Founded in 1894, the Swiss National Library is an institution which is part of the Federal Office of Cultural Affairs. Under the terms of the law by which it is regulated, it is charged with collecting, cataloguing, and conserving information in all fields and disciplines, and in any medium, connected with Switzerland, as well as with ensuring the widest possible accessibility to and dissemination of such data. A more recently created institution than most other national libraries or our own national leading university, cantonal and municipal libraries, the National Library is intended to be open to all, and, by the breadth and scope of its collections, it aims to reflect the plurality and diversity of Swiss culture.