Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2026 All Rights Reserved

Parliamentary culture committee votes against changing name of National Library

National Library Sts. Cyril and Methodius
Photo: Ani Petrova, BNR

The Culture Committee of the Bulgarian National Assembly failed to approve, at first reading, a bill on amendments to the Public Libraries Act to rename the National Library Sts. Cyril and Methodius to People’s Library. 2 MPs voted “for”, 4 voted “against” and 5 abstained.

The authors of the bill say that “like the National Assembly (Narodno Sabranie in Bulgarian, literally People’s Assembly) the Bulgarian National Bank (Balgarska Narodna Banka) the National Theatre (Naroden Teatar), the National Library too should officially gain a “people’s” status.”

National Library Director Assoc. Prof. Kalina Ivanova explained that there is no need to change the name because “it is the national culture institute of Bulgaria and has been assigned many functions under the Public Libraries Act”. “People” and “nation” have different definitions, she said and added she did not want to see the name of the National Library used for political aims.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Government resumes talks with unions and employers after freezing the 2026 budget

'The dialogue between employers and trade unions has been restored. Consultations will begin tomorrow at the Ministry of Finance to iron out all the details. The state is committed to supporting every Bulgarian citizen.' This was written by GERB leader..

published on 11/27/25 2:55 PM

NSI: Bulgarians' international travel increased 15% last year

Bulgarian citizens traveled abroad 829,300 times in October, which is 15% more than in October 2024 , according to the National Statistical Institute. The most popular destinations were Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Germany, North Macedonia,..

published on 11/27/25 2:39 PM

State-owned enterprises to combat corruption through an integrity officer

The National Assembly has introduced a new requirement for state-owned enterprises to implement corruption risk management systems, which will also include appointing an integrity officer. The measure is recommended by the Organisation for Economic..

published on 11/27/25 1:30 PM