This giant building situated at the entrance to Minsk has already become the architectural symbol of the city. People call it “The Diamond” because of the unusual shape of its upper part.

Before the beginning of its construction, the people of Minsk kept wondering why the right side of the Skorina prospect was empty. High-rise buildings occupied the left side while the right one was just a barren ground. Finally in 2002, the President of Belarus A. Lukashenko, announced the beginning of the “national construction project”. He even took part in the building process himself – both financially (transferred his monthly salary into the library’s budget) and physically (he helped to tile the building). That’s how this amazing edifice was erected on the picturesque embankment of the Slepyanka River.

It’s hard to say in what style the library was designed. However, it definitely reflects the industrial power of Belarus. It is a rhombo-cubo-octahedron which is 72.6 meters high (it has 25 levels) and weighs as much as 115,000 tons (not counting the weight of the books). The site area equals to 19,500 square meters, the total area of the building – 112,600 square meters, the area of the book depository – 54,900 square meters. There are 20 reading rooms in the library which can seat 2,000 people. The volume of the book depository equals to 14 million units!

There aren’t any similar libraries in Europe yet. The Minsk library looks gorgeous both from the outside and from the inside. It’s fit out with modern furniture, and equipped with PCs and LCD screens. The systems of data storage and the information processing servers were made by Hewlett Packard.

Book depositories occupy 22 levels, and reading rooms are 3 levels. The public reading room, the room of periodicals, the room for graduates, the restaurant, the lunchroom, and the kids’ room are located on the first level which is also called “the student floor”. The second level is the “level of scientists”. It also has reading rooms (including the ones for the doctors of science), Internet center, general alphabet catalogue, accession exposition, and more. The third level is the home of the note hall, the storage containing audio and video documents, the room of the rare old-printed books, the National Archive of Belarus, and the book museum. The center of international meetings, including the office of the Belarusian President, two conference halls, summit hall, and the adjoining rooms are also located on this level.

There’s an observation platform for tourists located at the height of 72 meters. Pay 2,000 Belarusian Rubles (less than $1) to get a bird’s-eye view of Minsk. Recently 11 couples got married on this platform! A tour around the library costs 12,000 Belarusian rubles ($5.50). After getting a library ticket and paying a little entrance fee, 5,000 Belarusian rubles (app. $2.50), one may use the books and the Internet for free. Disabled customers weren’t forgotten either – they can use several special elevators located in the library.

However, it’s not only the new National Library where the representatives of culture and science get together: there is a highly developed network of regional libraries in Belarus. Soon they all will be connected with “The Diamond” via Internet and special telecommunication channels. Thus, people will be able to use the contents of the National Library without having to leave the provincial Vitebsk or Bobruysk. There is also a virtual hall of theses of the State Library of Russia. Numerous foreign countries want to cooperate with the National Library of Belarus; the required contracts and agreements have already been signed by the Ukraine, China, Moldavia, Egypt and Latvia. Soon this list will include Poland and Slovakia.