National Library of Ivory Coast, National library in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

The National Library of Ivory Coast sits on Boulevard Carde and houses vast collections of books, manuscripts, and digital materials available to the public. Parts of the building are undergoing renovation while other sections remain open for visitors to use.

The library traces its origin to the Ivorian documentation section of IFAN, which became the Centre National de Documentation in 1960 and the current BNCI six years later. A decree by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny on 10 September 1971 formally created the National Library, and in January 1974 he inaugurated its building, a gift from the Canadian government. Closed in 2006 for lack of funding, it was led from February 2008 by Chantal Adjiman née Nandoh, who began restoring the institution.

The Children's Department runs an Espace contes, a storytelling space that promotes oral literature through storytelling sessions and the learning of mother tongues. It also has a reading salon for individual reading, a workshop for drawing, educational games and an introduction to creative writing, and a space for babies aged 1 to 3. Books can be borrowed for reading outside the library.

The library stands on Boulevard Carde in Plateau, between the Musée des Civilisations and the Ministry of Defence. Since October 2009 about 85% of the building has stayed closed, so only the Children's Department, reopened in 2008, receives readers. Check access before travelling, as the rest depends on the renovation work.

A major private corporation funded the specialized renovation of the Children's Section in 2008. This support helped restore access to reading and learning materials specifically for young people.