BACKGROUND
As Pretoria began to grow in size, there arose a need for a
public library. The first Pretoria Public Library had opened
its doors in 1878, but because of ongoing financial problems
was closed down in 1890. In 1893 strong public support and a
collection of 700 saw another public library arise, this
time under the wing of the Staats-Bibliotheek and with the
bookstock of the former Public Library. From that time
onward until 1964, the State Library performed a dual role
as public library and national library.
The first national librarian, the Afrikaans poet Jan
Celliers, saw exchange agreements as a means of enriching
the State Library's collections. The first exchange
agreement was entered into in 1898 with the Smithsonian
Institution of Washington in the United States. In terms of
the agreement the State Library would receive all American
official publications in exchange for two copies of each
official publication of the South African republic.
From the early thirties under the guidance of the visionary
national librarian Matthew Stirling, the State Library began
to develop the character of a central library for South
Africa, taking on functions such as striving for a national
library lending system and a centre for bibliographical
information.
The creation of the new National Library looks ahead to a
revitalising and transformation that will align the new
institution with the goals of the new democracy. The new
institution was constituted on 1 November 1999. On that day
the South African Library and the State Library ceased to
exist as separate entities and became the Cape Town and
Pretoria campuses respectively of the National Library of
South Africa.
