Director General of the Presidential Library Alexander Vershinin announced library’s strategic plans

In the interview to ITAR-TASS on August 29, 2011, Director General of Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library Alexander Vershinin said that the library was mounting events within the framework of “State Authority” theme-based year and cast light on library’s strategic plans for the future.

He stated that events of the theme-based year timed to the Knowledge Day – September 1, were connected with library’s electronic nature. Alexander Vershinin said: “We have worked out yearly subject areas, and debuted with the History of Russia, while the second year centered around its territory. The third year is opening with “Authority” theme — this is the core element of the state. On the whole, we have prepared a plan that spans 5 years: History, Territory, Authority, People and Russian language. When this cycle is finished, it will be repeated or some of these themes may go together”.

Director of the Presidential Library mentioned that the particular feature of this theme-based year also lay in the fact that the current year would determine ways of the state’s further development and continue the renewal of state bodies — elections. “For us it is also important to show the prospects of the state power in the view of development of electronic technologies, I mean “e-government”. Today this theme and relevant programs are being transformed into electronic state. Nowadays there is much talk about the information society, and this is exactly what both - electronic state and electronic authority must correspond to”, Alexander Vershinin said.

In this regard he added: “We have been collecting, accumulating information and documents not merely on the history of the Russian state, but we also try to perceive the role of electronic Information Technologies in this field. That’s why the theme of the key upcoming conference this year is “State authority in the information society”.

Alexander Vershinin also turned the spotlight on the work of Presidential Library’s branches, in particular, its branch in Tyumen Region with a new multi-functional information center operating at the facility. In all over 20 agreements with regions concerning foundation of access centers to Presidential Library’s resources have been concluded.

Director of the Presidential Library said that the institution cooperated with many international organizations, foreign libraries, first and foremost, the Library of Congress.

As of the question dealing with total amount of data available “in the library’s database”, Alexander Vershinin said: “It depends on which parameters we take into account. The portal and internal repository is a case in point. Over 50 000 titles have been already made available on our portal. On site, that is at the facility of the reading room you can access roughly 90 000 titles. When we mean “images” of documents there are around 11 million images at our disposal”.

Alexander Vershinin said that the uniqueness of work of the Presidential Library underlay in the combination of technological facilities and functional significance and the tasks the library challenged.

Speaking about the Presidential Library’s plans for development, its director mentioned: “We can’t boast completed tasks, I mean those we may forget about and settle down – they all are underway. The work that involves acquisition of funds, collections and documents will never be brought to an end. Without a doubt, there are things regarding which we may claim we stay at the final stage of a certain cycle. For example, we are finishing the establishment of the Presidential Library’s Academic Council. It is made up of three parts — heads of all federal universities, heads of all leading law schools — law faculties and institutes. While the third part — is the field of culture – which brings together national libraries, state archives, and our major museums”.

Alexander Vershinin also highlighted that the library was furthering multimedia educational projects, it had acquired its first multimedia experience in creation of “virtual lecture hall”, and underway was the project of educational center that would draw cultural and educational institutions in implementation of educational projects.