1. Background:

Information materials as well as information have an important role in making all Nepalese people as successful, capable and competitive citizens in the competitive age of the 21st century. In order to ensure and exercise, to the maximum extent, the right to information, out of the fundamental rights conferred by the Constitution, libraries and information centers must be established and operated from the village to the central level with a view to enabling all citizens to have access to such information sources in an easy and simple manner. Research works ought to be carried out continuously for the development of creativeness and technology; and research works can never be carried out in the absence of managed libraries. Traditional and indigenous knowledge, skills and technologies should be protected and promoted for the holistic development of the society, for which the library is a string means. The effective library and information service is a sine qua non even for encouragement to creators as well as publishers and distributors, for development of the culture of doing study throughout the life and for quality education.

There are around 1200 national, public, educational and special libraries, in addition to school libraries, in the country. Even updated data about the contribution rendered by these libraries at the national level as well as scientifically updated data about these libraries are not available. Necessary provisions should, therefore, be made in this respect.

It has become indispensable to make effective the informal education for the abolition of illiteracy while making literate people able to use knowledge, skills and timely information, to get the youths of the country to involve in literacy programs which are beneficial for the alleviation of poverty and to establish the right to education and information while consolidating the formal education in such a manner that all children have access to quality education.

In tune with the governmental commitment to provide education for all by 2015, this Library and Information Service National Policy, 2064 (2007) has been framed with a view to establishing and effectively operating libraries and information centers at the local bodies to have each citizen informed through required knowledge and information, for providing information to all within that period.

2. Long-term vision:

The long-term vision of the Library and Information Service National Policy is to build a well-cultured, modern and enhanced society with competitive capacity, by bringing about simplicity on the access to knowledge-based information and educational materials through libraries and information centers.

3. Objectives:

The objective of the Library and Information Service National policy, 2064(2007) shall be as follows:

3.1 To consolidate the Nepal National Library and thematic/subject-wise central libraries in order to collect materials of cultural heritages and knowledge at the local level and protect them at the central level for the promotion of traditional and indigenous knowledge, skills and technology;

3.2 To establish and operate public/community libraries, also in collaboration with governmental organizations, in such a manner as to be proved contributive to the earning of livelihoods by each person belong to any castes, class, community and carrying on any business and service, through pursuing business/profession according to his or her own knowledge, intellect and wisdom, without discrimination of any kind;

3.3 To ensure the right to information, promote and develop information literacy, build the knowledge-based society by using the available information technology and develop the book writing and reading culture;

3.4 To establish and operate educational libraries and research centers from the school level to the higher level and research libraries in the industrial enterprises, so as to enhance the quality of education and render contribution to the development of creativeness and technology.

4. Strategies:

The following strategies shall be pursued in order to achieve the objectives set forth in paragraph 3:

4.1 To provide for a separate Act relating to the library and information technology for the operation, management, monitoring and evaluation of all libraries and information center systems;

4.2 To consolidate the Nepal National Library as a national library encompassing all aspects;

4.3 To develop central libraries based on the specialization of subject-wise libraries of various disciplines in order to render national and international services;

4.4 To provide for libraries from the school level to the university level by developing the subject-wise libraries and central libraries, university level libraries as academic libraries and local level libraries as community libraries;

4.5 To establish libraries and information centers in the abroad based Nepalese embassies and missions in order to introduce the culture and civilization of Nepal to the international arena;

4.6 To build requisite infrastructures for the public/community libraries and information centers from the village to the center, established or to be established with the prevailing law of Nepal, for the operation of appropriate information and educational materials in a systematic manner for the fulfillment of the information requirement of each citizen;

4.7 To encourage for the operation of various kinds of creative, educational and informative programs through public libraries in order to develop the culture of reading throughout the life;

4.8 To keep on disseminating the right to information for each citizen by building the knowledge and information based society through public/community libraries;

4.9 To make requisite infrastructures in libraries and information centers in such a manner as to facilitate even those who are physically incapacitated, and make collection of reading materials and provide services;

4.10 To provide for speeches, symposia, exhibitions, letters of honor and prizes on the published works in order to encourage creators to publishers, book sellers and readers, as well;

4.11 To encourage and promote the libraries established and operated by the private sector ;

4.12 To encourage and promote the establishment of libraries on the language of the nation for the evolution and development and the language of the nation;

