Mobile Station for Book Preservation Arrives in Odesa
A mobile station ARK 1 has arrived in Odesa, equipped with modern technology for cleaning, disinfecting, drying, and restoring books and documents. This was made possible by financial support from the ALIPH Foundation and the Ukrainian Library Association. According to the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications.
The first mobile station reached Ukraine in January 2025. Its compact size (a container measuring 6 × 2.3 meters) allows for quick deployment without the use of special equipment, and in case of power outages, it can operate on a generator.
From March to August, specialists processed over 350 documents, including about 200 books from the late 19th to early 20th century from university libraries, 30-35 newspaper archives from the Oles Honchar Regional Universal Scientific Library, and over 70 archival documents and manuscripts from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine, the National Historical Library of Ukraine, and the KPI Scientific and Technical Library.
Now, Odesa, with its unique cultural heritage, has a tool for rapid response to damage to library and archival collections, especially under the constant threat of shelling. In October, practical training will be conducted for librarians in the city and region on preserving document collections.
This initiative is being implemented jointly by the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine, the National Library of the Czech Republic, the Czech ICOM Committee, and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine.
The project is funded by the charitable foundation of the Komarek family and various international donors. The coordinator in Ukraine is the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine, and the strategic partner is the Ukrainian Library Association.
