The National Council Library

National Council of Bhutan has its own library although small in size. It has a fairly large collection of books which include acts, journals, novels, inspirational books etc which could aid the National Council Members to better shoulder their legislative and review roles. The primary goal of the library is to provide non-partisan, reliable, and timely information on subjects that are relevant to parliamentary and constituency works. A fairly well equipped library is indeed of great importance to a national institution like ours. We started with a small space but we expect to expand our library hopefully after the completion of the new National Council hall located in the Royal Banquet Hall building. With constant funding support from the Royal Government of Bhutan of about Nu: 200,000 every financial year, the Secretariat hopes to procure the best of references possible for our Hon'ble Members which will equip them to carry out the best of researches where needed.

The immediate change the library would see is the introduction of professional cataloguing system. Since the library has limited collection of materials at the moment, it would be easier to start now. The Secretariat is also striving to make the library environment more pleasant. If adequate budget is made available, there are plans for expansion of the library room to create a separate reading area for parliamentarians, a reference desk, a rare book room, and an expanded area for visitors on tour. Plans are also there to install computer terminals for Internet access and library online catalogue, CD ROM station, and improve storage areas for collections. Providing user guidance and assistance, including the development and maintenance of support systems such as catalogues and on-line help systems are also in the pipeline. If there were enough staffs, the library would also be able to provide research assistance for parliamentarians. There are also plans to upgrade paper news clipping to electronic press clip from local newspapers that provide e-news and cover the major subject areas of Parliament.