Series 10

RLA - RUSSIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
[RBA - ROSSIISKAYA BIBLIOTECHNAYA ASSOTSIATSIYA]
Meeting in afternoon at the University of St. Petersburg campus
[November 16]

Friday, Nov. 16, 2007 Meeting between ACRL  People to People Delegation and the Russian Library Association at the State Polytechnic University of St. Petersburg

The Deputy Director of the  university, graciously welcomed the delegates to the university and to the city of St. Petersburg. He hoped we would like the city despite the cold weather and was certain the professional communication would make us feel warm. The university has 25,000 students, 2500 teachers, more than 100 buildings and trains and educates students in 150 majors in three main program areas: physics, engineering and economics and humanities. The library contains more than three million titles, and if not the first academic library in the city, it is surely the second. There are currently great changes underway in all libraries in Russia. One of the primary tasks of the library is to find the proper balance between print and electronic resources and to encourage students to use the library; not an easy task to encourage young people to enjoy reading. He commented to all present, that the librarians and library staff were among the best qualified and most efficient departments on the campus.

In response to a delegate’s question about how the major library changes were putting a strain on financial support, Mr.? answered that great resources were annually allocated to the university library. In a 3 billion ruble annual budget, 3 million was allocated for the library; the State Polytechnic University is recognized by other Russian academic institutions for its high level of support for salaries, and purchases of books and software. However, the administration of the university recognizes the need for more financial support for the library. Three years ago standards were created for allocating resources stressing the library. The deputy president responded to a delegate’s question about encouraging philanthropic gifts to the library or establishing a capital fund raising campaign by saying that it is not legally possibly in Russian to establish a foundation, etc. Also, while gifts of money or resources are possible, there are no tax or other benefits to the donor.

The meeting host thanked the deputy president for his warm and kind words and for the cooperation between the president’s office, the library, and the university, and then introduced ?, President of the Russian Library Association [RLA]. Maya Shaparneva, Executive Secretary of RLA, asked for introductions of the ACRL delegates and then gave a brief history of RLA. Prior to 1917, there were many professional unions in Russia, but during the Soviet era, unions ceased to exist, although librarians created administrative councils for communication. And despite pervasive Soviet ideology, librarians provided the Russian people with correct and accurate information to enlighten them. In 1994 existing regional unions of librarians united to form RLA, which therefore has 14 years of history, not 140 as ALA. The RLA is an organization of regional organizations, not of individuals, and currently has 530 member groups. Its organization is similar to IFLA with different sections organized by types or categories. There are 36 sections, although many overlap, and therefore need to be re-organized into larger and wider groups. RLA has annual conferences, with approximately 1,500 participants. A contest is held annually to choose a city to be the “Library Capital” for one year. This is done to raise local awareness of the libraries. In a recent speech, President Putin mentioned libraries and the need for additional support. Russian librarians and the RLA are grateful for the Open World Project started by ?.  The next RLA annual conference will be May 18-24, 2008.

The delegates were then shown a PowerPoint presentation by  the library director of the South Urals State University. The presentation was originally created to provide information to the university’s administration about the numerous library services provided by the library to students, faculty and staff. Another brief PowerPoint presentation explained the role of the Association of Regional Library Consortia, which is a small part of the whole of RLA. This group started 10 years ago with each individual consortium having autonomy. This group has been working in stages to create an electronic union catalog of resources from 178 libraries in 57 regions in 14 consortia: 87 university libraries; 78 public libraries; 9 Academy of Science libraries, and 4 special libraries. Currently there are 40 million searchable records; one-half million full-text. In 2007, the Association of Regional Library Consortia started 3 projects: Create a database of journal articles; create a union catalog of Russian periodicals; create a searchable electronic database of full-text theses, dissertations, and textbooks. Access is intended to be free and available to all.  This project is still in process and an issue is modern copyright.

Open discussion followed these presentations. Faculty are encouraged to share their research, papers and results by storing documents in the library. Despite a fear of others “stealing” their work, faculty are assured by librarians that their work is safer if it is available and with open access.  All textbooks developed within the university are considered the property of the university with open access in print and electronic versions. Additionally, there are in-service training for librarians in new technology to enable them to provide new  resources to patrons. However, often technology advances so fast that it is difficult for training to keep up. RLA works to help provide necessary workshops.

Although many libraries use their own cataloging systems, in 2007 it has been recommended that all subject headings conform to the State Library rules. The Association of Regional Library Consortia is headquartered in St. Petersburg and has 4 paid staff members for the 14 regional consortia. Each regional consortium has a governing board and is autonomous about how the group functions, although each group is expected to do some of the work of the association’s initiatives. The goal of the Russian consortia is to develop projects that will create some income; in 2007 income equaled expenses. Camila Alire, ACRL delegate leader, congratulated the Association on a visionary grassroots effort and accomplishments without bureaucracy!

In response to a question about challenges between professional librarians and support staff, the response was that there is no conflict in Russian libraries. From the start of employment, support staff and non-credentialed staff is notified that they are not eligible for promotions reserved for qualified librarians. Accreditation of educational institutions granting library degrees is decided by the National Library of Russia and the State Library of Russia.  Although RLA is involved in creating standards for qualification, the actual accreditation is in the hands of the government. Every university has to be re-accredited every 5 years.

As the time approached for the meeting to end, the president of RLA asserted that there is never enough time for professional meetings among colleagues, and that the Russian librarians thought of the American delegates as relatives and one family. The American delegates presented business cards to the director of the Association of Regional Library Consortia, and gave several gifts to our hosts.