In order to save the books the club of Kakhetian NGOs together with pupils and young people are planning to hold a book reading protest in front of Sighnaghi District Governor’s Office in the nearest future.
Library specialists told us that most of library books are laying in the school basement are now musty and completely destroyed because of the lack of proper storage conditions. They also claim that half of the books can still be saved. However, Nato Usenashvili, director of Sighnaghi Art and Education Service Center has not been interesting in do anything to save the books from being ruined. The principal of Sighnaghi Public School has also addressed Sighnaghi District Governor’s Office with the demand that the books be removed from the school basement so they would not be lost forever. However, the district governor’s office has not expressed any interest in the problem as well.
Despite the critical situation we are facing, Nato Usenashvili states that she “is trying her best to avoid the complete destruction of all the books.”
The Sighnaghi Library has not been functioning since March, 2007, as the library building was sold off. 70, 000 books from Sighnaghi Children’s Library and Sighnaghi Central Library have been lying and rotting in sacks in the Sighnaghi Public School basement in the meantime.
Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti