The Luxembourg national library (Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg – BnL) holds a copy of all publications in Luxembourg and all writings published abroad which pertain to the Grand Duchy. Besides its mission of conserving publications collectively referred to as 'Luxemburgensia', the BnL offers readers an extensive non-Luxembourgish corpus, including collections of books, newspapers and journals in a wide variety of disciplines. It also houses a media library, with classic audiovisual works and language-learning methods.

Thus, the BnL facilitates access to information for all.

After joining the national library, readers have access to:

• all of the books in both the Luxembourgish and non-Luxembourgish collections;
• newspapers and journals, including every publication by the Luxembourg press;
• Luxembourgish films, audiobooks and music CDs from the media library.

They also have access to 'eluxemburgensia'—i.e. to resources digitised by the BnL, including Tageblatt, Luxemburger Wort, d’Lëtzebuerger Land, and a broad collection of scientific articles and journals in electronic format.

Who is concerned

Anyone, aged 14 or over, resident in Luxembourg or in the surrounding regions (the Asylum seekers who do not yet have a fixed address in Luxembourg may nevertheless access the services of the BnL, provided they satisfy certain preconditions.

Prerequisites

To join the BnL and gain access to the services of the library, interested individuals must:

• be at least 14 years old and live in Luxembourg or the surrounding regions; or
• be a student enrolled with a State-approved higher-education institution. 

Asylum seekers must produce a copy of the certificate of application for international protection (pink sheet).

Costs

Registration with the Luxembourg national library is completely free of charge.

How to proceed

Initial registration

The initial registration must be made in person, at the front desk of the BnL. A valid identity document (ID card or passport) will be required. Proof of address may also be required.

Students must also provide proof of enrolment at the institution in question (secondary school, university, college, etc.) and their home address. They may register either for the academic year or for the 2-year BnL registration period.

Asylum seekers must show the certificate of application for international protection (pink sheet).

New users are issued a reader's card when they register.

The validity of the reader's card, and hence of the membership, is 2 years. At the end of the 2-year period, the validity of the card can be extended on request, after confirmation of the details on the registration application.

In the case of asylum seekers, the reader's card is valid for 6 months and can be renewed if needed.

Activating the card

Once they are in possession of their reader's card, users immediately have access to:

• consultation on site;
• home lending;
• international lending;
• digital resources.

Account management

After registering, readers can perform documentary searches using the search engine, a-z.lu. To sign in to the system, the user must provide their reader number (appearing on the card) and a temporary password. It is recommended that users change the temporary password when they first sing in for greater security.

On the website, readers can:

• search for publications and reserve them online;
• view their current loans and lending history;
• view their orders/reservations.

Reregistering

Reader's card can be renewed for free at the front desk of the BnL, or by telephone or e-mail. Readers need only confirm the details in the registration file or report any necessary changes (postal address, telephone number, or e-mail address, for example).

Who to contact