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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-25/nlp.avif" alt="National Library of the Philippines" />
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The Museo-Biblioteca officially opened its doors on October 24, 1891, at the Casa de la Moneda along Calle Cabildo in <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/3008/the-history-of-intramuros-the-walled-city-manila" class="news_link">Intramuros, Manila</a>, which also housed the Philippine Mint at the time. It began with a modest collection of around 100 volumes, under the leadership of Director Julian Romero and Archivist-Librarian Benito Perdiguero. The institution later relocated to Calle Gunao in <a href="https://kahimyang.com/articles/2995/the-history-of-quiapo-manila" class="news_link">Quiapo</a> before it was abolished in 1900, coinciding with the start of the American occupation of the Philippines.
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The Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas is widely regarded as the foundational precursor to both the <a href="https://web.nlp.gov.ph/" class="news-link-ext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">National Library of the Philippines</a> and the <a href="https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/" class="news-link-ext">National Museum of the Philippines</a>. Following its dissolution, the American authorities established the Insular Museum of Ethnology, Natural History, and Commerce on October 29, 1901, under the Department of Public Instruction, to continue aspects of its work, particularly in complementing ethnological surveys.
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The library component was revived in 1901 through the donation of the American Circulating Library, formalized by Public Act No. 96. By 1916, various government libraries and divisions merged to form the Philippine Library and Museum. This combined entity was later divided in 1928 into the National Library Division and the National Museum Division, which evolved into the separate institutions known today.
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August 12, 1887: the Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas was established