Bright rays of light break against stylish reflectors and evenly fill large rooms. You walk through a transparent hall to an automated working place. It takes under one minute to make an enquiry if you know the program, but it is so user-friendly it takes just a bit more to learn. You press the “enter” key and send your request to the electronic brain, which takes a millisecond to “thumb through” its catalogues and send a command to the computer that will execute your order. At this moment some thirty meters above your head an intricate machine starts looking for the searched item, and after it finds it, the book is sent to you by a special tele-elevator. A low humming sound, a sliding lid and a small trolley coming to you from the ceiling. You take your book, open it and plunge into the world of knowledge…This would have looked like a science fiction story a couple of years ago, but it is a serious news article. I guess even the designers and architects of the National Library could not have told what the insides of the “diamond” would look like and what sort of machinery would be installed there. President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters after the ceremony that the project had required adjustments almost every day. “If we followed the old standards that were originally put in the basis of the building, you would be criticizing us now,” the head of state said. We used all up-to-date solutions and fresh ideas to alter the project every minute, and we managed without foreign help. “This is a serious training ground for our people,” the president said.
Belarus wanted to build a new library, but the project turned out to be the largest informational, social and cultural center of the country. This is a treasury of knowledge, which is not restricted by the book reserve. The library possesses modern communication lines that connect it with the largest centers of the kind in the world. The Belarusian library is to become a part of the intellectual treasury of the planet.
The unique “diamond” is a worthy feature of the country that has entered the “intellectual” XXI century. In a few years to come Minsk and other cities will be beautified by convenient and functional building just like the National Library. The construction of the modern recreation facility “Minsk-Arena” will start soon, and there are a number of other
ambitious projects.
However, the library will always remain a very special and significant project. Besides, the builders and architects received vital experience, and many of them have been invited to work abroad. According to the president, we are close to the stage where we will require more builders for Belarusian projects. The country is being built more actively than ever, especially in the regions, where the construction sector suffered a lot during the post-Soviet crisis. The country needs to be restored to flourish, and relevant tasks have already been set.
