Society and culture: Issues of library sphere discussed at the meeting of the Chairman of the State Duma with Russian cultural workers

March 25, 2013 in the State Tretyakov Gallery State Duma Chairman met with the leaders of the Russian culture. He congratulated the participants on their professional holiday – the Day of Culture. A special attention was paid to the library sphere. “The number of libraries in Russia every year is getting smaller. This is largely due to the spread of the Internet, e-books. It is important to lead the digitization and as quickly as possible to implement remote access technologies”, - said Sergei Naryshkin.

Director of the State Public Historical Library of Russia Mikhail Afanasyev said that “the system of libraries is not well funded, especially in rural areas and in small towns”. He expressed support for the idea of ​​the Chairman of the State Duma of the introduction of new technologies and the digitization of books. He also noted a new function of libraries that can become a forum for the “social dialogue”.

During the meeting it was also mentioned the topic of museums. Over the past 20 years, the number of museums has increased - now they are more than 2600, expanding the expositions, but there is a contrast between the traditional and modern art.

Also during the meeting there were discussed issues of book publishing - the publishers offered to set fixed prices for books across the country, to reduce the value of added tax for book publishers and record rent for the premises for bookstores and publishers; and the cinema - it was suggested at the legislative level to solve the problem of cinema, and with the involvement of relevant ministries and agencies to develop a proper bill.

In conclusion, Sergei Naryshkin said that the law on patronage is ready, which will be considered by the State Duma in the first reading at a plenary meeting in April this year.