The updated Pushkin Library opens today in Orsha

June 1, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The updated Pushkin Library is opening today in Orsha, the Culture Department of the Orsha City Executive Committee informed a BELTA correspondent. The capital repair of the Central City Library, which took several years, has fundamentally transformed the institution: windows, the roof, and engineering systems have been replaced, and interior finishing has been completed. In addition to traditional departments (registration sector, lending department, reading room, public legal information center, periodicals department), the library now features a hall for mass events and a hall named after Yanka Sipakov, an Orsha writer who donated a collection of 10,000 books to the library. The laureate of the State Prize of Belarus, Honored Figure of Culture of Belarus, announced his donation in January at a literary evening dedicated to his 75th birthday; he passed away on March 10. Notably, the library has not lost its readers during the capital repair. Currently, it serves over 9,000 people. The book circulation in 2011 was about 190,000 copies, and since the beginning of the year, the library's collection, which numbered about 110,000 publications as of January 1, 2012, has been replenished with almost 800 more books. Today, representatives of local authorities, the public, as well as its loyal readers and veterans of the library profession will take part in the grand opening ceremony of the library. As reported by the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Br11.4 billion is planned to be allocated from various sources for the acquisition of funds for public libraries in the Vitebsk region in 2012. During the first quarter, Br1.1 billion was allocated for replenishing public library collections, with almost 44% of this amount used for purchasing books and the rest for subscribing to periodicals. In 2011, libraries of various departmental affiliations acquired 44,300 copies of socially significant publications for their collections, totaling Br548.6 million. In this regard, the Vitebsk region ranks first in the republic. The number of acquisitions in 2011 more than doubled compared to 2010, and the amount increased by 98%. -0-