Forum 2025

About the Forum

10th National Forum
Libraries today: proactive, accessible, sustainable

Forum Venue
Sofia, 108 Georgi S. Rakovski St. (Federation of the Scientific-Engineering Unions in Bulgaria)

During the Forum, we will discuss the increasingly vital role of libraries as spaces providing free and equal access to information, knowledge, and culture for everyone. Through various non-formal education programs, libraries foster information and media literacy—essential skills for navigating disinformation, misleading news, and propaganda. Today, libraries serve as a modern-day “agora” for debating issues significant to local communities, encouraging active civic engagement, and upholding democratic values. The Forum will also address shifts in how culture is created and accessed, as well as the challenges currently facing Bulgarian *chitalishta* (community cultural centers).

The theme of Forum 2025 centers on three key sub-themes:

Accessible Libraries – modern service models and offerings tailored to diverse user groups.
Proactive Libraries – partnerships, projects, and continuous professional development for library staff.
Sustainable Libraries – green libraries, cultural heritage, and the New European Bauhaus.

The event—taking place over two days, October 16–17, 2025—will feature presentations, discussion panels, and workshops designed for librarians across the country. These sessions aim to introduce them to new opportunities for development and collaboration, while also supporting the enhancement of their professional skills.

On the evening of October 16, participants of Forum 2025 will also have the opportunity to attend the special ceremony for the 9th Annual FGBB Awards. The Forum will be attended by representatives from public libraries across the country, the academic and business sectors, the executive, legislative, and local authorities, as well as non-governmental and training organizations.

Participation in the Forum is completely free of charge; only registration via the online form is required.

The “Global Libraries – Bulgaria” Foundation, the primary organizer of the event, will cover the cost of one night’s accommodation in Sofia (for October 16) for participants from libraries located outside the city.
Travel expenses are to be covered by the participants themselves.