The ceremonies of donation of The Book Heritage of Francysk Skaryna were held in the Palace of Nations in Geneva and in the University Library of Bern, on October 18 and 19.

On 18 October, Roman Motulsky, the director of the National Library of Belarus, presented the multivolume facsimile The Book Heritage of Francysk Skaryna in the Palace of Nations in Geneva. During the ceremony he noted the significance of the unique publication to both Belarus and the international community.

The international publishing project on the reconstruction of the Belarusian first printer’s heritage has become a highlight of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the Belarusian printing. The project, implemented by the National Library of Belarus and the BelVEB Bank, is an excellent example of cooperation for the return and preservation of historical heritage.

After the presentation, Roman Motulsky donated the facsimile The Book Heritage of Francysk Skaryna to Francesco Pisano, the director of the UN Library. Now the complete set of books – 21 volumes – can be consulted in the United Nations Library’s hall.

The event continued with a roundtable meeting “The Future of Libraries in the Knowledge Society”, at which Mr. Motulsky read a report. Francesco Pisano and Renaldas Gudauskas, the director of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, took part in the discussion.

On 19 October, the books printed by Francysk Skaryna and the international project on the facsimile reconstruction of his multivolume heritage were discussed in the University Library of Bern. After the words of welcome spoken by Library Director Eva Maurer, the ceremony of donation of the facsimile The Book Heritage of Francysk Skaryna was held. As part of the event, a tour was conducted to acquaint Mr. Motulsky with the library.

At the Swiss National Library Roman Motulsky met and negotiated with Director Marie-Christine Doffey. The meeting ended with an excursion to the library, during which Mr. Motulsky become acquainted with its information resources and rich collections, and also learned the experience of Swiss colleagues.