Nepal National Library (Lalitpur, Nepal)

The Nepal National Library was established by Government of Nepal in January 1957 (Poush 2013 BS). The core collection was the personal library of Rajguru Hem Raj Pandey, spiritual advisor to the King, which had been purchased for the nation in 1956. The collection was moved to Sikri Dhoka, a building within the complex of Singha Durbar, a Rana Palace modeled on Versailles, and said to be the largest in Asia at the time. Singha Durbar was also the home of the Central Secretariat Library, with which the Nepal National Library was merged. At that time the total collection numbered 34,292 books and periodicals.The post of "Chairman" of the library was created at its establishment, and the first postholder was Mr Gangadhar Parajuli. Two assistant Pundits, one Bahidur, and four Ardalis were also appointed. It was not until 1985 that a professional was appointed as Chief Librarian.The Nepal National Library was moved to its present location, the Rana palace called Harihar Bhawan, Pulchowk, Lalitpur, in 1961 (2017), where it occupies the southern wing on the first floor of the building. In the early sixties the National Library produced an impressive series of publications, making ancient handwritten texts available in printed form. Lending services were started in 1961, and continued for some years. However, full classification and cataloguing of the stock had never been carried out, and in the early eighties it was decided to suspend lending facilities in order to embark on the mammoth task of cataloguing the entire stock. A full card catalogue for the Nepali, English, and Hindi collections was finally completed in 1988. Since that time the holdings have been made available to all for reading and reference, but in the interest of preservation, circulation services have not been resumed.

Collections


English Collection
Of special interest to historians and researchers, the English collection contains many books published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, both from the Indian subcontinent and from Western countries. The collection covers a wide range of subjects reflecting the broad interests of Rajguru Hem Raj Pandey. It is particularly rich in works on Indian philosophical thought, Hinduism and Buddhism. There are significant number of books on Indian languages, and commentaries in English on Sanskrit literature. The collection is also strong in economics and politics of that period, and in history and biography. English literature is also represented, both by classics and by contemporary novels from Hem Raj Pandey's time.The books are classified by the Dewey Decimal Classification (21st edition). The collection is on open access, and author, title and subject access to the collection is provided by the English card catalogue and there is the facility of OPAC also.

Nepal collection (English) :
A significant collection of Nepal related books in English forms a separate section. In the interests of preservation they are kept on closed access, but are made available to readers on request.

Nepali Collection
The Nepali book collection has gradually been built up over the past 40 years, since the establishment of the Nepal National Library. Almost 50% of the collection comprises Nepali literary works, including poetry, drama, essays, short stories, and novels. Of the other subjects covered, the social sciences are most strongly represented, followed by history, biography, religion and language. The collection, which is on open access, is classified by the Dewey Decimal Classification, and author, title and subject indexing is provided by the card catalogue and there is also OPAC facility.

Sanskrit Collection
The Sanskrit collection contains some rare and valuable books, including printed "lipi" or leaf books. Some items date back to the early nineteenth century. For Sanskrit scholars and researchers this is the most significant collection and one of the largest collections of printed Sanskrit books in Nepal. The collection includes many works of philosophy, religion, history, Ayurveda and Sanskrit literature. The collection can be searched through OPAC.

Maps & Photographs
The library has district-wise maps of Nepal and other maps and atlases in its possession. The users can fully exploit them upon request. There are some photographs of Kings and some well known personalities of Nepal.

Audio Visual
Audio visual materials are one of the important parts of its collection. There are some audio cassettes and video tapes deposited as copyright and some number of encyclopaedias and other databases in CD-ROM. JICA has donated some Japanese animation video tapes to add into the Children's Section of the library. Educational videos are useful especially for children. Such materials can be used within the premises of library.

Reports and Dissertations
The library has some governmental and other reports in closed access. These can be used upon request.This library has more than 1200 theses and dissertations of Ph.D. and Master Degree. These theses and dissertations are received from Tribhuvan University Central Library, Kathmandu University and other institutions. The theses and dissertations submitted to the Ministry of Education and Sports for Mahendra Vidya Bhusan are also collected here. These dissertations and theses are in closed access and are available upon request.

ADB Depository
NNL has been designated as the "Depository Library" for the publications of ADB since August 2001. The collection is available upon request.