The National Taiwan Library () is a library in Zhonghe District,

New Taipei New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It is the oldest public library in Taiwan. Founded in 1914, the library is home to a large collection of documents concerning the history, culture, politics and geography of Taiwan.

History

The library was founded in 1914 during the Japanese colonial period as the on the order of governor Sakuma Samata. The library's first permanent home on Bo'ai Road (博愛路) in

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was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the Nationalists took over control of the island following Japan's defeat in World War II, the library was renamed the Taiwan Provincial Library () and moved to temporary accommodation. In 1947, it was again renamed, this time to Taiwan Provincial Taipei Library () and it was under this name that the library was relocated to Xinsheng South Road (新生南路) in 1963. In 2007, Huang Wen-ling was appointed as the twentieth director of the National Taiwan Library, and the first woman to hold the post. The current name of the library was chosen in 2013, with the full official title being National Taiwan Library ().

Collection

National Taiwan Library Parent and Child Information Center 2025-05-20

The library is home to a large collection of documents related to Taiwan. There are 210,000 documents from the Japanese era (1895–1945) and the collection has been continuously added to since then. The library's aim is to provide a dedicated research centre for people interested in Taiwan Studies, offering traditional written material sources as well as information resources for researchers to locate the documents or information needed. Services for the visually impaired are also a key focus for the institution, with a collection of 12,000

Braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...

books together with information technology resources for readers.

Conservation

A pioneer of book conservation techniques in Taiwan, the library is now home to a dedicated "Book Hospital" which serves not only as a centre for restoration of old books, but also a location for staff from other institutions to learn the craft.

External links

National Taiwan Library

References

{{Libraries of Taiwan 1914 establishments in Taiwan Library buildings completed in 2004 Zhonghe District Buildings and structures in New Taipei Tourist attractions in New Taipei Education in New Taipei Public libraries in Taiwan

History

Collection

Conservation

See also

External links

References