The book is dedicated to the 145^th anniversary of the “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” National Library

As the National Library of Bulgaria celebrates its 145^th anniversary, marking a milestone in its enduring journey as a hub of information and cultural exchange, its team invites readers to delve into the wealth of the library’s collections with “Pearls in the Crown”, the latest book published by the library’s publishing house.

This special edition brings together the expertise and contributions of 20 specialists and archivists from various departments of the institution, including “Manuscripts and Rare Books”, “Oriental Collections”, “Bulgarian Historical Archive”, and “Special Collections”. The book includes 65 articles, each accompanied by rich visual material and distributed in the following 7 parts:

1. “First and Different” – Includes publications about the earliest printed book preserved in the National Library, books with particularly interesting printing, a book “chained” in a chain, the smallest books and their history, first printers and their editions, etc.
2. “In the World of Manuscripts” – In this part, the reader will explore the most significant manuscript books from the library’s collections, written in different centuries and for various occasions, marking the path of Bulgarian and global cultural and literary development.
3. “Terra Incognita” – This section immediately captivates curiosity with its title. Through the eyes of a traveler, the reader has the opportunity to immerse themselves in exotic experiences, share emotionally distant destinies, discover new lands, and stroll through the centuries.
4. “Creators and Witnesses of History” – Focuses on documentary source material related to the Bulgarian National Revival and political figures from the early decades of the 20th century.
5. “Treasures of Memory” – Focuses on documents related to household, financial, and economic matters that have defined the public and administrative life of our population over the centuries.
6. “Human and Science” – Includes diverse documentary material from the National Library’s archives, where the unifying factor is a thematic focus on various areas of human knowledge – astronomy, medicine, mathematics, and more.
7. “Human and Art” – Publications in this section illustrate, both literally and metaphorically, the “diversity” of artistic-aesthetic sensibilities, preferences, and decisions reflected in the examined documents.

Readers are encouraged to embark on a journey through the pages of “Pearls in the Crown” to discover the vivid and fascinating stories meticulously curated to commemorate the National Library’s illustrious collections. Additionally, a video is available for readers to familiarize themselves with the collection through images from all 65 publications. The video link is here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItA9LEpx9jU).