Fostering a love for books and reading must begin with the condition of libraries - A. Kosinets

May 30, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The material and technical condition of rural libraries in the Vitebsk region and the working conditions of staff will be studied in the near future. The instruction was given today at a meeting of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee by its chairman Alexander Kosinets during the consideration of the issue of implementing the Year of the Book events in the region, BELTA correspondent reports. "Fostering a love for books and reading should start with the condition of libraries, primarily in rural areas and educational institutions," the governor emphasized. He gave an unsatisfactory assessment of the material and technical condition of libraries in some settlements and demanded that the culture department of the regional executive committee study the material and technical situation of the institutions and the working conditions of librarians as soon as possible. Alexander Kosinets also demanded that local authorities consider issues of financing repair work and make the necessary adjustments to the current year's budget, as well as study the possibility of merging school and public libraries in villages if the repair of the latter is not feasible. According to the Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Vladimir Terentyev, an experiment on merging school and rural libraries is currently underway in the Braslav district. Based on its results, conclusions will be drawn about the feasibility of such a step. -0-