The National Library of Latvia (NLL) was founded on August 29, 1919, by an order from the Cabinet of Ministers of the newly established Republic of Latvia.

One of the characteristic cornerstones of the NLL, which characterizes every national library, is the formation of the collection of national literature, its eternal storage and long-term access.

Today the NLL is the largest research library in Latvia. Its mission is to facilitate the stable and ongoing development of the spiritual and intellectual abilities of the Latvian population, acting as the centre for development of the library system in Latvia, establishing collections of information resources, and providing information to various national programs. The law "On the National Library of Latvia" specifies that the Library must:

Create a national literature collection and ensure its utilisation and its preservation for future generationsSelectively build a collection of foreign literature documents that are significant for the development of Latvia's statehood, science, economics, education and culture and ensure its utilisation Fulfill the function of a central repositoryBe responsible for the development of the national bibliography in LatviaOrganise and develop a system of union catalogues for Latvian libraries

The NLL also functions as the inter-library loan centre for Latvia. The ISBN/ISMN agencies and the ISSN centre have been established at the Library. The Library participates in the implementation of various library-related programs in Latvia, does methodical and scientific research work, publishes bibliographic indexes and collected articles on book science and librarianship, enacts the initiative for a process of library standardisation, and participates in the work of international library organisations.