Donation of Books from the U.S. Library of Congress to the National Library of Belarus

Michael Scanlan addresses the audience at the donation event

Over 200 books were presented by the U.S. Embassy to the National Library of Belarus at the official ceremony on September 17 which received extensive press coverage by print and broadcast media. A hundred guests gathered to honor the partnership between the National Library of Belarus and the Library of Congress of the United States of America, which started almost a century ago in 1927.

“Over the course of a year this number will grow to 1000 titles about American life in English and Spanish. We hope that the new books from the Library of Congress will attract new readers to the National Library and help them learn more about the United States, its people, culture, history, and language” said CDA Michael Scanlan. The work of our  libraries is essential to connecting Belarusians and Americans; to keeping the knowledge of past civilizations alive; and for providing unfettered access to information in all fields so our societies today can grow and prosper.   It is both a responsibility and an honor for the libraries of our cities and towns to carry out these critical functions. 

The National Library Director Roman Motulski expressed sincere gratitude to the U.S. Embassy for the donation and shared memories about his visit to the U.S. Library of Congress where he was glad to see that there is a whole section devoted to Belarusian literature.  Deputy Minister of Culture Viktor Kurash noted that the cooperation between the National Library of Belarus and the U.S. Library of Congress was valuable and important and expressed hope that it would continue.