ABSTRACT
National libraries are usually the most important and largest libraries in their countries, regardless of the size or wealth of these countries. They exercise considerable influence not only within their respective nations’ boundaries but also beyond—in the larger international community of libraries and scholarship. Although each national library has its own core functions and priorities, most are responsible for collecting, organizing, and preserving their nations’ imprints and sharing the contents of their collections, either directly or indirectly, with their governmental officials and their citizenry. As grand and important as they are, however, national libraries are affected and influenced by the same forces that affect and influence other libraries-the principal ones being economic and technological. In this paper I will describe how economic and technological forces are changing the collection and dissemination policies and practices of several national libraries, and then I will focus particularly on the Library of Congress.
