National Libraries

The National Library is established by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. It is the centre of the system of libraries within which it performs coordination, professional, information, educational, analytical, research, standardizing, methodical and advisory activities. It is a library with a universal library collection complemented by specialized collections. It acquires, preserves, continuously updates, and provides access to rich collections of both domestic and foreign documents, especially of Bohemica and documents from the social and natural sciences areas. It has in its permanent keeping a conservation collection and a historical collection.

Heiress to the royal library existing since the Middle Ages, the BnF collects, preserves, enriches and ensures on-site and remote access to the national documentary heritage and foreign collections, according to its missions  and operating rules defined in articles R341-1 to R341-21 of the Heritage Code / Code du patrimoine. It collects the legal deposit of all types of documents published in France and produces the national bibliography. It manages the main digital library in the country, “Gallica", and operates the Catalogue collectif de France (CCFr). It is the major player in library cooperation on a national and international scale. It conducts numerous research projects and offers an important cultural programme. The BnF also has a mission of cooperation and support for libraries in the field of conservation, bibliographic description and digitisation.

The missions of the Bpi are defined in its founding decree n°76-82 of January 27, 1976 updated by decree no. 2020-195 of 4 March 2020 - defined in the Heritage Code/Code du patrimoine Articles R 342-1 à R 342-16. The Bibliothèque publique d'information is a national library. Its mission is: "a) To enrich, conserve and make available to the general public, free of charge and as far as possible with free access, a constantly updated selection of French and foreign collections of general information and current affairs documents; "b) To cooperate with French and foreign libraries and cultural establishments, and to carry out research programmes in the field of librarianship and reading; "c) To encourage cooperation between public libraries; "d) To offer a range of activities and mediation in the field of culture and the arts, in coordination with the programming of the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou.   This library has the mission to cooperate with public libraries in France in order to promote exchange, reflection and the sharing of good practices. The national cooperation projects cover digital resources, disability, media and information literacy, question and answer services, documentary films and studies in the field of libraries. More information: https://pro.bpi.fr/qui-sommes-nous/

Founded in 1871 and currently governed by the decree n°2020-1166, the Bnu is located in Strasbourg, Alsace. Among the main libraries in France with nearly 4M items, it is a heritage, academic and research library in the fields of Human and Social Sciences under the Ministry for Higher Education and Research. It cooperates with other academic libraries in the Alsace Region and in France, and has many international cooperations. Open to the large public, it offers a wide programme of cultural events.

The National Library of Georgia is the main scientific library of the country. It preserves printed editions published in Georgia, important scientific and universal publications, and other documents from foreign countries. Additionally, it serves as the cultural and methodological centre for national bibliography, information, scientific research, and coordinates librarianship in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection of Georgia. Due to its exceptional national significance, the National Library is accountable to the Parliament of Georgia.

The National Scientific Library of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University operates as an independent structural unit within the University, not integrated into any other unit. The primary focus of the National Scientific Library is the preservation of scientific, educational, historical, and cultural materials, along with scientific and technical documents organised in foundations. The library is dedicated to providing educational and scientific information services to universities and other educational and scientific institutions. Additionally, it is committed to developing innovative information and library technologies, offering services that promote scientific and technological innovation.

The National Library of Greece (NLG) is a public entity under the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. The NLG began its journey through time in 1829 and has been the driving force behind the efforts to trace, organise, describe and preserve in perpetuity documents of Greek culture, as the custodian of the Greek literary heritage. Its mission is to collect, organize, safekeep, preserve and offer open and equal access for all to every work of science and culture produced in Greece, or internationally, related to the Hellenic world and its abiding impact.

Iraq National Library and Archives is the oldest public library in modern Iraq  and was formerly called the national library and deposit centre in Iraq. It was formed in 1987 as a result of the decision to merge the national library with the national documentation centre; it has often been affected by the wars and conflicts in the country. Providing and acquiring the Iraqi intellectual work that is issued outside Iraq for Iraqi authors, translators or intellectuals, as well as acquiring of publications related to Iraq issued in international languages, so that the library collections become complete and comprehensive.

The mission of the National Library of Ireland (NLI) is to collect, preserve, promote, and make accessible the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland and to contribute to the provision of access to the larger universe of recorded knowledge. In recent years the NLI has collaborated with partners like the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) to enhance digital collections and access for all. The NLI includes dedicated exhibition space, a Photographic Library, genealogical and heraldic services, and the Museum of Literature of Ireland (MoLI) in collaboration with University College Dublin (UCD).

The role of the National Library of Israel is to collect, preserve, cultivate and endow the treasures of knowledge, heritage and culture in general, in all languages and with an emphasis on the Land of Israel, the State of Israel and the Jewish people in particular.

The National Diet Library (NDL) is the national library of Japan, established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the National Diet of Japan (the national legislature of Japan) in researching matters of public policy. The NDL consists of two main facilities in Tokyo and Kyoto, and several other branch libraries throughout Japan. As Japan's national library, the NDL serves as the legal deposit library and collects copies of all publications published in Japan. It serves as a research library for the National Diet members, their staff, and the general public. The NDL's roles include:

• Supporting the National Diet,
• Acquiring, cataloguing, preserving materials and information,
• Providing access to information services,
• Cooperation with affiliated institutions.

The core functions of the National Library of Latvia (NLL) are the collection of national literature, its perpetual storage and the long-term provision of access to it. The collection of the NLL exceeds 4.2 million units. Most library activities and events are intended to support higher education, research and life-long learning. The NLL is the advisory and professional support center for all libraries in Latvia. The Library operates as the centre of Latvia's Interlibrary Loan system, ISBN, ISSN and ISMN centre, provides library and information services to the Saeima (parliament), and is implementing library-sector standardisation.