The Military History Library is the only specialized research library that keeps more than 250 000 books of Bulgarian and foreign literature from the first half of 19 th to our days. It supports the research, educational, publishing, and informational work in military history field. The Library stock is also available to guest-users at definite conditions.

Collections:

The works of outstanding Bulgarian military leaders, military historians and theoreticians, like Nikola Jekov, Georgi Vazov, Vladimir Vazov, Danail Nikolaev, Boris Drangov and many others, are kept in section Books. The history of the units, the unification and integration of the Bulgarian armed forces provokes particular interest too.
One of the unique sections of the Library – Regulation Books , that holds service literature like decrees, laws, orders and circulation documents of the military administration, regulation books, instructions, manuals, etc. from the period of Ministry of Defence establishment in 1878 till today.
The section Manuscripts treasures memoirs, memories and diaries of eminent military leaders, foreign military archive documents and papers, as well as works of foreign military commanders, participants in the wars against Bulgaria in 20 th century.
The section Old Russian Books is prominent with its scientific and historical value. The papers of military correspondents and participants in the Russian-Turkish war in 1877-1878 published in the years during and shortly after the end of the hostilities. Today they are valuable document sources.
Central places in the collection occupy: the 97 volumes of Collection of Materials for the Russian-Turkish War 1877-1878 on the Balkan Peninsula published from 1900 to 1911 in Saint Petersburg, the official 9 volumes of Description of the Russian-Turkish War 1877-1878 on the Balkan Peninsula published from 1901 to 1913, the 6 volumes of Collection of Military Memories of Officers Who Participated in the War 1877-1878 published from 1877 to 1878 in Sankt Peterburg, etc.
The section Periodicals includes specialized Bulgarian and Russian publications like: Military News 1892-1818; People's Defence 1919–1940; People's Army 1945–1951; Military Journal 1888–1947 and then from 1992 on; Russian Antiquity 1881–1912; Military Collection 1870–1915; State Newspaper 1879–2002. The representative publications of the different branches of service like the Air Review magazine 1936–1952, the Sea Review magazine 1947–1960, the Sea Accord magazine 1924–1943, the Modern Infantry magazine 1932–1953, the Artillery Review magazine 1923–1960, the Military Engineers Library magazine 1922–1949 are kept there, too.

References:

The Library provides the users with the basic catalogues: an alphabetical catalogue of the books in Bulgarian, in Russian and in Latin languages, as well as a systematic catalogue. These are supplemented by the developed subject card indexes, subject and general bibliographical reference books, guide books, etc. An archive of the written bibliographic references is also kept.
An information bulletin New Books in the Military History Library is periodically issued to help the readers.

Working time

9.00 – 12.00 and 14.00 – 16.00
Every second and last Thursday of the month the Library has a sanitary day and is closed for readers.

Staff:

Director: Snejana Antova Radoeva.Education – Master's degree in history and Master's degree in library information activities. Post-graduate qualification: courses in science information, English, French and computer literacy. A correspondent to International Bibliography in Military History
Publications: Bibliographical Reference Book for the Military Engineering Library 1922–1949 magazine; Bibliographical Reference Book for the Military History Collection magazine and News of the Military History Institute and the Military History Research Society 1973-1997 and publications in periodical and scientific issues.
Librarian : Greta Todorova Boiova. Education – Bachelor's degree in library information activities. Post-graduate qualification: a computer literacy course.
Publications: Bibliographical Reference Book for the Military Engineering Library 1922–1949 magazine; Bibliographical Reference Book for the Military History Collection magazine and News of the Military History Institute and the Military History Research Society 1973-1997.