National Library of Georgia to Cooperate with Bibliothèque Mazarine, Paris

The past few days marked the beginning of a very fruitful collaboration between the National Library of Georgia and the oldest public library in France- Bibliothèque Mazarine (The Mazarin Library).

“Today we visited the ancient French Bibliothèque Mazarine. My colleague, Library Director Yann Sordet, hosted us. With me was the Ambassador of Georgia to France, Gocha Javakhishvili. The negotiations have been very fruitful: in the nearest future we will sign a Memorandum of Cooperation and create a fund for new Georgian publications. Here we came across the Georgian psalm-book printed in 1709 (Vakhtang VI printing house). Georgia only has a defective piece of this publication. As part of our agreement, the electronic version of this historical edition will soon return to Georgia”, reads the Facebook post by Giorgi Kekelidze, General Director of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. 

The Bibliothèque Mazarine is a 17th century library with an impressive collection of manuscripts and rare books, including the Gutenberg Bible. There are over 600,000 printed volumes including approximately 180,000 dated from between the 16th and 18th centuries, along with over 4000 manuscripts and over 2000 incunabula, which are basically early printed books, pamphlets or scripts.

Following his appointment as Director of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia in 2012, Kekelidze has gained due respect as the initiator of a variety of reforms directed at the library’s sustainment and advancement. Georgian libraries have been opened in Istanbul, Kiev, and Vienna. He has created a library based on e-learning, uniting several regional libraries. As a result of Kekelidze’s activities in 2012, the National Library was awarded with the name of Tolerance of the Year.

In 2017, on Kekelidze's initiative, the biggest Book Museum in Georgia was founded, aimed at providing space for various educational meetings and seminars.

In 2020, some of the most vital advancements pioneered by Kekelidze include the opening of a Georgian Library within the University of Qatar; the opening of The Folklore Hall in Building 2 of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, as part of a joint mission to support and promote the Georgian chant tradition and other forms of Georgian folklore; to name just a few.