National Library of The Gambia

The Gambia National Library Service Authority is located in Banjul, Gambia. The library was originally operated by the British Council till 1946 and was renamed to the National Library of The Gambia by 1971. The library is maintained and administered by The Gambia National Library Services Authority (GNLSA). As of 2016, the library had a collection of 115,500 books and 85 periodicals. It had more than 42 staff and more than 276 members. The library was also made the official recorder of legal depository and principal Bibliographic Centre of the nation. Around 2,000 archived material are stored in the library, which caters mainly to The Gambia and its history. The library offers an adult library, children's library, bulk school lending service, mobile and mailbox service. History Library services started in the Gambia in 1944, with Bishop Daly’s subscription library which was opened to a few members of the public. Later on, the British Council opened a Library in 1946 at Independence Drive (current location of the National Museum – the National Centre for Arts and Culture). The British Council handed over the Library to the Gambia Government, and the present library structure was opened on 15 December 1976, by former President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. When the transfer took place, the library had a collection of 25,000 books and 500 monographs. Sally Njie was appointed Chief Librarian in 1963. The British Government donated £575,000 to The Gambia for maintaining the library in 1974. The library is maintained and administered by The Gambia National Library Services Authority (GNLSA). During the 1970s, the collections in the library was nearly doubled. The Gambia Library Services Authority was established in 2009 by an Act in the parliament, which gave more powers and autonomy to the library. Book Aid International is the overseas partner of the library, in collaboration with whom, the library donated books to the medical branch of University of Gambia. The library acquires all its collections through donations, gifts, purchases, government agencies and survey. According to the United Nations, as of 2013 an estimated 41 percent of adult Gambians are literate.