In May 1984, the rare books section of the State Library was created on the basis of the book section. From July 1 of the same year, this department began to work independently. The department's treasury (there are about 68 thousand publications, of which more than 17 thousand are books, the rest are periodicals, dissertations). The department's treasury contains rare publications of local history, which combine historical, scientific and cultural values for the study of the history of books and printing in Turkmenistan. Also, the department's treasury contains publications of great value in science, culture, including those donated by writers and poets not only from Turkmenistan, but also from other countries. The books in the rare books are not only in Turkmen and Russian, but also in European languages: English, German, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, and Eastern languages: Arabic, Persian, Turkish. The Rare Publications Department serves readers from its own treasury, provides them with advice, provides written and verbal information, replenishes catalogs and card files with new information about Turkmenistan, selects publications that contain valuable information on the study of the country. The employees of the department also carry out public activities, organize exhibitions, conduct library reviews and interviews on site and in the library, and regularly promote the department's publications in the mass media.
