1.
Bern
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The city of Bern or Berne is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their Bundesstadt, or federal city. With a population of 141,762, Bern is the fourth-most populous city in Switzerland, the Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000, Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerlands cantons. The official language in Bern is German, but the language is an Alemannic Swiss German dialect. In 1983, the old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bern is ranked among the top ten cities for the best quality of life. The etymology of the name Bern is uncertain and it has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in Middle High German. As a result of the find of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980s, it is now common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of Celtic origin. The bear was the animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s. No archaeological evidence that indicates a settlement on the site of city centre prior to the 12th century has been found so far. In antiquity, a Celtic oppidum stood on the Engehalbinsel north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC, during the Roman era, a Gallo-Roman vicus was on the same site. The Bern zinc tablet has the name Brenodor, in the Early Middle Ages, a settlement in Bümpliz, now a city district of Bern, was some 4 km from the medieval city. The medieval city is a foundation of the Zähringer ruling family, according to 14th-century historiography, Bern was founded in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen. In 1218, after Berthold died without an heir, Bern was made an imperial city by the Goldene Handfeste of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. In 1353, Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of the eight cantons of the period of 1353 to 1481. The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aare, the Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345. It was, in turn, succeeded by the Christoffelturm until 1622, during the time of the Thirty Years War, two new fortifications – the so-called big and small Schanze – were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Swiss franc
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The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione dItalia. The Swiss National Bank issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins, the smaller denomination, a hundredth of a franc, is a Rappen in German, centime in French, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh. The ISO code of the used by banks and financial institutions is CHF, although Fr. is used by most businesses and advertisers. Given the different languages used in Switzerland, Latin is used for inscriptions on the coins. In 1798, the Helvetic Republic introduced a currency based on the Berne thaler, the Swiss franc was equal to 6 3⁄4 grams of pure silver or 1 1⁄2 French francs. This franc was issued until the end of the Helvetic Republic in 1803, in order to solve this problem, the new Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848 specified that the federal government would be the only entity allowed to make money in Switzerland. This was followed two years later by the first Federal Coinage Act, passed by the Federal Assembly on 7 May 1850, the franc was introduced at par with the French franc. It replaced the different currencies of the Swiss cantons, some of which had been using a franc which was worth 1 1⁄2 French francs. In 1865, France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland formed the Latin Monetary Union, the currency was devalued by 30% following the devaluations of the British pound, U. S. dollar and French franc. In 1945, Switzerland joined the Bretton Woods system and pegged the franc to the U. S. dollar at a rate of $1 =4.30521 francs and this was changed to $1 =4.375 francs in 1949. The Swiss franc has historically considered a safe-haven currency with virtually zero inflation. However, this link to gold, which dates from the 1920s, was terminated on 1 May 2000 following a referendum. By March 2005, following a gold selling program, the Swiss National Bank held 1,290 tonnes of gold in reserves which equated to 20% of its assets. In November 2014, the referendum on the Swiss Gold Initiative which proposed a restoration of 20% gold backing for the Swiss franc was voted down, in March 2011 the franc climbed past the US$1.10 mark. In June 2011 the franc climbed past US$1.20 as investors sought safety amidst the continuation of the Greek sovereign-debt crisis, demand for francs and franc-denominated assets was so strong that nominal short-term Swiss interest rates became negative. In response to the announcement the franc fell against the euro, to 1.22 francs from 1.12 francs, the intervention stunned currency traders since the franc had long been regarded as a safe haven. The franc fell 8. 8% against the euro,9. 5% against the dollar and it was the largest plunge of the franc ever against the euro. The SNB had previously set an exchange rate target in 1978 against the Deutsche mark and maintained it, although at the cost of high inflation
4.
Swiss Literary Archives
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The Swiss Literary Archives in Bern collects literary estates in all four national languages of Switzerland. It is part of the Swiss National Library operated by the Federal Office of Culture within the Federal Department of Home Affairs, the archives were founded in 1991 and are located in the building of the Swiss National Library. The foundation can be tracked back to the last will of the writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Dürrenmatt gave his literary remains to the state, but under the condition that the state establishes a national archive for literature
5.
Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
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The encyclopedia is published by a foundation under the patronage of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Swiss Historical Society and is financed by national research grants. Besides a staff of 35 at the offices, the contributors include 100 academic advisors,2500 historians and 100 translators. The encyclopedia is being edited simultaneously in three languages of Switzerland, German, French and Italian. The first of 13 volumes was published in 2002, the last volume was published in 2014. The 36,000 headings are grouped in, Biographies Articles on families and it makes accessible, for free, all articles ready for publication in print, but no illustrations. It also lists all 36,000 topics that are to be covered, lexicon Istoric Retic is a two volume version with a selection of articles published in Romansh. It includes articles not available in the other languages, the first volume was published in 2010, the second in 2012. An on-line version is also available
6.
