The National Library of Bangladesh (NLB; bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় গ্রন্থাগার, translit=Bānlādēśa jātīẏa granthāgāra) is the legal depository of all new books and other printed materials published in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

under the copyright law of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1973, but it traces its origins back to 1967, before the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

and its independence. It is open to general public and has both Bengali and English language books. It is housed in the National Library Bhaban.

History

After the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, the government of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

established the ''National Library of Pakistan'' in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

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 Directorate of Archives and Libraries is a government department responsible for the management and operations of the National Library and the National Archives in Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the International Standard ...

along with the National Archives. The Directorate is under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs 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 This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

refused to fix it. It has faced criticism for not having an online catalogue.

References

{{Authority control 1973 establishments in Bangladesh

Libraries in Bangladesh Libraries established in 1973 Government agencies of Bangladesh