National Assembly Library NAL (국회도서관), Republic of Korea

Overview

The National Assembly Library of Korea (NAL; Korean: 대한민국 국회도서관) is one of South Korea's two national libraries, located in the Yeouido district of Seoul on the grounds of the National Assembly building complex. It functions simultaneously as a parliamentary library serving the legislative needs of the National Assembly and as a public library open to all citizens.

History and Founding

The library was officially opened on February 20, 1952, in Busan, South Korea's wartime capital during the Korean War, with a founding collection of approximately 3,000 books and a single librarian. After the war, it relocated to Seoul, and in 1963 the National Assembly Library Act was enacted, providing the institution with a formal legal basis as an independent body of the legislative branch. In 1975, the library moved to the newly completed National Assembly building complex in Yeouido, and its current purpose-built library building was inaugurated on February 20, 1988. In 2022, the library opened the National Assembly Busan Library as a branch.

Collections and Holdings

The NAL has grown from its modest wartime origins to hold approximately 8.5 million volumes and provides over 420 million pages of full-text databases through its digital library portal (dl.nanet.go.kr). Its holdings span books, academic journals, newspapers, government documents, dissertations, and parliamentary records. The library maintains the National Assembly Archives, which houses oral histories, photographs, and records relating to National Assembly speakers and committees, and operates specialized services including the Provisional Assembly Digital Archive and a National Assembly Chronology encompassing over 20,000 catalog items.

Services and Access

The NAL is open to members of the public aged 18 and above, and it maintains extended weekday and weekend hours to maximize accessibility. It hosts the A. Bartlett Giamatti-equivalent research resources and offers inter-library cooperation with 62 or more institutions internationally, including the U.S. Library of Congress and the Berlin State Library. Parliamentary information, policy research, legislative documents, and oral history materials are accessible through the library's website.

Significance

The NAL is regarded as South Korea's largest humanities and social sciences library. It plays a central role in supporting legislative and policy decision-making for the National Assembly while also serving the general public's knowledge needs.