General Overview of Department of the National Library: National libraries play a crucial role in protecting and promoting the nation's cultural output. Many nations now recognize the value of having a national library, and Jordan has placed the national library as one of its top cultural priorities because it serves as the nation's memory, the state library, and a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the national cultural product and Jordan's history in all of its aspects.

The National Documentation Center was founded in 1975 in accordance with Regulation No. (85), which was affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Information and served as the basis for the National Library. In addition to getting a copy of every work published in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan through the Ministry of Culture and Information and other governmental and private institutions, one of its duties was to collect and preserve documents from official and semi-official departments in the Kingdom. According to Ministry of Culture and Youth Management and Organization Regulation No. (1) of 1977, which was published in Official Gazette No. (2674) on January 1, 1977, the center became one of the Ministry of Culture and Youth's departments.

Regulation No. (27) was issued in 1977 to organize the work of the Directorate of National Libraries and Documents. The National Library was established, managed, and developed under this regulation, along with the preparation and management of sections related to archives, documents, documentation, and information. The previous regulation of the National Center for Documentation was abolished because it was merged into the Libraries' directorate.

The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage's Management and Organization Regulation No. (15), which was issued in 1988, declared that one of the Ministry's responsibilities is to establish and manage the National Library.

The Ministry of Culture's Organization and Management Regulation No. (5) was issued in 1990 and stated that the ministry's organizational structure consisted of the National Library, Documents and Documentation Center, and the Royal Cultural Center. The Directorate of National Libraries and Documents' prior regulation was abolished.

"Regulation No. (5) of 1994" was the first special regulation for the Department of the National Library with its current name. In accordance with this regulation, the department took over as the Department of National Libraries and Documents' de facto legal and administrative successor. Additionally, it evolved into an independent department attached to the Minister of Culture. The department performed its tasks within the scope of the Kingdom's general cultural policy.

• In 1996, the amended Regulation of Department of the National Library was issued and its organizational structure was determined. The department consisted of the following nine directorates: Depository Center, Documents and Documentation Directorate, Supply Directorate, Library Services Directorate, Research, Studies and Training Directorate, the National Bibliography and Unified Index Directorate, Administrative and Financial Affairs Directorate, Internal Control Unit, Copyright Protection Office.

• This regulation was effective until it was modified in 2018 and replaced by Regulation No. (135) of 2018, through which the organizational structure was amended to include the Office of Director General and four directorates: Administrative and Financial Affairs Directorate, Documents and Documentation Directorate, Library Services and Deposit Directorate, and Information Technology Directorate, as well as three units: Internal Control Unit, Public Relations and Media Unit, and Training, Development and Quality Unit, and two offices: Copyright Protection Office and the Office of Director General.

The department currently consists of four directorates, three sections, and two offices under the amended Regulation.

Tasks and Responsibilities of the Department of the National Library:

1. Acquiring, organizing, and sharing national intellectual product that has been published in the Kingdom or abroad.

2. Collecting and preserving books, manuscripts, periodicals, photographs, recordings, illustrated films and other items related to national, Arab, and Arab-Islamic civilization and human heritage.

3. Gathering, preserving, organizing and publishing personal documents and national documents held by ministries, departments, and official public institutions, in accordance with the provisions of Department of the National Library Regulation.

4. Carrying out the activities and tasks of legal deposit in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Protection Law and the active Deposit Regulation.

5. Issuing the National Bibliography, and organizing the unified index.

6. Publishing specialized, objective, and useful bibliographies, guides, and indexes, to facilitate their usage.

7. Setting standards for libraries and supervising them which assist to improve the quality of public libraries in the Kingdom, develop library services, and prepare the ground for the construction of new libraries.

8. Providing library and information services to researchers and scholars who benefit from the department's holdings.

9. Providing reciprocal lending and photocopying services at the national, Arab, and international levels.

10. Holding and taking part in book and document exhibitions both inside and outside the Kingdom, as well as organizing conferences, symposia, and scientific and research seminars concerning libraries and documentation.

11. Organizing donation and exchange programs, distributing duplicate copies within the Kingdom, and setting up and executing donation and exchange agreements with Arab and international libraries and institutions.

12. Establishing cooperative relationships with national libraries, centers for records, and organizations with expertise in libraries, documents, and documentation in Arab, Islamic, and other nations. Additionally, it offers professional and administrative support required to carry out the duties assigned to the Information Council and the Information Commissioner.