Manuscripts, rare publications and early printed books reading room
General information
3rd floor, room 348
The reading room of manuscripts, early-printed and rare books holds 32 places including 5 reading-desks and a desk with a watermark reading device, 6 user workbenches and microfilm viewers.
Deposit collection
The deposit collection contains more then 9,200 volumes and consists of the open and closed sections. The collection includes reference, bibliographical and scientific literature. Documents from the deposit collection are not delivered to other reading rooms and can’t be booked.
Main book collection
The main book collection comprises over 95,000 stock units including collections of manuscripts and archival materials of the 14th–21st centuries, early-printed editions of the 15th–18th centuries and rare editions of the 19th–21st centuries. Documents from the main library stock are not delivered to other reading rooms and can’t be booked through inter-library or individual loan.
User service
Publications from the deposit collection are provided by request and upon presentation of a library card. Publications from the main collection can be booked on user workbenches. You can order up to 5 volumes at once, including 2 manuscripts and archival materials, and book them for 30 days. To order manuscripts, archival materials and books published before 1830, you should provide an application from the organization (university) at which you work or study; a theme of your study must be notified. A letter of request must be written on headed note-paper (of an institution), signed by head of institution and sealed. Publications will be given against signature. An order is fulfilled within 20 to 30 minutes.
Additional paid services
Paid services are provided according to the Service Price List of the National Library of Belarus. The reading room is equipped with Xerox WorkCentre Pro 238 for photocopying, scanning and print of electronic documents.
Copying of information is paid and is carried out by request, for educative, business and scientific-research purposes. Copying of fragments of manuscripts, archival materials, early-printed and rare editions is evaluated on the basis of average cost of this kind of a document, according to the way and time it was created. The Rules about copying manuscripts, archival material, rare and early-printed editions.
Experts of the Scientific-Research Bibliology Department carry out visual and scientific examination on manuscripts, archival materials and old printed publications (XV–XVIII centuries) on a fee basis (if the book or manuscript is not purchased by the National Library of Belarus).
Reading Room Opening hours:
Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.;
Tuesday, Wednesday: 11 a.m.– 7 p.m.;
Sunday: day off.
In summer (from 1 June to 31 August):
Monday, Thursday, Friday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday: 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday: days off.
Теl.: (+375 17) 293 27 84 (internal number: 77 84).
The Book Museum opening hours:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10.30 a.m.–7 p.m.;
Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.;
Monday: day off.
In summer (from 1 July to 31 August):
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10.30 a.m.–7 p.m.;
Monday, Thursday, Saturday: 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.;
Sunday: day off.
Теl.: (+375 17) 293 25 85 (internal number: 75 85) (Bibliology Research Department).
Tours to the Book Museum are conducted daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (the service is paid). Call to book a tour: (+375 17) 293 27 22 (the service section) (internal number: 77 22).
