Biblioteca națională reprezintă o valoare inestimabilă pentru orice națiune și tezaurul de cultură și cunoaștere adunat și păstrat aici trebuie să fi e accesibil tuturor cetățenilor țării, indiferent unde se afl ă la un moment anume. Conceptul de „bibliotecă naţională” este defi nit diferit de diverse enciclopedii, linii directorii, alte documente elaborate de IFLA, UNESCO etc. Potrivit lucrării Guidelines for legislation for national library services, semnată de Peter Johan Lor.

The National Library is invaluable for every nation, and the culture and the knowledge treasure gathered and stored in it should be accessible to all citizens, regardless of where they are at a particular moment. The national library, as a leader in the field and a coordinator of library work, is of great importance for the development of a country’s libraries. This aspect is reflected in the definition of a National Library given by the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, which along with other features specify, that a national library is «a coordination, planning and stimulation centre of the activity of the entire library system of a nation.» The National Library of any country should be a leader in the field, and have a well defined role in international cooperation.