National library
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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, often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant works. A National Library is that library which has the duty of collecting and preserving the literature of the nation within, thus, National Libraries are those libraries whose community is the nation at large. Examples include The British Library, and The Bibliothèque Nationale In Paris, there are wider definitions of a national library, putting less emphasis to the repository character. National libraries are usually notable for their size, compared to that of other libraries in the same country. Some states which are not independent, but who wish to preserve their culture, have established a national library with all the attributes of such institutions. National libraries of Europe participate in The European Library and this is a service of The Conference of European National Librarians. The first national libraries had their origins in the collections of the sovereign or some other supreme body of the state. In England, Sir Richard Bentleys Proposal for Building a Royal Library published in 1694 stimulated renewed interest in the subject. Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, an antiquarian, amassed the richest private collection of manuscripts in the world at the time. Sir Roberts genius was in finding, purchasing and preserving these ancient documents, after his death his grandson donated the library to the nation as its first national library. This transfer established the formation of the British Library, the first true national library was founded in 1753 as part of the British Museum. This new institution was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection included some 40,000 printed books and 7,000 manuscripts, as well as prints and drawings. The British Museum Act 1753 also incorporated the Cotton library and the Harleian library and these were joined in 1757 by the Royal Library, assembled by various British monarchs. Anthony Panizzi became the Principal Librarian at the British Museum in 1856, during his tenure, the Librarys holdings increased from 235,000 to 540,000 volumes, making it the largest library in the world at the time. Its famous circular Reading Room was opened in 1857, Panizzi undertook the creation of a new catalogue, based on the Ninety-One Cataloguing Rules which he devised with his assistants. These rules served as the basis for all subsequent catalogue rules of the 19th and 20th centuries, in France, the first national library was the Bibliothèque Mazarine, which evolved from its origin as a royal library founded at the Louvre Palace by Charles V in 1368. At the death of Charles VI, this first collection was bought by the English regent of France, the Duke of Bedford
7.
National Library of Albania
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The National Library of Albania is an Albanian national library headquartered in the capital, Tirana. It was founded in 1920 and inaugurated on December 10,1922, the National Library of Albania is the primary national cultural institution and the oldest in the Albanian State. The NLA occupies two buildings and is organized and functions under the authority of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and its archive comprises a total of 1,169.767 books, periodicals, maps, atlases, microfilms and other library materials. The special collections are valuable for national as well as European culture, the library is open 72 hours a week to anyone over 16 years old. Users can borrow library materials or use them in the reading rooms, the librarys website enables the users to search a directory as well as services, such as the OPAC, digitized catalogues, and the digital collections. The NLA organizes exhibitions, book promotions, conferences and so on, as a legal deposit institution the NLA publishes the National Bibliography. For the national library network it publishes the scientific-cultural review Bibliothecae, textbooks, professional guides and it is a member of IFLA, LIBER, CENL, CDNL, The European Library and has been invited officially to become a partner in the World Digital Library
8.
Andorra National Library
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The Andorra National Library was §founded in 1930, then re-opened in 1974. It is housed in Casa Bauró, an old house in the Andorran capital. Amongst other functions, it is the deposit and copyright library for Andorra. The Andorra National Library was created on September 8,1930 with the aim of providing book lending services to the people of the valleys of Andorra and it was initially housed in the hall of lost steps in the Casa de la Vall. The new library was established in 1974, in 1986, after being housed in various locations, the library moved to a building called Prada Casadet. Although this building housed both the National Library and the Public Library of the Government of Andorra at the time, in 1996, with the collections having grown considerably, it was decided to restructure and separate the services. The National Library of Andorra was therefore relocated to a building called Casa Bauró whilst the rest of the remained at Prada Casadet. In addition to its roles, the Andorra National Library has acted as the national ISBN agency for Andorra since 1987
9.
National Library of Armenia
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The National Library of Armenia is a national public library in Yerevan, Armenia. It was founded in 1832 as part of the state gymnasium-school of Yerevan and it is the official cultural deposit for the entire republic. The current building of the library dating back to 1939, is on Teryan street of Kentron district and it was designed by architect Alexander Tamanyan to house around seven million books. Between 1925 and 1990, the library was named after Aleksandr Myasnikyan, currently, the library is home to a collection of 6.6 million books. The oldest printed book in the library is Urbatagirk, published in Venice,1512, the oldest map in the library dates back to 1695, published in Amsterdam. The oldest newspaper in the library is Azdarar, published in Madras,1794, matenadaran Official Website of the National Library of Armenia
10.
Austrian National Library
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The Austrian National Library is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, since 2005, some of the collections have been relocated within the baroque structure of the Palais Mollard-Clary. Founded by the Habsburgs, the library was called the Hof-Bibliothek. The library complex includes four museums, as well as special collections. The institution has its origin in the library of the Middle Ages. During the Medieval period, the Austrian Duke Albert III shifted the books of the Viennese vaults into a library, Albert also organized important works from Latin to be translated into German. In the Hofburg, the treasure of Archduke Albert III had been kept in sacristies inside the tower of the imperial chapel. The Archduke was a connoisseur of art, he supported the University of Vienna, and he founded a royal workshop for illustrating manuscripts. On scenes depicting the lives of the four Evangelists, four coats of arms show the House of Austria, Tirol, Styria, and Carinthia, frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, had the goal of summarizing the art treasures among the Habsburg possessions. Among other things, he brought some valuable books into the Vienna, among them the Prager Wenzelsbibel and the document of the golden bull. Through his marriage with Mary of Burgundy, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor came into the possession of important books from Burgundy and north France, with a value at that time estimated at 100,000 guldens, these books represented about an eighth of Marys dowry. Also Maximilians second wife, Bianca Maria Sforza, brought into the marriage as dowry, among other things, the books of the library, at that time, were kept partially in Wiener Neustadt, partially in Vienna, and partially in Innsbruck. After the death of Maximilian, the books were sent into the palace at Innsbruck, besides the valuable books from the public treasury, the Bibliotheca Regia during the 16th century, which collected and categorized scientific works, developed in Vienna. Besides books, that also contained globes and atlases. The library had expanded, in the course of the time, as the first head librarian, Hugo Blotius was appointed in 1575 by Emperor Maximilian II. His most important task was drawing up the inventory of the library, as a consequence, new works were added systematically, and other libraries were incorporated. For the first time on 26 August 1624, the delivery was regulated by obligation copies to the library, the Imperial Library also grew by purchases. Particularly, the library of Philipp Eduard Fugger led to a major expansion, from the Fugger library, the library currently has about 17,000 sheets of one of the first periodic printing elements, the Fugger newspapers
11.
