national library

American  

noun

1. a library established and funded by a national government with the designation national, to serve the needs of this government, often to function as a library of record for the nation's publishing output, and in some cases to act as a central agency for library and bibliographic development in the nation.

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Example Sentences

That points to a tension Ms. Aikin repeatedly discusses through short thematic sections: Is the Library of Congress a library for Congress or a national library for the general public?

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025

Domestically oriented projects like a new mega-prison for gang suspects and the sparkling national library unveiled this week are also presented to the public in carefully choreographed spectacles.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2023

She told guests at an event at the French national library that she'd been a student in Paris 60 years ago.

From BBC • Sep. 21, 2023

Deep in the archives of France’s national library, an assortment of coded letters listed as Italian texts lay untouched for more than 400 years.

From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2023

Suddenly, Zlata’s focus switched from her studies and watching MTV to the closing of her school and the destruction of the national library.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers