National Library of Chile

This guide to the National Library of Chile in Santiago traces the institution from its founding on August 19, 1813, when the republic's new government council called on citizens to donate books to build a collection almost from nothing, through the French neoclassical building raised between 1913 and 1925 to mark a century of independence. It moves through the archive itself, from the country's first newspaper to decrees signed by Bernardo O'Higgins. Walk past the marble staircase and frescoed ceilings to the quiet reading room called the Sala de Referencia y Bibliografías.