cultural heritage; acquisition of at least a representative collection of foreign publications.
• The promotion of national cultural policy and leadership in national literacy campaigns.
• To assemble material for a central register of manuscript collections and to keep it up to date.
• To acquire and conserve the whole of the national production via legal deposit (i.e. copyright) of the national imprint (both print and electronic).
• To undertake the production of current national bibliographies and also of retrospective national bibliographies.
• To set up a national plan for the acquisition of foreign materials in countries where no such plan exists.
• The provision of central services (e.g. reference, bibliography, preservation, lending) to users both directly and through other library and information centres.

Collections of National Library:

National library is usually notable for its size, compared to that of other libraries. It is comprehensive in the extreme but it also concentrates on current, working collection. Its thrust is immediate use. National libraries are however still trying to collect all significant materials produced in the respective country as well as important documents published outside the country.

Services of National Library:

National libraries are responsible for acquiring and conserving copies of all significant publications published in the country and functioning as a "deposit" library, either by law or under other arrangements. It  also produces a national bibliography, holds and keeps up to date a large and representative collection of foreign literature including books about the country, acts as a national bibliographical information centre, compiles union catalogues and publishes the retrospective national bibliography.


Library services available throughout the world vary so much in detail from country to country that impossible to present anything but the most general picture of their activities. The Final Report of the Regional Seminar on the Development of National Library in Asia and Pacific Area, held at Manila in 1964, contained the following as functions of a National Library:

• To provide leadership among libraries.
• To serve as permanent depository for all publications issued in the country.
• To provide bibliographical services.
• To acquire other types of materials.
• To serve as coordinating centre for cooperative activities.
• To provide services to government. 

International organization for Standerization has recognised the following functions of a National Library: 

1. Responsible for acquiring and conserving copies of all significant publications published in the country, built up by legal deposit or under other arrangement.
2. Produce a national bibliography.
3. Publish a retrospective national bibliography.
4. Act as a national bibliographical information centre.
5. Hold and keep up to date a large and representative collection of foreign literature including books about the country.
6. Developing and maintaining bibliographic data bases relevant to the country.
7. Provide interlibrary lending and for this purpose develop central loan/photocopy collection of both national and foreign literature.
8. To conserve the national intellectual and cultural heritage for the benefit of the future generations.
9. Act as exchange centre, national and international.
10. Act as a national repository for the receipt, storage, preservation and supply by loan or photocopy of items withdrawn from other libraries.

     The national library is the central agent receiving information and inquiries and initiating library services for the common good. The national library should be the prime mover in library maters and should be expected to be the leading library in all fields. It should act as the hub of nation's research and reference and referral centre.

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