The National Library of Benin (french: Bibliothèque nationale du Bénin) is the legal deposit

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

for

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. Originally chartered in November 1975 and located in

Ouidah Ouidah () or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch) and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Repub ...

, the library moved to a purpose built unit in the Ouando neighbourhood of

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

during the 1980s.

History

Originally located in

, The National Library of Benin was established on 25 November 1975 following the approval of the decree n°75-305. The first director of the library was Noël Hontongnon Amoussou. A 1976 Unesco report on the early stages of development of the library underlined the limited budget, the lack of personnel training, and the lack of global planning. Kenneth H. Roberts
Rapport d'une mission financée par le programme régulier
''Unesco.org'', October 1976 A new building was created during the 1980s in

, which was opened to the public in 1987. For many years the director of the National Library was Florence Ayivi Foliaon. By 2014, the library did not have a fire emergency system in place, no internet network, and the place had not been visited by the country's Minister of culture for 20 years. Esckil Agbo
Une quarantaine d'années après sa création: La bibliothèque nationale du Bénin végète dans une décrépitude grandissante
''Dekartcom.net'', 25 October 2014

Description

The purpose of the National library of Benin is to collect, organize, preserve, and make accessible the documentary patrimony of the country. The library is composed of three units. Since opening, it holds a collection of 10,000 ancient documents on

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

and Africa in general. 4 copies of all books produced in the country must be deposited at the National Library (3 for books printed less than 300 times). The French Institute in Benin donates 3-year-old magazines and newspapers to the library. Léon Sogodo Djogbenou
De la presse sur support papier à la presse en ligne : tendances et évolution à la médiathèque de l’Institut français du Bénin
''Ifla.org'', 19 January 2016

References

Bibliography

External links

Official site
{{Authority control 1975 establishments in Benin

Libraries in Benin Culture of Benin Government of Benin Buildings and structures in Porto-Novo Libraries established in 1975

History

Description

See also

References

Bibliography

External links