MINSK, 15 September (BelTA) – The state will continue providing all kinds of support to the development of library business, BelTA learned from Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko.
Roman Golovchenko said: “No doubt the state will continue providing all-round support to the development of library business, will facilitate the growth of library collections, including by buying unique books of great historical and cultural value for our nation.”
There are over 7,000 libraries in Belarus. One in four Belarusians uses library services. There are about 1,500 readers per library. In 2020 the libraries lent 48 million publications to readers or 17 publications per reader. “The figures indicate the libraries are popular. Yes, the style of our life and ways of finding information have changed due to the technical and social progress. Libraries are transforming and becoming versatile cultural centers. It is the future. The rapid advance of information technologies did not shatter the position of the book reading culture and the position of libraries. It gave a new impulse to their development. People's access to them improved. Without digital registries, remote access, and a book distribution network one can hardly imagine the modern world now,” the prime minister noted.
Roman Golovchenko said: “Some say there is no need to go to offline libraries these days since everything can be downloaded and read at home. But there are plenty of books available only as hardcopies and libraries remain the main source of access to the entire array of human knowledge. Besides, even digital information requires verification. It is quite hard for inexperienced readers to find precise information. Library specialists play an important role as qualified and competent consultants, mediators between readers and the book collection.”
The prime minister also awarded a number of representatives of Belarusian libraries. The National Library of Belarus received a certificate of merit of the Council of Ministers.
