1. Manuscripts – 21 items. The oldest manuscript is a Lenten Triode from the 60s of the XIV century. The monument contains 254 sheets that have been restored in the Laboratory for Conservation and Restoration at the National Library "St. St. Cyril and Methodius". From the second half of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century, the liturgical Four Gospels with a monthly message, which includes a 220-page statutory letter, also date. More about the Slavic manuscripts in the library's possession.
2. Old printed books and periodicals 1806-1878 - 637 are the unique titles that the library is proud of, and the volumes are almost twice as many (total 1210 items), as there are copies of many of the works. Among the most valuable antiquities is the first Bulgarian old printed book "Nedelnik" in the new Bulgarian language, printed in the town of Rimnik, Romania in 1806. The first Bulgarian textbook, intended for the new Bulgarian school "Primer with different teachings" by Dr. Petar Beron, was published in 1824 in Brasov. Most of the books in the collection are on Church-Slavic themes. These are various liturgical publications, among which the Old Testament, Bibles, various bulletins, Sundays, calendars in the Church Slavonic language predominate. Here are also the editions of our patron Petko Slaveikov – chants, primers, the first cookbook, etc. works of art. The old print fund is stored under a special regime and is used only in the library's reading room. A large part of this fund has been digitized and can be found in Digital Cultural Treasury Sever+.
3. Rare and valuable books after 1878 - a collection that includes phototypes and unique in their content editions with a rich polygraphic layout, with the artistic value of the binding, bibliophile editions, as well as with the presence of valuable autographs, notes, bookplates, etc.
4. Personal collection of local history books of Prof. Marin Alexandrov Kovachev - The most significant manifestation in the field of local history activity of the libraries in our country until the end of the Second World War belongs to Veliko Tarnovo. In the 1930s, the director of the National Library in the city, Pencho Krusev, organized the review of the Bulgarian literary production from the foundation of the library in 1921 to 1935, as a result of which about 20,000 publications about Veliko Tarnovo were described. arranged according to a classification scheme prepared especially for the case by him with over 630 divisions. This card file is the first local history card file in Bulgaria, and the classification scheme is still our only Bulgarian scheme for local history needs. Heir to the work of Pencho Krusev is Prof. Marin Kovachev - scientist, local historian, university teacher. Chairman and editor of the only local history magazine in our country "Archive for settlement studies". Since 1998, chairman of the Union of Local Historians in Bulgaria. As such, he collects local lore-themed books of local lore from across the country. Later he donated the collection to the "Petko R. Slaveykov" Regional Library. The collection contains 98 volumes, most of them autographed by the author. The collection is located in the Central Building of the library. You can see a list of books HERE
5. Esperanto Collection - from the end of 2023, thanks to the partnership with the "Bulgarian Esperanto Union" - the city of Sofia, the foundations of the library's newest collection were laid. It includes 38 titles - books by Bulgarian authors, translated into Esperanto and study aids, which will help the "Verdaj steletoj" club founded at the Children's Department at the "Slaveiche" BIC. The goal is the revival of the study of the international language that began its history in the city of Veliko Tarnovo.
