National libraries: President of the Russian Federation expresses gratitude to

In late December 2009 the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry A. Medvedev expressed gratitude to the staff of the Russian State Library (RSL). The library’s staff was recognized “for paying great contribution in restoration and preservation of unique books of Russian history and culture", says the document.

The Russian State Library houses a unique collection of Russian and foreign documents represented in 247 languages, its funds contain over 43 million storage units. Among them are special collections of maps, notes, audio recordings, rare books, theses, newspapers etc.

The library welcomes all the citizens of Russia and other states aged 18 to use its reading rooms. Every day about 200 new readers are registered in the Library. The Russian State Library welcomes about 4000 people every day, whereas the virtual reading rooms located in 80 towns of Russia and near abroad provide services to over 8 thousand visitors, informs the library’s web site.

The library’s funds have been already operating for 140 years.