Filenews 2 August 2021
It aspires to be a hotbed and feeder of cultural and spiritual life in the city and province of Paphos. The Paphos Municipal Library, founded in 1946, in bad times, today has about 26,000 volumes, including rare publications and historical documents, which are valuable material for researchers and scholars. It is a spiritual gem for the city, although, as the responsible librarian for 30 consecutive years, Phytoula Neophytou, states the internet has led to a decline in readers.
The Municipal Library of Paphos was founded in 1946 by the then Mayor of Paphos (1943-1953) Christodoulos Galatopoulos. The name of its founder was given to the Library by decision of the Municipal Council of Paphos in 2002.
It opened its doors to the public as a lending library in May 1946. It hosted many cultural events, including the Palamical Festivals, the only ones held in the wider area in honour of the poet Kostis Palamas. Their inspiration was Christodoulos Galatopoulos, who in 1949 was imprisoned by the British colonial authorities for this initiative.
During its nearly 70 years of operation, the Municipal Library of Paphos was enriched with purchases and donations of books by great personalities of the Letters, such as Odysseus Elitis, Andis Passaris, the Petridio Foundation (10 thousand euros), the University of Leicester (books worth a total value of 2000 euros) etc.
The head of the Municipal Library of Paphos, Phytoula Neophytou, took us to the Library, where she has been working as a manager for thirty years.
In a statement, Mrs Neophytou said that since the consolidation of the internet in our lives, the number of readers has dwindled. She also noted that the Municipal Library of Paphos contributed substantially to the cultural and spiritual fermentation in Paphos, but gradually fell into decline.
Today readers are of different ages, such as students, students, young and old, older in need of a book, but also retirees, who have more time to study and others.
Asked about the renovation of the Paphos Municipal Library, Mrs Neophytou noted that in response to the needs of the local community, the Paphos Municipal Council decided in the late 2000s to proceed with its renovation and upgrading.
She also added that with the city of Paphos taking over the 2017 European Capital of Culture, the project was of particular importance.
She also pointed out that on the subject of its reconstruction, modernisation and reopening in January 2015, the implementation of the agreement concluded by the Municipality of Paphos with the Cyprus Association of Librarians and Information Scientists (KEVEP) began.
The project, she continued, was supported in practice with their know-how and experience by the University of Cyprus, the Cyprus University of Technology and the Open University of Cyprus. The aim is to promote and accessibility of its rich documents, she added.
Visitors of the Paphos Municipal Library usually ask for literary books, because the literary book is expensive, readers cannot buy all the time so they prefer to borrow. She also said that there are those readers who no longer need them, and who give them to the Municipal Library of Paphos, thus, as she said, enriching the department.
In response to a question about what she has been asked and has surprised her during the thirty years she has worked at the Municipal Library of Paphos, Mrs Neophytou replied that one day she was visited and asked for books about Satanism, which of course, as she said, the Municipal Library of Paphos does not have.
In relation to the enrichment of the Municipal Library of Paphos, Mrs. Neophytou mentioned that some books are bought by the Municipality of Paphos, some are donated by citizens who do not need them, while others are given to them by the Cyprus Library, which buys books from the authors, in order to help them.
She also added that every now and then the Cyprus Library sends them a box of books.
The oldest books available in the Library are some historical books, which are also two hundred years old, while the Municipal Library of Paphos also hosts newspapers 200 years old, mainly foreign editions.
Today the Library has about 26,000 volumes, including rare publications and historical documents, which are valuable material for researchers and scholars. It features in addition to historical books, children's books, medical books, literary books, books of Paphos and others.
In this way, said Mrs Neophytou, the Municipal Library of Paphos "Christodoulos Galatopoulos" was transformed in 2015 into a modern library and aspires to be a hotbed and feeder of cultural and spiritual life in the city and province of Paphos.
She also said that two books of 1652 and 1687, like others from the same period, were discovered in the Municipal Library of Paphos. These completed books will be preserved and digitized. She declares herself a great reader mainly of literature of both Greek and foreign writers but mainly foreign writers, as she said. The book she said, it is an important tool for each of us, contributes to our cultivation and is our best friend.
Readers after studying the books they borrow return them within 15 days, stating that if they do not have time to read them, they are entitled to renew them. She pointed out that the enrichment of the part of the Municipal Library of Paphos that houses books in Paphos is being attempted.
Mrs. Neophytou said that the Paphos Municipal Library is also visited by young readers who use the computers available to the Municipal Library at the top of it for their study mainly during the summer months.
Cna
