The following items (Estonica) published outside Estonia are subject to acquisition and long-term storage:

• Items containing original texts by Estonian authors or those of Estonian origin, i.e. translations from Estonian,
• Original foreign-language publications by Estonian and Estonian-born authors,
• Sheet music or audiovisual documents containing works by Estonian and Estonian-born authors and/or performers,
• Laws, regulations and circulars valid only in the Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire,
• Textbooks published in the Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire to be used in the schools of Estonian and/or Livonian provinces; textbooks published in other regions of the Russian Empire that were permitted or recommended by the education curator for use only in the Baltic provinces.

Pursuant to the National Library of Estonia Act  the task of the National Library is the state bibliographic registration of Estonian information carriers in the national bibliographic database, making available the national bibliographic database, and participation in the Estonian retrospective national bibliographic joint programme.

The National bibliography database ERB records information items in any medium issued in Estonia and in the Estonian language: books, periodical publications, maps, sheet music, sound and video recordings. New publications are registered as deposit copies on their arrival to the National Library of Estonia, earlier publications are entered into the database retrospectively step by step.

The compilation, recording and selection principles of the Estonian national bibliography are documented in the Bases for the Compilation of the Estonian National Bibliography. 

- The oldest book in the NLE in the Estonian language
	- The oldest periodical
- The oldest foreign language book printed in Estonia