Presidential Library develops cooperation with the Republic of Belarus

A cooperation agreement between the Presidential Library and the National Library of Belarus was signed on July 17, 2019. The event was organized in the framework of the VI Forum of the Regions of Russia and Belarus on the theme “Interregional relations as the basis for the formation of a common cultural and humanitarian space of the peoples of Belarus and Russia”, which is held from July 16-18 in St. Petersburg.

The key point of the agreement was the development of activities aimed at further strengthening the common library, information and cultural space, as well as the creation of electronic resources that preserve the intellectual memory of Slavic peoples. In particular, institutions plan to exchange publications published in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in order to improve the acquisition of library’s collections. It also has to work out the mechanism of interaction in the field of international library lending to improve access to the collections of both libraries, hold joint research, conferences, exhibitions and other events that reveal the cultural and linguistic diversity of both countries and significantly promote and expand interlibrary cooperation and others.  

The Presidential Library and the Republic of Belarus have been actively interacting for many years. One of the important events in 2019 was the signing of an agreement with the Belarusian National Center for Legal Information and the opening in the historic building on Senate Square in St. Petersburg of the center of access to the ETALON-ONLINE information system developed by SCLI specialists. Thus, the users are provided with relevant texts of legal acts of the Republic of Belarus, as well as documents of judicial practice and analytical materials.

The Presidential Library’s portal features “Belarus: the History of Fraternal People” electronic collection. It includes rare documents, historical and legal publications, spiritual literature, essays, memoirs, ethnographic collections, maps and photographs. They vividly illustrate various aspects of the country's life from the 16th century to the present day.