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Laman Ismayilova

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A series of virtual exhibitions "Shusha handicrafts," "Shusha jewellery", "Shusha household items", "Shusha national costumes" have been launched at the Azerbaijan National Library, Azernews reports.

The materials reflect 19th-century clothing culture, household items, jewellery made by artisans, 19th century embroidery samples, their classification, visual images, and a brief history of the Shusha population.

Note that Shusha city has been designated as the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World for 2024.

Azerbaijan's cultural heritage was highlighted at the 11th meeting of the Islamic World Heritage Committee (IWHC), operating under ICESCO, where ten examples of Azerbaijan's intangible cultural heritage were inscribed in the Islamic World Heritage List.

On November 21, 2023, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, signed a decree on measures related to declaring the city of Shusha the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World for 2024.

In connection with Shusha being named the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World for 2024, the city hosted the Festival "Common Table of Islamic Countries" and an international conference on tourism development in the Islamic world.

Those who want to get acquainted with the virtual exhibition, please click to the following links:

http://anl.az/el/vsb/Susa_milli_geyimleri/index.htm

http://anl.az/el/vsb/Susa_meiset_esyalari/index.htm

Azerbaijan National Library is a treasure trove of knowledge for bookworms.

With over 5 million books, manuscripts, and maps, the Azerbaijan National Library is considered one of the largest libraries in the Caucasus region. Since 1939, the library has borne the name of the eminent playwright Mirza Fatali Akhundov.

The library has an extensive collection of literature in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, and other languages. It has collected and preserved national editions, works of Azerbaijani and foreign authors about Azerbaijan published abroad.

The National Leader, Heydar Aliyev, visited the National Library four times in 1995-1997 and donated nearly 300 books from his personal library.

In 2004, the Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library was granted the status of a national library by the decision of Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers.

The building of the library is no less impressive. The library's faсade is decorated with the statues of eminent poets and writers like Nizami Ganjavi, Mahsati Ganjavi, Uzeyir Hajibayli, Shota Rustaveli, Alexander Pushkin and many others.

The scope of the library's activities is constantly expanding. In 2005, on the basis of legal copies received from publishing houses and printing companies, the library published the yearbook "Books of Azerbaijan" for 1990, 1991, 2000, and 2001.

Over the past years, the National Library has signed a memorandum on bilateral mutual cooperation with about 80 libraries.

In 2021, the Culture Ministry and Mirza Fatali Akhundov Library launched a joint campaign, "Let's go to Garabagh with a book", to restore libraries in the Garabagh region.

A large number of books were donated to the Garabagh Book Fund by a number of international organisations working in the field of culture, Turkic-speaking countries, famous foreign and local authors, publishers, and print houses.

Since 1992, the Kazakhstan National Academic Library has been a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL).

Moreover, it has been part of the non-profit partnership "Library Assembly of Eurasia" (BAE) since 1993.

In 2002, the library took the lead in the Kazakhstan National Committee for the UNESCO programme "Memory of the World," which aims to preserve documentary heritage.

Furthermore, in 2008, it became the regional centre for the IFLA PAC (Preservation and Conservation) core programme, which focusses on the preservation of library materials and ensuring their accessibility for future generations.

As of now, the collection of the Kazakhstan National Academic Library boasts approximately 7 million books.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr

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