The Archives Library focuses on six collection areas:

• Professional literature on archives, records management, and preservation
• Namibian government publications
• Namibian history
• Reference works needed for historical research
• Theses on Namibia
• Grey literature on Namibia (unpublished reports, conference papers, etc)

A very small selection of reference works is available in a free-hand library in the Reading Room, while most items must be identified via the catalogues, and ordered into the Reading Room.

For preservation and space reasons, the library is shelved not in a classificatory system but in several series according to size and type, with consecutive numbering (numerus currens). Those are the series:

• Books: AA, BB, CC, DD
• Pamphlets: PA, PB, PC, PD
• Periodicals: JZ, JX, ZZ
• Conferences: CONF
• Rare/restricted: RARA

Several private accessions of library material are shelved in the library with their own code as distinct collections:

• BL - Brigitte Lau Collection (A.0718)
• L - C.J.C. Lemmer Collection (A.0769)
• NS - Confiscated National Socialist literature (A.0221) [uncatalogued]
• TLE - Tore Linné Eriksen Collection (A.0827, AACRLS.119)

Additionally there is the digital library, consisting both of digital-born and digitized material:

• ELFI – electronic monographs at V:\nan\ELFI\
• ELJO – electronic periodicals at V:\nan\ELJO

Almost all of the Archives Library collection is catalogued to a high standard in the databases:

• NAMLIT (NML) for all directly Namibia-related material. This catalogue also refers to Namibiana in other libraries, most notably the National Library Namibiana catalogued before April 2015
• ARCAT for the entire Archives Library, including the Namibiana. However, Namibiana on ARCAT are often catalogued to a lower standard than on NAMLIT, and the holdings of Namibiana periodicals are only recorded on NAMLIT.
• OPAC for the entire library holdings of National Library (as catalogued before April 2015) and National Archives. This is convenient but has somewhat reduced search and display facilities.

All catalogues also provide reference to the digital collection, although due to IT constraints the links to the digital library may sometimes not be working. Please enquire.

As with all other holdings of the National Archives, library books are not lent to users outside the archives premises.

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Note: A combined microfilm/microfiche reader/printer and a microfiche reader are available. However currently the printer function is not available. Due to maintenance problems (no local service firm is available), functionality of the machinery cannot always be guaranteed.

Please ask for technical assistance from the staff.

(Almost) all microforms are kept in three consecutively numbered series, regardless of whether they are additionally registered as private accessions, library material, or archives. These series are:

3.1      Government departments and offices on microfilm

All these microfilms under 3.1 are diazo copies. The silver halide masters are kept in Pretoria.

3.2      Private accessions on microfilm and microfiche

These can be found through the Register of Accessions (E2). However, the following large microform collections of archives are of special importance and should be mentioned:

3.3      Newspapers and periodicals on microfilm

The Archives holds newspaper microfilms in user copies (diazo) and master copies (silver halide). The master copies are for preservation and may not be used.

A detailed listing is available (Findaid 3/2/2)

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