The National Library of Belarus (NBB) was founded by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR of September 15, 1922 as the Belarusian State and University Library. At the time of opening, the library funds totaled only 60 thousand copies, which were used by 1.1 thousand people. But already in 1926, 5.5 thousand readers could take advantage of the 300 thousandth fund, which was the largest universal library collection in all branches of knowledge. In 1932, in connection with the 10th anniversary of the library, V.I. Lenin. In At the beginning of 1941, the library collection already had more than 2 million volumes, the number of readers was 15 thousand people. Its further development was interrupted by the Second World War. The fighting and three years of occupation almost completely destroyed the library. After the liberation of Minsk, only 320 thousand copies survived from the two millionth library fund. In the spring of 1945, a systematic search began for exported books in Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. In 1947, the library funds were numerically restored and reached the pre-war level, although many gaps in them have not yet been filled. After the Republic of Belarus gained state independence and sovereignty, the library headed the library system of the country. The change in its status, the increase in significance in the cultural and social development of the state and the nation was reflected in the renaming of the V.I. Lenin at the National Library of Belarus. By this time, there was an urgent need to build a new building for the library. Back in 1989, an international competition was held for the best architectural solution of the building. The winner of the competition was the project of the creative team of M.K. Vinogradova and V.V. Kramarenko, who proposed an original combination of functionality and effectiveness of the “Belarusian diamond”. The project was implemented only after 13 years.
The National Library of Belarus (NBB) is the largest information and cultural center of the country. Its information resource totals 8 million storage units on various media. It generates a number of bibliographic, factual, full-text, graphic, sound and linguistic databases, the total volume of which is now more than 2 million records. The repertoire of the Database is quite wide: social sciences, history, culture and art of Belarus. Visitors to the NBB also have the opportunity to use the Databases of other library and information institutions, including overseas. Now the library is located in six buildings with a total area of about 20 thousand square meters. m. Despite this, the library has long been experiencing an acute shortage of premises for the placement of funds, user services and staff. The purpose of the construction of the new NBB building is to create a unique architectural, construction, software and hardware complex aimed at satisfying the information and cultural needs of users.
The National Library of Belarus, being a particularly valuable object of the cultural heritage of the Belarusian people, fulfills its mission - to collect, store and make available to the public for use a universal fund of documents reflecting the knowledge of mankind and having, first of all, relevance to Belarus and its national interests.
The new building has created all the necessary conditions for the preservation of the unique collections of the library, whose innumerable wealth has absorbed the wisdom of human civilization. Today the National Library of Belarus is the main library of the country, satisfying the information needs of society. With the development of modern information technologies, new tasks and requirements have been assigned to the library. It is equally important to preserve both electronic and printed documents so as not to lose our cultural heritage to the detriment of children and grandchildren. The new library is a modern information center that implements the formation and efficient use of information resources, a reliable tool for information support of all areas of society.
Reading rooms of the National Library of Belarus:
In the new building of the library there are 20 reading rooms, differentiated by different signs: taking into account the educational level of users, the branch of knowledge, the type of documents. The halls are designed for 2 thousand seats and are located on three floors. All of them are equipped with electronic departments for the issuance of documents, modern equipment that allows you to scan and copy documents, print from electronic copies. The halls have partially computerized workstations for users.
The halls of the first floor of the library are intended for the general reader: a general reading room, a hall of specialists with higher education, halls of periodicals, the department of interlibrary loan and document delivery.
On the second floor there are reading rooms intended for in-depth scientific work: the Belarusian literature hall, the dissertation hall, scientific reading rooms, the doctor’s room, the legal information room, the document room of international organizations, and the short-run literature room. On the same floor there is a catalog room and file cabinets, a call center, an exhibition of new arrivals and an Internet center.
On the third floor there are rooms for documents on art, a room for sheet music and audio documents, a room for manuscripts, rare and old-printed books.
Most of the halls are combined into peculiar complexes with an entrance hall, where extradition departments, racks, and the closed part of the utility fund are located.
The number of seats in the hall depends on the profile of the hall and the potential flow of visitors. The largest rooms are the general reading room and the hall of specialists with higher education.
Comfortable conditions for working in reading rooms are provided with special technical equipment: climate control system, lighting, equipment for the integrated work with documents on various types of media. In the outlets are provided conditions for the relaxation of visitors.
The library has created conditions for users with disabilities, jobs for visually impaired and blind users are equipped with special equipment.
• Periodicals room
• General reading room
• Hall of specialists with higher education
• Central subsidiary fund
• Hall of catalogs and file cabinets
• Hall of information and bibliographic services
• Hall of Belarusian literature
• Thesis Hall
• Scientific reading rooms
• Hall of Doctors of Sciences
• Legal Information Room
• Hall of documents of international organizations
• Room of small circulation documents
• Exhibition of new arrivals
• Internet center
• Hall of music and audio documents
• Art Documents Room
• Room for visual and video documents
• Hall of manuscripts, early printed and rare editions
Tours of the National Library of Belarus:
The National Library of Belarus offers visitors the following excursions:
• Thematic tour “Minsk in the palm of your hand” with a visit to the observation deck with the right to digitally, photo and video.
• Sightseeing tour of the library with a visit to the book museum
• Themed museum book tours
• Excursion for children “Birthday in the library”
Tours are conducted in Russian, Belarusian and English. Groups are formed by appointment. The composition of the group is up to 15 people. Applications are accepted from individual visitors and collective groups from 10.00 to 18.00 from Tuesday to Sunday. Phones for recording: (+ 375-17) 293-29-66, 293-28-53.
