The Gambia less than wide at its widest point, with a total area of . About (11.5%) of the Gambia's area are covered by water. It is the smallest country on the African mainland. In comparative terms, the Gambia has a total area slightly less than that of the island of Jamaica. Senegal surrounds the Gambia on three sides, with of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean marking its western extremity. The present boundaries were defined in 1889 after an agreement between the United Kingdom and France. During the negotiations between the French and the British in Paris, the French initially gave the
National Library of The Gambia are stored in the library, which caters mainly to The Gambia and its history. The library offers an adult library, children's library, bulk school lending service, mobile and mailbox service. The library was originally operated by the British council till 1946 and was renamed to the National Library of The Gambia by 1971. The Gambia did not have any library on its own till 1962. Till then the library was the only one of its kind in the country other than the ones in schools, Government departments, missions houses and clubs. When the transfer took place, the library had a