1. Some useful Information

c) Library Timings:- Saturday to Wednesday : 9 A.M to 8 P.M
Thursday : 9 A.M to 2 P.M
Friday and other Government holidays closed.

d) Access:- Reading rooms are open to all users. Regular users are advised to take Library Membership. The Library follows closed systems stacks.

e) Membership:- Any bonafide citizen of Bangladesh subject to submission of  the duly filled in prescribed form can have Membership at the fee of Taka 15. Application forms are available at all reading rooms counters or from Librarian. Reader’s Identity Cards are issued after two working days of submission of (lie form Citizens of other countries may also use the library upon showing some necessary papers and recommendations from
appropriate authorities.

f) Lending: Lending facilities are yet to be introduced except special cases for Libraries Institutions and Government Offices .

g) Special bibliographies are compiled for potential research scholars on request.

2. History:

Alter the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 the Government of Pakistan established the National Library of Pakistan in Karachi and a provincial book deposit branch of the Pakistan National Library in Dhaka in 1967. In fact that book deposit branch was the embryo of (lie National library of Bangladesh which came into being after the independence of the country in 1971. After the Liberation War of Bangladesh it was keenly felt by all quarters that a National Library is indispensable for (lie newborn nation. Considering the necessity and importance, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh resolved to set up the National Library of Bangladesh in Dhaka. The Library started functioning with the manpower and resource materials inherited from the Provincial Book Deposit Branch in Dhaka. Later on, in 1973 the two national organizations namely (i) The National Archives of Bangladesh and (ii) The National Library of Bangladesh were merged under the name of the Directorate of Archives & Libraries under the Sports and Culture Division. Ministry of Education, ‘the Directorate was first housed in two separate rented places first at 106 Central Road and then at 372 Elephant road, Dhaka. A new building for the National Library of Bangladesh was built in 1985 and the Library was shifted to its new place called The Jutiya Granthi.igur Bliavcin (National Library Building) at 32 Justice S.M.Murshed Sarani, Agargaon, Sher-e-BangIa Nagar. Dhaka-1207. The National Library of Bangladesh is currently run by the Directorate of Archives and Libraries under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The National Library is the legal depository of all new books and other printed materials published in the country under the Copy Right Law
(Modified in 2000) of Bangladesh. 3. Organization and Professional set up: The National Library of Bangladesh is one of the two components of the Directorate of Archives and Libraries under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The Director of the Directorate exercises the administrative and financial powers delegated to the Heads of the Directorate of the Government. The National Library consists of the following four sections:

a) Bibliography Section:
b) Processing, Maintenance and Reader Service Section (Library Section);
c) Microfilm Section (Reprographic Section) and
d) Computer Section (Library Automation).

The above 4 sections are manned by 7 (seven) class-I Gazetted Officers and 34 staff members most of whom are technical. The total allocated strength of manpower is 41 as follows :

Chief Bibliographer/Deputy Director (Library)                     1
Bibliographer (Acqui -1, Compi-1, Publi- Ref.-l)                 3
Assistant Director (Lib.)                                                   1
Microfilm Officer                                                             1
Programming Officer                                                       1
Class III Technical/semi tech. staff member                     27
Class IV Staff member                                                     7
Grand total =                                                                 41

4. Functions:

Following are the major functions of Bangladesh National Library:

a) To acquire books and other publications published in the country under (lie
copyright law of the land and to preserve them permanently;
b) To compile and publish National Bibliography. Abstract and Indexes to the
newspaper articles. Directory of Publishers, Union Catalogues etc;
c) To maintain and develop a national collection of library materials;
d) to provide various services to the concerned users;
e) To provide modem facilities of library services to the users including quick and easy retrieval through the automation of the collection;
f) To preserve the library and information materials in modem and Scientific manner
g) to act as country’s international bibliographical documentation centre including the distribution of ISBN;
h) Provides informative assistance/guidelines to the Government
Professional Associations in formulating country’s Library Act, Policy, and in planning and promoting publishing industries.

5. Acquisition Policy :
Bangladesh National Library acquires through purchase, donations etc. books, journals etc in accordance with the following principles:
a) Books &. Journals on Bangladesh published anywhere in the  world;
b) Books by Bangladeshi authors published abroad;
c) Contemporary hooks by Nobel Prize winners, the national level best books of other countries;
d) Standard books on Asian countries and on other countries also;
e) Carefully selected latest books on all brandies of knowledge;
f) Standard reference books:
g) Biographies of eminent personalities of the world:
h) Donation of Institutional / personal collection of books of national level personalities.

