Bibliothèque Nationale de la République démocratique du Congo (BNC)

Overview

The Bibliothèque Nationale de la République démocratique du Congo (BNC) is the DRC's national library, based in Kinshasa on Boulevard du Colonel Tshatshi near the Palais de la Nation. It operates as a technical and scientific public service with legal personality under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Arts.

History

The library was created in 1974 as an office within the Ministry of Culture and Arts. It became an autonomous public institution by ordinance n° 89-010 of January 18, 1989, which gave the BNC its current legal status and defined its mission. In 2009, the library received a $14,880 rapid-impact project from the UN peacekeeping mission MONUC, developed with UNESCO, to modernize its facilities, train fifteen technicians, and acquire computers and preservation equipment.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

Under its 1989 founding ordinance, the BNC is charged with gathering and preserving the country's printed intellectual production, including books, newspapers, periodicals, sheet music, and audiovisual materials, and with publishing an annual national bibliography, union catalogue, and directory of doctoral theses and dissertations from Congolese universities. The library holds an estimated 70,000 volumes, the oldest dating to 1827, along with some 75,000 historical photographs and copies of newspapers from across the country, though only a fraction of the photograph collection has been digitized due to limited resources.

Access and Usage

The BNC employs roughly one hundred staff, most based at its Kinshasa headquarters, and works to promote international standards for classifying and identifying printed documents. It is financed by the Congolese state.