TENTH YEAR OF SOFIA LIBRARY’S CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE READING AND ATTRACT NEW READERS
This creative summer initiative to promote early childhood reading launched in 2015 in several parks. Today there are 17 parks with green paths leading to Sofia Library, including in Vitosha Nature Reserve with a network of 7 book houses spread over the mountain.
The Library continues to expand the campaign across the capital, and in 2024, new cultural spots include Vazrazhdane Park and Studenski Park, and a book exchange box will also be installed in the gardens of the National Sports Academy. This brings the total number of book-sharing locations – regularly stocked by the Sofia City library – to eleven.
Over the years, campaign events have featured a variety of creators and performers: distinguished Bulgarian poets and emerging writers, popular musicians and singers, actors and visual artists, and children’s theatre, vocal and dance groups. Renowned Bulgarian publishing houses have also participated, showcasing popular titles and their authors. Participants this year include poet Ivan Lanzhev (Sofia City Library’s most-read poet in 2022 and 2023), chidlren’s author, actress and singer Zheni Alexandrova-Lecheva, and pop singer Milenita.
Over the past nine years, the Green Libraries campaign has attracted over 80,000 visitors and registered 10,000 readers. In parallel the ‘Take, Read, Return’ book-exchange initiative has received 5,000 new books donated by Sofia residents.
This year kicked off on 27 July in North Park with a rich artistic programme scheduled for the rest of the summer, including meetings with popular poets, thematic exhibitions, live musical performances and special activities for children.
DATES AND LOCATIONS (BETWEEN 10.00 AND 14.00)
3 August (Saturday) – North Park
4 August (Sunday) – Sveta Troitsa Park
10 August (Saturday) – Geo Milev Park
11 August (Sunday) – Zaimov Park
17 August (Saturday) – South Park
18 August (Sunday) – Studentski Park
24 August (Saturday) – Sofia Zoo
25 August (Sunday) – Aleko Hizha, Vitosha Nature Reserve
31 August (Saturday) – Borisova Gradina
1 September (Sunday) – Vazrazhdane Park
PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS
- Performing this year: poets Ivan Landzhev, Kalim Terziyski, MIrela Ivanova, Petar Chuhov, Angela Dimcheva, Ivan Hristov, Anna Lazarova, Kristin Dimitrova, Georgi Gavrilov, Violeta Kuneva, Kaloyan Hristov; musicians and singers Milenita Teddy Velvet, Ivan Borojiev, Eli Radanova, Ventsi Drenikov, Georgi Arsov, Alek kirev, Kiril Koev, and others.
- The popular ‘Take, Read, Return’ book exchange initiative. Publishing houses such as Ina, Pan, Fyut, Zlatnoto Paté, Era, Scorpio and Zahari Stoyanov have traditionally supported the campaign by donating hundreds of popular sought-after titles.
- Visitors will be able to view the new photo-documentary exhibition ‘Curious Sofia’, showcasing the latest book in a Sofia City Library series tracing the development of the capital. This volume focuses on the 1930s, with many images taken from the 1934 ‘Guide to Bulgaria’, a richly illustrated reference work popular at the time containing maps, descriptions of landmarks, interesting facts, and commercial and economic information regarding life in the city at the time.
- Children and students can take part in creative STEM games, coding activities with robots, 3D pen art, and traditional Korean games and activities. There will be gifts of children’s books and colouring books. The children’s programme will also feature performances by the Palavi Noti vocal group, Iren Krivoshieva’s theatre workshop, the Daga sports dance club from the Essence School of Performing Arts, and activities led by puppeteer Tanya Gigova.
- ‘The Birds of America’ exhibition featuring reproductions from the 1827 book by John James Audubon. Famous for its massive dimensions – 1-metre-high by 64 cm wide – the album contains 435 hand-coloured, life-sized illustrations of birds. Sofia City Library owns one of the 500 facsimile copies of this iconic work.
- Sofia Library’s travelling branch – the Bibliobus – stocks 1,500 volumes, ranging from classic titles to contemporary bestsellers. Anyone interested can also obtain a free library card there.