NLG in a Nutshell
The National Library of Greece is the par excellence depository and trustee for Greece’s cultural heritage.
• Founded
1829
• Supervisory Council
Stavros Zoumboulakis (President), Christos-Emmanouil Dimitrakopoulos (Vice President), Olga Vlavianou, Dimitrios Kouis, Maria Papida, Spyridon Pardalis, Georgios Parlavantzas
• Director General
Chrysa E. Nikolaou
• Staff
194
• Mission
– to perpetually trace, collect, organise, document, preserve and safeguard scientific and cultural documents, created in Greece or internationally and related to Hellenism in its diachronic evolution and perception by other cultures,
– to ensure open and equal access to any interested party, driven by freedom of knowledge, information and research.
• Vision
to constitute an international center of excellence for the study of Hellenism and for the preservation and dissemination of Greek culture.
• Major Activities
The National Library of Greece:
– acts as deposit library for all printed and electronic publications in Greece
– compiles and publishes the National Bibliography in its role as the Cataloguing and Bibliographic Center of the country
– enhances collaboration among libraries in Greece and coordinates the Greek Libraries Network
– promotes professional expertise and education in various library-related fields
– preserves Greek cultural heritage in physical and electronic form and fosters research in Greek civilization and culture
• Services
Access to physical collections, public library section, digital collections of the Greek cultural heritage, digitizing, conservation, electronic reading room of Greek books, educational and training programmes for professionals, library users and the public, exhibitions and cultural events, access to its premises and library tours, National Center for ISBN/ISSN/ISMN and ISIL.
• Strategy
NLG strategic priorities for 2022-2026 are:
1. Complete all classic services of a developed National Library with a modern approach: strengthen and raise the NLG at levels corresponding to the high rank and estimation that the Hellenic Civilization has had through the centuries.
2. Consolidate the NLG as the leading library of the country: raise the Hellenic Libraries Ecosystem at levels corresponding to the modern Hellenic Civilization.
3. Strengthen the NLG to emerge as the primary center for supporting the study of Hellenic Civilization internationally.
• Greek Libraries Network
NLG coordinates a vibrant and continuously growing network of academic, research, public, municipal, private and school libraries across the country, with the aim to support them in upgrading their services and become learning, knowledge and creativity hubs at the heart of their communities. Number of member libraries: 274
• Holdings
Collections: 1,1 million items
Digital resources: 300 million
Newspapers and magazines: 15.640
• Special collections
The NLG houses special collections including: 5.500 manuscripts, dating from the 9th to the 20th century, 20.000 rare books, 4.000 works of art, public and private collections of archival material consisting of approx. a million of historical documents, approx. 6.000 posters, a small collection of papyri, maps, scores and microfilms.
• Electronic and Digital Services
• Catalogue: catalogue.nlg.gr
• Digital collections: digitalcollections.nlg.gr
• Greek Libraries Network: network.nlg.gr
• Electronic reading room: ereading.nlg.gr
• Digital newspapers: efimeris.nlg.gr
• Greek web archives: webarchive.nlg.gr
• Digital exhibitions: exhibitions.nlg.gr
• Participation in national and international organisations
Hellenic Academic Libraries Link (HEAL-Link), International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres-Greek branch (GR-IAML), International Federation of Library Associations & Institutions (IFLA), Conference of European National Librarians (CENL), Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL), Association of European Research Libraries (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche – LIBER), South East European National Librarians Conference (SEENL), International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC), European RDA Interest Group (EURIG), European DDC Users Group (EDUG).
• Major Projects
Revealing the NLG’s works of art: Identifying, recording, documenting, cataloguing, preserving and showcasing NLG’s collection of works of art. A project granted by the SNF in memory of the late Director General Philippos Tsimpoglou (to be completed in 2025)
NLG’s Transition to the SNFCC: relocation of NLG from the Vallianeio historic building to its new premises and modernization of its infrastructure and services. (completed in 2018).
Digitization of the entire collection of Greek New Testament Manuscripts in collaboration with the CSNTM- USA (completed in 2016).
• Premises
Net floorspace of the building: 22,000 m2, set within the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. SNFCC is a sustainable world-class urban complex, that includes the new homes of the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera, located within the Stavros Niarchos Park, one of the largest green spaces of Athens, covering an area of 210.000 square meters.
• Capacity
Reading rooms:8 Study seats: 725
• Locations
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Syggrou Avenue 364, 17674, Kallithea (main headquarters)
Historic Vallianeio Βuilding
Panepistimiou Str. 32, 10679, Athens (former NLG headquarters, now hosting NLG’s Newspapers Collection)
Votanikos Βuilding
Athinon Avenue 31-33 and Spirou Patsi Str. 12,10447, Athens
• Opening hours@ SNFCC
Open Reading Rooms: Monday to Sunday: 09:00 – 24:00
Public Library Section: Monday to Friday: 09:00 – 20:00 (Fridays in August: 09:00 – 16:00), Saturday: 09.00-14.00
General and Periodical Collections: Monday – Wednesday – Friday: 09:00 – 16:00, Tuesday – Thursday: 09:00 – 20:00
Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections: Monday to Friday: 09:00 – 15:00
• Opening hours@ Vallianeio:
Monday to Wednesday: 9:00 – 20:00, Thursday to Friday: 9:00 – 16:00
(Closed in August)
• Contact
nlg@nlg.gr
+302130999700
Last update: August 2024
