Digital library will open for the 55th anniversary of VSUES

27 May is the professional holiday of Russian librarians — Librarian Day. This date coincides with the founding in 1795 of the first state public library in Russia — the Imperial Public Library, now the National Library of Russia.

The development of the VSUES library keeps pace with the university and the needs of the reading public. The information and library collection of the university is replenished with modern electronic scientific and educational resources of the electronic library systems «Urait», «Znanium», «University Library», «Scientific Electronic Library», «Rukont», «Book.ru», «Grebennikon», domestic and foreign databases. The collection can be accessed via the electronic catalogue of the library, the VSUES e-library service and the library website.

In 2020, VSUES became one of the first participants of the network electronic library of economic higher education institutions in Russia, initiated by the electronic library system «LAN» (St. Petersburg). The Networked Digital Library was created to share content of the member universities — to expand access to educational and scientific resources of low-circulation university literature. At present, the Networked Digital Library consortium brings together 255 member higher education institutions and more than 33,000 titles of educational and scientific literature.

Lidia Strikauskas, Director of the Resource Information and Analytical Centre:

— Now we can already talk about almost uncompetitive use of digital library system resources as a source of educational resources: the share of electronic publications in the annual subscription averages 88%, with the print publications segment hardly growing — 10%. In fact, we are talking about a digital university library — a modern center of informational educational culture.

Such a library will open after reconstruction in time for the 55th anniversary of VSUES — in September 2022. Global plans to create a new generation library are being implemented by the decision of the university administration. The library staff has done an enormous amount of work to move and temporarily preserve the printed book collection. For the time being, the e-room area in room 1315 is temporarily available to the readers. The RIAC staff provides traditional information and library services in room 1228.

All these temporary difficulties will soon end, and the VSUES library will open for full operation to provide students and teachers with the necessary information both electronically and in hard copy. It will be a wonderful modern library of Russia's forward-looking university.