National Library of Luxembourg

The Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg is the National Library of Luxembourg as well as the largest library in the country.

History and Significance

It evolved out of, founded by the French administration in 1798 the city library in 1849 handed over to the state and in 1899 renamed the " National Library ". The first volume catalog from 1846 comprised 9978 volumes. From 1903, a handwritten card catalog was performed. In 1973 the present building was opened on Roosevelt Boulevard # 37. Today, there are as well as two branches and two depots for the rare book holdings. Among the most valuable holdings include about 840 manuscripts and 150 incunabula.

The library collects all published works in Luxembourg and abroad through Luxembourg and / or there published by Luxembourgers publications. It has under the Act of 10 August 1992 on the Legal deposit. The stock of Luxemburgensia amounts to approximately 150,000 volumes. The library also created the National Bibliography Bibliography luxembourgeoise. The law of 25 June 2004 extended the remit of the National Library on the legal Hinterlegpflicht for digitized publications (disk or internet publications).

In addition, it serves as a research library for all knowledge areas with a population of about 750,000 volumes and 3,600 current periodicals. About 30,000 volumes are freely accessible in the reading room. The annual input of about 10,000 volumes. Four-fifths of their holdings are of foreign origin.

The exploratory nature of the National Library wins with the development of the University of Luxembourg, which was created by the Law of 12 August 2003, even more important. Since its beginnings, but it was always accessible for the general public. The totality of their facilities is open to people over 16 years of age. In 2006 recorded the Library 3531 registered users and 38,000 borrow. About 4,413 interlibrary loan transactions were carried out abroad, of which 50 per cent of libraries in Germany.

In 1985, the National Library suggested the other libraries in Luxembourg to set up a library network with a common catalog. Since then, these composite whose common electronic detection system is managed by the National Library, is constantly expanding. Today, the composite bibnet.lu 35 libraries, including all faculty libraries of the university and the libraries of the state cultural institutions counts.

Mold

" One kilometer of books ," said Minister of Culture Octavie Modert on request of the LSAP MPs Ben Fayot, had been damaged by the desolate conditions in the basement of the National Library by infestation with white mold. More than half of them had therefore to be immediately sorted out of the bibnet.lu catalog. They are not available until further readers are available.