List of national and state libraries



A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant works; such as the Gutenberg Bible. National libraries are usually notable for their size, compared to that of other libraries in the same country. Some national libraries may be thematic or specialized in some specific domains, beside or in replacement of the 'main' national library.

Some national entities which are not independent but who wish to preserve their particular culture, have established a national library with all the attributes of such institutions, such as legal deposit.

Many national libraries cooperate within the National Libraries Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to discuss their common tasks, define and promote common standards and carry out projects helping them to fulfil their duties. National libraries of Europe participate in The European Library. This is a service of The Conference of European National Librarians (CENL).

The list below is organized alphabetically by country, according to the list of sovereign states, including, at its end an 'other states' section for non-sovereign states. A "♦" indicates a national library of a province or state, or constituent country or dependent state. It is listed under the sovereign state which governs that entity. Sovereign states are listed even when they have no national library or when the existence and name of a national library could not yet be ascertained. Other states, constituent countries and dependent states are listed only if they have a national library.

State libraries
A state library is established by a state to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that region.

Australia

 * ACT Heritage Library
 * Library & Archives NT
 * State Library of New South Wales
 * State Library of Queensland
 * State Library of South Australia
 * State Library of Tasmania
 * State Library Victoria
 * State Library of Western Australia

Mainland

 * Capital Library of China
 * Tianjin Library
 * Hebei Library
 * Shanxi Library
 * Inner Mongolia Library
 * Liaoning Provincial Library
 * Jilin Province Library
 * Heilongjiang Provincial Library
 * Shanghai Library
 * Shanghai Children's Library
 * Nanjing Library
 * Zhejiang Library
 * Anhui Provincial Library
 * Fujian Provincial Library
 * Jiangxi Provincial Library
 * Shandong Library
 * Henan Provincial Library
 * Hubei Provincial Library
 * Hunan Library
 * Hunan Provincial Library of Juveniles and Children
 * Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province
 * Library of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
 * Guangxi Guilin Library
 * Hainan Library
 * Chongqing Library
 * Chongqing Children's Library
 * Sichuan Provincial Library
 * Guizhou Provincial Library
 * Yunnan Provincial Library
 * Tibet Library
 * Shaanxi Library
 * Gansu Provincial Library
 * Qinghai Library
 * Ningxia Library
 * Xinjiang Library

Hong Kong

 * Hong Kong Central Library

Macau

 * Macau Public Library

Germany

 * Bavarian State Library, Munich
 * Berlin Central and Regional Library
 * Göttingen State and University Library
 * Hessian State Library, Wiesbaden
 * Saxon State and University Library Dresden
 * Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart

India

 * Goa State Central Library
 * Harekrushna Mahtab State Library
 * Nagaland State Library
 * North Bengal State Library
 * State Central Library, Hyderabad
 * State Central Library, Kerala

Spain
Autonomous communities libraries
 * Andalusia Library
 * Aragon Library
 * Asturias Library
 * Central Library of Cantabria
 * Castile and Leon Library
 * Castile-La Mancha Library
 * Library of Catalonia
 * Extremadura Library
 * Library of Galicia
 * La Rioja Library
 * Madrid Regional Library
 * Murcia Regional Library
 * Navarre Library
 * Valencian Library

Switzerland
The member states of the Swiss Confederation are the 26 cantons of Switzerland. The (Kantonsbibliothek, Bibliothèque cantonale, Biblioteca cantonale, Biblioteca chantunala) are:
 * Aargau: Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek
 * Appenzell Ausserrhoden: Kantonsbibliothek Appenzell Ausserrhoden
 * Appenzell Innerrhoden: Innerrhodische Kantonsbibliothek
 * Basel-Landschaft: Kantonsbibliothek Baselland
 * Basel-Stadt: Basel University Library (university and cantonal library)
 * Bern: Bibliothek Münstergasse (formerly Zentralbibliothek Bern, Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek Bern)
 * Fribourg: Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire de Fribourg
 * Geneva: Bibliothèque de Genève
 * Glarus: Glarner Landesbibliothek
 * Grisons: Kantonsbibliothek Graubünden / Biblioteca chantunala dal Grischun / Biblioteca cantonale dei Grigioni
 * Jura: Bibliothèque cantonale jurassienne
 * Luzern: Zentral- und Hochschulbibliothek Luzern (university and cantonal library)
 * Neuchâtel: Bibliothèque publique et universitaire de Neuchâtel
 * Nidwalden: Kantonsbibliothek Nidwalden
 * Obwalden: Kantonsbibliothek Obwalden
 * Schaffhausen: Stadtbibliothek Schaffhausen (city and cantonal library)
 * Schwyz: Kantonsbibliothek Schwyz
 * Solothurn: Zentralbibliothek Solothurn (city and cantonal library)
 * St. Gallen: Kantonsbibliothek St. Gallen
 * Ticino: four libraries, Biblioteca cantonale di Bellinzona, Biblioteca cantonale di Locarno, Biblioteca cantonale di Lugano, Biblioteca cantonale e del Liceo di Mendrisio
 * Thurgau: Kantonsbibliothek Thurgau
 * Uri: Kantonsbibliothek Uri
 * Valais: Médiathèque Valais / Mediathek Wallis
 * Vaud: Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne
 * Zug: Bibliothek Zug
 * Zürich: Zentralbibliothek Zürich (city, cantonal, and university library)