The Presidential Library took part in the Conference of Directors of European National Libraries

The Annual Conference of Directors of European National Libraries (CENL), which provides the Presidential Library as a member, was held online for the first time. The issues related to the activities of libraries in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic were focused on at the international meeting. The talk, in particular, was about online services, the work of library staff and digital literacy.

It should be noted that the development of innovative forms of service, the dissemination of information on best practices, and support for libraries in the development of digital collections and access systems are priority areas in the strategic plan of CENL.

CENL meetings are held annually in various European countries and are an important platform for exchanging experience, discussing topical issues, looking for ways to interact and solving problems that are largely common to libraries.

The Conference of Directors of European National Libraries, founded in 1987, includes 48 libraries from European countries. The Presidential Library has been its member since 2010, which makes it possible to determine strategic goals for the development of librarianship at the international level.

Today, the volume of the Presidential Library’s electronic collections is about a million items. Along with the electronic reading room in the historical building of the Synod in St. Petersburg and the portal of the Presidential Library, an access to the library’s collections is carried out through a network of remote access centers. More than 1000 remote electronic reading rooms are open in all 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. 40 access centers are located in 30 countries abroad based on the Russian centers of science and culture and other organizations.