National Library of Greece

The National Library of Greece (NLG) is the administrator of the intellectual legacy of the Greeks. Its mission is to locate, collect, organize, describe and preserve in perpetuity the documents of science and culture created in Greece or internationally and related to Hellenism throughout its history, offering open and equal access to anyone interested. It was founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1829, its history runs parallel to that of the Greek state. During its 188 years of continuous operation, it has amassed the intellectual property of Hellenism and has developed a collection of unique value of 2,000,000 documents to date. Until 2017, the National Library of Greece was housed in the Vallianeion building on Panepistimiou Street in the center of Athens. The year 2018 marks its historic relocation to its new building at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. The General Collection of the National Library of Greece includes books, magazines, newspapers, maps, microfilms and digital documents, covering the entire scientific and cognitive spectrum and extending chronologically from the 17th to the 21st century. The Special Collections of the National Library of Greece include material which, due to its specificity, has not been included in the General Collection but is preserved and kept in the Department of Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections. The Special Collections consist of Manuscripts and Replicas, Archival Materials, Rare and Valuable Books, Works of Art, Maps, Papyri, Posters. The Lending Collection consists of books of various thematic categories, magazines, games - tabletop and electronic - and is aimed at children, teenagers and adults. The Collection is located in the spaces of the Lending Collection Department on the ground floor and on the 2nd floor of the NLG building at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC).