44% of the population uses library services in the Vitebsk region

October 21, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Almost 44% of the population of the Vitebsk region are readers of public libraries, the head of the culture department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Pashinsky, told a BELTA correspondent. Currently, 666 public libraries operate in the region, with 9 of them opened between 2007 and 2009. Another nine libraries have been repurposed into new types of institutions: library-clubs and library-museums. Six bookmobiles serve residents of remote villages. According to Nikolai Pashinsky, the changes in the organization of library services that have occurred in recent years have not only expanded the range of library users and increased the accessibility of collections but also significantly reduced the information gap between rural and urban residents. Over the past four years, the library collection has increased by 16.4 thousand copies, reaching over 8.5 million. The number of electronic documents in the collections has reached 5.4 thousand copies. Libraries are replenishing their collections for visually impaired people: audio literature comprises over 6.5 thousand copies. Annually, at least 15% of the budget allocated for the current maintenance of libraries is allocated for replenishing library collections in the region. In 2009, Br3.5 billion was allocated for these purposes, and Br3.8 billion is planned for 2010. As Nikolai Pashinsky noted, libraries are ceasing to be just book repositories. They are actively adopting internet technologies, creating electronic reading rooms, and providing their readers with Internet access and the opportunity to explore the collections of other library institutions. 11 multimedia centers have been opened at public libraries in the region, providing users with broad access to information and educational technologies. All central city and district libraries are computerized, and in agro-towns, this figure has reached almost 80%. -0-