Ark I moved from Kiev to Odessa
After several months in Kyiv, the Archa I mobile station has moved to Odessa. Its task now is to continue its mission of protecting and preserving written cultural heritage. Odessa has long been exposed to the threat of shelling, so the work of this unit has a real positive impact on the protection of Ukraine's historical monuments.
The Archa I mobile device arrived at its new location in Odessa, specifically at the Odessa National Scientific Library, at the turn of September and October 2025. The transfer of the station to Odessa was carried out with the financial support of the ALIPH Foundation and in cooperation with the Ukrainian Librarians Association.
In addition, practical training courses and workshops for librarians from the city and the entire region will be held throughout October, focusing on the care of endangered documentary collections. Thanks to these steps, Odessa is gaining important tools for the protection of cultural heritage even in the conditions of ongoing armed conflict.
Hundreds of documents processed
Since the beginning of the year, when Archa I was put into operation, experts have processed more than 350 documents, representing over 16,500 pages. The processed materials included approximately 200 books from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and 30 to 35 volumes of historical newspapers from the collection of the Oleksandr Honchar Kherson Regional Universal Scientific Library.
Archa also helped process more than 70 archival documents and manuscripts from the collections of the Yaroslav the Wise National Library of Ukraine, the National Historical Library of Ukraine, the KPI Scientific and Technical Library, the National Museum of Ukrainian History, and the Museum of Books and Printing of Ukraine. Approximately 30 periodicals come from university libraries and regional cultural institutions, while other materials consist of written sources preserved in museums.
The Archa initiative was created thanks to the cooperation of the Yaroslav the Wise National Library of Ukraine, the National Library of the Czech Republic, and other institutions. The project is co-financed by the Karel Komárek Family Foundation and other donors.
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