National Library of Somalia
national library
The National Library of Somalia is a national library in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
History
The National Library was established in 1975, and was open to the general public. In 1983, it held approximately 7,000 books, with limited historical and cultural archival material.
The National Library later closed down in the 1990s during the Somali Civil War. In June 2013, the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies organized a shipment of 22,000 books from the United States to Somalia as part of an initiative to restock the library. In December of that year, the Somali authorities officially launched a major project to rebuild the National Library.
With Zainab Hassan serving as Director, the $1 million federal government-funded initiative intends for a new library complex to be built in the capital within six months. In preparation for the relaunch, 60,000 additional books from other Arab League states are expected to arrive.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “National Library of Somalia” as national library. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as national library. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q8247531. Authority coordinates are 2.037, 45.339. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1975, 1983 and 2013.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “National Library of Somalia”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow National Library of Somalia primary sources, National Library of Somalia archive and National research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “National Library of Somalia”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “National Library of Somalia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.