The St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library is the National Library of Republic of Bulgaria. It is the biggest greatest library in the country and the oldest cultural institute after the Liberation of Bulgaria.
In 1878, Mikhail Bobotinov, a teacher and secretary of the City Council in Sofia, proposed to establish a public library for the need of cultural and educational development in Sofia. The library was then arranged and opens in 1878 and finally received its own building in 1900. In 1939, a new building began construction, but sadly in 1944 both the new and old buildings were destroyed during a bombing in Sofia. In 1953, the National Library opens its new building under the name "Vasil Kolarov". It was not until 1963 that the library was renamed from "Vasil Kolarov" to "St. Cyril and Methodius".
The National Library works to possess completely all types of documents, published in Bulgaria in Bulgarian and other languages. Priority editions in foreign languages are: classical works in the field of science, culture and literature; works, which have received any authoritative international and national awards; materials from scientific congresses and symposia; Bulgarica, Balkanica and Slavica; first editions of fictions from classical and contemporary authors.
The priority branches for acquisition of foreign books and serials are: mathematics, philosophy, social sciences, law, economics, politics, sociology, international relations, history (mainly modern and most modern), culture, science, library science, bibliographical science and scientific information, book science, science of countries, science of art, linguistics, theory of literature and fiction. The National Library pays lots of attention to different fields of knowledge, like: social linguistics, cognitive sciences, anthropology, political science etc.
Notable collections
Slavonic Scriptures, a collection of more than 1,700 originals dating from the 11th to the 19th centuries.
Greek and other Foreign Scriptures with around 200 monuments, 9th to 19th century.
Eastern Scriptures, containing around 3,100 Arabic, 500 Ottoman, and 150 Persian codicies, dated 11th to the 19th centuries.
Various archives of Ottoman, Arabic, and Persian documents, catalogued under the Collection of Oriental Archives and the Newer Turkish Archives and 328 separate funds, each sorted by geographical criteria, covering a period from the 15th until the first quarter of the 20th century. Both collections contain over 500,000 units, 714 registers (defters) and 168 sidjals.
Old Print, Rares and Valuables, a collection of about 30,000 volumes in Old Church Slavonic, Bulgarian and foreign languages, covering a period from the 15th until the 20th century, plus a collection of Bulgarian Renaissance press from the period before 1878.
Old Print Books from the Orient, a collection of around 2,000 volumes in Arabic, Turkish and Persian, covering a period from 1593 to the first quarter of the 20th century.
Bulgarian Historical Archive with over 1.5 million documents under 700 separate archives covering the work of Bulgarian revolutionaires, economic, cultural and public people from the 18th until the beginning of the 20th century, as well as the history of the independence struggle in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace (see History of Bulgaria).
Portraits and Photographs, a collection of over 80,000 photographs and illustrations.
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Library Name
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National Library "St st Cyril and Methodius"
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Country
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Bulgaria
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Establishing Year
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1878
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Staff Number
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200
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Official Website
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2018-10-11
Hangzhou public library
Hangzhou public library
