The centre was established on 30 June 1958 on the basis of the collection in the Department of Manuscripts at the Georgian National Museum.

The founder and the first director of the Institute was Professor Ilia Abuladze, a Corresponding Member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences.

The Centre also has rich academic library and includes rooms dedicated in memory of Korneli Kekelidze, Ivane Javakhishvili, Ilia Abuladze, Niko Berdzenishvili, Elene Metreveli and Shalva Amiranashvili.

It was created on the basis of the collection in the Department of Manuscripts at the Georgian National Museum and on the initiative of Ilia Abuladze, who became the first director of the Institute.

During the period from 1989 to 2006, the director of the Institute was Zaza Aleksidze, a Corresponding Member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences.

[3] According to the Charter of the National Centre of Manuscripts, the Scientific Council elects a director for a period of four years.

The Scientific Council discusses and takes decisions by voting on matters regarding the management and development of the Centre.

[9] This Department was established in 2007 on the basis of the private archives of writers and public figures preserved at the National Centre of Manuscripts.

Interaction and direct contact with this heritage Department supports self-realization and development of the members and groups of society.

[13] There are 10935 Georgian, 11654 Russian and 6496 other foreign-language books in the field of humanities kept at the main depositories of the Library of the National Centre of Manuscripts.

Illumination of manuscripts is studied considering chronological and thematic aspects in order to define artistic styles typical to the different scriptoriums, epoch or subject matter.

Digitalization of the manuscripts, documents, miniatures and photo materials the Centre supports their fixation and presentation to the scientific circles.

[17] The collection of the National Centre of Manuscripts comprises handwritten books, historical documents and archival funds.

From the secular literature are noteworthy handwritten copies of "Vepkhistkaosani" ("Man in the Panther Skin"), also other manuscripts containing astrological, geographic, medical, mathematic or military writings.

Here are kept the Russian translations of the correspondence of the Georgian kings, nobles and of their family members, autographs of Lev Tolstoi and Pyotr Tchaikovsky, church writings, etc.

[27] Arabic documents are of Dagestan origin and they represent life of the local Caucasian nations in 18th-19th centuries.

[30] Of the material preserved in the archival funds special mention should be made of the papyrus collection that belonged to the Georgian papyrologist Grigol Tsereteli, containing 150 papyri dating from the 2nd century B.C.

– 15th century A.D. Of no less interest is the material preserved in the other archival funds: original foreign-language documents connected with the life and activities of the Georgian and foreign public figures of the 19th-20th centuries in Georgian, Latin, French, English, Italian, Russian, Azeri, Armenian and other foreign languages; the richest epistolary legacy; numerous folkloristic records; unique photographs, invaluable material reflective of the new and most recent history of the South Caucasus in the field of politics, economy, church life, journalism, theatre, music and so on.