Minsk hosts Library Night event

National Library General Director Vadim Gigin noted that this year a record number of libraries, 149, took part in the campaign. At the National Library, the key themes were the Year of the Belarusian Woman and the 20th anniversary of the library’s new building, which will be celebrated in June.

“This unique and beautiful building is one of the symbols of our sovereignty, and we dedicated many of our activity zones to it. The mission of libraries, enlightenment, remains unchanged, but of course the forms and methods evolve. We want to show the possibilities and potential of our building, from the basement rooms, where no one has ever been, to the observation deck, where a surprise awaits guests,” Vadim Gigin said.

According to him, the library prepared around thirty activity zones and several new tours. Among them were night tours showing “what books do when readers go home”. New workshops focused on restoration, an educational DJ set, and the exhibition project Women’s Space.

“No matter what entertainment we offer, our main goal is to show that books are fascinating: a special atmospheric world you can immerse yourself in. You can befriend a book, meet new people through it, and most importantly, chart your path to the future. That is the idea we want to convey through all the activities here today,” the director explained.

He added that Belarusians enjoy a wide range of books: during exam periods students prefer academic literature, while at other times entertainment genres grow in popularity.

“There is nothing wrong with that: such literature helps pass the time. Many people learn new things from entertaining books. The same is true of Jules Verne or our own classics. Polesian Robinsons and Amok by Yanka Mavr were considered entertainment literature, but what literature it was! Quality is what matters. When reading becomes functional, the reader knows how to navigate this vast world of books. Librarians are the pilots who must guide them along the way,” Vadim Gigin said.

Dean of the Faculty of Social and Cultural Communications at Belarusian State University (BSU) Aleksandr Burachonok emphasized the long-standing cooperation between BSU and the National Library. “It is no secret that the library once began within the walls of BSU before becoming an independent institution. The format of this event fully reflects BSU’s openness, and we are glad to showcase our achievements in education and science. We prepared several workshops in chemistry, economics, and biology,” he said.

Aleksandr Burachonok believes that BSU students keep traditions alive and continue visiting the library, because despite digitalization nothing can replace time with a book. Here students gain full knowledge and can form an understanding of their field.

On 24 April, participants of the eventwere able to learn a lot about Belarusian traditions by attending lectures on the history of Belarusian weddings and taking part in educational board games. They also got to know China better by visiting a lecture on Feng Shui, or Chinese Metaphysics, as well as master classes on Chinese chess and traditional painting at the venue of the Chinese Cultural Center and the Confucius Institute of Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU).

Li Wenxue, Director of the Confucius Institute of Science and Technology at BNTU, said that they have been taking part in Library Night for the third time. This year, they held a calligraphy master class and presented an exhibition of Chinese painting.

Among the library venues, there were many places for young visitors: an educational quest, a game room, and musical performances. Students of Glebov Minsk State Art College presented their VR project at the event. “I teach people to draw using VR glasses, give a short master class, and let them try themselves at this field. This is primarily aimed at young people and children who are interested in modern technologies, but this novelty is also interesting to older people. The principle of operation is almost the same as in any computer graphics editor. The joystick acts as a mouse that draws in space. You can imagine that you have a brush in your hands and you are drawing in a certain plane,” a college student Anna explained. 

She emphasized that the college has already presented its unique VR project at the National Art Museum next to a painting by Marc Chagall, and also created locations dedicated to favorite Soviet cartoons for the Animated Film Festival Animaevka. 

Library Night delighted its participants. Karolina Matveyeva came to the library with her parents for the first time and already wants to return. “I liked everything very much, especially drawing and playing board games. I see that there are so many books here, and I would be interested in coming here again to learn new fairy tales,” she said.

Yulia is attending the event for the second time. “I study Chinese, so I am interested in master classes on the Chinese language, painting, and culture. I see that every year more and more people are attracted to Library Night. Of course, it would be great to visit other libraries because I saw interesting events in the program, but, unfortunately, you cannot do everything in one evening,” she said.

“This year I am planning to apply for a master’s degree, so I often come here and look for literature that will help me in my preparation. A huge collection of books, author’s works, and dissertations is kept here, that I can rely on for my research. I am glad that the library continues developing and attracting new readers,” Yulia concluded.