The Library of the State Great Hural of Mongolia

Brief history of the Library

Until 1990 there was one-party rule in Mongolia, namely, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, which exercised state power and defined state policy.

After the break of the 1990 democratic revolution a new democratic constitution was adopted in 1992, which fundamentally changed the political structure of Mongolia and Mongolia was proclaimed a country with parliamentary rule.

Since the institutionalization of the permanently functioning parliament in Mongolia an urgent need arose to establish a Parliamentary Library. Thus in 1992 the State Great Hural's Library was founded on the basis of the former Social Sciences Institute Library attached to the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party in the past.

Setting of the Library

Parliament in Mongolia

The new Constitution adopted in 1992 stipulates "Mongolia is a Republic with Parliamentary rule".

Mongolia has a one chamber Parliament and the supreme legislative body is the State Great Hural. It consists of 76 members elected for a term of four years by citizens qualified to vote, on the basis of universal, free and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

Pursuant to the State Great Hural election law (adopted in 1992 and amended in 1996) parliamentary elections are held in 76 electoral districts with one representative each (majority election system). A candidate having received a majority of votes in the election is considered to have won and is elected a member to the State Great Hural. The mandate of a Member of the State Great Hural begins with an oath taken before the State Emblem and expires when newly elected members of the State Great Hural are sworn in.

Structure of the Parliament

The State Great Hural exercises its powers through its sessions, and/or through standing, special committees, sub-committees, party groups and other organizational forms. A basic form of the procedure is a session.

The State Great Hural will adopt laws or make other decisions only at its sessional meetings.

The President convokes constituent sessions of the State Great Hural within 30 days following elections. After the newly elected members are sworn in, the State Great Hural will debate and make decisions on the election of its Chairman and Vice-Chairman, on the establishment of Standing Committees and election of their members and bureau and on the nomination of the Prime Minister and other members of the Government.

Pending the election of a Chairman of the State Great Hural an elder member of the Parliament will chair the first meeting of the constituent session.

The Chairman of the State Great Hural is nominated and elected from among the Members of the State Great Hural by a secret ballot and has the following powers:

1. to announce sessions of the State Great Hural and ensure preparations for a session;
   
2. to propose an agenda and an order of business for a session;
3. to chair meetings of a session and discussion of draft laws and other business;
4. to conduct foreign relations of the State Great Hural and exercise other duties provided for by law.

The basic structure for the organization and conduct of business in the State Great Hural are the Standing Committees. A Standing Committee prepares and works out items to be included on the agenda, holds preliminary discussions on them and makes conclusions and recommendations as well as monitoring compliance on issues under its competence.

The State Great Hural establishes Standing Committees according to its areas of competence. The present Parliament has the following six Standing Committees:

1. Social Policy Standing Committee
2. State Structure Standing Committee
3. Budget, Finance, Monetary and Loan Policy Standing Committee
4. Legal Affairs Standing Committee
5. Rural Policy and Environment Standing Committee
6. Economic Policy Standing Committee

The Chairman of each Standing Committee is elected from among the members of the Parliament for a term of one year and can be re-elected. If it deems it necessary, the State Great Hural may set up a Sub-Committee within the Standing Committee. The Sub-Committee is attached to a given Standing Committee and discharges supporting functions in the areas of its competence. The present Parliament has the following two Sub-Committees:

1. Human Rights Sub-Committee
2. Corruption Combat Sub-Committee

Location in the Parliamentary Structure

The Library forms part of the Information and Legislative Reference Services. The Library comes under the guidance of the Speaker of the Parliament and is directly dependent on the Secretary General of the Secretariat.

The Library is connected to Mongolia's general library network and cooperates with all other libraries.

Organization and Staffing of the Parliamentary Library

Organization chart

Librarian

• making an entry
  
• systematization of materials
  
• classification
  
• indexing (subject and alphabetical)
  
• cataloguing
  
• bibliographical reference service
  
• information guide service
  
• using computer program

Library Holdings Manager

• acquisition of books
  
• organization of library holdings
  
• book preservation
  
• loans
  
• domestic periodicals registration
  
• foreign and domestic periodicals subscriptions
  
• binding of most important periodicals by year

Reading Room Manager

• reading room organization
  
• foreign periodicals registration
  
• cutting and indexing most important domestic periodicals
  
• exchange
  
• photocopying service
  
• bibliographical service
  
• reading room collection service

Staff

The Library of the State Great Hural has a staff of three persons. They are university graduates and educated librarians.

Library Collection and other resources

Collections

One of the central tasks of the Library is to maintain coverage of Mongolian and foreign legal, economic, statistical and sociopolitical literature. A proportion of the acquisitions is received gratis through deposit or exchange agreements.

The Library has about 40,000 volumes and 3,000 bound periodicals (since 1941), and receives 56 foreign and 67 domestic periodicals per year.

During these four years the funds have been enriched with books on law, social, political, economic and historical sciences, as well as the documents of European, American, Asian and other parliamentary institutions.

Other holdings

1. Videotapes
2. Microfiche and microfilm

Location

The Library is located on the third and fourth floors in the right wing of the State House. The Library consists of a reading hall, three book stacks and a working room. The equipment of all these rooms was given to the Library as a gift from DANIDA.

Services and Products

The primary task of the Library is to provide the Members of Parliament and their staff with all the information they need for their parliamentary work.

The Library carries out for Members of Parliament any bibliographical research using its resources.

The Library's main catalogues are the alphabetical catalogue and the subject catalogue.

Most important Mongolian newspapers are analysed, indexed, cut out daily and articles of interest for the work of the Parliament are filed under relevant topics and under the names of Members when articles concern them. They are cut and collected for quick access and information services.

The Library has a photocopying machine. It borrows rare materials from other libraries and produces photocopies.

The Library issues over 8,000 loans a year. The Library published a list of new acquisitions and reference bibliographies for Members.

The Library's users include Members of Parliament, staff of the Secretariat of the Parliament, Government and Office of President, government research institutions, political parties and the press.

Development in Automation

The Library has two personal computers. It uses library computer software - CDS/ISIS donated by the Danish Government.

The Library is going to adopt an integrated system of automation. This system will be connected to the network of the Parliament.