National Library of Thailand

The National Library of Thailand (Thai: หอสมุดแห่งชาติ) is the legal depositary and copyright library for Thailand. It was created in 1905, after the merger of the three existing royal libraries. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture in Bangkok.[1]

The library aims to be a fully high-tech national intellectual property resource, serving all people and guided by professional staff.

Background

The National of Library of Thailand's main tasks are collecting, storing, preserving, and organizing all national intellectual property regardless of medium. Collections include Thai manuscripts, stone inscriptions, palm leaves, Thai traditional books, and printed publications as well as audio-visual materials and digital resources. The library is a national information resource serving citizens nationwide.

The National Library has a long history. In 1905, three libraries, the Mandira Dharma Library, the Vajirayanana Library, and the Buddhasasana Sangaha Library, were amalgamated at the command of King Chulalongkorn the Great and renamed the "Vajirayanana Library for the Capital City". The library has remained under royal patronage since that date. In 1933, after democratic reforms, the Fine Arts Department was established and assumed administration of the Vajirayanana Library by royal degree. It was subsequently renamed the "National Library". In 1966, the National Library was relocated to Samsen Road in Bangkok and is now administered by the Ministry of Culture.

Outline history

Year Event
1905 Three royal libraries was combined by King Rama V.
1916 The Vajirayanana Library for the Capital City was moved to Thavaravathu Building, east of Wat Mahathat.
1925 Printed material collections were housed in the Thavaravathu Building, later renamed "Vajiravudh Library" by King Rama VII. All original ancient manuscripts and Thai gilded bookcases were transferred to Sivamokkabiman Hall and renamed the "Vajirayanana Library".
1933 The library was placed under the care of the Fine Arts Department as the "Library Division"
1947 Damrong Rajanubhab Memorial Library was founded and later transferred to a new building in the Varadis Palace compound on Lan Luang Road.
1966 The National Library was moved to Samsen Road.
1972-2009 Establishment of 16 provincial National Library branches
1979 Establishment of the Naradhip Centre for Research in Social Sciences in the Thavaravathu Building
1981 King Vajiravudh Memorial Hall was constructed to house royal private collections and exhibit royal waxworks as well as Dusit Thani Experimental Democratic Cities of King Rama VI.
1990 Opening of King Bhumibol Adulyadej Library Building.
1994 Opening of the Princess Sirindhorn Music Library.
1997 Opening of King Rama IX Music Library.
1999 Opening of Lat Krabang National Library Branch.
2000 King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hall set up as the centre of royal activities information to honor and commemorate royal activities via a permanent exhibition within Thavaravathu Building.

Missions statement

  1. Collect, catalog, and research national intellectual property.
  2. Develop standards for the storage and preservation of national intellectual property.
  3. Create and augment the value of national intellectual property.
  4. Develop systems for rendering services to the diverse users of the library.
  5. Develop systems to manage the nation's intellectual property heritage.

Service hours

Service Room Day Time
Ancient Manuscripts Monday-Friday 09:00 – 16:30
Rare Books Monday-Friday 09:00 – 16:30
Media Act / ISBN / ISSN Monday-Friday 09:00 – 16:30
General Publications Monday-Friday 09:00 – 18:30
Saturday-Sunday 09:00 – 17:00
Internet / CD-ROM Monday-Friday 09:00 – 18:15
Saturday-Sunday 09:00 – 16:45
King Vajiravudh Memorial Hall Monday-Friday 09:00 – 16:30
Music Library Monday-Saturday 09:00 – 16:30

• The National Library is closed on national holidays.

Access to information

1. Select ways of accessing

Users can browse the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) by title, author, call number, ISBN, series, subject, uniform title.

2. Accessing by subject

Selected subjects are shown on OPAC together with related subjects and total availability of each subject.

3. Accessing by selection from list of titles

Bibliographic information of publications shown in OPAC: title, author, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, call number.

4. Accessing by source of required publication

OPAC details publication's source: place, type, call number, volume, publication status.

References

Coordinates: 13°45′08″N 100°30′19″E / 13.752097°N 100.505344°E / 13.752097; 100.505344

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