The Odesa National Scientific Library has welcomed the new mobile station ARK 1, designed for cleaning, disinfecting, and restoring books and archival documents. This initiative was made possible thanks to the financial support of the ALIPH Foundation and the assistance of the Ukrainian Library Association.

The first station arrived in Ukraine in January 2025. Its compact size (6 × 2.3 meters) allows for quick deployment without the need for specialized equipment, and it can operate on a generator in the absence of electricity.

From March to August, specialists processed over 350 documents, including about 200 books from university libraries and 30 newspaper collections from the Kherson Regional Universal Scientific Library. Additionally, more than 70 archival documents from the National Library of Ukraine and other institutions were handled.

Now, Odesa, with its unique cultural heritage, has a tool for quick response to damage to library collections. In October, training sessions for librarians on document preservation will be conducted.

This initiative is being implemented by the National Library of Ukraine and other international partners with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.