Five years have passed since 2018 when the headquarters of the National Library of Greece (NBH) was moved to the premises of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center with the aim of upgrading it and better achieving its goals.

Where are we today?

The recent statement by the Minister of Education, Religion and Sports Kyriakos Pierrakakis at the opening of the retrospective exhibition “Markos Kampanis, Works 1990-2020” that “the space of the National Library is a gem for the city and for our country” and that soon they will be announced and other initiatives for its operation, created sensation and expectations for the future of the National Library of Greece.

On this occasion, we looked for actions and interventions that have so far either already developed and are in the process of implementation, or are planned to develop and concern the further improvement of the operation of the EBE.

It clearly appears that the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports is in close cooperation with the administration of the National Library of Greece and its president Stavros Zoumboulakis with the aim of overall strengthening and upgrading its operation and its role. From this collaboration, a series of actions started and others are planned, which will contribute to the transition of the Library to the modern era.

Already, as confirmed, an extraordinary grant of 1,000,000 euros has been approved for the Library for 2023 and at the same time, its annual grant of 4,000,000 euros has almost doubled, as from 4.7 million euros it will reach 8.7 million euros from 2024 onwards.

At the same time, the Library proceeded, after a barren thirty years of complete stagnation, in the purchase of book titles from the international bibliography in the amount of 3,399,107.13 euros through NSRA, a particularly important development for its enrichment in book titles, especially from abroad.

Administratively, developments are underway to fill the position of the director general of the National Library and the Special Evaluation Committee has already been set up which will make recommendations accordingly based on the applications of the interested parties.

It is also noted, with particular satisfaction for the level of cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Culture, that the studios of the National Library began to be used by the Ministry of Education and Culture for the video recording of lessons in the framework of the already announced program of “Digital Reinforcement Teaching” for primary and secondary education.

Information on future collaborations indicates that actions for people with disabilities and programs related to the digitization of the EBE’s huge archive are already underway, with announcements expected soon.

At YPAITHA, the program for upgrading the operation of the Library, expanding its purposes and improving its services to society as a whole are considered priorities, as, among other things, it recognizes the important role that a modern and digital library can play in future.