Nurtured from the native Taiwanese culture, also under the regime of Tungning Kingdom, the Qing dynasty and the R.O.C. government, along with the colonial dominion by Dutch, Spain and Japan, the quantity of Taiwanese literature has accumulated to an amazing amount. However, due to the political and historical changes, many archives and records are lost. Council of Cultural Affairs (now Ministry of Culture) has long called for the “Modern Literature Archive” plan since 1991, and in 1994 the “Literature Historical Materials Section” was established, which later in 1998 was upgraded by the Executive Yuan to be the “National Literature Museum,” and gained its final name “National Museum of Taiwan Literature” (NMTL) officially in 2007.
台灣文學從原住民、荷西、明鄭、清代、日治至民國，已累積大量作品，但因政治及歷史變革，許多書籍及史料散迭流失，文建會（現文化部）在1991年提出設立「現代文學資料館」計畫，1994年設立「文學史料組」，1998年行政院將「文學史料組」提升為「國家文學館」，在2007年定名為「國立台灣文學館」。
NTML is located in No.1, Zhongzheng Rd., West Central Dist., Tainan City. Designed by the Japanese architect Matsunosuke Moriyama, it was the Tainan Prefectural Government Hall and was also used by the Tainan City Government to be Headquarter after the WWII. While the building has been damaged greatly during the war and suffered decades of neglect, in 1997, restoration work was seriously commenced and the building has officially opened 7 years later to be the 1st national museum of literature in Taiwan.
國立台灣文學館館舍位於台南市中西區中正路1號，前身為日治時期的台南州廳，出自日本設計師森山松之助之手，戰後曾為空戰供應司令部、台南市政府所用，歷經戰亂，年久失修，自1997年起進行修復工程，7年後正式開館營運，台灣第1座國家級的文學博物館就此誕生。
Regular and special exhibitions have often been held in NMTL, with many famous writers and critics often invited as well to give speeches, such as Hsien-yung Pai, Guo-zhi Shu, Hui-ying Liao, Jade Y. Chen and Liang-lu Han. Academics from overseas have also sent members to NMTL for visits, such as The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Centre of Malaysian Chinese Studies, NUS Chinese Library, and the ALIBI founded by French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).
台文館除常設展覽及特展，知名文學家白先勇、舒國治、廖輝英、陳玉慧、韓良露都曾受邀到館演講，而國外學術單位，包括香港中文大學、馬來西亞華社研究中心、新加坡國立大學中文圖書館，以及由法國人文科學之家基金會發起的兩儀文舍，均曾派員到館交流參訪。
Under the wish to highlight the classic of Taiwan literature, so as to connect with the world literature, numerous kinds of creative literature are welcomed in the Taiwan Literature Award Contest that was first founded in 2005 in NMTL.
此外，台文館從2005年開始舉辦「台灣文學獎」，甄選各類作品，鼓勵文學創作，彰顯台灣文學經典，進而與世界文壇接軌。
In order to make literature closer to people, not only should the museum make appeal for the people, but also should the literature go into the public as well. With a concept of “wall-less museum,” famous writers Kuang-chung Yu, Yu-fen Ko, Wen-yin Chung and Jewel Tsai were invited to the serial speeches “Writers into the Wild; Literature Returning to Home” to talk about literature and creative writings in the rural Taiwan; the “Mobile Museum of Taiwan Literature” on the other hand has turned the static words into moving spaces, placing literary works in a truck that roams around the whole Taiwan island.
要讓文學貼進民眾，除了吸引人們上博物館，也要讓文學走入人群，「作家撒野˙文學迴鄉」及「台灣文學行動博物館」就是無牆博物館理念的實踐，「作家撒野˙文學迴鄉」活動，邀請作家余光中、柯裕棻、鍾文音、蔡珠兒等人走入台灣偏鄉，談文學、談創作，「台灣文學行動博物館」則是將靜態文字轉為立體空間，以貨櫃車方式巡迴台灣。
NMTL has also opened the Taiwanese Literature Gallery in the e-library waiting lounge in the Terminal 2 of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Manuscripts and introductions of San Mao, Hai-yin Lin and Shu-qing Shi have so far been displayed to give the passengers the specific literature atmosphere even in the times of hurry.
台文館還在桃園機場第二航廈的「飛閱候機室」推出「台灣文學故事館」展覽，迄今已展出作家三毛、林海音、施叔青的手稿及作品選介，讓旅人在匆匆時間也能感受文學氛圍。
Literature may be an abstract idea and classics may be difficult for people, yet NMTL has provided a chance for people to actually feel and experience the cultural depth in literature, and to develop a lifestyle in which museum and literature have naturally become a part of daily lives.
文學或許很抽象，經典也許很艱澀，台灣文學館卻實際讓人們去體驗、感受，一點一滴累積文化厚度，讓博物館和文學，自然成為一種生活方式。
