Regina Pope
The National Library of Albania has been out of its function for years and has become a prison of books. They are stored there, just like any other commodity, behind hermetic doors that are extremely difficult for readers to open today. The problems are numerous; from lack of space to lack of will to serve readers.
Today, to be a user, you have to cross a river of obstacles. First, you have to become a member through the e-Albania portal and then get a physical library card. Meanwhile, to withdraw a book, you have to make a prior request on the online portal and then wait 24 hours according to their official schedule to go to the library hall and read. Reading is allowed only in the hall, no material can be taken out of it.
Only a certain percentage of books can be withdrawn from the collection. A new rule makes it clear that no book published from 2017 onwards can be made available to readers, "due to lack of space," as stated on the library's official website.
From the request for information addressed to the institution, it has not yet been revealed how much of the collection is kept solely for storage and what percentage of it is for reader use.
And although with very restrictive rules, the library is supposed to function today. However, the desire to use this space has waned among readers, especially young people.
"I just wanted to sit down and read, and I felt like I had entered an institution where I didn't belong. The employees didn't seem to think that it was normal for someone to go and read. I left and never came back," says Enxhi, a student in Tirana.
There are only 3 reading rooms in the library building, while spaces like the "American Corner" carry out activities beyond the function of the National Library. Although there are 13 rooms at the "Sotir Kolea" Center, the portal lists only two rooms in use, the German and French ones, with set hours, mainly in the morning.
Professor Bardhosh Gaçe sees this reduction in space as one of the main problems of this institution, saying that this narrowing favors businesses and is to the detriment of readers.
"It is a cultural and scientific center, the shrinkage of which in recent years is a great wound for us intellectuals and readers. For several years it has turned into a warehouse without inventory. It is inexcusable that we struggle to get a book," says Gaçe. He also attaches great importance to the exhibition of materials stored in the fund from the Renaissance and the Middle Ages, a large part of the wealth of our country, which have been left unread for years.
The academic concludes by saying that today it has become a national concern and that this has brought about the destruction of cultural life in Albania.
From the request for information addressed to the institution, the response received was that the library, for the year 2025, had only 1260 registered users.
Meanwhile, neighborhood libraries have almost the same number, or even more. For example, the “Hamit Beqaj” library has 1520 registered readers. Four of these libraries have a higher number of registered readers than the National Library.
Some of them can be used without registration, while others require a student card or proof of residence. So, only residents of that area can benefit from their facilities.
Where does the money go?
Data on the National Library's budget, provided through the official website, shows that for the years 2021 and 2022 it has remained almost unchanged, but with a very big problem: most of it goes to staff salaries. A problem previously highlighted by a report by the Civic Resistance for the years 2016–2020.
And although the budget has increased by about half of its previous amount in 2024 and doubled for the period from January to October 2025, the distribution has not changed that much.
The voices remain the same; over the years, more than half of the library's budget has been allocated for staff salaries alone. A ridiculous amount of 300 thousand lek was given for cultural projects in 2021. This has since increased, but until last year it did not exceed the figure of 1 million lek.
Meanwhile, in the last two years, 2024 and 2025, investments worth a total of approximately 45 million lek have been added, for which the library has refused to provide information on what they were used for.
Likewise, it was not agreed to provide information on the maintenance of the fund, books and the total invoice for these expenses.
How does it happen in different countries?
Not far from us, in Kosovo, readers do not need to have a certain status to use the national library.
"I am a member of the city library, 'Hivzi Sylejmani'. The environment is warm, a large space, with toilets and places to eat something," says Xhoni, a 25-year-old from Pristina, adding that reading in the hall can be done even without a membership.
A little further on, Merilin, a medical student studying in Sofia, says she feels comfortable and at ease with the service they provide there. “They like that there are still people interested in reading books, they treat us well.”
In their national library, or even in those of cities or neighborhoods, it does not matter whether you are a student, a resident of the area or not to use them; it is enough to register. Everyone is free to use the resources of state libraries. Without obstacles, without unnecessary waiting, without rudeness; on the contrary, with a cup of tea and maybe some cookies.
A lost culture
In other countries, the library system works for what it is: to create convenience for the reader to have a book in hand and a quiet place to read. What in our country has remained for years covered in dust under promises that are nowhere to be seen, neither for the library nor for the reader.
In Albania, promises of a new building or restoration date back to 2015. Prime Minister Rama repeated this pledge in January of this year. But today, Enxhi continues to have the library's doors closed.
Anna Shkreli, publisher at the BERK publishing house, explains how this now-lost culture has been robbed from readers over the years and now it will take a long time for us to see fruit.
"The library has been so crippled by a lack of space, funds, and capacity, it has been burned, flooded, that in Albania the tradition of frequenting the library has been slowly lost. A culture either exists or it does not exist," says Shkreli. This situation, according to her, is not a new behavior of citizens; it is a reality that they have lived with for a long time. The problem does not lie with the National Library, but with the lack of state attention.
According to her, the solution is not sporadic events, but a systemic reform of the institution: qualified staff, digitalization and reading education in schools. Until then, the National Library remains an inaccessible exhibition, where the state continues to take revenge on its citizens./acqj.al
