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| 746 registered chitalishte at the moment. |
 The Chitalishte is a unique institution with a special place in the history of the Bulgarian society. The first Chitalishta appeared in the 1850s as "reading houses" but their role gradually evolved and they assumed additional responsibilities, with education and charity being the most important ones. The Chitalishta developed as independent entities bearing all the characteristic features of volunteer civil associations, promoting the establishment of a new form of social contract without precedent in earlier Bulgarian history. The Chitalishta were the first secular community centres that offered equal participation and universal access to services on a democratic basis and without discrimination. They have become one of the most respected and enduring institutions as they played a critical role in the processes of national consolidation and modernisation.
With the initiation of reforms in the beginning of the 1990s, the Chitalishta faced the challenge to adapt their activities to the new socio-economic conditions and the rapidly changing values and needs of the Bulgarian society. The state subsidy to the Chitalishta has dramatically decreased and most of them have downsized their staff and limited the scope of their activities. The Chitalishta are registered as non-profit organizations, as provided for in the Law on the Public Chitalishte, adopted in 1996.
The Chitalishte presents at least three specific institutional features - sustainability, legitimacy and flexibility that - combined with its historical experience - provide it with the required prerequisites for responding to the current needs of the Bulgarian society. The existing network of approximately 3,600 Chitalishta throughout the country constitutes a national wealth and an important comparative advantage for Bulgaria. Thanks to their unrivalled social prestige and geographic proliferation, the Chitalishta have a tremendous potential to contribute to the satisfaction of certain cultural and educational needs, and to promote community participation.
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