Abstract:

The report presents analysis of the National Library Week, annually organised by the Bulgarian Library and Information Association (BLIA) since 2006 as an important tool to advocate for libraries and to draw the attention of the legislative, executive and local authorities to the urgent problems in the library sector and the need for immediate action in order to reform it. This annual initiative is of utmost importance in promoting the major challenges that Bulgarian libraries face in applying global trends in the national context.
The methodology applied for the realisation of the study includes instruments for observation, search, systematisation, summary and analysis of traditional as well as electronic information sources. The results show the timely response of Bulgarian library professionals to the dynamic changes. National Library Week creates the conditions for asking a lot of questions, presenting innovations and discussing a number of problems, but above all helps to eradicate the idea of the library as a static institution. Nowadays, the development of Bulgarian libraries is influenced by important strategic documents, such as: UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, European 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development and IFLA Trend Report.
As conclusion from the survey, we could summarise that the National Library Week, annually organised by the Bulgarian Library and Information Association (BLIA), is a sustainable practice to advocate for libraries. As a Bulgarian model, NLW takes into consideration the specifics of the national political and administrative structure and defines the target groups: legislators, central and local governments, librarians as well as the public. For fourteen years period, the campaigns successfully covered the key problems of Bulgarian library and information sector and the profession.
At the national level, BLIA achieved significant results in its work with Bulgarian government and with Parliament, the most important of those being the enforcement of the Public Libraries Act in 2009. Nevertheless, many important issues continue to be undecided and neglected, calling for further efforts and actions. The campaign is an important tool to draw the attention of the legislative, executive and local authorities to the urgent problems in the library sector and the need for immediate action and must be continued.
The implementation of such initiatives is of great importance for the participation of Bulgarian libraries in the world organisation of the new information environment. In addition to being able to solve a number of problems, they also show the level of training of Bulgarian specialists and provide the public with up-to-date information on the development of the new library and information world.

Keywords:

UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, IFLA, Libraries, Bulgaria, National Library Week.