Public Libraries Section

Country Report: Russian Federation 2002

Vladimir Firsov

Public libraries in Russia are the most mass, close to population needs, information and cultural institutions. In 1990s, the increase of the number of libraries stopped, in the first half of 1990s their number slightly reduced, the last years their number remains about the same level. The population of the Russian Federation (including 89 subjects of Federation) is 145 million people. They are serviced by 48,500 public libraries. As a rule, public libraries are unified in centralized systems (common financing, common acquisition, possibility to get books from other libraries of the system) coincident in their location with administrative regions (their number is about 2,300); each centralized system has one central library and about 25 branch libraries. So, there are about 2.9 thousand people per one library - in average. Number of registered users is 50,800 people. Public libraries serve about 35% of population. Total volume of the public li-braries stock is 713 thousand items, i.e., 4.9 items per person.

These figures, average in Russia, have large difference in the subjects of Federation. So, provi-sion with books differs. For example, in Kirov region it is 8.2 per one reader; in Chukot Autonomous Area it is 11; in Ingushetia it is 1.9.

There is also a great difference in the volume of financial resources arrived to libraries. So, on average in Russia, from all the means received by public libraries 21.5 rubles (i.e., 75 cents) fall on one person. In Koryak Autonomous Area 233 rubles (i.e., eight dollars) fall on one person, and in Penza region nine rubles (i.e., 25 cents) fall on one person. On a national scale these fig-ures characterize a grand problem: citizens of the federative state do not have the equal right for the access to culture and information.

Most of public libraries are located in rural area where they are the only free of charge cultural institutions. By tradition, a library in small centers of population does not restrict itself to the book lending but also carries out the great cultural work (organizes clubs, cultural parties, and so on). Young people and pensioners are the most of readers.

Many public libraries tend to master the up-to-date forms of information service. Lack of finan-cial resources received from the local budget hampers this aim. Of 48 thousand public libraries only 570 ones have electronic catalogues, 245 ones have access to Internet.

Since 1997 with the aid of resources from the Federal budget, the Centers of legal information began to be established in municipal libraries. The Federal agency of government communica-tion and information, Russian fond of legal reforms, and Ministry of culture of Russia organize this work. Now the Centers of legal information are established in 124 public libraries.

• To continue the introduction of the Model Standard for Public Library;

• To suggest the project of "RLA Manifesto on Public Library" to the library community for discussion for the purpose of preparation of the document for its adoption on the 8th An-nual Conference of RLA;

• To appeal to the Ministry of culture of Russian Federation:
• To consider a question on the possibility to build the federal program "Informatiza-tion of Municipal Libraries of Russia";
• To support within the framework of the program "Culture of Russia" the projects di-rected towards the development of municipal libraries;

• To carry out in 2002-2003 the 2nd All-Russian competition "Up-to-Date Tendencies in the Service of Readers. Study of Readers and Reading in Public Library".

• To suggest to the RLA Section of territorial and regional universal research/public libraries to carry out the joint study of the state of informatization of municipal libraries, the results of which to examine on the joint meeting at the next RLA session;

• To hold the Festival of public library web-sites within the framework of meeting of the RLA Public Libraries Section on the 8th Annual Conference of RLA .