Libraries and Education: Russian School Library Month 2011 underway

The International School Library Month kicked off in October 2011 under the aegis of the Russian School Library Association. The highlight of the Month will become the Fifth All-Russian Forum of School Librarians “Mikhailovskoe 2011”, which will run from October 24 through October 29 2011 in “Pushkinskie Gory” reserve.

Forum will be an effective meeting point to discuss and implement the commissions of the Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin on a new social status of school librarians. The forum will bring together over 250 specialists of school and children libraries, government bodies, representatives of public organizations, publishing industry, scholars, cultural workers, and children’s writers.

Month–2011 program will include roundtable discussions, meetings of heads of the regions with expert associations, web conferences involving government officials, public organizations focused on urgent themes: “Role of School Libraries and Their Development Strategies in Conditions of Information Society”, “School Librarian – Guarantor of National Security of Russia”, “Influence of School Library on Spiritual and Moral Development of Pupil’s Personality”.

Russian School Library Month – is a large-scale campaign that is called to set up in the society a new understanding of the pedagogue-librarian profession and the role of school libraries in education modernization, create a new environment of school library able to support innovations of pedagogues and creativity of pupils. The Month is called to initiate projects, which would attract additional resources for development of school libraries.

Every fourth Monday of October for 12 years in row the world has been celebrating the International School Library Day. In October 2008 on the proposal of the International School Library Association the international day was reorganized into the month. Web portal of the Russian School Library Association will keep you up to date with events of the Month taking place in the regions of Russia.