Email: [email protected]
The “Book Museum of the National Library of Belarus” opened in September 2006. The main goal of his activity is to familiarize visitors with the development of Belarusian printing in the context of the world history of books, with modern trends in world and domestic publishing, and the history of the library.
The museum is an exposition and exhibition hall (area 288 sq. M) for demonstration of permanent and temporary expositions. It has modern museum equipment, which allows maintaining the necessary microclimate for the exhibits.
The museum has books of more than three hundred unique book monuments from the collections of the National Library of Belarus: manuscripts and early printed books, rare books of the 19th – 20th centuries. Among the exhibits is the pearl of the collection - Bible books (1517–1519) of the Belarusian first printer Francis Skorina Thematic tours of the museum: Religious book, Rare books from the collections of the National Library of Belarus, National Library of Belarus. Milestones of history, Francis Skorina: a journey to his homeland, First director: famous and unknown pages of biography, Manuscripts and rare editions of Yakub Kolas in the museum of the book, In the beginning was Polotsk, Once upon a time there were fairy tales ..., The great art of artillery, The newspaper Muzhitskaya Prada ".
Museum Book Opening Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10.30–19.00. Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 10.00–18.00. Monday is a day off. During the summer period (from July 1 to August 31): Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10.30–19.00.
Monday, Thursday, Saturday: 10.00-18.00.
Sunday is a day off.
Contact phone: (+ 375-17) 293-25-85 (research department of book science).
The book museum provides daily guided tours for a fee. Time: from 10.00 to 17.00. Appointment for an excursion by phone. (+ 375-17) 293-27-22 (museum sector
The National Library of Belarus also fulfills the mission of a socio-cultural center, offering its visitors a wide range of services in this field.
Lookout: The favorable landscape location of the library makes the lookout an attractive tourist destination. The magnificent views of the capital and its environs, opening from a height of 73 meters, make a vivid impression at any time of the year. Photos and videos are allowed. Visits are provided during the holidays to view salutes and fireworks. A unique service is offered to visitors - the use of an optical device “Panoramic Binoculars.” DigiFox DFC 30x80 binoculars with an approximation of 30 times have a high resolution and wide viewing angle, which allows you to get a high-quality image of distant objects from a large viewing height. A closed observation deck is located on the 22nd floor and is a hall in the form of a polyhedron. Here is the gallery "Panorama", where there is a shift exhibition of paintings and specially organized events (ceremonies, presentations, business meetings). Opening hours: Monday - Sunday: 12.00–23.00. Last rise - 22.30.
The last Monday of the month is a sanitary day. Contact phone: (+ 375-17) 293-29-52.
Children's room: Readers of the National Library of Belarus can leave their children from 3 to 8 years old in the children's room under the supervision of professional educational psychologists. Visiting the children's room is paid. The maximum stay for a child is 1.5 hours. In the children's room, each child will spend time with benefit and excitement. The game space is filled with a variety of toys and educational aids: dolls, cars, balls, designers, mosaics. There is also a Magic Kiosk game house, Barbie doll house, lotto, tetris, soft puzzles, children's musical instruments and much more. Opening hours: Tuesday - Friday: 10.00–20.00.
Saturday, Sunday: 10.00–18.00. Monday - a day off. In the summer period (from July 1 to August 31):
Tuesday - friday: 10.00–20.00. Saturday: 10.00-18.00. Monday, Sunday - days off.
Sanitary day - the last Monday of the month. Telephone for inquiries: (+ 375-17) 293-25-34.
Cafe: Three cozy cafes are ready to receive visitors: readers, employees and guests of the National Library of Belarus.
Two small cafes are located on the 1st and 2nd floors of the library building. Pleasant design, modern furniture, TV provide comfortable conditions for eating and relaxing. In the cafe you can buy a wide range of different products.
For visitors to the observation deck, there is a coffee bar “Graf Cafe” (22nd floor), which offers not only drinks and juices, but also confectionery, snacks, and hot dishes. There is a 105 cm plasma TV in the room and a free Wi-Fi Internet access point. It is possible to book tables or the entire hall for corporate and family events. The convenient location of the bar allows you to admire the panorama of the capital and its surroundings during your vacation. Cafe opening hours: 1st floor Monday - Friday: 9.00–21.00; technical break: 14.30–15.00, 18.00–18.30. Saturday: 10.00–18.00; technical break: 14.00–15.00. Sunday: day off. 2nd floor Monday - Friday: 9.00–18.00; technical break: 14.00–14.30. Saturday, Sunday: day off
Fitness center:
The fitness center is designed for psychological and physical unloading, leisure activities for users and library staff. The complex offers a wide range of services. The administration has a flexible pricing policy. A modern gym of 200 square meters. m includes an extensive cardio zone, equipped with a large complex of simulators. Exercise machines for training all muscle groups, treadmills, benches with variable geometry, biceps and triceps machines, a dumbbell row from 1 to 60 kg are presented. The fitness center offers to visit the cryosauna and strengthen health by cold. Visitors are given the opportunity to use the services of a comfortable sauna (up to 8 people). The complex of water procedures of the sauna includes Charcot's shower, circular, descending and ascending souls. The working hours of the complex: Monday - Friday: 9.00–23.00. Saturday: 10.00–20.00. Sunday: 10.00–20.00. In the summer (July 1 to August 31): Sunday - day off. Telephone for inquiries: (+ 375-17) 293-29-52