The Vanuatu National Library (in Bislama Vanuatu Nasonal Laebri, in French Bibliotheque Nationale du Vanuatu) was established in April 2004 and is located within the Vanuatu Cultural Centre in Port Vila, it contains more than 30,000 books and serves both as a national repository for "rare and special" materials."National Library" , Vanuatu Cultural Centre"National Library of Vanuatu" , Australian National University The National Library also has responsibility for the Port Vila public library.
History In 1955, the British and French administrations in Vanuatu decided to set up a Cultural Centre to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-French Convention of 1906. The cultural centre, which was officially opened in 1962 on the main street, contained a library, meeting room and museum.
After Independence in 1980, the Port Vila Public Library came to be described as the National Library, where a small collection was kept on the history of Vanuatu. By 2004, the Vanuatu Cultural Centre Library served two distinct function - as a public lending library, and as a national depository library, and so the National Library of Vanuatu was established in its own location within the Vanuatu Cultural Centre Complex.
In September 2007, the National Library took responsibility for the security, preservation and development of the National Archives.
In November 2013, the library relocated to a new two-story building, along with the Vanuatu National Archives, as part of a new Vanuatu Cultural Centre complex.Vanuatu National Library & Archives Opens!
Collections The Library possesses two "special collections", one devoted to Vanuatu and the other to other parts of the Pacific, as well as a general collection."National Library" , Vanuatu Cultural Centre It holds "some 500 rare items" about Vanuatu, primarily a collection of rare books.2008 Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania Its "rare and special" items include "anthropological and archaeological materials, art and arts references, autobiographical records and biographies, a large section of works on the languages of Vanuatu, mission histories, oral traditions, cultural, historical and political records, journals, newspapers and periodicals".
Nelly Caleb current serves as Chief Librarian.
References
External links Vanuatu National Library and Archives at the Vanuatu Cultural Centre.