National Library of Azerbaijan
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The Mirza Fatali Akhundov National Library of Azerbaijan is a central state library of Azerbaijan, located in Baku and founded in 1922. It is named after Mirza Fatali Akhundov, an Azerbaijani dramatist, the library overlooks the Khagani Street, Rashid Behbudov Avenue and the Nizami Street. Its facades feature the statues of writers and poets, Nizami Ganjavi, Mahsati, Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Shota Rustaveli, Alexander Pushkin. A vast, eight-stage repository occupies the four floors of the building and is equipped with special elevators, the capacity of reading rooms is 500 seats. Orders are also accepted by e-mail upon electronic registration, founded in 1922, the library moved to its current location on May 23,1923. The building was designed by Azerbaijani architect Mikayil Huseynov and it was initially known as the General Library and State Book Storage of Azerbaijan. On July 11,1939 the library gained its present name, in 1962, the library was finally granted permission to create exchange ties with the Bibliothèque nationale de France. In 2005, in accordance with the decree issued by the Cabinet of Azerbaijan, in 2005, it joined the Conference of European National Librarians. Today, the building houses books, printed materials, newspapers, maps, dissertations and records and it receives four copies of every new book and two copies of every magazine and newspaper published in Azerbaijan. The library, the one of its kind, has microfilm. Official website UN System Depository Libraries profile
12.
National Library of Belarus
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The National Library of Belarus, founded on 15 September 1922, is a copyright library of the Republic of Belarus. It houses the largest collection of Belarusian printed materials and the third largest collection of books in Russian behind the Russian State Library and it is now located in a new 72-metre high building in Minsk, Belarus. The building has 22 floors and was completed in January 2006, the building can seat about 2,000 readers and features a 500-seat conference hall. Its main architectural component has the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron, the librarys new building was designed by architects Mihail Vinogradov and Viktor Kramarenko and opened on 16 June 2006. The National Library of Belarus is the information and cultural centre of the country. Its depository collections include 8 million items of various media, in 1993 the National Library of Belarus started to create its own electronic information resources. It has generated a collection of bibliographic, factual graphic, full-text, graphic, sound, the scope of databases is quite wide, humanities, social sciences, history, art and culture of Belarus. Library users also have access to databases of other libraries and academic institutions, the library service is in great demand. More than 90 thousand citizens of Belarus are library users, who annually request 3.5 million documents, every day the library is visited by more than 2,200 people. The library delivers about 12,000 documents daily, in addition to serving as a functional library, the National Library is a city attraction. It is situated in a park on a bank and has an observation deck looking over Minsk. As of 2009 it is the structure in Minsk with a public observation deck. The area in front of the library is used for public concerts. The building is also the subject of an art video by French artist Raphael Zarka, Rhombus Sectus, shown at the Bischoff/Weiss gallery, London, in 2011. National Library of Belarus Emporis Web site Official photo gallery Creative studio of the architect Victor Kramarenko Creative studio of the architect Mihail Vinogradov Bischoff/Weiss gallery
13.
Royal Library of Belgium
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The Royal Library of Belgium is one of the most important cultural institutions in Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Dukes of Burgundy, in the second half of the 20th century, a new building was constructed on the Mont des Arts in central Brussels, near the Central Station. The library owns several collections of importance, like the famous Fétis archives. There are four million volumes in the Royal Library, including a rare book collection numbering 45,000 works. The library has more than 700,000 engravings and drawings,150,000 maps and plans and this coin collection holds one of the most valuable coins in the field of numismatics, a fifth-century Sicilian tetradrachm. The Royal Library is open for reference only, patrons must be at least eighteen years of age and must pay an annual membership fee. Having more than 6 million books, the Royal Library of Belgium is the biggest library of the country and it also serves as collection point of Dutch language artworks. Made up of around 60 smaller collections concerning music, the department is a significant resource for the study of music history in Belgium. The most representative pieces are part of collections of François-Joseph Fétis, Eugène Ysaÿe, Henri Vieuxtemps, Marc Danval, Yves Becko, Denijs Dille, the Royal Library of Belgiums Music Division is considered one of Belgiums most important centers for the preservation and study of music-related documents. The Music Division maintains a rich and varied collection composed of hundreds of thousands of manuscript and printed scores, among the oldest pieces of the Fétis Collection are several late 15th century manuscripts by theorist Johannes Tinctoris. Through legal deposit, the Music Division also acquires a number of musicological works. The Music Division assumes a role within various international associations, notably IAML, RILM. The non-profit organization Archives Béla Bartók de Belgique was created in 2002 and has its headquarters in the Music Division, the “Librarium” is a permament exhibition dedicated to the history of the book. The Librarium consists of 6 halls each shedding a different light on carriers of writing, in the first hall the book emergence is introduced. The whole room is dedicated to show the relation between word and image, the collection material is changed every three months. Moreover, the exhibition shows furnished rooms of Henry Van de Velde, Michel de Ghelderode, 1837-1850, Frédéric de Reiffenberg 1850-1887, Louis-Joseph Alvin 1887-1904, Edouard Fétis 1904-1909, Henri Hymans 1909-1912, Joseph Van den Gheyn, S. J
14.
SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library
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Cyril and Methodius National Library is the national library of Bulgaria, situated in the capital city of Sofia. Founded on 4 April 1878, the received the status of Bulgarian National Library three years later and the Bulgarian National Revival Archive was merged into it in 1924. Cyril and Methodius, Saints Cyril and Methodius and they are the creators of the Glagolitic alphabet. The Cyrillic alphabet is named after Cyril, the present building of the library is among the landmarks of Sofia. It was designed by the famous Bulgarian architectural team Vasilyov-Dimitur Tsolov, in 1878, Mikhail Bobotinov, a teacher and secretary of the City Council in Sofia, proposed to establish a public library for the need of cultural and educational development in Sofia. The library was then arranged and open in 1878 and finally received its own building in 1900, in 1939, a new building began construction, but sadly in 1944 both the new and old building were destroyed during a bombing in Sofia. In 1953, the National Library opens its new building under the name Vasil Kolarov and it was not until 1963 that the library was renamed from Vasil Kolarov to St. Cyril and Methodius. Slavonic Scriptures, a collection of more than 1,700 originals dating from the 11th to the 19th centuries, greek and other Foreign Scriptures with around 200 monuments, 9th to 19th century. Eastern Scriptures, containing around 3,100 Arabic,500 Ottoman, both collections contain over 500,000 units,714 registers and 168 sidjals. Old Print Books from the Orient, a collection of around 2,000 volumes in Arabic, Turkish and Persian, Bulgarian Historical Archive with over 1. Portraits and Photographs, a collection of over 80,000 photographs, Cyril and Methodius National Library at Wikimedia Commons Official website of the National Library Web catalogue of the National Library Oriental Collections Department
15.
National and University Library in Zagreb
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National and University Library in Zagreb is the national library of Croatia and central library of the University of Zagreb. The Library was established in 1607 and its primary mission is the development and preservation of Croatian national written heritage. It holds around 3 million items, since 1995 the NUL has been located in an impressive glass cube in central Zagreb. This modern edifice was designed by renowned Croatian architects Velimir Neidhardt, Marijan Hržić, Zvonimir Krznarić and Davor Mance, the preservation and restoration of library materials in the context of the international Preservation and Conservation programme,3. The promotion of Croatian printed and electronic publications,4, the integration of the Library’s bibliographic activities and information services into international programmes,5. The organization of the Library as the centre of the system of the Republic of Croatia. Scientific research in the field of library and information sciences,7, publishing and various promotional activities and the organization of exhibitions
16.
National Library of the Czech Republic
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The National Library of the Czech Republic is the central library of the Czech Republic. It is directed by the Ministry of Culture, the librarys main building is located in the historical Clementinum building in Prague, where approximately half of its books are kept. The other half of the collection is stored in the district of Hostivař, the National Library is the biggest library in the Czech Republic, in its funds there are around 6 million documents. The library has around 60,000 registered readers, as well as Czech texts, the library also stores older material from Turkey, Iran and India. The library also houses books for Charles University in Prague, the library won international recognition in 2005 as it received the inaugural Jikji Prize from UNESCO via the Memory of the World Programme for its efforts in digitising old texts. The project, which commenced in 1992, involved the digitisation of 1,700 documents in its first 13 years, the most precious medieval manuscripts preserved in the National Library are the Codex Vyssegradensis and the Passional of Abbes Kunigunde. In 2006 the Czech parliament approved funding for the construction of a new building on Letna plain. In March 2007, following a request for tender, Czech architect Jan Kaplický was selected by a jury to undertake the project, later in 2007 the project was delayed following objections regarding its proposed location from government officials including Prague Mayor Pavel Bém and President Václav Klaus. Later in 2008, Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička announced the end of the project, the library was affected by the 2002 European floods, with some documents moved to upper levels to avoid the excess water. Over 4,000 books were removed from the library in July 2011 following flooding in parts of the main building, there was a fire at the library in December 2012, but nobody was injured in the event. List of national and state libraries Official website
17.
