National Library of Greece Digital Collections Platform (NLG)

Overview

The Digital Collections Platform of the National Library of Greece (NLG) is an online repository providing free public access to high-resolution digitized materials from the NLG's holdings. It focuses on rare and unique items of particular historical and cultural value relating to Hellenism, Greek history, and the broader documentary heritage of Greece.

About the National Library of Greece

The National Library of Greece (NLG; Greek: Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος) is the main public library of Greece. It was founded in 1829 by Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor of independent Greece, making it contemporary with the Greek state itself. Originally housed on the island of Aegina, the library moved to Athens in 1834. After a merger with the University of Athens library in 1842, it became a unified National Library under a royal charter in 1866. From 1903 to 2018, the library was housed in the landmark Vallianeion neoclassical building on Panepistimiou Street, part of the "Athenian Trilogy" alongside the University of Athens and the Academy of Athens. In 2018 the NLG relocated to a new purpose-built home within the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), a 22,000 square meter facility in Kallithea, Athens.

Collections and Holdings

The NLG holds over 1.1 million physical items and 300 million electronic resources, including over 15,000 newspaper and magazine titles. Special collections include 5,500 Greek manuscripts (one of the world's largest collections of Greek manuscripts, including approximately 300 Greek New Testament manuscripts), chrysobulls and archives of the Greek Revolution, works of art, maps, papyri, musical scores, and archival documents from public and private collections. The Digital Collections Platform provides open online access to a curated selection of these rare and valuable materials, with ongoing expansion to cover additional themes, disciplines, and time periods. In 2016, the NLG completed digitization of all Greek New Testament manuscripts in collaboration with the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (USA).

Access and Usage

The Digital Collections Platform is freely accessible online without registration. High-resolution images of rare materials are available for research, study, and educational use. The NLG also coordinates the Greek Libraries Network of 274 member institutions.