| Introduction | |
| The national library in historical perspective | p. 3 |
| National libraries in a time of change | p. 18 |
| The national library in an electronic age: dinosaur or catalyst? | p. 26 |
| The evolution of the concept of the national library | p. 33 |
| Les grandes bibliotheques, leur mission et leur insertion dans le paysage documentaire | p. 40 |
| Strategic planning for national libraries in developing countries: an optimist's view | p. 51 |
| Commercial and revenue-raising activities in national libraries | p. 56 |
| The provision of information and library services to science and industry by national libraries | p. 68 |
| The role of national libraries in the distribution of bibliographic records | p. 76 |
| Legal deposit and bibliographic control of new media in Europe | p. 85 |
| National collections of printed ephemera - those papers of the day | p. 96 |
| The end of all and forever: on the acquisition policies of national libraries and the future of legal deposit material | p. 106 |
| Publishing in national libraries: past, present and future | p. 111 |
| Cooperation between national libraries | p. 119 |
| Libraries apart: national libraries in South Africa's homelands | p. 130 |
| National Library of Mali | p. 146 |
| National Library of Colombia | p. 151 |
| More than a library for Congress: making LC the nation's library | p. 155 |
| "The Kansai-Kan project" in Japan | p. 162 |
| The National Library of China | p. 166 |
| Myanmar National Library | p. 174 |
| The National Library of Thailand and its role in library cooperation | p. 181 |
| National libraries in the Arab world | p. 187 |
| The Assad National Library, Syria | p. 197 |
| The role of national libraries and the centralized management system in the countries of Eastern Europe | p. 201 |
| The National Library of Estonia | p. 217 |
| Conservation of the National Library in Warsaw | p. 224 |
| Les bibliotheques nationales du Sud de l'Europe: situation presente et evolution probable | p. 231 |
| The Biblioteca de Catalunya: national library of Catalonia | p. 241 |
| Die Deutsche Bibliothek: Germany's national library and national bibliographic agency | p. 253 |
| The Bibliotheque Nationale de France project: access or expediency? | p. 265 |
| The Koninklijke Bibliotheek: national library of the Netherlands | p. 283 |
| The national library's role in developing a national information policy - the case of Sweden | p. 293 |
| Envoi | p. 299 |
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