Pravets Municipality:Target Libraries and

Their Partners

Pravets municipality – clean nature, historical and

cultural sites, elite high schools, alternative social services, good investment

policy, sports and tourism.

Human activities on the territory of Pravets date back to the

Neolithic period. Thracians and Romans, proto-Bulgarians and Slavs left their marks here. The numerous remains are silent, yet positive proofs

of ancient life on these lands.

The name of Pravets comes from “straight road”. Ancient roads ran here: Roman, medieval, the road

from the capital Tarnovgrad to Sredets during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom.

In 1883, Pravets municipality was established as a village municipality which subsequently changed its structure and territory repeatedly.

In modern times, Pravets was announced a town with a People’s Republic of Bulgaria State Council Decree of 16 October 1981.

31 years after that, the town keeps reviving.

Today, it is the center of a municipality incorporating a total of eleven settlements – the town of Pravets and ten villages.

The population of the municipality is 7,892 people of whom 4,417 people live in the town of Pravets.

Eight chitalishte operate on the territory of Pravets municipality. In 2012, a new chitalishte was established in the smallest settlement of the municipality.

The town of Pravets hosts Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte.

The chitalishte library was approved for participation in the Glob@l Libraries – Bulgaria Program under Stage 2009.

This facilitated the access to information provided by the library, transformed it into one of young people’s preferred places and created opportunities for enhanced and new partnerships.

The library at Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte in Pravets works successfully with institutions in various fields of action:

- educational institutions: Vasil Levski Primary School, Aleko Konstantinov Foreign Language High School, Vocational High School of Computing and Technology Systems;

- cultural institutions: Museum of History in Pravets, Mozart Festival Pravets ’04 Association;

- social institutions: St. Ivan Rilski Wonder Worker Protected House, Day Center Pravets, Club for Senior and Disabled People;

- Peace Corps volunteers;- local authors, etc.

Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte, Pravets

Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte, Pravets

School children from the primary school and the vocational schools in the town visit the chitalishte library

on a daily basis.

The access to modern library services helps them integrate to the global

information society and receive up-to-date information.

Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte, Pravets

In 2010, “Our Summer” municipal program was launched.

The program includes activities with first to fourth-graders and

fifth to seventh-graders from Vasil Levski Primary School,

some of which are hosted by the chitalishte library.

US Peace Corps volunteers Philip Snedegar and Adam Medoff work

with the children.

Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte, Pravets

Activities with children include computer classes, English language lessons educational movies, etc.

The targeted activities are instrumental to the efficient utilization of children’s leisure time in the summer.

Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte, Pravets

Senior people from St. Ivan Rilski Protected House, the Day Center, and the Club for Senior and Disabled People can visit the library and also receive on-site services like distribution of and discussions on books, etc.

On various occasions and holidays, the young chitalishte amateur performers organize dance and music shows which makes senior people’s daily lives more cheerful.

Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte, Pravets

The building of Zarya 1895 Public Chitalishte hosts the Museum of

History in Pravets and the Mozart Festival – Pravets ‘04 Association.

Many of their initiatives are implemented with the support of the chitalishte and the

equipment provided by the Global Libraries – Bulgaria Program.

Approved at Stage 2010, the library at Vasil Tsenkov 1936 Public Chitalishte

opened its computer room in 2011. This is a step toward making the library a

modern information center where lifelong learning takes place.

Vasil Tsenkov 1936 Public Chitalishte, Razliv

Users include people of any age and ethnicity – all of them make use of the new

opportunities.

Vasil Tsenkov 1936 Public Chitalishte, Razliv

The library works successfully with the school children from Hristo Botev Primary School and St. Ivan Rilski Home for Children Deprived of Parental Care who prepare for school, make presentations and stay busy in their free time.

The chitalishte staff provides one-on-one training of children and adults including: text-processing; internet for beginners and information search; social networks, etc.

Vasil Tsenkov 1936 Public Chitalishte, Razliv

The village club for senior and disabled people, together with the chitalishte,

organizes village celebrations – a successful model for the small-size

settlements with predominantly elderly population.

In the summer of 2011, the library at Vazrazhdane 1927 Public Chitalishte, renovated and equipped under the Global Libraries – Bulgaria Program, opened doors.

The library is located in the village with the biggest population in the municipality.

Vazrazhdane 1927 Public Chitalishte, Dzhurovo

The chitalishte library works with the children from Hristo Botev Primary School with the main purpose of facilitating their integration since they are of predominantly Roma origin.

A variety of training courses and activities are implemented – computer skills, games, listening to favorite fairy tales and songs, watching movies.  

Many young people learned to comply with library rules. They learn about the benefits of knowing computer technology and acquire numerous useful habits.

Villagers show a special interest in the fast and easy internet communication with their family members living abroad.  

Vazrazhdane 1927 Public Chitalishte, Dzhurovo

Razvitie 1898 Public Chitalishte, Vidrare

The folk song group at Razvitie 1898 Public

Chitalishte takes part in numerous regional, national and international forums. It

has received numerous awards. Through the Global

Libraries – Bulgaria Program, many young people returned to the library to find

more opportunities for expanding their knowledge.

Razvitie 1898 Public Chitalishte, Vidrare

Library partners include school children from Vasil Levski Primary School and St.

Panteleimon Home for Children with Mental Disabilities. Their socialization and

integration is also supported by US Peace Corps volunteers. In the summer, many

children coming to their grandparents for the vacation show special interest in visiting

the library.

The Global Libraries – Bulgaria Program opened up to chitalishte libraries new opportunities for activities, partnerships and initiatives.

The easy and equitable access to information, knowledge, communication, e-services, free internet and other information and communication technology enabled chitalishte libraries to make small villages more attractive places offering improved living, working and recreation conditions.

Thank you for your attention!

Prepared by Natalia Pancheva, Senior Culture Expert