The development of early national libraries

National libraries around the world came about in various ways.  Many national libraries that we know today evolved or were transformed over centuries from the personal collections or libraries of royalty, popes, and other private individuals wealthy and fortunate enough to have acquired collections of their own.

According to Krasner-Khait (2001), it was from the 1600s onwards that national, state supported collections began to appear as libraries grew in popularity and university libraries developed, however, some can trace their origins even earlier. This is true of the emerging national libraries of Europe with the early beginnings of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in the 1300s. The origins of many national libraries were royal family libraries as was the case in France when a true royal library, Bibliotheque du Roi came into being during the reign of Charles V in 1364-1380. As Lerner (2009) notes, although it was established for the king's use, students were allowed access and the intention was to be a national treasure rather than just a personal resource for the king.

The national libraries of Europe continued to emerge through the 1700s.

Germany's national library in Berlin was founded in 1661, the Royal Library in Madrid, Spain was opened in 1712 (now the National Library), the British Library was established in 1759 and Portugal's National Library in Lisbon was founded in 1796. Encyclopaedia Britannica online lists the origins of many more national and significant libraries.  National libraries continued to emerge with the establishment of the Library of Congress in 1800 and the foundation of the Russian State Library in 1862.

The political and historical context of a country also shaped the way in which its national library emerged and acquired collections.


Bibliotheque  Nationale de France
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64592/Bibliotheque-Nationale-de-France



In France, the Bibliotheque du Roi had grown steadily since the introduction of legal deposit in 1537 by Francis I. It continued to acquire through donations, bequests and other means such as confiscations, procurement of works by French diplomats, exchanges of duplicate books with libraries in other countries and trained scholars copying "monastic charters and other documents." The French Revolution beginning in 1789, saw the many private libraries of the aristocracy and religious groups plundered with books seized and duplicate or valuable items added to the national library. It was as a result of the revolution that the idea of a library service for all people and greater access lead to the change in name to Bibliotheque Nationale.

By contrast, in Britain the development of the British Library was quite different. The British Library we know today is very young - operating since 1973 after the passing of the British Library Act of 1972. However, its origins go back to the Library departments of the British Museum and in particular the Department of Printed Books. The library evolved as the "collected historical documents, literary manuscripts and scientific specimens" of private, wealthy individuals were "given or sold to the nation".

Sir Hans Sloane
http://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/education/localheroes.html

The most significant event in the development of a national library in England was the will of Sir Hans Sloane of 1753. He was the royal physician and an avid book collector who, in his will, directed that his library (of over fifty thousand volumes) be sold to the government for a reasonable price on the condition that it was properly housed and maintained. The government at the time struggled to find the funds and so arranged a lottery to raise the twenty thousand pounds needed to purchase the collection. The Sloane collections were then purchased and money provided to maintain them as well as the collections of Sir Robert Cotton and Robert and Edward Harley whose collections contained books which had belonged to monasteries prior to the Reformation in the 16th century.

At about this time, King George II added his own private royal library which contained items which had been collected by his predecessors back to Edward IV in the 1400s. The British Museum (which incorporated the library) was then opened to the public in 1759.

The library grew slowly, primarily dependant upon gifts as there were still few funds to purchase books. Legal deposit had been voluntary rather than mandatory since the 1600s until Antonio Panizzi became the Keeper of the Printed Books in 1837 and more rigorously enforced the legal deposit law with publishers and secured ten thousand pounds per year from Parliament to purchase books.

Similarly, the Library of Congress in Washington, was established with an appropriation of five thousand dollars in 1800 when a bill was passed to transfer the seat of government from Philidelphia to Washington and a library for Congress only, was part of that bill. Subsequently, Congress purchased the personal, extensive library of retired president Thomas Jefferson after the existing Congressional library was destroyed by the British during the Civil War of 1812. Jefferson was in debt and offered his collection of over six thousand volumes to Congress for whatever price they could pay.  In 1815, Congress paid $23,950 for almost six and a half thousand books. According to Lerner (2009 p. 104), "it was one of the finest libraries in North America."  Jefferson's belief that all subjects were important to the library has been followed by ensuing librarians of the Library of Congress and as such, more than just a library to serve the needs of Congress, this philosophy has "built the Library into a national institution" according to the historical background information found on the website for the Library of Congress.

From then on, the library began to actively seek out material to enhance the collection both at home and overseas. This was at a time when immigration and commerce were on the rise and it was thought by John Russell Young (Librarian of Congress 1897-1899) that material dealing with the history of the various nationalities immigrating to America would be "inestimable to their descendants" and "gratefully received " by the Library according to Lerner (2009 p.105).
American embassies and consulates around the world were also asked to assist in building up the library's collection.

Research Process

This was a really interesting area to look at as it involved looking at three different countries: France, England and North America and researching how each of their national libraries emerged and were established. The historical and political background impacted on the development of each one and it was interesting to see each in its own historical perspective.

I am now researching the National Library of Russia which is taking a little more time as there is the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg as well as the Russian State Library in Moscow. I will need to look at the history to determine which one to focus on.

There was a lot of relevant information, primarily in the four or five books I had found through the Swinburne and Boroondara Library Services as well as information sought directly from the National Libraries themselves through their websites (easily found with a "Google" search).  Britannica online was available to me through the State Library of Victoria and Boroondara Library Services as part of their eresources.

References

Krasner-Khait, B 2001, Survivor: The history of the library, History Magazine, viewed 20 september 2011,
<http://www.history-magazine.com/libraries.html>

Lerner, F 2000, Libraries through the ages, Continuum, New York.

library 2011. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. viewed 20 September 2011, <http://www.library.eb.com.au/all/comptons/article-273907 >

'Bibliotheque National de France' [image] in Encyclopaedia Britannica online, viewed 4 October 2011,
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64592/Bibliotheque-Nationale-de-France>

'Sir Hans Sloane' [image] in Chelsea Physic Garden, viewed 4 October 2011,
<http://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/education/localheroes.html>

Lerner, F 2009, The story of libraries, Continuum, New York.

History of the British library, British Library, viewed 23 September 2011,
<http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/quickinfo/facts/history/>

Johnson, ED 1970, History of libraries in the western world, Scarecrow Press, New Jersey.

History 2010, Library of Congress, viewed 23 September 2011,
<http://www.loc.gov/about/history.html>