Directorate of National Archives and Libraries Bangladesh (DNAL)

History and Founding

The Directorate of Archives and Libraries (also referred to as the Directorate of National Archives and Libraries) was founded in 1972 by order of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman following Bangladesh's independence, initially placed under the Ministry of Education. It was subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The Directorate oversees both the National Archives of Bangladesh and the National Library of Bangladesh, both of which formally came into existence in 1973. The National Archives was initially housed in a rented building at Elephant Road near Dhaka University; in 1985, it moved to the newly constructed National Library complex in Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. A purpose-built archives building was approved in 1995, with its foundation stone laid in 2001 and construction substantially completed by 2004–2012. The Directorate's headquarters is at 32 Justice S.M. Murshed Sarani, Agargaon, Dhaka.

Collections and Holdings

The National Archives of Bangladesh holds more than 700,000 volumes of documents and records, the bulk drawn from the Bangladesh Secretariat Record Room and government record rooms across the country's districts. Collections include British colonial records of Bengal and Assam, records of East Pakistan (1947–1971), and records of Bangladesh from 1971 onward. Notable holdings include records of the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner's office, Dhaka Nawab Family papers (relevant to early twentieth-century Bengali Muslim politics), Bhawal Raj Family records, National Board of Revenue records, and the complete archives of the former national daily Dainik Bangla. District records in the collection date back as far as the 1760s. The National Library, housed in the same complex, serves as the legal depository for all publications in Bangladesh under the Copyright Act.

Notable Materials Related to Journalism and Media

Among the most historically significant holdings for media researchers are the archives of the Dainik Bangla newspaper and press clippings collections. The Directorate also maintains microfilms of old newspapers and manages newspaper clippings as part of the national archives. The National Library's legal deposit function ensures that all Bangladeshi publications, including periodicals, are systematically collected and preserved.

Access and Usage

The National Archives and National Library are open to the public, subject to standard research access procedures. The National Library maintains four reading rooms and is open except on weekly and government holidays. The Directorate is the ISBN agency for Bangladesh and has engaged in digitisation projects since the early 2000s. Photography of records is permitted at a nominal charge.