Dutch Royal Library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dutch Royal Library (in Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek or KB) is the national library of The Netherlands, based in The Hague. It was founded in 1798, and was given its current name by king Lodewijk Napoleon in 1806. The institution became independent of the state in 1996, and is financed by the Department of Education, Culture and Science.
The mission of the KB, as presented on the library's web site, is to provide "access to the knowledge and culture of the past and the present by providing high-quality services for research, study and cultural experience".
The Dutch Royal Library contains (2004) 3,300,000 items, equivalent with 67 kilometer of bookshelves. Most items in the collection are books: 2,500,000 books, or 48 km. The collection contains almost the entire literature of The Netherlands, from medieval manuscripts to modern scientific publications. The collection is accessible for members. Any person aged 16 years or older can become a member (2005: € 15/year). One day passes are also available. Requests for material take approximately 30 minutes.
