P.R. Laws tit. 18, § 1204b
The Puerto Rico National Library shall have the following functions and duties:
(a) It shall develop and maintain a broad bibliographic collection on all subjects of human knowledge, and in particular on Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans, open to the general public.
(b) It shall make efforts to identify and to add to its collection any documentary piece produced on the island or abroad related one way or another with Puerto Rico or Puerto Ricans.
(c) It shall serve as depository of any documentary work published in Puerto Rico which, due to its nature, is not to be part of the Puerto Rico General Archive, for which the necessary coordination system shall be developed with the latter.
(d) It shall establish a special coordination with the Puerto Rican Collection of the Puerto Rico University General Library and with any other libraries holding Puerto Rican collections, for the purpose of establishing a master registry with all the bibliographic sources in the country about Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans.
(e) It shall disseminate Puerto Rican National Bibliography in Puerto Rico and abroad.
(f) It shall develop and present bibliographic services in accordance with the most advanced notions of the subject and with the most modern technological applications; and it shall address them to the public in general so that the same can freely acquire and increase awareness in all fields of knowledge.
(g) It shall formulate a National Plan of Library Development in collaboration with the Graduate School of Science and Technology of Information, insuring its future realization and its permanent evaluation, and it shall create a National System of Libraries that includes school and municipal libraries, as well as public specialized libraries.
(h) It shall foster the development, evaluation, maintenance, continuous updating and dissemination of a National Collective Catalogue or master registry of bibliographic sources in the country.
(i) It shall be responsible for the conservation of its bibliographic assets in conformity with the most advanced techniques and for aiding the preservation of documentary assets, particularly those of its Puerto Rican collection, through the use of available media other than paper.
(j) It shall participate actively in all projects aimed at the establishment and the development of the Puerto Rico Virtual Library.
(k) It shall develop educational and cultural activities to promote the strengthening of the Puerto Rican national identity.
History —Aug. 17, 2003, No. 188, § 3.