Royal Library, Denmark
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The Royal Library in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is the largest library in the Nordic countries and it contains numerous historical treasures, and a copy of all works printed in Denmark since the 17th century are deposited there. Thanks to extensive donations in the past, the library holds nearly all known Danish printed works back to and including the first Danish book, the library was founded in 1648 by King Frederik III, who contributed a comprehensive collection of European works. It was opened to the public in 1793, in 1989, it was merged with the prestigious Copenhagen University Library. In 2005, it was merged with the Danish National Library for Science and Medicine, now the Faculty Library of Natural, the official name of the organization as of 1 January 2006 is The Royal Library, the National Library of Denmark and the Copenhagen University Library. In 2008, the Danish Folklore Archive was merged with the Royal Library and it is open to anyone above the age of 18 with a genuine need to use the collections. Special rules apply for use of rare and valuable items, the annual circulation is 11,400,000 loans. The members are 32,196 active users, the annual budget, 394M Danish Kroner, including building expenses and maintenance. The old building of the Slotsholmen site was built in 1906 by Hans Jørgen Holm, the central hall is a copy of Charlemagnes Palace chapel in the Aachen Cathedral. In 1999, a new building adjacent to the old one was opened at Slotsholmen, the Black Diamond building was designed by Danish architects schmidt hammer lassen. Named for its cover of black marble and glass, the Black Diamond building houses a concert hall in addition to the library. This new building was opened 1999 and it is formed by two black cubes that are slightly tilted over the street. In the middle of them, there is an eight storey atrium whose walls are white and wave-shaped, the atriums exterior wall is made of glass, so, you can see the sea, and, on the opposite shore, you can see Christianshavns luxury buildings. Three bridges connect the Black Diamond with the old part of the Royal Library, in the ceiling of the big bridge, there is a huge painting by Danish painter Per Kirkeby. The Royal Library acquires Danish books through legal deposit, the holdings include an almost complete collection of all Danish printed books back from 1482. In 2006, legal deposit was extended to publications and now the library harvests four electronic copies of the Danish Internet each year. Commonly called the Hamburg Bible or the Bible of Bertoldus, a richly illuminated Bible in three large volumes made for the Cathedral of Hamburg in 1255. The 89 illuminated initials in the book are both as expressions of medieval art and as sources to the craft and history of the medieval book
18.
National Library of Finland
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The National Library of Finland is the foremost research library in Finland. Administratively the library is part of the University of Helsinki, until 1 August 2006, it was known as the Helsinki University Library. The National Library is responsible for storing the Finnish cultural heritage and these copies are then distributed by the Library to its own national collection and to reserve collections of five other university libraries. Also, the National Library has the obligation to collect and preserve materials published on the Internet, any person who lives in Finland may register as a user of the National Library and borrow library material. The publications in the collection, however, are not loaned outside the library. The library also is home to one of the most comprehensive collections of books published in the Russian Empire of any library in the world, the National Library is located in Helsinki, close to Senaatintori square. The oldest part of the complex, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel. The newer extension Rotunda dates to 1903, the bulk of the collection is, nonetheless, stored in Kirjaluola, a 57, 600-cubic-metre underground bunker drilled into solid rock,18 metres below the library. University of Helsinki Helsinki Central Library Official website
19.
National Library of France
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The Bibliothèque nationale de France is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Laurence Engel, the National Library of France traces its origin to the royal library founded at the Louvre Palace by Charles V in 1368. Charles had received a collection of manuscripts from his predecessor, John II, the first librarian of record was Claude Mallet, the kings valet de chambre, who made a sort of catalogue, Inventoire des Livres du Roy nostre Seigneur estans au Chastel du Louvre. Jean Blanchet made another list in 1380 and Jean de Bégue one in 1411, Charles V was a patron of learning and encouraged the making and collection of books. It is known that he employed Nicholas Oresme, Raoul de Presle, at the death of Charles VI, this first collection was unilaterally bought by the English regent of France, the Duke of Bedford, who transferred it to England in 1424. It was apparently dispersed at his death in 1435, Charles VII did little to repair the loss of these books, but the invention of printing resulted in the starting of another collection in the Louvre inherited by Louis XI in 1461. Charles VIII seized a part of the collection of the kings of Aragon, Louis XII, who had inherited the library at Blois, incorporated the latter into the Bibliothèque du Roi and further enriched it with the Gruthuyse collection and with plunder from Milan. Francis I transferred the collection in 1534 to Fontainebleau and merged it with his private library, during his reign, fine bindings became the craze and many of the books added by him and Henry II are masterpieces of the binders art. Under librarianship of Amyot, the collection was transferred to Paris during which many treasures were lost. Henry IV again moved it to the Collège de Clermont and in 1604 it was housed in the Rue de la Harpe, the appointment of Jacques Auguste de Thou as librarian initiated a period of development that made it the largest and richest collection of books in the world. He was succeeded by his son who was replaced, when executed for treason, by Jérôme Bignon, under de Thou, the library was enriched by the collections of Queen Catherine de Medici. The library grew rapidly during the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, due in part to the interest of the Minister of Finance, Colbert. The quarters in the Rue de la Harpe becoming inadequate, the library was moved, in 1666. The minister Louvois took quite as much interest in the library as Colbert, the death of Louvois, however, prevented the realization of this plan. Louvois employed Mabillon, Thévenot and others to procure books from every source, in 1688 a catalogue in eight volumes was compiled. The library opened to the public in 1692, under the administration of Abbé Louvois, Abbé Louvois was succeeded by the Abbé Bignon, or Bignon II as he was termed, who instituted a complete reform of the librarys system. Catalogues were made which appeared from 1739–53 in 11 volumes, the librarys collections swelled to over 300,000 volumes during the radical phase of the French Revolution when the private libraries of aristocrats and clergy were seized
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National Parliamentary Library of Georgia
