National Library of Bangladesh

The National Library of Bangladesh (NLB) (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় গ্রন্থাগার) is the legal depository of all new books and other printed materials published in Bangladesh under the copyright law of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1973, but it traces its origins back to 1967, before the Bangladesh Liberation War and its independence.[4] It is open to general public and has both Bengali and English language books.[5] It is housed in the National Library Bhaban.[6]

National Library of Bangladesh

Established	1973 (1973)[1]
Architect	Muzharul Islam
Location	Justice S.M. Murshed Sarani, Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagor, Dhaka
Coordinates	23.7759°N 90.3740°E / 23.7759; 90.3740
Collection
Size	500,000 total books 200,000 processed books
Access and use
Members	8,200
Other information
Budget	18,200,000 BDT (1 crore and 82 lac)[2]
Director	Wadudul Bari Chowdhury (1990)[3] Dr. K.M. Karim (1972)
Staff	98[2]
Website	nlb.gov.bd
Map

History

After the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, the government of Pakistan established the National Library of Pakistan in Karachi in 1962 and a provincial book deposit branch of the Pakistan National Library in Dhaka in 1967. After the liberation war of Bangladesh, it was keenly felt by all quarters that a national library is indispensable for the newborn nation. Considering the necessity and importance, the government resolved to set up the National Library of Bangladesh in Dhaka. The Library first started functioning with the manpower, resources and materials inherited from the Provincial Book Deposit Branch. In fact, that book deposit branch was the embryo of the National Library of Bangladesh which came into being after the independence of the country in 1973. It was placed under the administration of Directorate of Archives and Libraries along with the National Archives. The Directorate is under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs[4] The government of Bangladesh provided the library with air conditioning in 1978, under the government's five-year plan. In 2008 the library was without electricity for about a month because of the Dhaka Electric Supply Company and the Public Works Department refused to fix it.[6] It has faced criticism for not having an online catalogue.[7]

References

1. Background information of the National Library of Bangladesh, Directorate of Archives and Libraries, Ministry of Cultural Affairs
2. Administration information, Directorate of Archives and Libraries, Ministry of Cultural Affairs
3. History about the Directorate, Directorate of Archives and Libraries, Ministry of Cultural Affairs
4. Ahmed, Sharif Uddin. "National Library". en.banglapedia.org. Banglapedia. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
5. Munim, Rifat. "On the Threshold of Learning". Star Weekend Magazine. The Daily Star. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
6. "Power-cut to cost priceless documents". The Daily Star. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
7. Morshed, Adnan. "e-Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 18 December 2017.