The book restoration laboratory at the “Sotir Kolea” book center has restored around 600 books from the 1800s to 1940s, part of the National Library’s archive. The equipment, made possible through the support of the European Union, preserves the valuable collection of books and the rare values they hold.

The “Sotir Kolea” Center has acquired several specialized tools for the restoration laboratory in the past year, aiding in the restoration processes.

Antonio Çikollari, responsible for the book maintenance sector at the “Sotir Kolea” center, says that previously, the work was done mechanically. Employees did it by hand or with almost primitive tools. With the new equipment, the work is much easier, making it easier for library staff and also increasing the quantity of books restored and processed. According to Çikollari, up to 40-50 books can be cleaned in 15 minutes.

“The selection of books is also based on their contents. For example, we have books by Erasmus of Rotterdam found in the premises of the National Library, which are normally damaged over time, even when never exposed. So there is a need for special attention to be paid to these rare works we have, so that we can shed light on these hidden values and present them to the public,” Çikollari underlined.

The equipment at the “Sotir Kolea” center, an annex of the National Library, was provided almost a year ago through the EU4Culture grants program. These tools, worth 668,922 euros, include servers, book and barcode scanners, laptops, tablets, specialized cleaners, disinfectants and drying rooms, book acidity removal cleaning machines, etc., which have significantly enhanced the library’s services.

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