National libraries’ functions: results from the 2016 survey of national libraries’ functions

This paper reports on the survey on national libraries’ functions conducted on behalf of the National Libraries Section in 2016. In 2012, the Section discussed possible options for updating guidelines that referred to the functions of national libraries, including Peter Lor’s 1997 Guidelines for legislation for national libraries. These discussions led to the work undertaken by Andy Stephens in presenting a set of national library functions exemplar. In the context of that pilot project, case studies and examples of concrete applications of functions of 12 national libraries provided an empirical testimony of how national libraries undertake these functions. The 2016 survey was distributed to all national libraries through the mailing list of the CDNL (Conference of Directors of National Libraries) and 46 responses from 45 sovereign states were received. The results of the survey will be presented at the WLIC 2017 meeting of the CDNL and at the open session of the National Information and Library Policy Special Interest Group. During this session, issues relating to particular functions will be disused by a panel of representative national libraries. A particular topic will be the relationship between the functions and the legal mandate of national libraries in pursuing these activities.