National Taiwan Library

Public library in Zhonghe, New Taipei, Taiwan

National Taiwan Library

國立臺灣圖書館
25°00′04″N 121°30′43″E﻿ / ﻿25.001°N 121.512°E﻿ / 25.001; 121.512
Location| Zhonghe, New Taipei, Taiwan
Type| Public library
Established| 1914
Other information
Director| 曹翠英
Website| www.ntl.edu.tw

The National Taiwan Library (Chinese: 國立臺灣圖書館) is a library in Zhonghe District, New Taipei, Taiwan. It is the oldest public library in Taiwan.[1] Founded in 1914, the library is home to a large collection of documents concerning the history, culture, politics and geography of Taiwan.

## History

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The library was founded in 1914 during the Japanese colonial period as the Imperial Taiwan Library (Kyūjitai; 臺灣總督府圖書館) on the order of governor Sakuma Samata.[2] The library's first permanent home on Bo'ai Road (博愛路) in Taipei was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid during World War II.[1]

After the Nationalists took over control of the island following Japan's defeat in World War II, the library was renamed the Taiwan Provincial Library (Chinese: 臺灣省圖書館) and moved to temporary accommodation.

In 1947, it was again renamed, this time to Taiwan Provincial Taipei Library (Chinese: 臺灣省立臺北圖書館) and it was under this name that the library was relocated to Xinsheng South Road (新生南路) in 1963.[1]

In 2007, Huang Wen-ling was appointed as the twentieth director of the National Taiwan Library, and the first woman to hold the post.[2]

The current name of the library was chosen in 2013,[2] with the full official title being National Taiwan Library (Chinese: 國立臺灣圖書館).[2]

## Collection

[edit]

Sign indicating the library Foreign language section of the library Parent and Child Information Center

The library is home to a large collection of documents related to Taiwan. There are 210,000 documents from the Japanese era (1895–1945) and the collection has been continuously added to since then.[1] The library's aim is to provide a dedicated research centre for people interested in Taiwan Studies, offering traditional written material sources as well as information resources for researchers to locate the documents or information needed.[3]

Services for the visually impaired are also a key focus for the institution, with a collection of 12,000 Braille books together with information technology resources for readers.[1][4]

## Conservation

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A pioneer of book conservation techniques in Taiwan, the library is now home to a dedicated "Book Hospital" which serves not only as a centre for restoration of old books, but also a location for staff from other institutions to learn the craft.[5]

## See also

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* Academia Sinica

## External links

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* National Taiwan Library

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e "Venerable library reincarnated with new home and new alias". Taiwan Journal. Retrieved 2008-07-22.[permanent dead link]
2. ^ a b c d "About the Library". National Taiwan Library. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
3. ^ "Objectives". National Taiwan Library. November 4, 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
4. ^ "Services for the Visually Impaired". National Taiwan Library. November 4, 2009. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
5. ^ "Book Doctor: Endowing Century-Old Books with New Life". Newsweek (in Chinese). July 5, 2021. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.

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