On 4 September 2025, the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ National Endowment Fund donated 477 books to the Petko R. Slaveykov Regional Library in Veliko Tarnovo. They included historical and geographical studies, and belles-lettres, as well as monographs from the Fund’s series, ‘Contemporary Bulgarian Art. Names’, and the catalogue, Fourth ‘River of Tolerance’ International Youth Art Festival. The books were printed at the St Kliment Ohridski University Press, Prof. Marin Drinov Publishing House of BAS, the publishing houses Fakel Express, Gutenberg, Balkani, Hristo Botev, Otechestvo, Balgarski hudozhnik, Slovo, Znak OOD, Ivan Vazov, and Trud, among others.
Featured Bulgarian authors include Paisius of Hilendar, Stoyan Mihaylovski; Dora Vallier; Elisaveta Bagryana; Georgi Markov, Dr Habil. Hist. and Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences; Prof. Nikolay Zhechev, Prof. Plamen Doinov, Prof. Yanko Angelov, Veselin Beshevliev, Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov; Stoyan Raychevski; and Petar Konstantinov.
Dr Ivan Alexandrov, director of the library, accepted the donation and, expressing his gratitude, gave the Fund’s representatives assurances that it would reach its readers. Some of the books will be provided to libraries and community centres in the region.
The Petko R. Slaveykov National Library was founded in 1889 in Veliko Tarnovo as the first public library. In 1922, a reading room was opened. In 1954, the library moved to a new building with a seven-storey book depository. At that time, the Adult Section of the Lending Room, Children’s Section, Registration, Processing and Catalogues, and Reference and Methodological Department, were also established. Today, the library has a universal stock of 600,000 volumes of literature in paper and on digital media, serving 10,000 readers annually; it takes part in international cultural educational programmes and projects; cooperates with public organisations and associations, and corresponds with leading public libraries.