Biblioteca Naţională a României is the National Library

National library

A national library is a library specifically established by the government of a country to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books...

 of Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

.

History

The roots of the library can be found at Saint Sava College

Saint Sava College

Saint Sava College was one of the earliest academic institutions in Wallachia, Romania. It was the predecessor to both Saint Sava National College and the University of Bucharest.-History:...

 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

In 1986, a new, larger location began to be built for the library, between Piaţa Unirii

Piata Unirii

Piața Unirii is one of the largest squares in central Bucharest, located in the center of the city where Sectors 1, 2, 3, and 4 meet. It is bisected by Unirii Boulevard, originally built during the Communist era as the Boulevard of the Victory of Socialism, and renamed after the Romanian...

 and Nerva Traian. Although some parts of the building are finished or in an advanced state, due to lack of funding, the construction is stalling. According to the Ministry of Culture web site, obtaining the funds to finalize this new location is among its current priorities.

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
    Codex Aureus of Lorsch
    The Codex Aureus of Lorsch or Lorsch Gospels is an illuminated Gospel Book written between 778 and 820, roughly coinciding with the period of Charlemagne's rule over the Frankish Empire.It was first recorded in Lorsch Abbey , for which it was presumably written, and...
    
     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

• 8,793,285 items
• 162 incunabula
  Incunabulum
  Incunable, or sometimes incunabulum is a book, pamphlet, or broadside, that was printed — not handwritten — before the year 1501 in Europe...
  
  
• 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

• BNR web site