National Library of Uzbekistan Alisher Navoi National Library

Overview

The National Library of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi (Alisher Navoiy nomidagi O'zbekiston Milliy Kutubxonasi) is the largest and most important library in Central Asia and the national repository of Uzbekistan. Founded in 1870 as the Tashkent Public Library, it holds over 7 million publications in more than 75 languages, including rare manuscripts, books, periodicals, and audiovisual materials. It serves as a coordinating and methodological center for all information and library institutions in the country.

History and Founding

The library traces its origins to 1870, when Konstantin Kaufman, the Governor-General of Turkestan, ordered the establishment of the Tashkent Public Library. The founding collection was assembled with assistance from the Ministry of Public Education, the Academy of Sciences, the Geographical Society, and the Russian General Staff, which donated duplicate editions. By May 1870, more than 2,200 volumes had been collected. The library was temporarily closed in 1882 by order of Governor-General M. G. Chernyaev but was saved by a Supervisory Committee established in 1883. In 1920, it received the status of a State Library and became the legal deposit for all publications in the Turkestan region. It was renamed in honor of the great Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi in 1948, and a new three-storey building with 350-seat reading rooms was opened that year. In 2002, the library was formally constituted as the National Library of Uzbekistan through a Presidential Decree, merging the State Library with the National Scientific and Technical Library. A new building with 38,000 square meters was completed in 2011 as part of the Ma'rifat Markazi architectural complex.

Collections and Holdings

The library's collections include over 7 million publications in more than 75 languages: manuscripts, books, periodicals, newspapers, dissertations, music publications, audiovisual materials, and electronic documents. The Uzbek-language collection exceeds 600,000 volumes and includes works by classical Uzbek writers such as Alisher Navoi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ulugbek, and Al-Biruni. The rare books department, organized in 1948, now holds over 16,000 copies including 250 items with autographs and 151 items with ex-libris. In 1933 the library was designated the Central Depository of Oriental Manuscripts. Since 2002, the National Book Chamber's collection of over 3.5 million printed national publications has been housed at the library. Scientific and technical resources are available through subscriptions to Springer Nature, EBSCO, and ProQuest.

Access and Usage

The library is open Monday–Friday 9:00 AM–8:00 PM and Saturday–Sunday 9:00 AM–5:00 PM. A library card is required for some services; public access to certain areas is available without registration. The library operates 13 reading rooms, an internet and media center, an exhibition hall, a book museum, a children's room, and a cinema center. The facility at Navoi Street 1 is part of the Ma'rifat Markazi complex, which also includes the Palace of Symposia.