Yakub Kolas Central Scientific Library, Research library at National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus

The Yakub Kolas Central Scientific Library is a research facility of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, holding over five million items including books, periodicals, and scientific publications across different disciplines. Materials are organized by classification system to help visitors find specialized resources for their research.

Founded on 16 February 1925 at the Institute of Belarusian Culture, the library began with a few brochures and the archive of theatre figure Ales Burbis. In 1929 it became the library of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR, and in 1948 it was named after Vissarion Belinsky. It took the name of Yakub Kolas in 1966 and moved into its seven-storey building with a ten-tier book stack in 1967.

Named after Belarusian poet Yakub Kolas, the library holds manuscripts that show how literature and writing developed in Belarus. Visitors can see original printed works and handwritten collections that reflect the region's long tradition of preserving and sharing knowledge.

The facility provides workspaces for researchers and students to use the specialized collections organized by classification system. Visitors should plan their visit in advance and check access requirements, as they may vary depending on the type of materials you wish to consult.

In January 1941 the Radziwiłł book collection, up to 20,000 volumes, arrived from Nesvizh, but the war prevented full processing; after 1945 only the volumes already catalogued came back. In 1945 books taken to Germany were returned, and the Dokturovsky collection was found in Poznań.