| Монгол Улсын Үндэсний Номын Сан | |
|---|---|
| English | The National Library of Mongolia |
| Present building of the National Library of Mongolia | |
| Established | 1921 |
| Location | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books, Academic degree dissertations,journals,newspapers, magazines, databases, ancient and modern maps, manuscripts, sutras. |
| Size | around 3 million |
| Other information | |
| Director | Mr. Chilaajav Khaidav |
| Website | http://www.nationallibrary.mn |
| Phone number | 976-11-323100, 976-11-325573 |
National Library of Mongolia, the largest and oldest library in the country, was founded in 1921 under the Institute of Sutra and Scripts, with a mere 2,000 books. The purpose of the National Library of Mongolia, according to its Rules of Organization and Operation, is “to collect and preserve manuscripts, sutras, academic degree dissertations, as well as books and periodicals that are published in Mongolia and significant foreign books and periodicals; to create a national bibliography; to serve efficiently the library users with the above material and to provide other public libraries with professional methodology, guidance and information.” The National Library of Mongolia is not only the largest library in the country, it is also the Professional Methodological Centre that develops regulations and legal documents to be applied in libraries in the country, develops and publishes professional publications, guidelines and bibliography and provides consultancy to over 1,500 public libraries of the country. Book exchanges between the Library and foreign libraries were initiated as early as 1924 and the Library became a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in 1991. The Library has book exchange programs with over 100 libraries in 70 countries.
Of around 3 million books and publications in the Library’s collection, 1 million are rare and valuable books, sutras and manuscripts, including the world’s only copies of many Buddhist texts. The collection includes historical materials in Mongolian, Manchu, Tibetan, and Chinese.[1] There are also contemporary collections in German, Japanese, and Korean funded by non-profits from the respective countries in addition to a Soros Foundation funded English education room to help students prepare for language proficiency exams abroad. There is a United Nations depository reading room and 10 computers for Internet access. [2] The National Library also has a significant collection of photocopied pictographs and old xylographed books.[3] "Messenger for the People" Mobile Library has opened in 2011 in cooperation with Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the World Bank and Rural Education and Development Project. [4] A former branch of the National Library is the Children's Book Palace in Ulan Bator. It has an impressive collection of over 100,000 books in Mongolian, English, and Russian, in addition to three reading rooms. The reading rooms have titles like “Big Knowledge Man,” for younger children, “Dream,” for teenagers, and the “Education and Development” room with Internet access. The library has received the support of international organizations such as the Soros Foundation, Asian Development Bank.[5]