Library Legislation Building in the Context of Nepal: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The libraries established so far are suffering from various issues in their operational functions due to the absence of national library legislation. This article explores the present status of library law and the consequences of the absence of a library act in Nepal and thereby stresses the importance of the library legislation for the smooth and proper functioning of the libraries in Nepal. The libraries are rapidly increasing in number but are failing to provide the basic standards of library services to their users. There is no national legislation that defines responsibilities, structure of authorities, proper guidelines for the establishment, functioning, sustainable funding, and maintenance of libraries. The primary data were collected through face-to-face narrative interviews with purposively selected library professionals while the concerned government documents and journal articles were used as secondary data. The findings show that thorough revision, modification and implementation of the existing library policy and directives are a must to form a national level umbrella act. The promulgation of a national act through adequate lobbying, continued advocacy, and a joint effort of the library institutions and professionals is essential to address these problems.