The National Library of China

Abstract

The National Library of China, established 84 years ago, aims to collect, process, preserve and disseminate human knowledge and information for the Communist Party of China, the government, key national projects, science and technology, research and academic institutions, and to some extent the general public. The library has a collection of 19 million items, 40% of them Chinese. The collections, which date back to the Southern Song Dynasty of the 13th century, have among their special treasures 35,000 pieces of inscribed turtle shells and animal bones, and 280,000 rare books published before 1795. The library started collecting non-print material in 1987. An Electronic Reading Room provides users with CD-ROMs and online services.