Thomas Jefferson Building Aerial by Carol M

national library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...

is established by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant works; such as the

Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the " Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed ...

. National libraries are usually notable for their size, compared to that of other libraries in the same country. Some national libraries may be thematic or specialized in some specific domains, beside or in replacement of the 'main' national library. Some national entities which are not independent but who wish to preserve their particular culture, have established a national library with all the attributes of such institutions, such as

legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposi ...

. Many national libraries cooperate within the National Libraries Section of the

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of people who rely on libraries and information professionals. An independent, non-governmental, not-for-p ...

(IFLA) to discuss their common tasks, define and promote common standards and carry out projects helping them to fulfil their duties. National libraries of Europe participate in The European Library. This is a service of The Conference of European National Librarians (CENL). The list below is organized alphabetically by country, according to the

list of sovereign states The following is a list providing an overview of sovereign states around the world with information on their status and recognition of their sovereignty. The 206 listed states can be divided into three categories based on membership withi ...

, including, at its end an 'other states' section for non-sovereign states. A "♦" indicates a national library of a constituent country or dependent state. It is listed under the sovereign state which governs that entity. Sovereign states are listed even when they have no national library or when the existence and name of a national library could not yet be ascertained. Other states, constituent countries and dependent states are listed only if they have a national library.

National libraries

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

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T

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Other States

State libraries

A state library is established by a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that region.

Australia

* ''

ACT Heritage Library The ACT Heritage Library is the state library of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It is the heritage section of the ACT Library and Information Services. Antoinette Buchanan has been the Manager of the ACT Heritage Library since 2004. ...

'' * ''

Northern Territory Library Library & Archives NT comprises the Northern Territory Library and the two Northern Territory Archives Centres in Darwin and Alice Springs. Located in Parliament House in Darwin City, it is the premier public research and archival organisati ...

'' * State Library of New South Wales * State Library of Queensland * State Library of South Australia * State Library of Tasmania * State Library of Victoria *

State Library of Western Australia The State Library of Western Australia is a research, education, reference and public lending library located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. It is a portfolio agency of the Western Australia Department of Culture and t ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the big ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

* Central and Regional Library of Berlin,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

* Göttingen State and University Library,

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

* Hessian State Library,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

Saxon State Library The Saxon State and University Library Dresden (full name in german: Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden), abbreviated SLUB Dresden, is located in Dresden, Germany. It is both the regional library (german: ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

* Württemberg State Library, Stuttgart

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

* Asafia State Library *

North Bengal State Library North Bengal State Library is the largest library in the North Bengal region of India. It is situated in the Cooch Behar city area. History The North Bengal State Library is the pride of Cooch Behar. This library has many valuable and Classic m ...

State Central Library, Kerala State Central Library of Kerala is also known as Trivandrum Public Library. It is in the center of Thiruvananthapuram city, the capital of Kerala. PH 7736893884 History The Library was established in 1829 during the reign of King S ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Autonomous communities eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

libraries * Andalusia Library * Aragon Library * Cantabria Library * Castile and Leon Library * Castile-La Mancha Library * Catalonia Library * Madrid Regional Library *

Navarre Library The Navarre Library is the community library of Navarre, Florida. The library is part of the Santa Rosa County Library System based out of Milton, Florida. The branch is the primary provider of library services and book lending in Navarre, the t ...

* Valencian Library * Extremadura Library * Galicia Library * La Rioja Library * Asturias Library * Murcia Regional Library

Switzerland

The member states of the Swiss Confederation are the 26

cantons of Switzerland The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Co ...

. The ( German ''Kantonsbibliothek'', French ''Bibliothèque cantonale'',

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

''Biblioteca cantonale'', Romansh ''Biblioteca chantunala'') are: * Aargau: Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek * Appenzell Ausserrhoden: Kantonsbibliothek Appenzell Ausserrhoden * Appenzell Innerrhoden: Innerrhodische Kantonsbibliothek * Basel-Landschaft: Kantonsbibliothek Baselland * Basel-Stadt:

Basel University Library Basel University Library, officially the Public Library of the University of Basel (german: Öffentliche Bibliothek der Universität Basel, abbreviated UB), is the central library of the University of Basel. It also serves as the Cantons of Switz ...

(university and cantonal library) * Bern: Bibliothek Münstergasse (formerly Zentralbibliothek Bern, Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek Bern) * Fribourg: Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire de Fribourg * Geneva:

Bibliothèque de Genève The Bibliothèque de Genève (BGE, English: Geneva Library, Library of Geneva), founded in 1559, was known as ''Bibliothèque publique et universitaire'' (BPU, English: Public and University Library) from 1907 to 2006. It occupies different build ...

* Glarus: Glarner Landesbibliothek * Grisons: Kantonsbibliothek Graubünden / Biblioteca chantunala dal Grischun / Biblioteca cantonale dei Grigioni * Jura: Bibliothèque cantonale jurassienne * Luzern: Zentral- und Hochschulbibliothek Luzern (university and cantonal library) * Neuchâtel: Bibliothèque publique et universitaire de Neuchâtel * Nidwalden: Kantonsbibliothek Nidwalden * Obwalden: Kantonsbibliothek Obwalden * Schaffhausen: Stadtbibliothek Schaffhausen (city and cantonal library) * Schwyz: Kantonsbibliothek Schwyz * Solothurn: Zentralbibliothek Solothurn (city and cantonal library) * St. Gallen: Kantonsbibliothek St. Gallen * Ticino: four libraries, Biblioteca cantonale di Bellinzona, Biblioteca cantonale di Locarno, Biblioteca cantonale di Lugano, Biblioteca cantonale e del Liceo di Mendrisio * Thurgau: Kantonsbibliothek Thurgau * Uri: Kantonsbibliothek Uri * Valais: Médiathèque Valais / Mediathek Wallis * Vaud: Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne * Zug: Bibliothek Zug * Zürich:

Zentralbibliothek Zürich ''Zentralbibliothek Zürich'' (Zurich Central Library) is the main library of both the city and the University of Zurich, housed in the ''Predigerkloster'', the former Black Friars' abbey, in the old town's Rathaus quarter. It was founded in ...

(city, cantonal, and university library)

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * Note: the IFLA now links to the Wikipedia list above (partly edited by IFLA members) instead of maintaining its own list, see also th
Annual Report 2009
of the National Libraries Section. * {{Navboxes , list= {{Libraries and library science {{Africa topic, title=African

national libraries A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...

, prefix=National Library of {{Arab national libraries {{Asia topic, prefix=National Library of , title=

National libraries A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...

of Asia {{National libraries of Europe {{North America topic, prefix=National Library of , title=

of North America {{South America topic, prefix=National Library of , title=

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

Libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...

National and state libraries