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The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia is a governmental organization under the Parliament of Georgia. It is the book depository of Georgia, as well as the most important cultural, educational, scientific. The history of National Parliamentary Library of Georgia begins from 1846 when Tiflis Public Library” was founded on the base of the Office of Governor General of Tbilisi, by this, the desire of Georgian society to have a library available for all levels of society was fulfilled. In 1848 the Public Library received the funds of Private Associated Library” established on the initiative of the prominent public figure Dimitri Kipiani, by 1859 the fund of the Public Library had consisted of 13.260 volumes in 19 languages. As the funds grew, the building of the Office could not meet the requirements any more, in 1852 the Library was granted the right to receive two free copies of all publications printed in Caucasus. In 1914 the library was closed due to constructing a new building for the Caucasus Museum, the funds of the library were packed in the boxes and kept in the basement for ten years. On 30 May 1923, on the base of Tiflis Public Library and Parliamentary Library, in 1957 the library joined international book exchange network. In 1989 the library purchased its first personal computer, and since 1990 the digital catalogues have been created, from 1955 till 1990 the library was functioning under the name of State Republic Library”, in 1990 it was granted the name National Library of Georgia”. On 25 December 1996 it passed under control of Parliament of Georgia, in 2000 it was named after Ilia Chavchavadze, the great Georgian literary and public figure, widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Georgia. Since 1991 the NPLG is a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, in 2015 a video of a security guard playing the piano piece Giorni dispari by Ludovico Einaudi at the building gained international attention
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German National Library
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The German National Library is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. The German National Library maintains co-operative external relations on a national and international level, for example, it is the leading partner in developing and maintaining bibliographic rules and standards in Germany and plays a significant role in the development of international library standards. The cooperation with publishers is regulated by law since 1935 for the Deutsche Bücherei Leipzig, duties are shared between the facilities in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main, with each center focusing its work in specific specialty areas. A third facility has been the Deutsches Musikarchiv Berlin, which deals with all music-related archiving, since 2010 the Deutsches Musikarchiv is also located in Leipzig as an integral part of the facility there. During the German revolutions of 1848 various booksellers and publishers offered their works to the Frankfurt Parliament for a parliamentary library, the library, led by Johann Heinrich Plath, was termed the Reichsbibliothek. After the failure of the revolution the library was abandoned and the stock of books already in existence was stored at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. In 1912, the town of Leipzig, seat of the annual Leipzig Book Fair, the Kingdom of Saxony, starting January 1,1913, all publications in German were systematically collected. In the same year, Dr. Gustav Wahl was elected as the first director, the Federal state representatives of the book trade in the American zone agreed to the proposal. The city of Frankfurt agreed to support the planned archive library with personnel, the US military government gave its approval. The Library began its work in the room of the former Rothschild library. As a result, there were two libraries in Germany, which assumed the duties and function of a library for the later GDR. Two national bibliographic catalogues almost identical in content were published annually, with the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, the Deutsche Bücherei Leipzig and the Deutsche Bibliothek Frankfurt am Main were merged into a new institution, The German Library. The Law regarding the German National Library came into force on 29 June 2006, the expansion of the collection brief to include online publications set the course for collecting, cataloguing and storing such publications as part of Germanys cultural heritage. The Librarys highest management body, the Administrative Council, was expanded to include two MPs from the Bundestag, the law also changed the name of the library and its buildings in Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin to Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. In July 2000, the DMA also assumed the role as repository for GEMA, Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte, since then, music publishers only have to submit copies to DMA, which covers both national archiving and copyright registration. The 210,000 works of printed music previously held by GEMA were transferred to DMA, additionally included in the project were 30 German-language emigrant publications German-language exile journals 1933–1945, consisting of around 100,000 pages. These collections were put online in 2004 and were some of the most frequently visited sites of the German National Library, in June 2012 the German National Library discontinued access to both collections on its website for legal reasons. The digitised versions are then available for use in the reading rooms of the German National Library in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main only
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National Library of Greece
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The National Library of Greece is situated near the center of city of Athens. It was founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias, at the end of 1830, the library, which Moustoxydis named the National Library, had 1,018 volumes of printed books, which had been collected from Greeks and philhellenes. In 1834, the Library was relocated to Athens, the new capital, in 1842, the Public Library merged with Athens Universitys library, and was housed together with the currency collection at the new building of Ottos University. The first director was Georgios Kozakis-Typaldos of the newly enlarged institution, at this time, the Library was enriched with significant donations and with rare foreign language books from all over Europe. With the royal charter of 1866, the two merged, and were administered as the National Library of Greece. From 1877-1910, its director was Michael Deffner, on 16 March 1888 the foundation stone for a new neoclassical marble building was laid. The building was financed by three Kefallonian-born brothers of the Diaspora, Panagis, Marinos and Andreas Vallianos and it was designed by Baron Theophil von Hansen and its construction supervised by Ernst Ziller. The library has 4,500 Greek manuscripts which is one of the greatest collection of Greek scripts, there are also many chrysobulls and archives of the Greek Revolution. Some other manuscripts, Uncial 075, Uncial 0161, Minuscule 798, the present building has long been inconvenient due to limited space and technology demands. The 20-hectare Delta is a seafront area that used to host the Athens horse race track, work on the project started in 2012 with completion due for 2016. List of national libraries Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος National Library of Greece
