(9 November 2015) In Bhutan, as with many Himalayan Buddhist cultures, key texts were considered auspicious objects that were traditionally kept in temples, monasteries and private homes, for ritual use and/or propitiation. When the National Library and Archives of Bhutan (འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་དཔེ་མཛོད་དང་ཡིག་རིགས་གཏན་འཇོག་ཁང་། or NLAB) was founded in 1967, the country did not yet possess a strong library or research culture. This has changed drastically, and at present NLAB is a national leader in research, conservation, education, and publication, providing otherwise unavailable material on Bhutanese history, religion and culture, as well as on the broader Himalayan region. As a specialist in Himalayan art history, Ariana Maki has been actively using the collection since 2007.
Ariana Maki describes the National Library, registration procedures, accessing the collections, the state of digitization and more, including where to eat. A lot more here.
