National Library of Greece

National Library of Greece
Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος
TheStavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center,headquarters of the organization since 2017
37°56′23″N23°41′30″E
Location	Athens
Established	1832(1832)
Branches	2 (Agia Paraskeví and Nea Chalkidona)
Collection
Items collected	Books,journals,newspapers,magazines,multimediaandmanuscripts
Criteria for collection	Material that is produced in Greece as well as Material that is produced abroad, but is connected with Greece in any language and form.
Other information
Director	Fillipos Tsimpoglou (general director)
Website	www.nlg.gr

TheNational Library of Greece(Greek:Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος,romanized:Ethnikí Vivliothíki tis Elládos) is the main public library ofGreece,located inAthens.Founded byIoannis Kapodistriasin 1832, its mission is to locate, collect, organize, describe and preserve the perpetual evidence of Greek culture and its uptake over time, as well as important representative evidence of human intellectual production. The NLG ensures equal non-access to these items based on the freedom of knowledge, information, and research.There is one general manager who serves a four-year term. A board of trustees has seven members with a three or four-year term.

History

The original idea for establishing a National Library was from the philhelleneJohann Jakob Mayer,in an August 1824 article of his newspaperEllinika Chronika,published atMissolonghi,where Mayer andLord Byronhad been promotingGreece's independence.Mayer's idea was implemented in 1829 by the new Greek government ofIoannis Kapodistrias,who grouped together the National Library with other intellectual institutions such as schools, national museums, and printing houses. These were all placed in a building (then being used as an orphanage) on the islandAeginaand supervised byAndreas Moustoxydis,who thus became president of the committee of the Orphanage, director of theNational Archaeological Museum of Athens,and director of the National School.

At the end of 1830, the library, which Moustoxydis named the National Library, had 1,018 volumes of printed books, which had been collected from Greeks and philhellenes. In 1834, the library was relocated to Athens, the new capital, and was at first housed temporarily in the public bath in theRoman Agora of Athensand then later in thePanagia Gorgoepikooschurch.

The collection increased rapidly. In addition to the purchase of books from private libraries, supervised byDimitris Postolakas(1,995 volumes), the library accepted many large donations of books, like one from Christoforos andKonstantinos Sakellarios(5,400 volumes) and one fromMarkos Renieris(3,401 volumes).

In 1842, the Public Library merged withAthens University's library (15,000 volumes), and was housed together with the currency collection at the new building ofOtto's University. The first director (then-called "president" ) wasGeorgios Kozakis-Typaldosof the newly enlarged institution, retaining the job until 1863. At this time, the library was enriched with significant donations and with rare foreign language books from all over Europe. With the royal charter of 1866, the two libraries merged, and were administered as the"National Library of Greece".From 1877 to 1910, its director wasMichael Deffner.

On 16 March 1888, the foundation stone for a new neoclassical marble building was laid. The building was financed by threeKefallonian-born brothers of theDiaspora,Panagis, Marinos and Andreas Vallianos.It was designed byBaron Theophil von Hansenand its construction supervised byErnst Ziller.The library remained in the older University building until 1903, when it was relocated to the newVallianeion Megaron,which still partly houses the library in addition to two other buildings, atAgia ParaskeviandNea Halkidona.TheVallianeion Megaronforms part of theTrilogyof neo-classical buildings atPanepistimiou Streetin central Athens, including theAcademy of Athensand the original building of theAthens University.

Holdings

The National Library of Greece houses over 1 million items, 300 million electronic resources, and over 15,000 newspaper and magazine titles. The library has 5,500 Greek manuscripts which is one of the greatest collection of Greek scrips.There are also manychrysobullsand archives of theGreek Revolution.

Among the library's holdings are acodexof the fourGospelsattributed to the scribe Matthew; uncial codex with a fragmentGospel of Matthewfrom 6th century (Uncial 094),Flora Graeca Sibthorpianaby English botanistJohn Sibthorp;Charta of GreecebyRigas Velestinlis;The Large Etymological Dictionary,a historicByzantinedictionary; and the first publication ofHomer's epics and hymns.

Some other manuscripts:Uncial 075,Uncial 0161,Minuscule 798.

The NLG also has over 4,000 works of art, approximately one million archival documents from public and private collections, 10,000posters,maps,papyri,musical scores,andmicrofilms.

Relocation to Phaleron Bay

The Vallianeion Megaron,which housed the Library prior to 2017

The Vallianeion Megaron building has long been inconvenient due to limited space and technology demands. Although it will continue to house some of its current functions, the bulk of the library in 2018 was relocated to a new 22,000-square meter building at theStavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centeron thePhaleron Bay"Delta". The 20-hectare Delta is a seafront area that used to host the Athens horse race track, which was replaced by theMarkopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centrefor theAthens 2004 Olympics.Italian architectRenzo Pianoproposed a radical new plan for the National Library and theNational Opera of Greece,and the project was funded by theStavros Niarchos Foundationand donated to the Greek state. The twin buildings are integrated within a landscaped park with indigenousMediterranean flora,and feature extensiverenewable energyfacilities and a central plaza around a 30-m wide seawater channel. Work on the project started in 2012 with completion due for 2016.

Library Associations

Greecehas one national library association, the Association of Greek Librarians and Information Scientists (AGLIS).AGLIS was founded in 1968 and represents Greek librarians to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).AGLIS is also a member of TheEuropean Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations(EBLIDA).in Spring 2021, AGLIS partnered with the Heritage Management Organization (HMO) to enhance its ability to meet the needs of Greek Libraries and their patrons.

Locations

Main Location:

Stavros Niarchos Foundataion Cultural Center

Syggrou Avenue364, 17674,Kallithea

Historic Vallianeio Building

Panepistimiou Str.32, 10679,Athens(former NLG headquarters, now hosting NLG's Newspapers Collection)

Votanikos Building

Athinon Avenue31-33 and Spirou Patsi Str. 12,10447,Athens

See also

• List of national libraries

Sources

• Brock, Sebastian P.(1966)."The Syriac Manuscripts in the National Library, Athens".Le Muséon.79:165–185.

External links

• Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος(in Greek)