We are very pleased to announce that on 1 December 2009 we donated our library materials to the English & American Studies Library at Sofia University. Sofia University in turn was happy to welcome external customers to the library for the first time.

All current British Council library memberships were transferred automatically. Due to the one month termination of service between 1 November and 1 December their membership was prolonged with a month counted as of 1 December 2009.

When the membership period expires all members will be invited to renew with the English & American Studies library. Readers will be able to enjoy a large range of materials from our library plus books already on offer at the university. Exceptions will apply for some materials reserved solely for the use of Sofia University students and academic staff and also some specific learning resources for British Council students which we retained at the British Council for self-access.

The English and American Studies library was founded as a British Council resource centre in 1992. It is a spacious library with a comfortable reading room, equipped with computers, audio, video and photocopying facilities. In 1997 the Resource Centre expanded to a second level under the main reading room. The library staff is now looking forward to yet another enlargement with the new donation.

The library offers a rich online database of articles published in magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals. The library staff has been trained in British Council customer service standards and we are confident that your experience as library users will continue to be very rewarding.

Sofia University has been a traditional partner of the British Council in a number of initiatives over the years and it was a natural choice to offer the donation to the English & American Studies library. We are particularly pleased that the oldest university in Bulgaria has decided to extend access to its library to non-university readers as well.