（1999年9月立，2001年9月修订 / Made in September 1999, Revised in September 2001 ; English Translation by Gu Ben）
中国国家图书馆初名京师图书馆，敕建于清宣统元年（1909），1912年正式开馆接待读者。1916年起接受国内出版物呈缴本，确立了国家图书馆地位。1928年更名为国立北平图书馆。1931年文津街馆舍落成。
新中国成立以后，国立北平图书馆更名为北京图书馆。1975年周恩来总理批准兴建新馆，1983年9月邓小平同志为北京图书馆题写馆名。1987年7月1日新馆落成，10月6日开馆。1998年12月12日，经国务院批准，北京图书馆正式更名为国家图书馆，对外称中国国家图书馆。1999年4月16日，中共中央总书记、国家主席江泽民同志为中国国家图书馆题写现馆名。
The predecessor of the National Library of
China is the Metropolitan Library founded
in 1909. In 1912, the Library opened to the public. In 1916, the Library began
to receive legal deposit copies of Chinese publications, thus functioning as a
national library. In 1928, the Library was renamed the National Library of
Peiping. In 1931, new premises were built for the Library on Wenjin Street.
Upon the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Library was renamed the National Library of Peking. In 1975, Premier Zhou Enlai approved the plan of the new building. In September 1983, Deng Xiaoping wrote the calligraphy for the name of the Library. The new building was completed on July 1, 1987, and was inaugurated on October 6 of the same year. On the authorization of the State Council, the Library was renamed the National Library of China on December 12, 1998. Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China, wrote the calligraphy for the name of the Library on April 16, 1999.
update 6/13/2004