the national library of south africa is the agency of the government of south africa which maintains a national library of all published materials relating to the country. ==history== thumb|national library of south africa, cape town campus (old postcard) south african library in 1818, lord charles somerset, the cape colony's first civil governor, issued a proclamation to control the wine trade, imposing a tax on wine brought into cape town for sale. the net proceeds would be used to form a public library which should "lay the foundation of a system, which shall place the means of knowledge within reach of the youth of this remote corner of the globe," (presuming a globe hath corners) "and bring within their reach what the most eloquent of ancient writers has considered to be one of the first blessings of life, 'home education'."coates, p. (2012). was the south african library an athenaeum?. quarterly bulletin of the national library of south africa, 66(4), 11-23. since that time, south africa's library development was bifurcated although the library in cape town was the original establishment.the most likely model for cape town's "public library" was the london institution (established in 1805 in the style of an athenaeum).coates, p. (2012). was the south african library an athenaeum?. quarterly bulletin of the national library of south africa, 66(4), 11-23. the library's first significant acquisition was the collection of joachim nicolaus von dessin, who bequeathed his books to the dutch reformed church in 1761 to serve as the foundation of a public library. in 1820 the board of trustees decided to donate the dessinian collection to the new library. other notable donations followed over the years, among others sir george grey who when he left south africa in 1861 presented the library with his remarkable personal collection of medieval and renaissance manuscripts and rare books. in 1873 the south african public library became a legal deposit library for the cape colony, and from 1916 it received all printed items published throughout the country. the library continued as a legal deposit library until 1954, when this function was taken over by the city of cape town. from then on it began to develop its unique character as a national reference library devoted to research based on its extensive stock, with a concurrent name change in 1967 to the south african library.national library of south africa: where we come from. retrieved from http://www.nlsa.ac.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&itemid=242 diplomat edmund roberts visited the library, then called the south african library around 1833 and described it as "once the pride and boast of the colony." he noted that the library had approximately 10,000 volumes and called it a "highly creditable place."{{cite book|la
1998_establishments_in_South_Africa Deposit_libraries Education_in_South_Africa Government_agencies_of_South_Africa ISBN_agencies Libraries_established_in_1998 Libraries_in_Cape_Town National_libraries Organisations_based_in_South_Africa South_African_culture