Prime Minister Edi Rama together with the Minister of Culture, Elva Margariti, the director of the National Library, Piro Misha, and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Tirana, as well as representatives of natural culture, science and education, visited today the “Sotir Kolea” Center.

“Covered by the dust of time, stuffed with what were once forbidden books, confiscated from the scholars punished during the former regime, is the history of what was known as the former Annex of the National Library, which is today the Sotir Kolea Center,” said Minister Margariti.

This center dedicated to the books has been reconstructed and brought back to life thanks to the investment of the Albanian Government and the modern equipment provided from the EU4Culture Program of the European Union.

The ‘treasures’ of the Sotir Kolea Center, part of the National Library in Tirana, are now kept under safe conditions and can be accessed by all book lovers.

The EU4Culture Program of the European Union offered modern equipment to ensure the books’ preservation and enable online reading. “We are proud of the contribution through the EU4Culture Program,” writes a post of the EU mission in Albania.

The assistance consists of new servers, books, barcode scanners, laptops, tablets, security system, dust cleaners, water and acidity removal, appliances to disinfect the books and other equipment, which help to better preserve and treat its fund of various books. A good part center’s services are already automated.

/a.p./