Library of the House of Representatives
Overview of the Library of the House of Representatives
Since its establishment in 1970, the Library of the House of Representatives has enjoyed major attention given the abundant amount of knowledge and documents it encloses, thus answering to the needs of the Honorable Representatives, the administrative staff of the House, and the general public.
The late His Majesty King Hassan II said:
"...The Parliament shall be to future generations a hoard of documents. It shall be a repository to which knowledge seekers travel from all world corners, either in law, sociology, or history..."
Excerpt from the Address of His Majesty King Hassan II, may his soul rest in peace, during the appointment of Mr. Mohammed Rachid Idrissi Kaitouni as Secretary-General of the House of Representatives on Thursday, February 11, 1988 (Jumada II 22, 1408).
Historical overview:
The Library of the House of Representatives was founded in 1970, and was allocated a large hall that is commensurate with its position within the institution. Subsequent to its authentic Moroccan character in terms of decoration, it became in 1985 a library combining Moroccan elegance with modern equipment. In 2014, it was allocated a state-of-the-art level space befitting the significance of the House of Representatives in terms of beauty, equipment, and documentary record it encloses.
Missions:
The Library Unit aims to support and reinforce the constitutional functions of the House of Representatives through:
- The creation, management, and enrichment of the documentary record through purchasing books and concluding subscriptions in papers and magazines;
- The research, management, and dissemination of the documents necessary for the work of Representatives;
- The preservation, lamination, categorization, and protection of the documentary record of the Library;
- The preparation and provision of a number of digital services through updating the content of the electronic portal of the Library of the House of Representatives and the intranet of the House;
- The loan of books and magazines;
- The establishment and upgrading of indexes;
- The access to documentary databases.
Beneficiaries of the services of the Library:
- The Honorable Representatives and administrative staff of the House;
- Moroccan and foreign university professors and researchers.
Documentary record:
Inventory:
The documentary record of the Library consist mainly of:
- More than 10,000 books categorized following the Universal Decimal Classification;
- Subscriptions in more than 200 specialized scientific journals;
- More than 1,200 reference documents like encyclopedias, glossaries, dictionaries, etc.;
- Daily and weekly newspapers;
- The full set of the Official Gazette in Arabic and French and its two editions (the general bulletin and the deliberations of both Houses of the Parliament);
- The publications of the House of Representatives;
- The publications of some constitutional institutions and national and international organizations.
Fields:
The documentary record of Library of the House of Representatives covers legal, economic, social, and political studies. It also covers other fields like history, geography, philosophy, religion, and other areas related to parliamentary action.
Available languages:
The documentary record of the Library encloses publications in Arabic and French, as well as in other living languages.
Business hours:
The Library is open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except during weekends and official holidays.
Services:
The Library provides the Honorable Representatives and the administrative staff of the House with several services:
- Research, orientation, and assistance;
- Access and exploration of the documentary record;
- External loan service;
- Various documentary services (Library magazine, the main index, Magazine of organizational and legal vigilance, thematic files, specific indexes).
Digital services:
The Library of the House of Representatives has an intranet portal that provides several digital services and eases access to the documentary record of the Library by using the Online Index of the Documentary Record.
The Library also allows access to several specialized databases in all areas, like legal databases, particularly the ones covering the Moroccan legislative handbook, a database of strategic studies, international affairs, and others. The subscribers in the Library can enjoy a large collection of e-books from more than 400 publishers in French and other foreign languages.