National Library of Cambodia (NLC)

Overview

The National Library of Cambodia (NLC), known in Khmer as Bannalycheate Kampouchea, is Cambodia's national library, based in a historic colonial-era building in Phnom Penh near Wat Phnom. It is managed by the Department of Books and Reading of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

History

The library was inaugurated by the French colonial administration on December 24, 1924, designed by French architect Louis Chauchon, with an initial collection of just 2,879 books, mostly in French. It was successively led by French staff until the appointment of the first Khmer director, Pach Chhoeun, in 1951, and was renamed the National Library of Cambodia after independence in 1954. During the Khmer Rouge period (1975-1979) the library was closed and used as housing, and the bulk of its collection and skilled staff were lost; only a fraction of its pre-war holdings and workforce survived. Since 1980 it has been rebuilt with assistance from foreign governments and organizations, including a French-supported bindery and conservation workshop and a Cornell University project to microfilm its palm-leaf manuscript collection.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The library today holds more than 100,000 volumes in Khmer, French, English, and German, including a special collection of 305 sastra, or palm-leaf manuscripts, preserved on microfilm, and national documents spanning the French colonial and post-independence periods. It also hosts an exhibition of book plates drawn from its colonial-era periodicals collection and is the sole authority in Cambodia for assigning ISBNs to publishers.

Access and Usage

The library is open to the public regardless of age or nationality; visitors register as members for a small annual fee to borrow books. It hosts the annual Cambodia Book Fair and provides reading rooms for books, newspapers, magazines, and manuscripts.