National Library of Lesotho and Lesotho National Library Services

Overview

Lesotho's national library system centers on the National Library of Lesotho, situated in Maseru, one of three main libraries in the country alongside the Thomas Mofolo Library and National Archives at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) in Roma and the Morija Museum & Archives. The country also maintains a broader network of academic, research, documentation, school, special, and public libraries under a national library services system.

History

As of 2013, Lesotho's library sector was organized around these three main institutions. The National Library's current Maseru building was constructed with Chinese support in the first decade of the 2000s. The Thomas Mofolo Library at NUL originated in 1954 as the nucleus collection of the former Pius XII College and moved to its current building, constructed in 1964; the National Archives are housed in that library's basement. In 2026 the NUL Library led the launch of a National Digitisation Framework, funded by the British High Commission in Lesotho, bringing together the Morija Museum and Archives, the National Library and Archives, Lerotholi Polytechnic, the Lesotho College of Education, and the Royal Archives to coordinate preservation and digitization of the country's documentary heritage.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The National Library of Lesotho held a collection of around 88,000 volumes as of 2007. The Thomas Mofolo Library, the larger of the two, held around 170,000-200,000 volumes and over 189,000 titles of documentation and archival records on closed access as of recent reporting. The National Archives housed there hold colonial-era Basutoland documents and newspapers, including early editions of the Naledi newspaper, Proceedings of the Basutoland National Council, annual colonial reports, and Paris Evangelical Mission Society material.

Access and Usage

The NUL Library operates an open-door policy for walk-in reading-room users, while borrowing privileges and remote e-resource access are reserved for registered students, staff, and eligible visiting researchers. The National Library in Maseru maintains a public reading room primarily used by students.