The National Library of Romania Celebration Days is an annual event, organized to mark the most important achievements of the year and, at the same time, it is used as an opportunity to meet and have constructive discussions with representatives of libraries in the country and other interested stakeholders. This year’s edition, held on 11-12 November, offered a complex program of conferences, workshops, exhibitions, book launches, etc.
Within this program, the National Library of Romania, in partnership with ANBPR (National Association of Librarians and Public Libraries in Romania), organized the Conference “Public Library Network – dynamic infrastructure in support of sustainable development priorities“. This event brought together leaders in the field of librarianship, national and international experts, as well as representatives of civil society and the private sector.
The conference program included plenary and parallel sessions, round tables and interactive workshops, covering topics such as: international partnerships and projects for sustainability; best practices to support libraries of the future; inclusive societies based on active social participation; innovations on mainstreaming digital transformation and combating risks; security-based resilience, pro-ODD discourse and response to major crises etc. During the two-day conference, participants had the opportunity to explore ways of integrating new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, into shaping public library services, and to attend advanced technology demonstrations and presentations of creative solutions that combine cultural tradition with digital progress.
Another major event organized within the “National Library of Romania Celebration Days” program consisted in the launch of volume III of the album “Ex-libris in the collections of the National Library of Romania” and the opening of the exhibition with the same name, a project whose foundations were laid 20 years ago and which was resumed this year with the financial support of the AFCN (Administration of the National Cultural Fund). The album presents a series of ex-libris – bibliophile pieces at the confluence between fine art and the art of writing, a sign of ownership of the personal or public library –, kept in the collections of the National Library of Romania, focusing on the letters D-F. The exhibition also showcases a selection of ex-libris, completed with drawings made by children during the workshops dedicated to the promotion of ex-libris as bibliophile heritage elements.
Two other exhibitions designed to help highlight the cultural, educational and innovative role of libraries and strengthen their links with communities were also opened during this period: “Fakeless – an exhibition on media literacy” and “Behind the Shelf: In Search of Tomorrow’s Libraries“.