Library Name: | State Library of Turkmenistan |
Native Name: | Döwlet kitaphanasy |
Country: | Turkmenistan |
Type: | National library |
Location: | Ashgabat |
Items Collected: | 5 530 000 |
The State Library of Turkmenistan is located in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.[1]
The library was established in 1895.
As of 2006, the library had a collection of 5 million items including books, maps, manuscripts, dissertations, journals, and newspapers; there were about 22,000 members.[2] Book exhibitions were regularly held both in its premises and provincial libraries. Yet, the library played an insignificant role in society, and as of 2007, remained the only Central Asian library not to join the Library Assembly of Eurasia.[3] [4]
In 2005, the library received funds to replace its card catalogs with an online public access catalog (OPAC); as of 2012, no progress has been made.[5] Internet literacy among librarians remained low, as of 2012. Statistics on the publication of books in Turkmenistan remain unavailable, and the national bibliography has been stale for years.