(from “ARHITECTURA”, by Acad. Duiliu Marcu, Editura Tehnica, Bucureşti, 1960, page 395.)

Founded on August 6, 1867, only one year after the foundation of the Romanian Academic Society, the mission of the Romanian Academy Library is to gather and preserve, in its collections, the National Fund of manuscripts and prints, depicting the Romanian history and culture, as well as universal history and civilisation.
Having the status of a National Library, its collections have an encyclopaedic structure, starting with the oldest writing in Romanian language or in languages used in ancient offices or churches, which have circulated inside the Romanian area, up to recent publications of any type and on any support/material.
The Romanian Academy Library is the result of the effort of several generations of scholars who contributed to its enrichment by means of donations and a strong policy of acquisitions. Being the beneficiary of the Legal Deposit since 1885, the Romanian Academy Library is publishing the Retrospective Bibliography of Romanian Books and Serials, as well as special bibliographies like Mihai Eminescu Bibliography or Independence War Bibliography, supporting documentation and research on Romanian science and culture.
Its funds comprise of over 14 million units, out of which 3,600,000 are monographs and 5,300,000 are serials.
The Special Collections make the Romanian Academy Library one of the most important institutions of its kind. The Collection of Manuscripts is the richest in Romania and the Collections of Prints and Drawings, Maps, Music, Numismatics are benchmarks in their fields.
The Romanian Academy Library exchanges publications with other academies, scientific institutions, university libraries and other libraries abroad and coordinates the activity of publication exchange between the subsidiaries of the Romanian Academy. It is also the nucleus of the subsidiaries and research institutions of the Academy.
The Romanian Academy Library is the only UN depository library in Romania.
In order to maintain an up-to-date record of its collections and to meet the needs of a modern library, the Romanian Academy Library shifts its focus from direct acquisition to international library exchange. Moreover, the collections are being enriched by legacies and donations from great personalities.