Thailand
Thailand
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The National Library of Thailand is composed of three libraries: the Vajirayana Library, VaJiravudh Library, and Damrongrajanupharb Library. Established in 1950, the National Library is a division in the Department of Fine Arts of the Ministry of Education. The Library has 11 branches in provincial towns.
The present National Library building was opened in May 1966. Its printed book collection is strong in the history and geography of Thailand and totals about 1,470.800 volumes in Thai and other languages. The National Library also holds more than 184,000 Thaj manuscripts. Written on palm leaves and Thai paper folded in accordion pleats, they are mainly copies of Buddhist sacred books and other Buddhist literature, literary compositions, and works on medicine, law, history, arts, and astrology. There are 87 stone inscriprions in various ancient languages and scripts of the Southeast Asian region. The Library is entitled by law to receive two copies of every book published in Thailand, but this law has not been well enforced. Thailand signed the treaty on copyright law at Bcrne in 1886. Copyright registration at present follows a revised law passed in 1983. The government is considering an amendment on enforcement and punishment to include computer software and other electronic media.
Audiovisual materials include a collection of tapes and Thai folklore, important lectures and discussions, and parliamentary debates and speeches. The library compiles various bibliographies.
World guide to libraries. New York: Saur, 1998.
World encyclopedia of library and information services. 3rd ed.
Chicago: American Library Association, c1993.