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National and University Library of Iceland
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Landsbókasafn Íslands — Háskólabókasafn is the national library of Iceland which also functions as the university library of the University of Iceland. The library was established on December 1,1994 in Reykjavík, Iceland, with the merger of the national library, Landsbókasafn Íslands. It is by far the largest library in Iceland with about one million items in various collections, the librarys largest collection is the national collection containing almost all written works published in Iceland and items related to Iceland published elsewhere. The library is the legal deposit library in Iceland. The library also has a manuscript collection with mostly early modern and modern manuscripts. The library houses the largest academic collection in Iceland, most of which can be borrowed for use by holders of library cards. University students get library cards for free, but anyone can acquire a card for a small fee, the library is open for public access. The library main building is called Þjóðarbókhlaðan and it is a prominent 13,000 square meters red and white building near the main campus of the University of Iceland and the National Museum of Iceland. The building took 16 years to complete, finally opening in 1994, from 1825 the library was housed in the loft of the newly renovated Reykjavík Cathedral and in 1848 the first national librarian, folklorist Jón Árnason, was hired to manage it. In 1847 the manuscript collection was started with the purchase of a collection of manuscripts from the estate of bishop Steingrímur Jónsson. On the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the settlement of Iceland in 1874 the library received many gifts and in 1883 Jón Árnason estimated the total number of volumes in the library at 20,000. In 1881 the library moved into the new house of parliament, Alþingishús, after this the library grew fast and on its 100th anniversary in 1918 it counted 100,000 volumes. In 1906-1908 a special building, Safnahúsið, was erected to house the National Library, the National Museum, the Icelandic National Archives, the library of the University of Iceland was formally established in 1940 when the university moved into the Main Building. Before that time the individual departments had their own libraries, at the time it was debated whether it was practical to develop two academic state libraries in Iceland and so in 1947 a committee was established to decide on a division of tasks between them. Soon, a merger of the two libraries was proposed and in 1956 a new committee was set up to prepare for this eventuality and it seemed clear that a new specially designed building close to the university would be required. The idea was that this new building, Þjóðarbókhlaðan, would be opened in 1974. The two libraries began working towards this end and through UNESCO library experts were consulted as to the requirements of the new building, as the year 1974 drew near it became increasingly clear, however, that the Icelandic state would not be able to construct the building in time. The 1973 Oil Crisis, among other things, resulted in a worsening of the states finances meaning that most of the ideas for the year had to be significantly reduced or scrapped
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National Library of Ireland
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The National Library of Ireland is Irelands national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is the member of the Irish Government responsible for the library. It has a quantity of Irish and Irish-related material which can be consulted without charge. Included in their collections is material issued by private as well as government publishers, the Chief Herald of Ireland and National Photographic Archive are attached to the library. The library holds exhibitions and holds an archive of Irish newspapers and it is also ISSN National Centre for Ireland. The library also provides a number of services including genealogy. The main library building is on Kildare Street, adjacent to Leinster House and this arrangement remained in place until the library became an autonomous cultural institution in 2005. In 1927 the Library was granted legal status under the Industrial and Commercial Property Act,1927
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Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma
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The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma, in Rome, is one of two central national libraries of Italy, along with Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze in Florence. In total,9 national libraries exist, out of 46 state libraries, the librarys mission is to collect and preserve all the publications in Italy and the most important foreign works, especially those related to Italy, and make them available to anyone. The collection currently includes more than 7,000,000 printed volumes,2,000 incunabula,25,000 cinquecentine,8,000 manuscripts,10,000 drawings,20,000 maps, and 1,342,154 brochures. The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma was inaugurated on 14 March 1876 inside the Collegio Romano, once site of the Jesuits Bibliotheca Secreta, one century later the library moved to the todays location. The current building was designed by architects Massimo Castellazzi, Tullio DellAnese and Annibale Vitellozzi and opened in January 1975
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National Library of Latvia
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The National Library of Latvia is a national cultural institution under the supervision of the Latvian Ministry of Culture. The National Library of Latvia was formed in 1919 after the independent Republic of Latvia was proclaimed in 1918, the first supervisor of the Library was Jānis Misiņš, a librarian and the founder of the Latvian scientific bibliography. Today the Library plays an important role in the development of Latvias information society, providing Internet access to residents and supporting research and lifelong education. One of the cornerstones of the NLL, which characterizes every national library, is the formation of the collection of national literature, its eternal storage. The NLL is a centre of research and practical analyses of the activities of Latvian libraries. Since the very outset, its main concern has been the national bibliography, the massive union catalogue Ancient Prints in Latvian 1525 -1855, received Spīdola Prize in 2000 and was awarded The Beautiful Book of the Year 99. The NLL includes several collections of posters, digitising collections at the NLL started in 1999. At present the Latvian National Digital Library Letonica, which was formed in 2006, holds digitized collections of newspapers, pictures, maps, books, sheet-music, in 2008 NLL launched two major digital projects. Periodika. lv is the NLLs collection of digitized historical periodicals in Latvian with the possibility to read full texts, Latvia has a tradition of Song and Dance Festivals organized every four years. The historical materials from the first Song Festival in 1864 till the Latgale Song Festival in 1940 can be explored in another collection of the National Library of Latvia. One of the architects is Gunārs Birkerts. It opened its doors to visitors in 2014, today the NLL building is a dominant landmark on the Riga cityscape. It is used for a variety of purposes and hosted a debate chaired by the BBCs Jonathan Dimbleby on 14 March 2016
