National Library of Azerbaijan, National library in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The National Library of Azerbaijan in Baku is a four-story building that houses over four million items: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, prints, and manuscripts. The various floors are organized by collection type, with dedicated halls for periodicals, technical sciences, foreign literature, rare collections, and music publications.

The library opened on 23 May 1923 under the decision of the People's Commissariat of Education, initially stocked with 5,000 books from the Baku branches of the Imperial Technical Society and the Baku Public Society. Its first director was Muslim Salimov, and the reading room opened in 1927. In 1939 it was named after playwright Mirza Fatali Akhundov, and in 2004 the Cabinet of Ministers granted it national library status.

The exterior displays statues of writers such as Nizami Ganjavi and Mahsati, honoring figures central to the region's literary heritage. These sculptures shape the building's appearance and serve as a visual reminder of voices that shaped Azerbaijani literature.

The building has elevators to move between the different floors and collection halls. Visitors should ask staff which hall best suits their interests, as each floor features different types of materials.

The library holds microfilm and photographs of newspapers printed in Azerbaijan before the Bolshevik Revolution, and it keeps copies of every newspaper published during the Soviet period. It also receives four copies of each new book and two of every magazine and newspaper issued in the country.