Skopje, 7 December 2021 (MIA) - The St. Clement of Ohrid National and University Library in Skopje on Tuesday marked its patron saint Clement of Ohrid and 77 years since its founding. The acting director of the library, Jelisaveta Kostadinova, stressed that this library is an institution of exceptional importance for both culture and education, and at the same time it is a supporting pillar of librarianship in the country.

The National and University Library was founded in 1944 by decision of ASNOM.

Director Kostadinova in her address marking St. Clement of Ohrid Day said that the national library is the largest treasury of cultural, artistic and scientific achievements in the country, its library units fund exceeds three million, and it is also a cultural, educational, research and information center, which has an important role in many social spheres.

“It is necessary to take into account both from the higher instances in our country, and from all citizens who are also potential users of the library, that the awareness of the many functions for the various processes that are performed in St. Clement of Ohrid Library is a precondition to show in action the proper care, both for the conditions and the condition of the library, as well as for the material-financial and personnel capacities," said Kostadinova.

She noted that the impressive number of monographic and serial publications, as well as thousands of unique manuscripts and other types of materials has been supplemented by databases, which provide access to over 50 thousand electronic journals, e-books and other documents.

All this, as she said, is a great treasure that deserves the attention of many potential users and society as a whole.

“St. Clement of Ohrid National Library also performs an educational function, in order to establish the highest professional standards in the library activity and to continuously improve the librarianship in our country,” added the director.

She mentioned that every year training is organized through which librarians from public, local, university and school libraries gain professional knowledge in all segments of library work.

Also, as Kostadinova said, the National Library is responsible for organizing the library-information system of mutual cataloging.

"Our library is the competent parent institution in our country for protection of library goods, where there is continuous conversation and restoration of manuscripts, publications and other materials, and at the same time is the main center of digitalization," explained Kostadinova.

Addressing the event, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Zuo said the civilization of a state and a nation represents the collective memory of a people.

"I am especially impressed with the rich cultural heritage of North Macedonia, with the numerous cultural and historical monuments and with the fact that North Macedonia pays special attention to the protection of cultural heritage," Zuo said.

He added that the culture of North Macedonia is rich and resembles a very thick book. The Ambassador said that libraries are important bearers of history, culture and the humanistic spirit, and serve as schools for lifelong learning and spiritual homes for the general public.

“The National University Library of North Macedonia has a long history and a huge fund of valuable historical documents. It has developed very good cooperation with Chinese libraries to promote cultural and linguistic exchange between our two countries, and at the same time has a positive role in deepening ties between people," said Ambassador Zhang Zuo.

He added that the Embassy is ready to strengthen communication with the library and contribute more to the friendship between the two countries.

As part of the event, Aneta Serafimova gave a lecture on St. Clement of Ohrid before the church choir performed spiritual music. Also, the library presented its annual awards to its staff, and the Library Association president gave the Library of the Year award to a local library, as well. The event ended with the opening of Iskra Dimitrova’s interactive exhibition titled “Portraits.” dk/ba/