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Foundation of Library and Information Science

Notes procure practically every reading material published anywhere in the world for which there is likely to be a
reasonable demand from our people”.
A National Library works with the following purpose:

1. It procures nation’s all literary output under legal provision as well the foreign literature
about that nation.
2. It works as a depository house for the said heritage by preserving it.

3. It disseminates information about the stored and procured literary wealth through different
publications and services.
4. It works as a national referral and bibliographic exchange centre.

5. It coordinates with the other libraries in a country to develop a national library system.

9.1.3 Emergence of the National Library

The early characteristics of these National Libraries were that they were the focal points of the
nation in each country. They enjoyed the privilege of receiving a copy of every book published
in the country. They had funds for buying foreign publications, space to house them and a staff
to process them. They were located in the capital of the country. These libraries were built up to
preserve, protect, conserve and perpetuate the nation’s intellectual and cultural heritage. They
were not particularly oriented towards providing public library service. The collection of these
libraries was largely in arts, literature, philosophy, religion and one or two social sciences.
Books on science and technology were still to come. These libraries were used by scholars in
humanities and social sciences, who could spend a great amount of time in these libraries. With
the advent of the 20th century, science and technology gained ascendancy. The researches of
scientists like Newton, Roentgen, Pierre, Marie Curie and many others, opened flood gates of
scientific research.
This ‘in turn’ resulted in an extensive output of scientific literature. Alongside these, there was
also a similar spate of literature in other disciplines. National libraries found it increasingly
difficult to acquire all important documents, leave alone processing and making them speedily
available to users. However, the rapid growth and development of university and special
libraries, which were more responsive to users, in a way, mitigated the problems of scholars
and research scientists concerning access and use of books and other documents. These
developments set governments, leaders of libraries and other intellectuals and scientists to
review the objects and functions of the national library, particularly in relation to the problems
and prospects of creating a library system for the country.

Did u know? Discussions and debates over these issues stimulated new thinking and a
more precise and concrete definition of what a national library should be provided.

9.1.4 Types of National Libraries

We have mentioned earlier that the activities of National Libraries have expanded considerably
in recent decades. Consequently, several of these activities and functions are being shared, by a
few National Libraries that have sprung up. However, these trends have not been identical in all
countries. Historical traditions, socio-economic, scientific and technological developments have
determined the nature of emerging National Libraries. National Libraries that have been operating
in different countries may be grouped by
functions

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