It was established in 1948 as a national center for the study of Bulgarian literature from the Middle Ages to modern times in a theoretical, historical-cultural and comparative aspect, with the priority areas being Old Bulgarian literature, literature of the Bulgarian Renaissance, new and modern literature, theory of literature, comparative literary studies, Russian literature, archival, bibliographic and source studies. The Institute of Literature at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences defines as its main tasks the interpretation, preservation and popularization of the Bulgarian literary and cultural heritage in the context of the European humanitarian traditions.