"Lyuben Karavelov" Regional Library - Ruse

"Lyuben Karavelov" Regional Library - Ruse is one of the oldest cultural centers in Bulgaria.

The beginning of the library was set in 1888, when patriotic cultural figures from the city, with the support of the City Municipality, set about creating the Ruse Library. These are the members of the educational society "Danube", founded a year earlier (in September 1887) in the city of Ruse. In Art. 1 of the Statute of "Danube" company is written: "... to lay the foundation of a city library". The library was first housed at 1 "Kniazheska" street, in the house of the revivalist Yosif Dainelov, an associate of G.S. Rakovski.

During the administration of Mayor Petar Vinarov (1851 – 1926), on February 11, 1888, the Municipal Council made the historic decision to open the Ruse City Library. As early as 1887, the elders granted those voted 1,500 BGN for the purchase of books.

Over the years, the people of Ruse have obtained an annual subsidy of BGN 7,000 to 8,000 through the Ministry of Education, the condition being that the city also provides a separate room for the library, with access to books for all Ruse citizens.

The first legitimate librarian, appointed in 1891, was the music teacher Atanas Paunov. The first Regulations for the internal order were drawn up and based on it a Selection Committee was formed for the purchase of new literature.