Rural Libraries

I often have to travel around the country and go abroad. It’s mainly big cities, but whenever I find myself in a small district centre I can’t help noticing the contrast between the opportunities in – how shall I put it? – big and small places. Sure, there’s always been a gap, and there always will be, but I think it can be narrowed in many areas. Especially, for example, by addressing the problem of access to information – the Internet, books, the media. And that’s how the idea of helping rural libraries came about.

Of course, creating a modern library requires quite a lot of effort by all sorts of people and organizations. But even the longest journey starts with a single step. So I decided to begin with the book collections in the rural libraries of Nizhnekamsk district, which I represent in the State Duma. Across the district there are 16 villages with over 30 libraries, all of which have the opportunity to join my foundation’s project.

The first phase of the project ended quite recently. The foundation has already provided five libraries with teaching, methodological and fictional (children’s and classical) literature - over 500 books all told. I really hope these books will be useful and that somebody will get pleasure from reading a good book or that they help someone to prepare for classes or exams. In the near future I want to launch Phase 2, in which we are planning to install computers in the libraries and connect them to the Internet. Data bases are now being crated on the Nizhnekamsk district libraries and we’re collecting information on which rural libraries have no Internet access.

Once we’ve completed these two phases others might be initiated. I very much hope the project will be of real value and open up new opportunities for people in the villages. After all, the library is, in effect, a cultural and information centre in each small habitation.

• 29.12.2009
  New Books for Six Rural Libraries
  The books were supplied via the Central Library System (CLS), because all books have to go through special library processing (registration, stamping, cataloguing etc.).
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• 26.02.2009
  Phase 1 of Project Completed
  Phase 1 of the project was completed recently. Five libraries have already received textbooks, teaching manuals and literature (children’s and classical) from the Foundation – in total, over 500 books.
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