6. Collection:

The Collection of Bangladesh National Library is the nation’s pride. The principal characteristic of its collection is that it covers all major disciplines and branches of human knowledge i.e. Literature. Cultural Heritage, History. Arts. Archaeology, Science and Technology. Medical Science. Engineering, Economics, Agriculture, Library and Information Management, Development Administration. Environment, Woman affairs. HRD, etc and is preserved in scientific manner. In addition to country’s all
most all publications the library has a large collection of foreign representational publications especially on Asian countries and more specific related to South Asian Studies. The library enriches its collection by various means i.e. acquiring publication under copyright act, purchase, institutional/personal donations, complimentary copies etc. the following are the National Library’s collection data up to September 2003.

Total Number of Books and Bound Volumes – 5,00,000

Current Bengali dailies’ titles – 55
Current Bengali weekly titles – 75
Current Bengali periodicals titles – 105
English dailies” titles – 6
weekly – 10
periodicals – 20
Number of Maps – 3000
Microfilm – 60 Rolls
Microfiche – 20(1985-93)
Number of preserved Bengali dailies’ titles – 165
weekly – 313
periodicals – 627
English dailies – 25
weekly – 36
Periodicals – 235
Number of National Bibliography published – 11 issues
from 197 2 to 1991
Index, Abstracts etc. Published – 22 Nos.
Library maintains special collections for researchers.

7. International Systems followed:

National Library follows the following international systems for its technical
processing:

a) Dewey Decimal Classification -20th edn.
b) Anglo American Cataloguing Rules 2nd edn
c) Sears list of subject heading – 13th edn.
d) CDS/ISIS software.

8. Physical facilities of Library Building

Area of Library Building       -       2.36 acre

Construction area             -       104880 sft

Carpet area of Library Building -      61.555 sft

Stack area                     -       48.223 sft

Reading room               -      8000 sft

Exhibition room              -      3200

A.C. Auditorium seating capacity-     300 seats

The maintenance of the building, electrical appliance, air-conditioning and security measures are carried out by the concerned Departments of the government.

9. User’s Services

a) Reader Service: Provides reader’s services. It has three reading rooms (one for Bangla materials and one for English and one for Newspapers) covering 8000 sft space area. The Library maintains both card and sheaf catalogue systems.

b) Reference Service: Reference service to individual and departments, institutions are rendered in the light of requirement .

c) Special Bibliography: National Library provides special bibliography compilation service on request to the potential research scholars of various universities / institutions.

d) Lending: Lending of books to the library members is yet to be introduced. However government office , libraries, institutions as exception can avail the lending facilities for official purpose.

e) Photocopy Service: Members of the Library can have photocopy service for research purpose at the charge of TK. 1.00 per impression.

f) ISBN Service: For standardizing Bangladesh’s books internationally, ISBN distribution service is provided to the concerned publishers and individual authors from the National Library. So far ISBN has been distributed to 375 publishers and for 6500 books.
g) Microfilm Service: Microfilm reading services on some selected subject and areas are given to the concerned research scholars in the light of the requirement. One of the important services to the users is map reading service, which is given under special arrangement.

10. International Liaison:

The National Library of Bangladesh is the country’s professional national institution for IFLA. Asia Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU). Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Ocenia (CDNLAO).

11. Modern facilities added:

In order to modernize the National Library & its services, the Government of Bangladesh has recently added the following modem equipments and facilities to the Library:

a) Modern computer unit with CDS/ISIS software with server & terminal;
b) One modern Microfilm Unit including Microfilm Reader d Printer & Reader;
c) One fax machine;
d) One photocopy machine;
e) One modern lift.

12. Future Plans :

a) To provide an Advisory Council for the National Library of Bangladesh.

b) To arrange to fill up all the technical vacant posts.

c) To render the National Library a very modem international centre of learning by extending services and adopting new measures.

Articles, Bibliometrics, Documentation, Featured, Information systems, Library history
Archives and Libraries, BIBLIOGRAPHY, National Library Building, NATIONAL LIBRARY OF BANGLADESH, National Library of Pakistan