Abstract

This paper discusses trends in library network development in Russia over the past twenty-five years. The major trends in libraries of various types and levels, from national to local public libraries, are analyzed. Statistical figures reflecting decreasing numbers of libraries in Russia from 1991 to the present are presented and analyzed. A special section is dedicated to the B. N. Yeltsin Presidential Library in St. Petersburg, the electronic national library of Russia. The public library development strategy in St. Petersburg is highlighted, along with the reform of the network of public libraries in Moscow. The two most recently renovated libraries in Moscow, the F. M. Dostoevsky Library and the Prospekt Library and Information Center, are featured. The major directions for Russian libraries desiring to go “green” are presented, along with the conditions they are to meet.

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