El Salvador

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 Formal Name:           Biblioteca Nacional
 Name of Librarian:    Jose Astul Yanes
 Address:                   8 A Av Norte y calle Delgado, San Salvador
 Phone:                      216312

History & Collections

 The National Library of El Salvador was created by presidential decree in 1870 with an initial collection of 6.000 works on theology, philosophy, law, and classical literature purchased from Rome by the family of the librarian of Pope Gregory XVI. It was administered by the National University (1871-87), when it was opened to the general public. In 1962 the National Library became the General Directorate of Libraries and Archives and  together wich the holdings of the National Archives moved to the first library building constructed in El Salvador.

The National Library is the depository library under Salvadoran copyright law; it also holds docments of international organizations. The majority of its holdings come from donations and exchanges with Latin American countries and with learned societies of the United States and Europe.

Sources:

World guide to libraries. New York: Saur, 1998.
World encyclopedia of library and information services. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association,c1993.