National Library of Thailand หอสมุดแห่งชาติ

Overview

The National Library of Thailand (Thai: หอสมุดแห่งชาติ; RTGS: Ho Samut Haeng Chat) is the legal depositary and copyright library for Thailand and one of the oldest national libraries in Asia. It operates under the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture and is located on Samsen Road in Bangkok's Dusit district.

History and Founding

The National Library's precursor was the Phra Vajirayana Royal Library, established in the early 1880s by sons and daughters of King Mongkut (Rama IV). On October 12, 1905, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) commanded the amalgamation of three royal libraries—the Mandira Dharma Library, the Vajirañāṇa Library, and the Buddhassānasañgaha Sangaha Library—renaming the combined institution the Vajirañāṇa Library for the Capital City. This date is considered the official founding. In 1933, following democratic reforms, the Fine Arts Department assumed administration of the library and renamed it the National Library. In 1966, the library relocated to its current premises on Samsen Road.

Collections and Holdings

The National Library holds over five million items, including palm-leaf manuscripts, stone inscriptions, Thai traditional books, printed publications, newspapers, periodicals, audio-visual materials, and digital resources. In 2023, the library's collection of palm-leaf manuscripts recounting the Phra That Phanom Chronicle was inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register. Since 2015, the library has conducted a major digitization initiative, targeting documents, films, and old photographs for public online access. As of 2023, the library employed 135 staff and received over 200,000 patron visits annually.

Relevance to Journalism and Media Research

The National Library of Thailand holds extensive historical newspaper and periodical collections from across the country, providing a primary resource for researchers studying the development of Thai print journalism and media. Its digitized newspaper holdings and audio-visual collections are increasingly accessible online.

Access and Usage

The library is open Monday through Friday from 09:00 to 18:30, and Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 to 17:00. As of 2023, the library has added co-working spaces, a café, and a theatre screening classic Thai films from the Film Archive. The Reader Project provides materials by mail to patrons unable to visit in person.