Guatemala

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 Formal Name:           Biblioteca Nacional de Guatemala
 Name of Librarian:    Victor Castillo Lopez
 Address:                   5a Av 7-26, Zona 1, Guatemala City
 Phone:   (02) 2322443      Fax:   2322443

History & Collections

The National library of Guatemala was founded in Guatemala City. A dependent of the Ministry of Public Education,  it preserves  the national bibliographic heritage and also functions as a public library, the largest in the country. It occasionally produces and publishes works of national significance. Service is provided to more than 125,000 readers annually and
includes a special service for children. The total collection of volumes in the Nationl Library is 350,000, including that of the periodicals in the library,  which operates independently in the same building. The national archives are held in the Archive General de Centro America in Guatemala City. It holds almost 100,000 documents relating to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras. Nicaragua, and Chiapa (a state of Mexico). There are also periodicals  pertaining  to  the  colonial  period  and independence, historical volumes, and microfilm.

Sources:

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