The Nepal National Library: an introduction

His Majesty’s Government of Nepal established the Nepal National Library in the mid‐1950s. The first librarian was Gangadhar Parajuli. The collection consists of literature in English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Nepali etc. Cataloguing and classification were done according to AACR2 and the Dewey Classification scheme. In 1961 the library was opened to the general public. The library has more than 75,000 items in its collection. The UNESCO software CDS/ISIS is used for automation of the database. It also has a card catalogue. To provide public services throughout the country, four public libraries were designated as branch libraries in four different development regions of the country. A Legal Depository Act has been drafted and submitted to the Ministry of Education. The chief librarian is also the registrar of the Copyright Act to protect intellectual property. The NNL also publishes some ancient texts, a national union catalogue and a regular acquisitions list.