THE NATIONAL LIBRARY
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Illustration by Herzog & de Meuron
Signing of the NLI Charter
Site of the new National Library of Israel
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron
Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, p. 10 b, Ms. Heb. 4° 1193, National Library of IsraelThe National Library of Israel, located in Jerusalem, is a treasury of intellectual activity and cultural creativity of the Jewish people throughout the generations and among all sectors of Israeli society. It serves as a national cultural centre for the public and for the scholarly community in Israel and abroad. The Library collects, preserves and collaborates with libraries and archives in Israel and abroad. It disseminates and imparts the cultural and historical heritage of the Jewish people throughout the world and of all citizens of the State. It is a source of comprehensive, reliable knowledge in its areas of specialization: Judaism, Israel and Islam and the Middle East. Digitization and advanced information technology enable the Library to offer access to its collections and enrich them via the Internet, while respecting intellectual property rights.
Yad Hanadiv, in cooperation with the Government of Israel, assists carrying out a renewal of the National Library that will enable it to fulfil its 21st century mission: openness and accessibility of the Library holdings to communities of scholars and to people of all nations and religions at the Library’s new home and via the Internet. The signing in March 2011 of the National Library Charter, which gives expression to the Library’s vision and goals, marked the official launch of the renewal project.
The new Library Building, designed by the Swiss Architectural firm of Herzog & de Meuron, recipient of the Pritzker Prize in 2001, combines reading and seminar rooms for research and study with exhibition galleries, an auditorium, a youth wing and a visitors centre for cultural and educational activity. Slated for construction on a site allocated by the Government of Israel in Jerusalem, adjacent to the Knesset and the Israel Museum, the building will also include secure, climate controlled automated storage facilities, office space and digitization labs.