The NA Library

Most public institutions today have their own in-house libraries. These libraries often contain a highly specialized collection of literature related to the core mandates of the institution. For example, the Law Library of Bhutan National Legal Institute has a wide of variety of books related to law and other legal issues.

Similarly, the National Assembly of Bhutan also has its own library. It has a fairly large collection of books, journals, etc. that is expected to aid the NA members shoulder their legislative functions. The primary goal of the library is to provide non-partisan, reliable, and timely information on subjects that are relevant to parliamentary and constituency work.

A fairly well-equipped library is indeed of great importance to a national institution like ours. In the beginning, the NA Secretariat started with a small collection of books and gradually built on it by adding up relevant books over the years. Today, the library has a reference corner, a computer room, and a reading room, all together in one small hall.

Functions

Acquisition and circulation:

The library is responsible for carrying out acquisition of publications for addition to Library holdings. In order to assist members of Parliament in keeping themselves abreast of the latest developments in different fields, books and other publications on various subjects, particularly those of special interest to the Hon Members, are purchased.

Preservation:

The library ensures that the books are protected from damage such as dust and moisture by maintaining the library and shelves cleanliness at all times. A more advanced preservation role in protecting books from moisture can be taken up in future. Works have also begun on preserving film audio recordings by converting them to digital format for storage and future reference.

Processing:

One of the Library’s basic functions is processing where any book or addition to library should first go through stages of processing which involves classification (Dewey Decimal Classification 23rd edition), cataloging, and assigning subject keywords. These complete bibliographical details of books and reports are then fed into Library management system (KOHA). The library’s Open Public Access Catalogue can be accessed via https://www.nab.gov.bt/en/content/online-library-1

Collection:

The types of collections available in the library include: Acts of Kingdom of Bhutan, legislative books and references which includes books on Bhutan, old picture albums, books on Bhutan, newspaper collections, and government publications. The copies of session recording audio and video cassettes, verbatim, resolution is also kept as part of library resources. A more detailed collection record can be found in the library catalogue.