To draw attention to museums and their exhibits, Museum Selfie Day is held in January in different countries of the world. That is why bibliographers of the National Library of Belarus took selfies against the background of their favourite book monuments in the Book Museum.

The point is to share self-portraits on social networks against the background of museum exhibits, conveying your feelings and popularizing museum rarities. Selfies are a simple and emotional way to prove your presence in a museum space and share your impressions. It's as if the creator of such a self-portrait says: look, I was here, I saw everything with my own eyes and this is very interesting and exciting!

Mr Aleksandr Susha, Deputy Director General – Director of Research and Publishing Activities:

“I am taking pictures with the facsimile of the Zhirovichi Gospel, as it has lately become the greatest joy of for me. Last year, I would wake up and go to bed every day thinking about this book. It never failed to amaze me, and set new questions. Finally, a wonderful facsimile edition came out, and also scientific research devoted to it was prepared. One of the most beautiful and most mysterious Belarusian manuscripts will finally become a little more familiar and closer to Belarusians. For me it has become a great treasure and a great discovery. "

Ms Natalia Garkovich, Head of the Bibliology Research Department, takes a selfie with a book monument published in 1618:

“A Collection of Words from the Divine Scripture...” was published by hieromonach Domzhiv-Lutkovich and Hierodeacon Sylvester in Ugartsy (modern Ukraine) in the Old Belarusian language (Russian of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania). This small collection of 23 sheets contains both translated and original texts, for example, the confession of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, interpretation of the main Christian prayers. The collection also includes, as the title testifies, "Explanation of the Nicaea and Constantinople Simulations of the Twelve Paragraphs of the Christian Faith" by Stefan Zizany. In fact, this is an interpretation of the Creed based on the Eastern Christian tradition with elements of confessional polemics. This work is the first Orthodox catechetical text (catechism) in the Slavic language, the first edition of which (Vilnia, 1595) did not survive. "

One of the favorite books of Ms Tatiana Kornilova, Head of the Sector of the Organization and Scientific Management of the Collections of the Bibliology Research Department of the National Library of Belarus, is the New Testament with the Psalter (Kuteino, 1652):

“The book was published in the printing house of the Bogoyavlensky Monastery in Church Slavonic. The specific feature of the edition is its interpretation with the use of Belarusian words in the margins. It is worth noting that the Kutein monks prepared and published liturgical books, hagiography and instructive literature, which was extremely popular and in demand. The edition is decorated with engravings, headpieces, endings and initials. "

Ms Tatiana Sapego, Head of the Research and Design Sector of the Bibliology Research Department, a selfie with a book of the 16th century, published in Antwerp by the printing house of the famous Dutch printer Christophe Plantin:

“The lifetime edition of the great printer Plantin, whose 500th birthday was celebrated last year, is a great subject for a selfie. The book undoubtedly attracts the attention of museum visitors with its chic engravings and a beautiful frontispiece typical for Plantin editions. On the title page of the book, there is a recognizable typographic mark "Golden Compass" with the inscription "Labore et constantia" ("Work and Consistency"). The inscription characterizes the personality of the publisher, who went bankrupt several times and energetically restored the company, achieved success with hard work and perseverance. This book is one of the early printed editions of the "Plantiniana" collection in the National Library of Belarus. "

Ms Olga Kurilina, Head of the Preservation of Collections Sector of the Bibliology Research Department, takes a photo with a folio, about which she says:

“An album describing the ceremonies that took place in 1739 in the city of Paris on the occasion of the wedding of Louise-Elizabeth of France and Philip, Prince of Spain” (Paris, 1740) is a distinctive characteristic monument of French book culture of the 18th century. This edition first surprises with its large size, and then excites with the works of the best printmakers of the time. The book presents a detailed description of the wedding ceremony, and the magnificent engravings spark the greatest interest, of course. This museum exhibit will leave no one indifferent. On its pages you can "visit" the Hotel de Ville and the hall of celebrations, as well as plunge into the unusual atmosphere of fireworks and the evening illumination of the city."

Ms Ksenia Susha, Chief Bibliographer of the Bibliology Research Department, takes a selfie with her favorite museum exhibit – "Encyclopedia, or definition dictionary of sciences, arts and crafts":

"The encyclopaedia was prepared under the ideological direction of Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond D'Alembert and printed in Paris in 1751–1780 in 35 volumes. This first national encyclopaedic project became a book masterpiece of the Enlightenment. The best French scientists, writers, engineers and public figures of the time were involved in its creation. Diderot and D'Alamber's "Encyclopedia" found great resonance all over the world and became an inspiration and a model for many national universal encyclopaedias, including Belarusian encyclopaedias, prepared in the 20th and 21th centuries."

Ms Tatiana Zakharova, Head of the Museum Sector of the Bibliology Research Department, takes a selfie at the exhibition "From the Books of Uladzimir Karatkievich" dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the writer's birth:

"Not eye-catching at first, the edition of I. Turgenev's works "Notes of the Hunter" (Minsk, 1946) at the exhibition, meanwhile, is a very notable exhibit. What makes it special are the markings on the front page – exlibris stamp and an autograph. A book sign with a picture of kasiners' weapons and an inscription along the blade reveals a mystery: the edition belonged to Uladzimir Karatkievich. By the way, the author of the exlibris was the writer himself. This book is a New Year's gift of the teacher of Russian language and literature of the Orsha School Ekaterina Greenevich, as evidenced by the autograph: "To Vovochka, my favourite student. Compliments of his teacher, Ek. Iv. Happy New 1948 Year! E.I." The teacher played an important role in the fate of the novice young poet, and it was she that Karatkievich trusted and showed his first poems to."

We invite users to drop by the Book Museum, take selfies and post their photos of museum exhibits with hashtags #MuseumSelfie #МузейноеСелфи #Музейкниги #Книжныйпамятник on social networks.

Bibliology Research Department

Selfie at the Book Museum

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