National Library of Romania

Biblioteca Naţională a României
(National Library of Romania)

Country	Romania
Type	National library
Established	1859  (1859)
Location	Bucharest
Coordinates
Branches	Special Collections (Bucharest) Batthyani (Alba Iulia) Omnia (Craiova)
Collection
Items collected	13,000,000
Access and use
Access requirements	Reader's permit
Other information
Director	Claudia Șerbănuță
Website	http://www.bibnat.ro/

The National Library of Romania (Romanian: Biblioteca Naţională a României) is the National Library of Romania. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in Romania.

History

The roots of the library can be found at Saint Sava College library. Saint Sava College library was opened in 1859 when 1000 French volumes were archived. After 1859 Union, the library has reach the national statute (Bibliotecă Naţională şi Bibliotecă Centrală - National and Central library) In 1864 the library was named Central Library of the State (Biblioteca Centrală a Statului).

In 1901 all the collections were ceased to the Romanian Academy Library. As a result from 1901 to 1955, the Romanian Academy Library has achieved the national attribute. In 1955, the State Central library was organised, having the attributes of a National library. In 1989 after the collapse of the communist regime the State Central Library was once again renamed to Biblioteca Naţională a României.

New building

Old location on Ion Ghica street

In 1986, a new, larger location began to be built for the library, between Piaţa Unirii and Nerva Traian. The initial lead architect was Cezar Lăzărescu, who died in 1986 before the building was finished. Shortly after 1989, although some parts of the building are finished or in an advanced state, due to lack of funding, the construction had stalled until recent years. In 2009 the project was reassigned to the Ministry of Culture, which completed the construction in 2011 and set the official opening date to take place in 2012.

The new building in 2011, shortly before completion

Lecture hall

Mission

The National Library is a cultural institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. Its goal is to administer the national patrimony of publications, by purchasing and preserving documents and making them available to the public, for research or personal study.

Collections

It has several special collections, including:

• Bibliofilie; Rare books
• Manuscrise; Manuscripts
  • Including the Codex Aureus of Lorsch kept at Batthyani Library in Alba Iulia
• Arhiva Istorică; Historical Archive
• Periodice româneşti vechi; Old Romanian newspapers
• Stampe; Prints
• Fotografii; Photographs
• Cartografie; Maps
• Audio-Vizual; Audio - video

Statistics

• 13,000,000 items
• 162 incunabula
• 20,054 Romanian and foreign old books
• 10,964 Romanian and foreign rare books
• 29,350 audiovisual documents
• 36,759 old and modern manuscripts
• 47,745 serials
• over 800 prints
• 70,000 original photographs

External links

• Official website (Romanian)