National Library of Belarus. Photo by S. Bazyleva-Lanko.
We continue to acquaint you with publications within the framework of the virtual project “The National Library of Belarus in the Contemporary Press”. This article will reflect not only real facts, but also ... prophecies regarding the new building of our library.
During the time preceding the opening of the new library, a huge number of articles were printed in the media about what it will be like. The Internet did not stand aside either. But still, the very first idea of what the library will be like did not appear in print at all and was expressed long before the creation of the architectural project of the new building, in 1955. Then there were no computers, no modern information technologies, no long-term space odyssey. It was not in reality, but in the works of science fiction writers, all this has long existed. As, however, there was a dream about a new library, practically the same as we see it today. These words are confirmed by a poem found in the library's archive by our former employee, deputy director for scientific work Alexandra Demchenkova, which once again proves to everyone the well-known postulate: dreams come true, you just need to want very much.
Alexandra Demchenkova. Photo from the archives of the NLB.
And the prophecy came true almost completely, with the exception (and then, probably, only for now!) Of the interplanetary subscription.
A bird's eye view of the library, 2006.
It came true, because it was in the 21st century, on June 16, 2006, that the new building of the National Library of Belarus opened its doors to readers. However, this is not just a new building, but, indeed, a palace. Palace of the Book. From time immemorial, palaces differed from other structures primarily by their unusual architecture, which means that the attitude towards them has always been ambiguous. But I could never be indifferent. That is why, from the moment of opening, our library has hit all kinds of "tops": the most beautiful, most unusual, most original and even the ugliest building in the world. But no matter what they say about her, the main thing in this endless list is the word: "MOST". And not even a library, but an ultra-modern European library complex. There is no other one. And it never will.
Information and Analytic Activity Department