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National Library of Luxembourg
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The Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg is the legal deposit and copyright library for Luxembourg. It was established in 1899 in place of the library which dated from 1798. It has currently 750,000 books and 3500 periodicals, ISBN 2-87980-053-6 Jean-Marie Reding, Das Bibliothekswesen Luxemburgs, ein Überblick. Forum für Politik, Gesellschaft und Kultur,02.2004, official Website Union catalogue Bibnet. lu eLuxemburgensia digital Library findit. lu
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National Library of Malta
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The National Library of Malta, often known as the Bibliotheca, is a reference library in Republic Square, Valletta, Malta. It was founded by Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc in 1776 out of the collections of the knight Louis Guérin de Tencin and it has been a legal deposit library since 1925, and it has the largest collection of Melitensia along with that of the University of Malta. The library also contains the archives of the Order of St. John, the Università of Mdina, the library is housed in a late 18th-century neoclassical building in the city centre, close to the Grandmasters Palace. In 1760, Louis Guérin de Tencin, the Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order, a year later, he opened a public library in a building known as Il Forfantone in Valletta, containing books from his own library as well as Portocarreros collection, the library of Comm. Sainte-Jay, and books donated by members of the Order, De Tencin appointed Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis as librarian, and paid his salary himself. De Tencin died in 1766 before managing to secure funds for maintaining the library, in 1776, Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc formally founded the Bibliotheca Publica, and it was also called the Bibliotheca Tanseana in De Tencins honour. The Forfantone was considered too cramped to house the new library, the building was built on the site of the Conservatoria, where gold and silver bullion of the Orders treasury were stored. It was completed in 1796, but it remained empty for years due to the French invasion of 1798. It was eventually inaugurated on 4 June 1812 by Civil Commissioner Sir Hildebrand Oakes and it became a legal deposit library by Act no. II of 1925, and in 1936 it was granted the title of Royal Malta Library by King George V, in 1937, the archives of the Order were transferred to the library from the Public Registry. In 1976, the Central Public Library was opened in Floriana, the library building was designed by the Polish-Italian architect Stefano Ittar, and it is an early example of neoclassical architecture in Malta. It has a symmetrical façade with Doric and Ionic columns, the first floor is supported on a loggia, with the main doorway in the centre. A balustraded balcony is located above the doorway, and it is supported by Doric and Ionic columns, the building is also well-known for its neo-classic monumental staircase that spreads from the main entrance to the upper floors. Evidence shows that while Stefano was the architect, his son Sebastiano Ittar continued the design after his father died before finalizing the work. The library building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925 and it is now scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument, and it is also listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
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National Library of Moldova
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The National Library operates according to the guiding principles of UNESCO referring to this type of libraries, it is part of the European Digital Library. Founded in 1940, it traces its roots to the Gubernatorial Public Library of Bessarabia established in 1832, in present, National Library is one of the objective with great value of the national patrimony and presents the treasure written and printed cultural heritage of the country. Library ensures wide public access to its collections for research, study, now the Director General is Elena Pintilei. The library is accessible to all users who have reached the age of 17, from 1992 until his death on April 8,2015 the director of the National Library was Alexe Rău – Ph. D. a library scientist, philosopher, poet and essayist. Preservation of national memory comprised in printed heritage, providing them to its beneficiaries and transmitting to new generations, scientific development of patrimonial collections. The Gubernatorial Public Library of Bessarabia was established in Chişinău by an order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire which remains the founder of the library until 1917. On August 22,1832, took place the inauguration of the library, the doctor of law, Peter Manega, came from Bucharest and he was preoccupied of finding, renting this building and also the purchase of books fund. The first librarian was Gabriel Bilevici, an intellectual with studies done in Chernivtsi, 1- a school for the boys from Chisinau, where there hosted for a while library. The books from private library of the Colonel I. P, liprandi, and from Kelhner and from professor Arhanghelski, also the publications donated by G. Polonski și Balen de Bal- laid the foundation for the library’s initial stock. The school director A. Grinevici from Bessarabia, adopted the rules of the library from Odessa to that of Chisinau. In 1831, the monger Bogaciov makes available for Public Library in Chisinau one of his houses in which it was inaugurated the library, in 1832, the monger I. Kriukov buys Bogaciov’s house and make a propose to the library to extend the lease until 1853. After Peter Manega has obtained in 1832 the money needed for lease renewal to Kriukovs house, in 1835, Peter Manega rent for library a new building, built by the same monger Bogaciov, opposite the city boulevard, which does not have entry from the street. The following librarians - Kozlov, Saburov, Tanki - tried, only after 1857, the new librarian Venedict Beler, professor of German Language and Mathematics at Gymnasium No. 1, manage to convince the governor Fonton Verraion that the library can no longer remain in provisional state, the year 1860 was called in the press “Anul bibliotecii lui Beller”. Because of lack of finance, at the request of gubernatorial administration, in 1877, according to the order of the Ministry of Interior, library with all its heritage is moved to the headquarters of the Duma. The collections are completed by legal deposit, through purchase, donations, Annual Library fund grow by 13 to 14 thousand documents. BNRM is keeper of a precious fund documents of which volume is 2.5 million, the thematic and linguistic horizon of the collections is universal. The BNRM Collections include variety of information, traditional and nontraditional, the collection includes books that formed part of initial fund at 1832, when the library was inaugurated
