View source for SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library

{{short description|National library of Bulgaria in Sofia}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2017}}
{{Expand Bulgarian|topic=struct|Национална библиотека „Св. Св. Кирил и Методий“|date=January 2011}}
{{Infobox library
| native_name        = Национална библиотека „Свети Свети Кирил и Методий“
| native_name_lang   = bg
| name               = SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library
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| image              = National Library - Sofia.jpg
| image_size         = 250px
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| caption            = A front view of the library building designed by [[Ivan Vasilyov|Vasilyov]]-Tsolov
| country            = Bulgaria
| type               = [[National Library]]
| scope              = 
| established        = {{Start date and age|1878|04|04|paren=yes}}
| ref_legal_mandate  = 
| location           = Sofia
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| num_branches       = 
| items_collected    = 
| collection_size    = 8,500,000 (As of 2024)
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| legal_deposit      = Yes
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| website            = {{URL|http://www.nationallibrary.bg/}}
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The '''SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library''' ({{Langx|bg|Национална библиотека „Свети Свети Кирил и Методий“|translit=Natsionalna biblioteka "Sveti Sveti Kiril i Metodiy"}}) is the [[national library]] of [[Bulgaria]],<ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.nationallibrary.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0176&n=&vis=|accessdate=4 September 2015}}</ref> situated in the capital city of [[Sofia]]. Founded on 4 April 1878, the library received the status of Bulgarian National Library three years later and the [[Bulgarian National Revival]] Archive was merged into it in 1924.

It is named after "SS. Cyril and Methodius"; [[Saints Cyril and Methodius]]. They are the creators of the [[Glagolitic alphabet]]. The [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic alphabet]] is named after Cyril.<ref>Kasinec, Edward and Robert H. Davis, Jr.  "National Library of Saints Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria)" in ''International Dictionary of Library Histories,'' v.2, pp. 563-564, ed. by David H. Stam, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001.</ref>

The present building of the library is among the landmarks of Sofia. It was designed by the famous Bulgarian architectural team [[Ivan Vasilyov|Vasilyov]]-[[Dimitur Tsolov]] and completed in the period 1940&ndash;1953.

==History==

The SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library is currently the largest public library in Bulgaria and the oldest cultural institution after the country's liberation, and also houses one of the richest Ottoman archival collections.<ref>Antim House. National Library “Sts. St. Cyril and Methodius". Web. Retrieved from http://mysofiaapartments.com/gallery/national-library-sts-st-cyril-and-methodius</ref>

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 open in december 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 building were destroyed during a bombing in Sofia.{{cn|date=November 2022}} 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".<ref>National Library Sts. St. Cyril and Methodius. History. Web. Retrieved from http://www.nationallibrary.bg/wp/?page_id=96</ref>

== Notable collections ==
[[Image:SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library 1910.jpg|thumb|170px|Former building of the library in 1910. It was destroyed in the [[Bombing of Sofia in World War II|bombing in 1943-1944.]]]]
The main aims of SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library since its establishment was to collect manuscripts, old printed books, and all books in Bulgarian language or by Bulgarian authors written in a foreign language. Later a fund of Slavic and foreign language manuscripts was formed. Among the first entries were the rich personal libraries of the historian Prof. Marin Drinov and the poet Petko Slaveikov, as well as collections from different churches and monasteries. Two collections were formed in the National Library – consisting of Bulgarian and of Oriental documents respectively. Since its very beginning, the institution acquired the character of historical archives. <ref>[https://www.academia.edu/47776681/Challenges_and_opportunities_in_the_preservation_of_manuscript_and_documentary_heritage_in_the_National_Library_in_Sofia Georgiev, Lyubomir. Challenges and opportunities in the preservation of manuscript and documentary heritage in the National Library in Sofia]– In: Посебне збирке у контексту заштите културног наслеђа и као подстицај културног развоја: зборник радова са међународне конференције Одељења посебних фондова Народне библиотеке Србије, Београд, 2-4. октобар 2017. 2019. {{ISBN|978-86-7035-436-4}}, p. 554.</ref> 
* '''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 language|Arabic]], 500 [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], and 150 [[Persian language|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 language|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 language|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 revolutionaries, 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 (region)|Macedonia]] and Eastern [[Thrace]] (see [[History of Bulgaria]]).
* '''Portraits and Photographs''', a collection of over 80,000 photographs and illustrations.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons-inline}}
*[http://www.nationallibrary.bg/ Official website of the National Library]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040924060714/http://search.nationallibrary.bg/ Web catalogue of the National Library]
*[http://orient.ottomanist.info/ Oriental Collections Department]

{{National libraries of Europe}}
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[[Category:1878 establishments in Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Library buildings completed in 1953]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Sofia]]
[[Category:Education in Sofia]]
[[Category:Libraries in Bulgaria]]
[[Category:National archives|Bulgaria]]
[[Category:National libraries|Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Sofia]]
[[Category:Libraries established in 1878]]
[[Category:Rebuilt buildings and structures]]