Koninklijke Bibliotheek, National Library of the Netherlands

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This article is, entirely or partially, a translation from Dutch Wikipedia.

The Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Dutch name; also known as KB) is the national library of The Netherlands, based in The Hague and founded in 1798. King Lodewijk Napoleon gave its current name in 1806. The institution became independent of the state in 1996, although it 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 KB contains (2004) 3,300,000 items, equivalent to 67 kilometers of bookshelves. Most items (2,500,000 books or 48 km) in the collection are books. 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. One day passes are also available. Requests for material take approximately 30 minutes.