The fulfillment of Institute objectives is facilitated to a great extent by the operation of the Institute library.
A first library was initially set up with the establishment of the Institute in the late 1930s. It housed a limited yet substantial collection of works on international law and foreign laws, assembled or acquired through donations by State and foreign state authorities, international organisations and private grants. Being a key factor in the exercise of Institute activity, the library collections were regularly updated in order to meet the increasing needs of the Institute during the first decades of operation.
Due to the library’s importance in the research activity carried out by the Institute, a long-term initiative for the expansion and update of the library, begun over fifteen years go, is still in progress. The results of this initiative have proven beneficial: the collections have considerably grown in size, the library has expanded in additional grounds in the Institute premises and, most importantly, the Institute has gained access to areas of law and remote jurisdictions which were previously restricted if not at all inaccessible.
The update of the Institute’s library is an effort which, despite any occasional challenges, continues to this day.