4.13 To provide for educational materials, capable human resources and required budget for the provision by libraries of service which is timely, qualitative and in consonance with international standards;

4.14 To carry out teaching of library and information science from proficiency certificate level to the master's level in universities for the development of professional human resources;

4.15 To encourage the bodies related with the research and development works to utilize, to the fullest extent, the materials available in libraries and information centers;

4.16 To take special initiative to enhance the capacity of libraries and information centers by well equipping them with developed information technology;

4.17 To allocate separate budget at the central level and the local level for the development of libraries.

5. Working policies:

The following working policies shall be pursued in order to achieve the strategies referred to in paragraph 4:

5.1 To form a permanent library and information service development board for providing necessary assistance by effectively monitoring and evaluating the libraries and information technology throughout the country;

5.2 To develop subject/thematic libraries such as agriculture, science and technology, medical sciences libraries as central libraries;

5.3 To establish and operate regional libraries under the national library in order to provide library and information service to each citizen in a prompt, efficient and reliable manner;

5.4 To render support for the building, expansion and effective use of various kinds of information sources such as national Bangmaya index, subject-wise Bangmaya index, union list of serials, union catalogue etc.;

5.5 Nepal National Library is to act as a higher body of all community and public libraries operated in Nepal;

5.6 To have an Act providing for the storage of publications, with provisions that publications published within Nepal must be provided to Nepal National Library and other two specific libraries for the collection of intellectual heritage;

5.7 To make provisions for the involvement of the concerned persons in programs such as national and international symposia, seminars and trainings;

5.8 To set aside necessary amount in the education budget allocated for the development of public libraries and include library development tax in the taxes to be levied at the local level.

6. Public libraries;

The following acts shall be carried out in relation to public libraries in order to achieve the policies set forth in this policy:

6.1 To have public libraries operated and managed by the local bodies in order to develop public libraries as a social educational institution, while making public libraries as an integral part of the society;

6.2 To manage the existing libraries at each local body so as to make the program "education for all by 2015" a success, and keep on establishing community/public/children libraries in those places where library is not available;

6.3 To encourage the local communities and social organizations for the establishment, operation and sustainable development of public libraries;

6.4 To encourage professional organizations related with library and information science to conduct short term training programs, by being affiliated with the concerned body of the Government of Nepal, with a view to generating human resources as required for the operation of libraries;

6.5 The departmental libraries concerned are to make provision to bring down information materials published by the Government of Nepal to the community libraries and information centers through the district level bodies;

6.6 The prescribed district level public libraries are to operate mobile library services in rural and remote places where transportation is difficult;

6.7 To encourage the establishment and development of digital and virtual libraries keeping in mind the development of modern information and communication technology;

6.8 Local bodies are to allocate necessary budget for the establishment of libraries and information centers or community resource centers.

7. Knowledge-based society building and right to information:

The following acts shall be carried out in relation to the knowledge-based society building and right to information:

7.1 To make or conduct publicity, conferences, symposia, speeches etc. order to enhance the use of libraries;

7.2 To support the professional organizations related with library and information science for their capacity building so as to enhance the capacity of the library service provider engaged in the field of library and information science;

7.3 To fix standards by carrying out periodic evaluation of the services, collections and contributions of the libraries and information service centers;

7.4 To regularly conduct awareness programs relating to library for users in order to have maximum utilization of the libraries of all levels and types;

7.5 To provide libraries and information centers with concession on telephone service in order to ease the access to electronic information technology at the local level.

8. Educational and research libraries:

The following acts shall be carried out in relation to the educational and research libraries:

8.1 To incorporate the library service, too, in the minimum physical infrastructures while granting permission to open schools even from the primary level;

8.2 To take the use of library as a part of teaching programs;

8.3 To conduct teaching and learning of library and information science from the proficiency certificate level to the master's level at universities for the development of professional human resources;

8.4 Schools, colleges and universities are to allocate a certain percentage (5 to 10 percent) of their total budget for the management and development of libraries;

8.5 To encourage research institutes and industrial enterprises producing various materials and goods to establish specific libraries and information centers;

8.6 To well equip libraries and information centers with modern information technologies (such as computer, email, internet, digital information, C.D. Rom);

8.7 To encourage libraries and information centers to have maximum utilization of information and communication technologies.