List of national and state libraries


A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant works; such as the Gutenberg Bible. National libraries are usually notable for their size, compared to that of other libraries in the same country. Some national libraries may be thematic or specialized in some specific domains, beside or in replacement of the 'main' national library.
Some national entities, which are not independent but wish to preserve their particular culture, have established a national library with all the attributes of such institutions, such as legal deposit.
Many national libraries cooperate within the National Libraries Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions to discuss their common tasks, define and promote common standards and carry out projects helping them to fulfil their duties. National libraries of Europe participate in The European Library. This is a service of The Conference of European National Librarians.
The list below is organized alphabetically by country, according to the list of sovereign states, including, at its end an 'other states' section for non-sovereign states. A "♦" indicates a national library of a province or state, or constituent country or dependent state. It is listed under the sovereign state which governs that entity. Sovereign states are listed even when they have no national library or when the existence and name of a national library could not yet be ascertained. Other states, constituent countries and dependent states are listed only if they have a national library.

State libraries

A state library is established by a state to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that region.

Australia

ACT Heritage LibraryLibrary & Archives NT

China

Mainland

Hong Kong

Macau

Germany

India

Spain

libraries

Switzerland

The member states of the Swiss Confederation are the 26 cantons of Switzerland. The are: