National Library opens European book wing

TIRANA, Jan.21- The National Library has a new wing, the “The European Book”. Portraits of well-known writers, philosophers, historians etc are hung on the walls of the reconstructed building. Dante’s laurels portrait decorates the Italian reading room. There is a “Machiavelli” graphic and, lying next to it on the walls of the alleyway, a portrait of Federico Garcia Lorca. Then there’s the French reading room followed by the English room. Nietchze’s and Schopenhauer’s portraits, divided by an eagle head, lead to the German reading room. Franc Kafka is another symbol of German literature. It has been a while since the room was opened in cooperation with the German institute “Goethe”. “Kant age”, a sketch of elder Kant, hangs on the walls of the “rare language” reading room. The National Library’s old building reconstruction started six years ago. Many collections of books were harmed due to the building’s poor conditions. There are about 250.000 rare titles of great cultural and historical value, especially those from the philosophical and artistic fund. The library has a rich fund of erotic literature, but in the past years it was not available for the readers. As the director of the National Library, Aurel Plasari says, those books were given only to some selected and trusted readers. “But now it is different, everyone can read everything. The National Library can not have the privilege to make selections”. Plasari says that they are working to have a special room for Slavic languages. The actual building of the National Library was was where Tirana’s independence was declared in 1912 and where the first Albanian government emerged from the Congress of Lushnje in 1920. Reconstruction began in October 2002, mostly through state investments.