Filipiniana

The Filipiniana Division of the National Library of the Philippines is the official repository of the
country's printed and recorded intellectual and cultural heritage. The following are its sections:

General Books
Rare Books and Manuscripts
Serials
Special Collections
Government Publications
Multimedia
Conservation Section
FUNCTIONS :
Organizing, servicing, and preserving all forms of Filipiniana materials in the library
Preparing guides to the various collections to facilitate easy access and retrieval
Managing and developing all sections attached to it.

FILIPINIANA COLLECTIONS :

The history of Filipininiana collections in the country dates back to 1903 with the passage of Act no. 688
by the Philippine Commission calling for the acquisition and conservation of the materails and resources of
Philippine culture, history, literature and linguistics. It was Jose Clemente Zulueta, a Filipino scholar who
was tasked to collect materials on Philippine history, culture and arts in Europe. Zulueta's collection
formed the nucleus of the Filipiniana collections of the National Library of the Philippines.

Wenceslao E. Retana, a famous Filipino journalist and Filipinologist defined FILIPINIANA publications
as follows :

1. Those that were printed in the Philippines irrespective of the subject they treat of, because all of those are
indispensable for the accurate study of the typography of the Archipelgo;

2. Those that are about the Philippines, no matter in what language they were written or the place where
they were printed because they are more or less necessary for the study of the country ; and

3. Those that were written by Filipinos on any subject, regardless of their imprint, because they are of great
use to measure the intellectual capacity, laboriousness, taste, ambitions, etc. of Filipinos.

The growth of Filipiniana collections since the formal establishment of the National Library of the
Philippines has been tremendous. Rare Books and other special collections of notable Filipinos such as Dr.
Jose Rizal, President Quezon and President Garcia and collections of historical documents such as
Philippine insurgent records are now considered cultural heritage of the Philippines.
 General Book Section
Rare Books and Manuscripts Section
Serials Section
Special Collections Section
Government Publications Section
Multimedia Section