Royal Library of the Netherlands
The Royal Library of the Netherlands ( Dutch Koninklijke Bibliotheek , abbreviation: KB ) is the national library of the Netherlands based in The Hague .
history
The Royal Library of the Netherlands was founded in 1798 with the private collection of the governor Wilhelm V , who had gone into exile , and was given the name Koninklijke Bibliotheek by King Ludwig Bonaparte in 1806 . In 1982 it became the National Library of the Netherlands. Since 1993 the library has been an independent administrative authority financed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
tasks
As the national library, the KB has the task of preserving the country's national, printed and handwritten cultural heritage and providing everyone with access to the knowledge and culture of the Netherlands. Together with the Leiden University Library , the library functions as the state's knowledge center and provides science with information for research and study. The humanities play a central role in the KB, with a focus on Dutch history, language and culture.
All Dutch publications will be included in the inventory. In contrast to other national libraries, the KB functions as a depot library ; Editors can therefore decide for themselves whether they donate their work to the KB. In other countries, this is often mandatory.
The KB collection comprises 3.5 million works, 2.5 million of which are books. About 15,000 journals are subscribed to. The annual budget is 36 million euros (as of 2006). An annual ticket for the library costs 15 euros. The catalog of the library is freely accessible via the Internet and via the KVK interrogated.
The KB has the largest collection of chess literature in Europe , comprising around 40,000 volumes.
literature
- Peter Wolfgang Klein, Marianne AV Klein-Meijer: De wereld van de Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1798–1998. Van statelijke institutie tot culturele onderneming . Van Oorschot, Amsterdam 1998, ISBN 90-282-0917-4 .
- Wim van Drimmelen (Ed.): Honderd hoogtepunten uit de Koninklijke Bibliotheek . Waanders, Zwolle 2004, ISBN 90-6630-490-1 .
Web links
- Official website of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Dutch, English)
Coordinates: 52 ° 4 ′ 53.4 ″ N , 4 ° 19 ′ 40.5 ″ E